The Vine Community Church Sermon Podcast: Recent Episodes
The Vine Community Church
Saul Tries to Kill David19And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted much in David.2And Jonathan told David, Saul my father seeks to kill you. Therefore be on your guard in the morning. Stay in a secret place and hide yourself.3And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you. And if I learn anything I will tell you. 4And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, Let not the king sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have brought good to you. 5For he took his life in his hand and he struck down the Philistine, and the Lord worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause?6And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan. Saul swore, As the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death. 7And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan reported to him all these things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before.8And there was war again. And David went out and fought with the Philistines and struck them with a great blow, so that they fled before him.9Then a harmful spirit from the Lord came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing the lyre. 10And Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.11Saul sent messengers to David's house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But Michal, David's wife, told him, If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed. 12So Michal let David down through the window, and he fled away and escaped. 13Michal took an image[a] and laid it on the bed and put a pillow of goats' hair at its head and covered it with the clothes. 14And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick. 15Then Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.16And when the messengers came in, behold, the image was in the bed, with the pillow of goats' hair at its head. 17Saul said to Michal, Why have you deceived me thus and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped? And Michal answered Saul, He said to me, Let me go. Why should I kill you?18Now David fled and escaped, and he came to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and lived at Naioth. 19And it was told Saul, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah. 20Then Saul sent messengers to take David, and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. 21When it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. 22Then he himself went to Ramah and came to the great well that is in Secu. And he asked, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah. 23And he went there to Naioth in Ramah. And the Spirit of God came upon him also, and as he went he prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 24And he too stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay naked all that day and all that night. Thus it is said, Is Saul also among the prophets?
David Anointed King16The Lord said to Samuel, How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons. 2And Samuel said, How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me. And the Lord said, Take a heifer with you and say, I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. 3And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you. 4Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, Do you come peaceably? 5And he said, Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.6When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, Surely the Lord's anointed is before him. 7But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. 8Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither has the Lord chosen this one. 9Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, Neither has the Lord chosen this one. 10And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, The Lord has not chosen these. 11Then Samuel said to Jesse, Are all your sons here? And he said, There remains yet the youngest,[a] but behold, he is keeping the sheep. And Samuel said to Jesse, Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here. 12And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him, for this is he. 13Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.David in Saul's Service14Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the Lordtormented him. 15And Saul's servants said to him, Behold now, a harmful spirit from God is tormenting you. 16Let our lord now command your servants who are before you to seek out a man who is skillful in playing the lyre, and when the harmful spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will be well. 17So Saul said to his servants, Provide for me a man who can play well and bring him to me. 18One of the young men answered, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the Lord is with him. 19Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, Send me David your son, who is with the sheep. 20And Jesse took a donkey laden with bread and a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them by David his son to Saul.21And David came to Saul and entered his service. And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer. 22And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight. 23And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him.David and Goliath17Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle. And they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. 2And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in line of battle against the Philistines. 3And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. 4And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six[b] cubits[c] and a span. 5He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels[d] of bronze. 6And he had bronze armor on his legs, and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. 7The shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron. And his shield-bearer went before him. 8He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 9If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us. 10And the Philistine said, I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together. 11When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.12Now David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, named Jesse, who had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and advanced in years.[e] 13The three oldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.14David was the youngest. The three eldest followed Saul, 15but David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem. 16For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening.17And Jesse said to David his son, Take for your brothers an ephah[f] of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers. 18Also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See if your brothers are well, and bring some token from them.19Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. 20And David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper and took the provisions and went, as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the encampment as the host was going out to the battle line, shouting the war cry. 21And Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army. 22And David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage and ran to the ranks and went and greeted his brothers.23As he talked with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him.24All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were much afraid. 25And the men of Israel said, Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. And the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father's house free in Israel. 26And David said to the men who stood by him, What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? 27And the people answered him in the same way, So shall it be done to the man who kills him.28Now Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle. 29And David said, What have I done now? Was it not but a word? 30And he turned away from him toward another, and spoke in the same way, and the people answered him again as before.31When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him. 32And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine. 33And Saul said to David, You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth. 34But David said to Saul, Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, 35I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. 36Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God. 37And David said, The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go, and the Lord be with you!38Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail, 39and David strapped his sword over his armor. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. Then David said to Saul, I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them. So David put them off. 40Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd's pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine.41And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. 42And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. 43And the Philistine said to David, Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44The Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field. 45Then David said to the Philistine, You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47and that all this assembly may know that the Lordsaves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand.48When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.50So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David. 51Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. 52And the men of Israel and Judah rose with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath[g] and the gates of Ekron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron. 53And the people of Israel came back from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their camp. 54And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.55As soon as Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As your soul lives, O king, I do not know. 56And the king said, Inquire whose son the boy is. 57And as soon as David returned from the striking down of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58And Saul said to him, Whose son are you, young man? And David answered, I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant21Then Peter came up and said to him, Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times? 22Jesus said to him, I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.23Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.[a] 24When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.[b] 25And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26So the servant[c] fell on his knees, imploring him, Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything. 27And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii,[d] and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, Pay what you owe. 29So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, Have patience with me, and I will pay you. 30He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32Then his master summoned him and said to him, You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you? 34And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers,[e] until he should pay all his debt. 35So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart."
He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today. 6So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7And when they saw it, they all grumbled, He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner. 8And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold. 9And Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
The Lord is the strength of his people;he is the saving refuge of his anointed.9Oh, save your people and bless your heritage!Be their shepherd and carry them forever.
33And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, What were you discussing on the way? 34But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.35And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.36And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.
11To this end wealways pray for you, that our God maymake you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and everywork of faith by his power,12so that the name of our Lord Jesusmay be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
21And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea.22Then came one ofthe rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet23and implored him earnestly, saying, My little daughter is at the point of death. Come andlay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.24And he went with him.And a great crowd followed him andthronged about him.25And there was a womanwho had had a discharge of blood for twelve years,26and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse.27She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment.28For she said, If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.29And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of herdisease.30And Jesus, perceiving in himself thatpower had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said,Who touched my garments?31And his disciples said to him, You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say,Who touched me?32And he looked around to see who had done it.33But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth.34And he said to her,Daughter,your faith has made you well;go in peace, and be healed of yourdisease.35While he was still speaking, there came fromthe ruler's house some who said, Your daughter is dead. Whytroublethe Teacher any further?36But overhearing[a]what they said, Jesus said tothe ruler of the synagogue,Do not fear, only believe.37And he allowed no one to follow him exceptPeter and James andJohn the brother of James.38They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus[b]saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.39And when he had entered, he said to them,Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead butsleeping.40And they laughed at him. But heput them all outside and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was.41Taking her by the hand he said to her,Talitha cumi,which means,Little girl, I say to you,arise.42And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement.43Andhe strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.
28Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene andthe other Mary went to see the tomb.2And behold, there was a great earthquake, foran angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.3His appearance was like lightning, andhis clothing white as snow.4And for fear of him the guards trembled andbecame like dead men.5But the angel said to the women, Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.6He is not here, for he has risen,as he said. Come, see the place where he[a]lay.7Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold,he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.8So they departed quickly from the tombwith fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.9And behold, Jesusmet them and said,Greetings!And they came up andtook hold of his feet andworshiped him.10Then Jesus said to them,Do not be afraid;go and tellmy brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.16Now the eleven discipleswent to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.17And when they saw him theyworshiped him, but some doubted.18And Jesus came and said to them,All authorityin heaven and on earth has been given to me.19Go therefore andmake disciples ofall nations,baptizing themin[a]the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,20teaching themto observe all thatI have commanded you. And behold,I am with you always, tothe end of the age.
And again Jesusspoke to them in parables, saying,2The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gavea wedding feast for his son,3andsent his servants[a]to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come.4Again he sent other servants, saying, Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared mydinner,my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.5Butthey paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business,6while the rest seized his servants,treated them shamefully, andkilled them.7The king was angry, and he sent his troops anddestroyed those murderers and burned their city.8Then he said to his servants, The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were notworthy.9Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.10And those servants went out into the roads andgathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.11But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw therea man who had no wedding garment.12And he said to him,Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment? And he was speechless.13Then the king said to the attendants, Bind him hand and foot andcast him into the outer darkness. In that placethere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.14For many arecalled, but few arechosen.
31What then shall we say to these things?If God is for us, who can be[a]against us?32He who did not spare his own Son butgave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?33Who shall bring any charge against God's elect?It is God who justifies.34Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who diedmore than that, who was raisedwho is at the right hand of God,who indeed is interceding for us.[b]35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?36As it is written,For your sakewe are being killed all the day long;we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.37No, in all these things we are more thanconquerors throughhim who loved us.38For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,39nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
28And we know that for those who love God all things work togetherfor good,[a]forthose who are called according to his purpose.29For those whom heforeknew he alsopredestinedto be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might bethe firstborn among many brothers.30And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he alsojustified, and those whom he justified he alsoglorified.
26Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. Forwe do not know what to pray for as we ought, butthe Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.27Andhe who searches hearts knows what isthe mind of the Spirit, because[a]the Spiritintercedes for the saintsaccording to the will of God.
18For I consider that the sufferings of this present timeare not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.19For the creation waits with eager longing forthe revealing of the sons of God.20For the creationwas subjected to futility, not willingly, butbecause of him who subjected it, in hope21thatthe creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.22For we know thatthe whole creationhas been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.23And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who havethe firstfruits of the Spirit,groan inwardly aswe wait eagerly for adoption as sons,the redemption of our bodies.24Forin this hope we were saved. Nowhope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?25But if we hope for what we do not see, wewait for it with patience.
12So then, brothers,[a]we are debtors,not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.13For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit youput to death the deeds of the body, you will live.14For all who areled by the Spirit of God aresons[b]of God.15Foryou did not receivethe spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit ofadoption as sons, by whom we cry,Abba! Father!16The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,17and if children, thenheirsheirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ,provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
5Forthose who live according to the flesh set their minds onthe things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds onthe things of the Spirit.6For to setthe mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.7For the mind that is set on the flesh ishostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law;indeed, it cannot.8Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.9You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in factthe Spirit of God dwells in you.Anyone who does not havethe Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.10But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.11If the Spirit ofhim who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus[a]from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodiesthrough his Spirit who dwells in you.
8There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.[a]2For the law ofthe Spirit of lifehas set you[b]free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.3ForGod has done what the law,weakened by the flesh,could not do.By sending his own Sonin the likeness of sinful flesh andfor sin,[c]he condemned sin in the flesh,4in order thatthe righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us,who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
13Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.14For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh,sold under sin.15For I do not understand my own actions. ForI do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.16Now if I do what I do not want, I agree withthe law, that it is good.17So nowit is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.18For I know that nothing good dwellsin me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.19For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.20Now if I do what I do not want,it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.21So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.22ForI delight in the law of God,in my inner being,23but I see in my membersanother law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.24Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me fromthis body of death?25Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
7What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law,I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet ifthe law had not said, You shall not covet.8But sin,seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness.For apart from the law, sin lies dead.9I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died.10The very commandmentthat promised life proved to be death to me.11For sin,seizing an opportunity through the commandment,deceived me and through it killed me.12Sothe law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
7Or do you not know, brothers[a]for I am speaking to those who know the lawthat the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives?2Fora married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage.[b]3Accordingly,she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.4Likewise, my brothers,you also have diedto the lawthrough the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead,in order that we may bear fruit for God.5For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at workin our membersto bear fruit for death.6But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in thenew way ofthe Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.
19I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. Forjust as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your membersas slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.20For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.21But what fruit were you getting at that time from the thingsof which you are now ashamed?For the end of those things is death.22But now that youhave been set free from sin andhave become slaves of God,the fruit you get leads to sanctification andits end, eternal life.23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
15What then?Are we to sinbecause we are not under law but under grace? By no means!16Do you not know that if you present yourselvesto anyone as obedient slaves,[a]you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?17Butthanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to thestandard of teaching to which you were committed,18and,having been set free from sin,have become slaves of righteousness.
8Nowif we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.9We know thatChrist, being raised from the dead, will never die again;death no longer has dominion over him.10For the death he died he died to sin,once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.11So you also must consider yourselvesdead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.12Let notsin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.13Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, butpresent yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.14Forsinwill have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
6What shall we say then?Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?2By no means! How canwe who died to sin still live in it?3Do you not know that all of uswho have been baptizedinto Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?4We wereburied therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just asChrist was raised from the dead bythe glory of the Father, we too might walk innewness of life.5Forif we have been united with him ina death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.6We know thatour old self[a]was crucified with him in order thatthe body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.7Forone who has diedhas been set free[b]from sin.
Matthew 2:13-23Now when they had departed, behold,an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.14And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt15and remained there until the death of Herod.This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet,Out of Egypt I called my son.16Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.17Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:18A voice was heard in Ramah,weeping and loud lamentation,Rachel weeping for her children;she refused to be comforted, because theyare no more.19But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,20saying, Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, forthose who sought the child's life are dead.21And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel.22But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, andbeing warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee.23And he went and lived in a city calledNazareth,so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.Revelation 1212And a great sign appeared in heaven: a womanclothed withthe sun, withthe moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.2She was pregnant andwas crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth.3And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a greatred dragon,with seven heads andten horns, and on his headsseven diadems.4His tail swept downa third of the stars of heaven andcast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her childhe might devour it.5She gave birth to a male child,one who is to rule[a]all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child wascaught up to God and to his throne,6and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for1,260 days.7Now war arose in heaven,Michael andhis angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back,8but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.9Andthe great dragon was thrown down,that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan,the deceiver of the whole worldhe was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.10And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, Nowthe salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers[b]has been thrown down,who accuses them day and night before our God.11Andthey have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, forthey loved not their liveseven unto death.12Therefore,rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! Butwoe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, becausehe knows that his time is short!13And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursuedthe woman who had given birth to the male child.14But the woman was given the twowings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpentinto the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourishedfor a time, and times, and half a time.15The serpent poured waterlike a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood.16But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth.17Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went offto make war on the rest ofher offspring,on those who keep the commandments of God and hold tothe testimony of Jesus. And he stood[c]on the sand of the sea.
Matthew 2:1-122Nowafter Jesus was born inBethlehem of Judeain the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men[a]fromthe east came to Jerusalem,2saying, Where is he who has been bornking of the Jews? For we sawhis star when it rose[b]and have come toworship him.3When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him;4and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them wherethe Christ was to be born.5They told him, In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:6And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;for from you shall come a rulerwho willshepherd my people Israel.7Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared.8And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.9After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.10When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.11And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures,they offered him gifts,gold andfrankincense andmyrrh.12Andbeing warnedin a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.Rev. 7:9-129After this I looked, and behold,a great multitude that no one could number,from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb,clothed in white robes, withpalm branches in their hands,10and crying out with a loud voice,Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!11And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders andthe four living creatures, and theyfell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,12saying, Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.
Luke 1:26-3326In the sixth month the angelGabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee namedNazareth,27to a virgin betrothed[a]to a man whose name was Joseph,of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary.28And he came to her and said, Greetings,O favored one,the Lord is with you![b]29Butshe was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.30And the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, foryou have found favor with God.31And behold,you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, andyou shall call his name Jesus.32He will be great and will be called the Son ofthe Most High. And the Lord Godwill give to him the throne ofhis father David,33and he will reign over the house of Jacobforever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.Rev. 22:1-522Then the angel[a]showed methe river ofthe water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb2through the middle ofthe street of the city;also, on either side of the river,the tree of life[b]with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree werefor the healing of the nations.3No longer will there be anything accursed, butthe throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, andhis servants will worship him.4They will see his face, andhis name will be on their foreheads.5Andnight will be no more. They will need no light of lampor sun, forthe Lord God will be their light, andthey will reign forever and ever.
46And Mary said,Mysoulmagnifies the Lord,47and myspirit rejoices inGod my Savior,48forhe has looked on the humble estate of his servant.For behold, from now on all generationswill call me blessed;49forhe who is mightyhas done great things for me,andholy is his name.50Andhis mercy is for those who fear himfrom generation to generation.51He has shown strength with his arm;he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;52he has brought down the mighty from their thronesand exalted those of humble estate;53he has filledthe hungry with good things,and the richhe has sent away empty.54He hashelpedhis servant Israel,in remembrance of his mercy,55as he spoke to our fathers,to Abraham and to his offspring forever.19After this I heardwhat seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out,Hallelujah!Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,2forhis judgments are true and just;for he has judgedthe great prostitutewho corrupted the earth with her immorality,andhas avenged on her the blood of his servants.3Once more they cried out,Hallelujah!The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.4Andthe twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, Amen. Hallelujah!5And from the throne came a voice saying,Praise our God,all you his servants,you who fear him,small and great.6Then I heard what seemed to bethe voice of a great multitude, likethe roar of many waters andlike the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,Hallelujah!For the Lord our Godthe Almightyreigns.7Let us rejoice and exultand give him the glory,forthe marriage of the Lamb has come,andhis Bride has made herself ready;8it was granted her to clothe herselfwith fine linen, bright and purefor the fine linen isthe righteous deeds of the saints.9And the angel said[a]to me, Write this:Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said to me,These are the true words of God.10ThenI fell down at his feet to worship him,but he said to me, You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold tothe testimony of Jesus. Worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.11Then I sawheaven opened, and behold,a white horse! The one sitting on it is calledFaithful and True, andin righteousness he judges and makes war.12His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head aremany diadems, and he hasa name written that no one knows but himself.13He is clothed ina robe dipped in[b]blood, and the name by which he is called isThe Word of God.14And the armies of heaven,arrayed in fine linen, white and pure,were following him on white horses.15From his mouth comes a sharp swordwith which to strike down the nations, andhe will rule[c]them with a rod of iron.He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.16On his robe and on his thighhe has a name written,King of kings and Lord of lords.17Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called toall the birds that fly directly overhead,Come, gather forthe great supper of God,18to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave,[d]both small and great.19And I sawthe beast and the kings of the earth with their armiesgathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army.20And the beast was captured, and with itthe false prophetwho in its presence[e]had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those whoworshiped its image. These two werethrown alive into the lake offire that burns with sulfur.21And the rest were slain by the swordthat came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, andall the birds were gorged with their flesh.
Shepherd the Flock of God5So I exhort the elders among you,as a fellow elder anda witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed:2shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight,[a]not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you;[b]not for shameful gain, but eagerly;3notdomineering over those in your charge, butbeing examples to the flock.4And whenthe chief Shepherd appears, you will receive theunfadingcrown of glory.5Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders.Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, forGod opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.6Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,7casting all your anxieties on him, becausehe cares for you.8Be sober-minded;be watchful. Youradversary the devilprowls aroundlike a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.9Resist him,firm in your faith, knowing thatthe same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.10Andafter you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace,who has called you to hiseternal glory in Christ, will himselfrestore,confirm, strengthen, and establish you.11To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.Final Greetings12BySilvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him,I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this isthe true grace of God.Stand firm in it.13She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so doesMark, my son.14Greet one another with the kiss of love.Peace to all of you who are in Christ.
19Therefore let those who suffer according to God's willentrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.
Suffering for Righteousness' Sake8Finally, all of you,have unity of mind, sympathy,brotherly love,a tender heart, anda humble mind.9Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary,bless, forto this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.10ForWhoever desires to love lifeand see good days,let him keep his tongue from eviland his lips from speaking deceit;11let him turn away from evil and do good;let him seek peace and pursue it.12For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,and his ears are open to their prayer.But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.13Nowwho is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good?14But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed.Have no fear of them,nor be troubled,15butin your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy,always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness andrespect,16having a good conscience, so that,when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.17Forit is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil.18For Christ alsosuffered[a]once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous,that he might bring us to God, being put to deathin the flesh but made alivein the spirit,19in which[b]he went andproclaimed[c]to the spirits in prison,20because[d]they formerly did not obey,when God's patience waited in the days of Noah,while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is,eight persons, were brought safely through water.21Baptism, which corresponds to this,now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body butas an appeal to God for a good conscience,through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,22who has gone into heaven andis at the right hand of God,with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.
Wives and Husbands3Likewise, wives,be subject to your own husbands, so thateven if some do not obey the word,they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives,2when they see yourrespectful and pure conduct.3Do not let your adorning be externalthe braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear4but let your adorning bethe hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.5For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands,6as Sarah obeyed Abraham,calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good anddo not fear anything that is frightening.7Likewise,husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weakervessel, since they are heirs with you[a]of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
Submission to Authority13Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution,[a]whether it be to the emperor[b]as supreme,14or to governors as sent by himto punish those who do evil andto praise those who do good.15For this is the will of God,that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.16Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, butliving as servants[c]of God.17Honor everyone.Love the brotherhood.Fear God. Honor the emperor.18Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.19For this is a gracious thing, when,mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly.20For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? Butif when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.21Forto this you have been called,because Christ also suffered for you,leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.22He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.23When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten,but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.24He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that wemight die to sin andlive to righteousness.By his wounds you have been healed.25Foryou were straying like sheep, but have now returned tothe Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
A Living Stone and a Holy People2So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.2Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritualmilk, that by it you may grow up into salvation3if indeed you havetasted that the Lord is good.4As you come to him, a living stonerejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious,5you yourselves like living stones are being built up asa spiritual house, to bea holy priesthood,to offer spiritual sacrificesacceptable to God through Jesus Christ.6For it stands in Scripture:Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,a cornerstone chosen and precious,and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.7So the honor is for you whobelieve, but for those whodo not believe,The stone that the builders rejectedhas become the cornerstone,[a]8andA stone of stumbling,and a rock of offense.They stumble because they disobey the word,as they were destined to do.9But you area chosen race,a royalpriesthood,a holy nation,a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called youout of darkness intohis marvelous light.10Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.11Beloved, I urge youas sojourners and exilesto abstain from the passions of the flesh,which wage war against your soul.12Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers,they may see your good deeds and glorify God onthe day of visitation.
Called to Be Holy13Therefore,preparing your minds for action,[a]andbeing sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.14As obedient children,do not be conformed to the passionsof your former ignorance,15butas he who called you is holy, you also be holyin all your conduct,16since it is written,You shall be holy, for I am holy.17And if youcall on him as Father whojudgesimpartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselveswith fear throughout the time of your exile,18knowing that youwere ransomed fromthe futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold,19butwith the precious blood of Christ, like that ofa lambwithout blemish or spot.20He was foreknown before the foundation of the world butwas made manifestin the last times for the sake of you21who through him are believers in God,who raised him from the dead andgave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.22Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth fora sincere brotherly love,love one another earnestly from a pure heart,23since you have been born again,not of perishable seed but of imperishable, throughthe living and abiding word of God;24forAll flesh is like grassand all its glory like the flower of grass.The grass withers,and the flower falls,25but the word of the Lord remains forever.And this wordis the good news that was preached to you.
Greeting1Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,To those who are elect exiles ofthe Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,2according tothe foreknowledge of God the Father,in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ andfor sprinkling with his blood:Maygrace andpeace be multiplied to you.Born Again to a Living Hope3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!According to his great mercy,he has caused us to be born again to a living hopethrough the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,4toan inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, andunfading,kept in heaven for you,5who by God's power are being guardedthrough faith for a salvationready to be revealed in the last time.6In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved byvarious trials,7so thatthe tested genuineness of your faithmore precious than gold that perishesthough it is tested byfiremay be found to result inpraise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.8Though you have not seen him, you love him.Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,9obtainingthe outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.10Concerning this salvation,the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully,11inquiringwhat person or time[a]the Spirit of Christ in them was indicatingwhen he predictedthe sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.12It was revealed to them thatthey were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to youby the Holy Spirit sent from heaven,things into which angels long to look.
3For I will proclaim the name of theLord;ascribegreatness to our God!4The Rock,his work is perfect,forall his ways are justice.A God of faithfulness andwithout iniquity,just and upright is he.
Search Me, O God, and Know My HeartTo the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.139OLord, you havesearched me and known me!2Youknow when I sit down and when I rise up;youdiscern my thoughts from afar.3You search out my path and my lying downand are acquainted with all my ways.4Even before a word is on my tongue,behold, OLord,you know it altogether.5Youhem me in, behind and before,andlay your hand upon me.6Such knowledge istoo wonderful for me;it is high; I cannot attain it.7Where shall I go from your Spirit?Or whereshall I flee from your presence?8If I ascend to heaven, you are there!If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!9If I take the wings of the morningand dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,10even there your hand shalllead me,and your right hand shall hold me.11If I say,Surely the darkness shall cover me,and the light about me be night,12even the darkness is not dark to you;the night is bright as the day,for darkness is as light with you.
The Creation of the World1In thebeginning, God created the heavens and the earth.Gen. 1:1The Word Became Flesh1In the beginning wasthe Word, andthe Word was with God, andthe Word was God.John 1:1
Paul Addresses the Areopagus22So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious.23For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription:To the unknown god.What therefore you worshipas unknown, this I proclaim to you.24The God who made the world and everything in it, beingLord of heaven and earth,does not live in temples made by man,[a]25nor is he served by human hands,as though he needed anything, since he himselfgives to all mankindlife and breath and everything.26Andhe made from one man every nation of mankind to liveon all the face of the earth,having determined allotted periods andthe boundaries of their dwelling place,27that they should seek God,and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him.Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,28forIn him we live and move and have our being;[b]as even some ofyour own poets have said,For we are indeed his offspring.[c]29Being then God's offspring,we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.30The times of ignoranceGod overlooked, butnow hecommands all people everywhere to repent,31because he has fixeda day on whichhe will judge the worldin righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; andof this he has given assurance to allby raising him from the dead.32Now when they heard ofthe resurrection of the dead,some mocked. But others said,We will hear you again about this.33So Paul went out from their midst.34But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysiusthe Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.
2Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in itwith thanksgiving.3At the same time, pray also for us, that God mayopen to us a door for the word,to declare the mystery of Christ,on account of which I am in prison4that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.
Ask, and It Will Be Given7Ask,and it will be given to you;seek, and you will find;knock, and it will be opened to you.8For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.9Or which one of you, if his son asks him forbread, will give hima stone?10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?11If you then,who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more willyour Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
The Pharisee and the Tax Collector9He also told this parable to somewho trustedin themselves that they were righteous,and treated others with contempt:10Two menwent up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.11The Pharisee,standing by himself, prayed[a]thus: God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.12I fast twice a week;I give tithes of all that I get.13But the tax collector,standing far off,would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, butbeat his breast, saying, God,be merciful to me, a sinner!14I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. Foreveryone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.
23Now maythe God of peace himselfsanctify you completely, and may yourwholespirit and soul and body be kept blameless atthe coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.24He who calls you is faithful;he will surely do it.
Paul's Ministry to the Thessalonians2For you yourselves know, brothers,[a]that ourcoming to youwas not in vain.2But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treatedat Philippi, as you know,we had boldness in our Godto declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of muchconflict.3Forour appeal does not spring fromerror orimpurity orany attempt to deceive,4but just as we have been approved by Godto be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, notto please man, but to please Godwho tests our hearts.5For we never came with words of flattery,[b]as you know, nor with a pretext for greedGod is witness.6Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others,though we could have madedemands asapostles of Christ.7But we weregentle[c]among you,like a nursing mother taking care of her own children.8So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of Godbut also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.
Greeting1Paul,Silvanus, and Timothy,To the church of theThessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:Grace to you and peace.The Thessalonians' Faith and Example2We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly[a]mentioning you in our prayers,3remembering beforeour God and Fatheryour work of faith and labor oflove andsteadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.4For we know,brothers[b]loved by God,that he has chosen you,5becauseour gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power andin the Holy Spirit and with fullconviction. You knowwhat kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.6Andyou became imitators of usand of the Lord, foryou received the word in much affliction,with thejoy of the Holy Spirit,7so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.8For not only has the word of the Lordsounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone fortheverywhere, so that we need not say anything.
TheLordRejects Saul15And Samuel said to Saul,TheLordsent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of theLord.2Thus says theLordof hosts, I have noted what Amalek did to Israelin opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt.3Now go and strike Amalek anddevote to destruction[a]all that they have. Do not spare them,but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.4So Saul summoned the people and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand men on foot, and ten thousand men of Judah.5And Saul came to the city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley.6Then Saul said tothe Kenites, Go, depart; go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them.For you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.7And Saul defeated the Amalekites fromHavilah as far asShur, which is east of Egypt.8And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites aliveand devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword.9But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves[b]and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction.10The word of theLordcame to Samuel:11I regret[c]that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me andhas not performed my commandments. And Samuel was angry, and he cried to theLordall night.12And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, Saul came toCarmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.13And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him,Blessed be you to theLord. I have performed the commandment of theLord.14And Samuel said, What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?15Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites,for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to theLordyour God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction.16Then Samuel said to Saul, Stop! I will tell you what theLordsaid to me this night. And he said to him, Speak.17And Samuel said,Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? TheLordanointed you king over Israel.18And theLordsent you on a mission and said, Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.19Why then did you not obey the voice of theLord?Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of theLord?20And Saul said to Samuel,I have obeyed the voice of theLord. I have gone on the mission on which theLordsent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction.21But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to theLordyour God in Gilgal.22And Samuel said,Has theLordas great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,as in obeying the voice of theLord?Behold,to obey is better than sacrifice,and to listen than the fat of rams.23For rebellion is as the sin of divination,and presumption is as iniquity andidolatry.Becauseyou have rejected the word of theLord,he has also rejected you from being king.24Saul said to Samuel,I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of theLordand your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.25Now therefore, please pardon my sin andreturn with me that I may bow before theLord.26And Samuel said to Saul, I will not return with you.For you have rejected the word of theLord,and theLordhas rejected you from being king over Israel.27As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore.28And Samuel said to him,TheLordhas torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.29And also the Glory of Israelwill not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.30Then he said, I have sinned; yethonor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel,and return with me, that I may bow before theLordyour God.31So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul bowed before theLord.32Then Samuel said, Bring here to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came to him cheerfully.[d]Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past.33And Samuel said,As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women. And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before theLordin Gilgal.34Then Samuel wentto Ramah, and Saul went up to his house inGibeah of Saul.35And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death,but Samuel grieved over Saul.And theLordregretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.
Saul Fights the Philistines13Saul lived for one year and then became king, and when he had reigned for two years over Israel,[a]2Saul chose three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul inMichmash and the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan inGibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent home, every man to his tent.3Jonathan defeatedthe garrison of the Philistines that wasat Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saulblew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear.4And all Israel heard it said that Saul had defeated the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel had become a stench to the Philistines. And the people were called out to join Saul at Gilgal.5And the Philistines mustered to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen and troopslike the sand on the seashore in multitude. They came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east ofBeth-aven.6When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble (for the people were hard pressed), the people hid themselvesin caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns,7and some Hebrews crossed the fords of the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.Saul's Unlawful Sacrifice8He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him.9So Saul said, Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering.10As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him.11Samuel said, What have you done? And Saul said, When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash,12I said, Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of theLord. So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.13And Samuel said to Saul,You have done foolishly.You have not kept the command of theLordyour God, with which he commanded you. For then theLordwould have established your kingdom over Israel forever.14But nowyour kingdom shall not continue. TheLordhas sought out a manafter his own heart, and theLordhas commanded him to be prince[b]over his people, because you have not kept what theLordcommanded you.15And Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal. The rest of the people went up after Saul to meet the army; they went up from Gilgal[c]toGibeah of Benjamin.And Saul numbered the people who were present with him,about six hundred men.16And Saul and Jonathan his son and the people who were present with them stayed inGeba of Benjamin, but the Philistines encamped in Michmash.17Andraiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned toward Ophrah, to the land of Shual;18another company turned towardBeth-horon; and another company turned toward the border that looks down on the Valley ofZeboim toward the wilderness.19Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make themselves swords or spears.20But every one of the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, or his sickle,[d]21and the charge was two-thirds of a shekel[e]for the plowshares and for the mattocks, and a third of a shekel[f]for sharpening the axes and for setting the goads.[g]22So on the day of the battlethere was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan, but Saul and Jonathan his son had them.23Andthe garrison of the Philistines went out to thepass ofMichmash.
Saul Defeats the Ammonites11Then Nahash the Ammonite went up and besiegedJabesh-gilead, and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash,Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.2But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, On this condition I will make a treaty with you,that I gouge out all your right eyes, and thusbring disgrace on all Israel.3The elders of Jabesh said to him, Give us seven days' respite that we may send messengers through all the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will give ourselves up to you.4When the messengers came toGibeah of Saul, they reported the matter in the ears of the people,and all the people wept aloud.5Now, behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen. And Saul said, What is wrong with the people, that they are weeping? So they told him the news of the men of Jabesh.6And the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled.7He took a yoke of oxenand cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of the messengers, saying,Whoever does not come out after Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen! Then the dread of theLordfell upon the people, and they came outas one man.8When he mustered them atBezek,the people of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand.9And they said to the messengers who had come, Thus shall you say to the men of Jabesh-gilead: Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall havesalvation. When the messengers came and told the men of Jabesh, they were glad.10Therefore the men of Jabesh said,Tomorrow we will give ourselves up to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good to you.11And the next day Saul put the peoplein three companies. And they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. And those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.The Kingdom Is Renewed12Then the people said to Samuel,Who is it that said, Shall Saul reign over us?Bring the men, that we may put them to death.13But Saul said,Not a man shall be put to death this day, for todaytheLordhas workedsalvation in Israel.14Then Samuel said to the people, Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingdom.15So all the people went toGilgal, and there they made Saul kingbefore theLordin Gilgal. Therethey sacrificed peace offerings before theLord, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.
Saul Proclaimed King17Now Samuel called the people togetherto theLordat Mizpah.18And he said to the people of Israel,Thus says theLord, the God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.19But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses, and you have said to him, Set a king over us. Now thereforepresent yourselves before theLordby your tribes and by your thousands.20Then Samuelbrought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot.21He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its clans, and the clan of the Matrites was taken by lot;[a]and Saul the son of Kish was taken by lot. But when they sought him, he could not be found.22So they inquired again of theLord, Is there a man still to come? and theLordsaid, Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage.23Then they ran and took him from there. And when he stood among the people,he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward.24And Samuel said to all the people, Do you see himwhom theLordhas chosen? There is none like him among all the people. And all the people shouted,Long live the king!25Then Samuel told the peoplethe rights and duties of the kingship, and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before theLord. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his home.26Saul also went to his homeat Gibeah, and with him went men of valor whose hearts God had touched.27But someworthless fellows said, How can this man save us? And they despised him and brought him no present. But he held his peace.
Saul Chosen to Be King9There was a man of Benjamin whose name wasKish, the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth.2And he had a son whose name was Saul,a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he.From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.3Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. So Kish said to Saul his son, Take one of the young men with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys.4And he passed throughthe hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land ofShalishah, but they did not find them. And they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then they passed through the land of Benjamin, but did not find them.5When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant[a]who was with him, Come, let us go back,lest my father cease to care about the donkeys and become anxious about us.6But he said to him, Behold, there isa man of God in this city, and he is a man who is held in honor;all that he says comes true. So now let us go there. Perhaps he can tell us the way we should go.7Then Saul said to his servant, But if we go,what can we bring the man? For the bread in our sacks is gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?8The servant answered Saul again, Here, I have with me a quarter of a shekel[b]of silver, and I will give it to the man of God to tell us our way.9(Formerly in Israel, when a manwent to inquire of God, he said, Come, let us go to the seer, for today's prophet was formerly called a seer.)10And Saul said to his servant, Well said; come, let us go. So they went to the city where the man of God was.11As they went up the hill to the city,they met young women coming out to draw water and said to them, Is the seer here?12They answered, He is; behold, he is just ahead of you. Hurry. He has come just now to the city, because the peoplehave a sacrifice today onthe high place.13As soon as you enter the city you will find him, before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat till he comes, since he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now go up, for you will meet him immediately.14So they went up to the city. As they were entering the city, they saw Samuel coming out toward them on his way up to the high place.15Now the day before Saul came,theLordhadrevealed to Samuel:16Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin,and you shall anoint him to be prince[c]over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines.For I have seen[d]my people, because their cry has come to me.17When Samuel saw Saul, theLordtold him,Here is the man of whom I spoke to you! He it is who shall restrain my people.18Then Saul approached Samuel in the gate and said, Tell me where is the house of the seer?19Samuel answered Saul, I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for today you shall eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your mind.20As for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not set your mind on them, for they have been found. And for whom is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father's house?21Saul answered, Am I not a Benjaminite,from the least of the tribes of Israel?And is not my clan the humblest of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to me in this way?22Then Samuel took Saul and his young man and brought them into the hall and gave them a place at the head of those who had been invited, who were about thirty persons.23And Samuel said to the cook, Bring the portion I gave you, of which I said to you, Put it aside.24So the cook took upthe leg and what was on it and set them before Saul. And Samuel said, See, what was kept is set before you. Eat, because it was kept for you until the hour appointed, that you might eat with the guests.[e]So Saul ate with Samuel that day.25And when they came down from the high place into the city, a bed was spread for Saulon the roof, and he lay down to sleep.[f]26Then at the break of dawn[g]Samuel called to Saul on the roof, Up, that I may send you on your way. So Saul arose, and both he and Samuel went out into the street.27As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Tell the servant to pass on before us, and when he has passed on, stop here yourself for a while, that I may make known to you the word of God.Saul Anointed King10Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his headand kissed him and said, Has not theLordanointed you to be prince[h]overhis people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of theLordand you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that theLordhas anointed you to be prince[i]over his heritage.2When you depart from me today, you will meet two men byRachel's tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah, and they will say to you,The donkeys that you went to seek are found, and nowyour father has ceased to care about the donkeys and is anxious about you, saying, What shall I do about my son?3Then you shall go on from there farther and come to theoak of Tabor. Three mengoing upto God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine.4And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall accept from their hand.5After that you shall come toGibeath-elohim,[j]where there is a garrison of the Philistines. And there, as soon as you come to the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming downfrom the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, prophesying.6Then the Spirit of theLordwill rush upon you,and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.7Now whenthese signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do,for God is with you.8Then go down before meto Gilgal. And behold, I am coming down to you to offer burnt offerings andto sacrifice peace offerings.Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do.9When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these signs came to pass that day.10When they came toGibeah,[k]behold, a group of prophets met him,and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them.11And when all who knew him previously saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, What has come over the son of Kish?Is Saul also among the prophets?12And a man of the place answered,And who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb,Is Saul also among the prophets?13When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place.14Saul's uncle said to him and to his servant, Where did you go? And he said,To seek the donkeys. And when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.15And Saul's uncle said, Please tell me what Samuel said to you.16And Saul said to his uncle,He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found. But about the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel had spoken, he did not tell him anything.
Israel Demands a King8When Samuel became old,he made his sons judges over Israel.2The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba.3Yet his sons did not walk in his waysbut turned aside after gain.They took bribes and perverted justice.4Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel atRamah5and said to him, Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways.Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.6But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed to theLord.7And theLordsaid to Samuel, Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you,for they have not rejected you,but they have rejected me from being king over them.8According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you.9Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn themand show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.Samuel's Warning Against Kings10So Samuel told all the words of theLordto the people who were asking for a king from him.11He said,These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you:he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots.12And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and someto plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots.13He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.14He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants.15He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants.16He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men[a]and your donkeys, and put them to his work.17He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves.18And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves,but theLordwill not answer you in that day.TheLordGrants Israel's Request19But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, No! But there shall be a king over us,20that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.21And when Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of theLord.22And theLordsaid to Samuel,Obey their voice and make them a king. Samuel then said to the men of Israel, Go every man to his city.
Jonah's Anger and theLord's Compassion4But it displeased Jonah exceedingly,[a]andhe was angry.2And he prayed to theLordand said, OLord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country?That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are agracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, andrelenting from disaster.3Therefore now, OLord, please take my life from me,for it is better for me to die than to live.4And theLordsaid,Do you do well to be angry?5Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city andmade a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city.6Now theLordGod appointed a plant[b]and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort.[c]So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant.7But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered.8When the sun rose, God appointed a scorchingeast wind,and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that hewas faint. And he asked that he might die and said,It is better for me to die than to live.9But God said to Jonah,Do you do well to be angry for the plant? And he said, Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.10And theLordsaid, You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night.11And should not I pityNineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also muchcattle?
Jonah Goes to Nineveh3Then the word of theLordcame to Jonah the second time, saying,2Arise, go toNineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.3So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of theLord. NowNineveh was an exceedingly great city,[a]three days' journey in breadth.[b]4Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's journey. And he called out, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!5And the people of Nineveh believed God.They called for a fast andput on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.The People of Nineveh Repent6The word reached[c]the king of Nineveh, andhe arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth,and sat in ashes.7And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh,By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man norbeast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water,8but let man andbeast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God.Let everyone turn from his evil way and fromthe violence that is in his hands.9Who knows? God may turn and relentand turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.10When God saw what they did,how they turned from their evil way,God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.
Jonah's Prayer2Then Jonah prayed to theLordhis God from the belly of the fish,2saying,I called out to theLord, out of my distress,and he answered me;out of the belly of Sheol I cried,and you heard my voice.3For you cast me into the deep,into the heart of the seas,and the flood surrounded me;all your waves and your billowspassed over me.4Then I said, I am driven awayfrom your sight;yet I shall again lookupon your holy temple.5The waters closed in over meto take my life;the deep surrounded me;weeds were wrapped about my head6at the roots of the mountains.I went down to the landwhose bars closed upon me forever;yet you brought up my life from the pit,OLordmy God.7When my life was fainting away,I remembered theLord,and my prayer came to you,into your holy temple.8Those who pay regard to vain idolsforsake their hope of steadfast love.9But I with the voice of thanksgivingwill sacrifice to you;what I have vowed I will pay.Salvation belongs to theLord!10And theLordspoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.
Jonah Flees the Presence of theLord1Now the word of theLordcame toJonah the son of Amittai, saying,2Arise, go toNineveh, thatgreat city, and call out against it,for their evil[a]has come up before me.3But Jonahrose to flee toTarshish from the presence of theLord. He went down toJoppa and found a ship going toTarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them toTarshish,away from the presence of theLord.4ButtheLordhurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatenedto break up.5Then the mariners were afraid, andeach cried out to his god. Andthey hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep.6So the captain came and said to him, What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise,call out to your god!Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.Jonah Is Thrown into the Sea7And they said to one another, Come, let uscast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.8Then they said to him, Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?9And he said to them, I am a Hebrew, and I feartheLord, the God of heaven,who made the sea and the dry land.10Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, What is this that you have done! For the men knew thathe was fleeing from the presence of theLord, because he had told them.11Then they said to him, What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us? For the sea grew more and more tempestuous.12He said to them, Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you,for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.13Nevertheless, the men rowed hard[b]to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them.14Therefore they called out to theLord, OLord, let us not perish for this man's life, andlay not on us innocent blood,for you, OLord, have done as it pleased you.15So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea,and the sea ceased from its raging.16Then the men feared theLordexceedingly,and they offered a sacrifice to theLordand made vows.A Great Fish Swallows Jonah17[c]And theLordappointed[d]a great fish to swallow up Jonah.And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
16His disciples did not understand these things at first, butwhen Jesus was glorified, thenthey remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him.17The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness.18The reason why the crowd went to meet himwas that they heard he had done this sign.19So the Pharisees said to one another,You see that you are gaining nothing. Look,the world has gone after him.Some Greeks Seek Jesus20Nowamong those who went up to worship at the feast were someGreeks.21So these came toPhilip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, Sir, we wish to see Jesus.22Philip went and toldAndrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.23And Jesus answered them,The hour has comefor the Son of Man to be glorified.24Truly, truly, I say to you,unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.25Whoever loves his life loses it, andwhoeverhates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.26If anyone serves me, he mustfollow me; andwhere I am, there will my servant be also.If anyone serves me,the Father will honor him.
Death in Adam, Life in Christ12Therefore, just assin came into the world through one man, anddeath through sin, andso death spread to all men[a]becauseall sinned13for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, butsin is not counted where there is no law.14Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was notlike the transgression of Adam,who was a type ofthe one who was to come.15But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded formany.16And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. Forthe judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses broughtjustification.17For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousnessreign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.18Therefore, as one trespass[b]led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness[c]leads to justification and life forall men.19For as by the one man'sdisobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man'sobedience the many will be made righteous.20Nowthe law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased,grace abounded all the more,21so that,as sin reigned in death,grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
6Forwhile we were still weak, at the right timeChrist died for the ungodly.7For one will scarcely die for a righteous personthough perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die8butGod shows his love for us in thatwhile we were still sinners, Christ died for us.9Since, therefore,we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him fromthe wrath of God.10For ifwhile we were enemieswe were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved byhis life.11More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now receivedreconciliation.
Peace with God Through Faith5Therefore, since we have been justified by faith,we[a]have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.2Through him we have alsoobtained access by faith[b]into this gracein which we stand, andwe[c]rejoice[d]in hope of the glory of God.3Not only that, but werejoice in our sufferings, knowing that sufferingproduces endurance,4and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,5andhope does not put us to shame, because God's lovehas been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
The Promise Realized Through Faith13Forthe promise to Abraham and his offspringthat he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.14For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void.15Forthe law brings wrath, butwhere there is no lawthere is no transgression.16That is why it depends on faith,in order that the promise may rest on grace andbe guaranteed to all his offspringnot only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham,who is the father of us all,17as it is written,I have made you the father of many nationsin the presence of the God in whom he believed,who gives life to the dead and calls into existencethe things that do not exist.18In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told,So shall your offspring be.19He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which wasas good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he consideredthe barrenness[a]of Sarah's womb.20No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God,21fully convinced thatGod was able to do what he had promised.22That is why his faith was counted to him as righteousness.23Butthe words it was counted to him were not written for his sake alone,24but for ours also. It will be counted to uswho believe inhim who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord,25who was delivered up for our trespasses and raisedfor our justification.
Abraham Justified by Faith4What then shall we say was gained by Abraham,our forefather according to the flesh?2For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, butnot before God.3For what does the Scripture say?Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.4Nowto the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.5And to the one who does not work butbelieves in[a]him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,6just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:7Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,and whose sins are covered;8blessed is the man against whom the Lord will notcount his sin.9Is this blessing then only forthe circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised?For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness.10How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised.11He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose wasto make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well,12and to make him
27Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith.28For we hold that one is justified by faithapart from works of the law.29Oris God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also,30sinceGod is onewho will justify the circumcised by faith andthe uncircumcised through faith.31Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.
The Righteousness of God Through Faith21But nowthe righteousness of Godhas been manifested apart from the law, althoughthe Law and the Prophets bear witness to it22the righteousness of Godthrough faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.For there is no distinction:23forall have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,24and are justifiedby his grace as a gift,through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,25whom Godput forward asa propitiationby his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because inhis divine forbearance he had passed overformer sins.26It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
21But this I call to mind,andtherefore I have hope:22The steadfast love of theLordnever ceases;[a]his mercies never come to an end;23they are newevery morning;great is your faithfulness.24TheLordis my portion, says my soul,therefore I will hope in him.
No One Is Righteous9What then? Are we Jews[a]any better off?[b]No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, bothJews andGreeks, areunder sin,10as it is written:None is righteous, no, not one;11no one understands;no one seeks for God.12All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;no one does good,not even one.13Their throat isan open grave;they use their tongues to deceive.The venom of asps is under their lips.14Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.15Their feet are swift to shed blood;16in their paths are ruin and misery,17andthe way of peace they have not known.18There is no fear of God before their eyes.
God's Righteousness Upheld3Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision?2Much in every way. To begin with,the Jews were entrusted withthe oracles of God.3What if some were unfaithful?Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God?4By no means!Let God be true thoughevery one were a liar, as it is written,That you may be justified in your words,and prevail when youare judged.5But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflictwrath on us? (I speak in a human way.)6By no means! For then how couldGod judge the world?7But if through my lie God's truth abounds to his glory,why am I still being condemned as a sinner?8And why notdo evil that good may come?as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.
3A voice cries:[a]In the wilderness prepare the way of theLord;make straight in the desert a highway for our God.Isaiah 40:3John the Baptist Prepares the Way3In those daysJohn the Baptist came preaching inthe wilderness of Judea,2Repent, forthe kingdom of heaven is at hand.[a]3For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,The voice of one crying in the wilderness:Prepare[b]the way of the Lord;make his paths straight.Matthew 3:1-3
Thus says theLord:A voice is heard inRamah,lamentation and bitter weeping.Rachel is weeping for her children;she refuses to be comforted for her children,because they are no more.Jeremiah 31:15The Flight to Egypt13Now when they had departed, behold,an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.14And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt15and remained there until the death of Herod.This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet,Out of Egypt I called my son.Herod Kills the Children16Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.17Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:18A voice was heard in Ramah,weeping and loud lamentation,Rachel weeping for her children;she refused to be comforted, because theyare no more.The Return to Nazareth19But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,20saying, Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, forthose who sought the child's life are dead.21And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel.22But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, andbeing warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee.23And he went and lived in a city calledNazareth,so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.Matthew 2:13-23
2[a]But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,who are too little to be among the clans ofJudah,from you shall come forth for meone who is to beruler in Israel,whose coming forth isfrom of old,from ancient days.Micah 5:2The Visit of the Wise Men2Nowafter Jesus was born inBethlehem of Judeain the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men[a]fromthe east came to Jerusalem,2saying, Where is he who has been bornking of the Jews? For we sawhis star when it rose[b]and have come toworship him.3When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him;4and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them wherethe Christ was to be born.5They told him, In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:6And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;for from you shall come a rulerwho willshepherd my people Israel.7Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared.8And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.9After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.10When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.11And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures,they offered him gifts,gold andfrankincense andmyrrh.12Andbeing warnedin a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.Matthew 2:1-12
14Therefore theLord himself will give you a sign.Behold, thevirgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his nameImmanuel.Isaiah 7:14The Birth of Jesus Christ18Now the birth ofJesus Christ[a]took place in this way.When his mother Mary had been betrothed[b]to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with childfrom the Holy Spirit.19And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwillingto put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.20But as he considered these things, behold,an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.21She will bear a son, andyou shall call his name Jesus,for he will save his people from their sins.22All this took placeto fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:23Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,and they shall call his nameImmanuel(which means, Godwith us).24When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife,25but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. Andhe called his name Jesus.Matthew 1:18-25
14TheLordGod said to the serpent,Because you have done this,cursed are you above all livestockand above all beasts of the field;on your belly you shall go,anddust you shall eatall the days of your life.15I will put enmity between you and the woman,and between your offspring[a]andher offspring;he shall bruise your head,and you shall bruise his heel.16To the woman he said,I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;in pain you shall bring forth children.Your desire shall be contrary to[b]your husband,but he shallrule over you.17And to Adam he said,Because you have listened to the voice of your wifeand have eaten of the treeof which I commanded you,You shall not eat of it,cursed is the ground because of you;in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;18thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;and you shall eat the plants of the field.19By the sweat of your faceyou shall eat bread,till you return to the ground,for out of it you were taken;for you are dust,andto dust you shall return.20The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.[c]21And theLordGod made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.22Then theLordGod said,Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his handand take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever23therefore theLordGod sent him out from the garden of Edento work the ground from which he was taken.24He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed thecherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.
The Fall3Nowthe serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that theLordGod had made.He said to the woman, Did God actually say, You[a]shall not eat of any tree in the garden?2And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,3but God said,You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.4But the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die.5For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.6So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise,[b]she took of its fruitand ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her,and he ate.7Then the eyes of both were opened,and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.8And they heard the sound of theLordGod walking in the garden in the cool[c]of the day, and the man and his wifehid themselves from the presence of theLordGod among the trees of the garden.9But theLordGod called to the man and said to him, Where are you?[d]10And he said, I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid,because I was naked, and I hid myself.11He said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?12The man said,The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.13Then theLordGod said to the woman, What is this that you have done? The woman said,The serpent deceived me, and I ate.
18Then theLordGod said, It is not good that the man should be alone;I will make him a helper fit for[a]him.19Now out of the ground theLordGod had formed[b]every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens andbrought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.20The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam[c]there was not found a helper fit for him.21So theLordGod caused adeep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.22And the rib that theLordGod had taken from the man he made[d]into a woman and brought her to the man.23Then the man said,This at last isbone of my bonesand flesh of my flesh;she shall be called Woman,because she wastaken out of Man.[e]24Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.25And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
The Creation of Man and Woman4These are the generationsof the heavens and the earth when they were created,in the day that theLordGod made the earth and the heavens.5When nobush of the field[a]was yet in the land[b]and no small plant of the field had yet sprung upfor theLordGod had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no manto work the ground,6and a mist[c]was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground7then theLordGod formed the man ofdust from the ground andbreathed into hisnostrils the breath of life, andthe man became a living creature.8And theLordGod planted agarden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.9And out of the ground theLordGod made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.The tree of life was in the midst of the garden,and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.10A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers.11The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land ofHavilah, where there is gold.12And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there.13The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush.14And the name of the third river is theTigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.15TheLordGod took the manand put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.16And theLordGod commanded the man, saying, You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,17but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evilyou shall not eat, for in the day that you eat[d]of it youshall surely die.
The Seventh Day, God Rests2Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, andall the host of them.2Andon the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.3So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
28And God blessed them. And God said to them,Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.29And God said, Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit.You shall have them for food.30Andto every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food. And it was so.31And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
26Then God said,Let us make man[a]in our image,after our likeness. Andlet them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.27So God created man in his own image,in the image of God he created him;male and female he created them.
The Humble and Contrite in Spirit66Thus says theLord:Heaven is my throne,and the earth is my footstool;what is the house that you would build for me,and what is the place of my rest?2All these things my hand has made,and so all these things came to be,declares theLord.But this is the one to whom I will look:he who is humble and contrite in spiritand trembles at my word.3He who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a man;he who sacrifices a lamb, like one who breaks a dog's neck;he who presents a grain offering, like one who offerspig's blood;he who makes a memorial offering of frankincense, like one who blesses an idol.These have chosen their own ways,and their soul delights in their abominations;4I also will choose harsh treatment for themand bringtheir fears upon them,because when I called, no one answered,when I spoke, they did not listen;but they did what was evil in my eyesand chose that in which I did not delight.5Hear the word of theLord,you who tremble at his word:Your brothers who hate youand cast you out for my name's sakehave said,Let theLordbe glorified,that we may see your joy;but it is they who shall be put to shame.6The sound of an uproar from the city!A sound from the temple!The sound of theLord,rendering recompense to his enemies!Rejoice with Jerusalem7Before she was in laborshe gave birth;before her pain came upon hershe delivered a son.8Who has heard such a thing?Who has seen such things?Shall a land be born in one day?Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment?Foras soon as Zion was in laborshe brought forth her children.9Shall I bring to the point of birth and not cause to bring forth?says theLord;shall I, who cause to bring forth, shut the womb?says your God.10Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her,all you who love her;rejoice with her in joy,all you who mourn over her;11that you may nurse and be satisfiedfrom her consoling breast;that you may drink deeply with delightfrom her glorious abundance.[a]12For thus says theLord:Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river,and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream;andyou shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip,and bounced upon her knees.13As one whom his mother comforts,soI will comfort you;you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.14You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice;your bones shall flourish like the grass;andthe hand of theLordshall be known to his servants,and he shall show his indignation against his enemies.Final Judgment and Glory of theLord15For behold,theLordwill come in fire,andhis chariots like the whirlwind,to render his anger in fury,and his rebuke with flames of fire.16Forby firewill theLordenter into judgment,and by his sword, with all flesh;and those slain by theLordshall be many.17Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one in the midst,eating pig's flesh and the abomination and mice, shall come to an end together, declares theLord.18For I know[b]their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming[c]to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory,19and I will set a sign among them. And from themI will send survivors to the nations, toTarshish,Pul, andLud, who draw the bow, toTubal andJavan,to the coastlands far away,that have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations.20And they shall bring all your brothers from all the nationsas an offering to theLord, on horses and in chariots and in litters and on mules and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says theLord, just as the Israelites bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of theLord.21And some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites, says theLord.22For asthe new heavens and the new earththat I makeshall remain before me, says theLord,soshall your offspring and your name remain.23From new moon to new moon,and from Sabbath to Sabbath,all flesh shall come to worship before me,declares theLord.24And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. Fortheir worm shall not die,their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.
New Heavens and a New Earth17For behold,I create new heavensand a new earth,and the former things shall not be rememberedor come into mind.18But be glad and rejoice foreverin that which I create;for behold,I create Jerusalem to be a joy,and her people to be a gladness.19I will rejoice in Jerusalemand be glad in my people;no more shall be heard in it the sound of weepingand the cry of distress.20No more shall there be in itan infant who lives but a few days,or an old man who does not fill out his days,forthe young man shall die a hundred years old,andthe sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.21They shall build houses and inhabit them;they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.22They shall not build and another inhabit;they shall not plant and another eat;for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,and my chosen shall long enjoy[a]the work of their hands.23They shall not labor in vainor bear children for calamity,[b]forthey shall be the offspring of the blessed of theLord,and their descendants with them.24Before they call I will answer;while they are yet speaking I will hear.25The wolf and the lamb shall graze together;the lion shall eat straw like the ox,anddust shall be the serpent's food.They shall not hurt or destroyin all my holy mountain,says theLord.
1Iwasreadytobesoughtbythosewhodidnotaskforme;Iwasreadytobefoundbythosewhodidnotseekme.Isaid,HereIam,hereIam,toanationthatwasnotcalledby1myname.2Ispreadoutmyhandsallthedaytoarebelliouspeople,whowalkinawaythatisnotgood,followingtheirowndevices;3apeoplewhoprovokemetomyfacecontinually,sacrificingingardensandmakingofferingsonbricks;4whositintombs,andspendthenightinsecretplaces;whoeatpigsflesh,andbrothoftaintedmeatisintheirvessels;5whosay,Keeptoyourself,donotcomenearme,forIamtooholyforyou.Theseareasmokeinmynostrils,afirethatburnsalltheday.6Behold,itiswrittenbeforeme:Iwillnotkeepsilent,butIwillrepay;Iwillindeedrepayintotheirlap7bothyouriniquitiesandyourfathersiniquitiestogether,saystheLORD;becausetheymadeofferingsonthemountainsandinsultedmeonthehills,Iwillmeasureintotheirlappaymentfortheirformerdeeds.28ThussaystheLORD:Asthenewwineisfoundinthecluster,andtheysay,Donotdestroyit,forthereisablessinginit,soIwilldoformyservantssake,andnotdestroythemall.9IwillbringforthoffspringfromJacob,andfromJudahpossessorsofmymountains;mychosenshallpossessit,andmyservantsshalldwellthere.10Sharonshallbecomeapastureforflocks,andtheValleyofAchoraplaceforherdstoliedown,formypeoplewhohavesoughtme.11ButyouwhoforsaketheLORD,whoforgetmyholymountain,whosetatableforFortuneandfillcupsofmixedwineforDestiny,12Iwilldestineyoutothesword,andallofyoushallbowdowntotheslaughter,because,whenIcalled,youdidnotanswer;whenIspoke,youdidnotlisten,butyoudidwhatwasevilinmyeyesandchosewhatIdidnotdelightin.13ThereforethussaystheLordGOD:Behold,myservantsshalleat,butyoushallbehungry;behold,myservantsshalldrink,butyoushallbethirsty;behold,myservantsshallrejoice,butyoushallbeputtoshame;14behold,myservantsshallsingforgladnessofheart,butyoushallcryoutforpainofheartandshallwailforbreakingofspirit.15Youshallleaveyournametomychosenforacurse,andtheLordGODwillputyoutodeath,buthisservantshewillcallbyanothername,16sothathewhoblesseshimselfinthelandshallblesshimselfbytheGodoftruth,andhewhotakesanoathinthelandshallswearbytheGodoftruth;becausetheformertroublesareforgottenandarehiddenfrommyeyes.
Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down,that the mountains might quake at your presence2[a]as when fire kindles brushwoodand the fire causes water to boilto make your name known to your adversaries,and that the nations might tremble at your presence!3When you did awesome things that we did not look for,you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.4From of old no one has heardor perceived by the ear,no eye has seen a God besides you,who acts for those who wait for him.5You meet him who joyfully works righteousness,those who remember you in your ways.Behold, you were angry, and we sinned;in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved?[b]6We have all become like one who is unclean,and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.We all fade like a leaf,and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.7There is no one who calls upon your name,who rouses himself to take hold of you;for you have hidden your face from us,and have made us melt in[c]the hand of our iniquities.8But now, OLord, you are our Father;we are the clay, and you are our potter;we are all the work of your hand.9Be not so terribly angry, OLord,and remember not iniquity forever.Behold, please look, we are all your people.10Your holy cities have become a wilderness;Zion has become a wilderness,Jerusalem a desolation.11Our holy and beautiful[d]house,where our fathers praised you,has been burned by fire,and all our pleasant places have become ruins.12Will you restrain yourself at these things, OLord?Will you keep silent, and afflict us so terribly?
Prayer for Mercy15Look down from heaven and see,from your holy and beautiful[a]habitation.Where areyour zeal and your might?The stirring of your inner parts and your compassionare held back from me.16Foryou are our Father,though Abraham does not know us,and Israel does not acknowledge us;you, OLord, are our Father,our Redeemer from of old is your name.17OLord, why do you make us wander from your waysandharden our heart, so that we fear you not?Return for the sake of your servants,the tribes of your heritage.18Your holy people held possession for a little while;[b]our adversaries have trampled down your sanctuary.19We have become like those over whom you have never ruled,like those who are not called by your name.
TheLord's Mercy Remembered7I will recount the steadfast love of theLord,the praises of theLord,according to all that theLordhas granted us,and the great goodness to the house of Israelthat he has granted them according to his compassion,according to the abundance of his steadfast love.8For he said, Surely they are my people,children who will not deal falsely.And he became their Savior.9In all their affliction he was afflicted,[a]and the angel of his presence saved them;in his love and in his pity he redeemed them;he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.10But they rebelledand grieved his Holy Spirit;therefore he turned to be their enemy,and himself fought against them.11Then he rememberedthe days of old,of Moses and his people.[b]Where is he who brought them up out of the seawith the shepherds of his flock?Where is he who put in the midst of themhis Holy Spirit,12who caused his glorious armto go at the right hand of Moses,who divided the waters before themto make for himself an everlasting name,13who led them through the depths?Like a horse in the desert,they did not stumble.14Like livestock that go down into the valley,the Spirit of theLordgave them rest.So you led your people,to make for yourself a glorious name.
TheLord's Day of Vengeance
63Who is this who comes fromEdom,in crimsoned garments fromBozrah,he who is splendid in his apparel,marching in the greatness of his strength?It is I, speaking in righteousness,mighty to save.
2Why is yourapparel red,and your garments like hiswho treads in the winepress?
3I have trodden the winepress alone,and from the peoples no one was with me;I trod them in my angerand trampled them in my wrath;their lifeblood[a]spattered on my garments,and stained all my apparel.4For the day of vengeance was in my heart,and my year of redemption[b]had come.5I looked, butthere was no one to help;I was appalled, but there was no one to uphold;so my own arm brought me salvation,and my wrath upheld me.6I trampled down the peoples in my anger;I made them drunk in my wrath,and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth.
Zion's Coming Salvation
62For Zion's sake I will not keep silent,and for Jerusalem's sake I will not be quiet,until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,and her salvation as a burning torch.2The nations shall see your righteousness,and all the kings your glory,and you shall be called by a new namethat the mouth of theLordwill give.3You shall bea crown of beauty in the hand of theLord,and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.4You shall no more be termedForsaken,[a]and your land shall no more be termed Desolate,[b]but you shall be calledMy Delight Is in Her,[c]and your land Married;[d]for theLorddelights in you,and your land shall be married.5For as a young man marries a young woman,soshall your sons marry you,and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,soshall your God rejoice over you.
6On your walls, O Jerusalem,I have setwatchmen;all the day and all the nightthey shall never be silent.You who put theLordin remembrance,take no rest,7and give him no restuntil he establishes Jerusalemand makes ita praise in the earth.8TheLordhas swornby his right handand by his mighty arm:I will not again giveyour grainto be food for your enemies,and foreigners shall not drink your winefor which you have labored;9butthose who garner it shall eat itand praise theLord,andthose who gather it shall drink itin the courts of my sanctuary.[e]
10Go through, go through the gates;prepare the way for the people;build up, build up the highway;clear it of stones;lift up a signal over the peoples.11Behold, theLordhas proclaimedto the end of the earth:Say to the daughter of Zion,Behold, your salvation comes;behold, his reward is with him,and his recompense before him.12And they shall be called The Holy People,The Redeemed of theLord;and you shall be called Sought Out,A City Not Forsaken.
The Year of theLord's Favor
61The Spirit of the LordGodis upon me,because theLordhasanointed meto bring good news to the poor;[a]he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,to proclaim liberty to the captives,andthe opening of the prison to those who are bound;[b]2to proclaim the year of theLord's favor,and the day of vengeance of our God;to comfort all who mourn;3to grant to those who mourn in Zionto give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,the oil of gladness instead of mourning,the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;that they may be called oaks of righteousness,the planting of theLord,that he may be glorified.[c]4They shall build up the ancient ruins;they shall raise up the former devastations;they shall repair the ruined cities,the devastations of many generations.
5Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks;foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers;6but you shall be called the priests of theLord;they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God;you shall eat the wealth of the nations,and in their glory you shall boast.7Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion;instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot;therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion;they shall have everlasting joy.
8For I theLordlove justice;I hate robbery and wrong;[d]I will faithfully give them their recompense,and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.9Their offspring shall be known among the nations,and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;all who see them shall acknowledge them,that they are an offspring theLordhas blessed.
10I will greatly rejoice in theLord;my soul shall exult in my God,for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,as a bridegroom decks himselflike a priest with a beautiful headdress,and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.11For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,so the LordGodwill causerighteousness and praiseto sprout up before all the nations.
The Future Glory of Israel
60Arise, shine, for your light has come,andthe glory of theLordhas risen upon you.2For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,and thick darkness the peoples;but theLordwill arise upon you,and his glory will be seen upon you.3And nations shall come to your light,and kings to the brightness of your rising.
4Lift up your eyes all around, and see;they all gather together, they come to you;your sons shall come from afar,and your daughters shall be carried on the hip.5Then you shall see andbe radiant;your heart shall thrill and exult,[a]because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,the wealth of the nations shall come to you.6A multitude of camels shall cover you,the young camels ofMidian andEphah;all those fromSheba shall come.They shall bring gold and frankincense,and shall bring good news, the praises of theLord.7All the flocks ofKedar shall be gathered to you;the rams ofNebaioth shall minister to you;they shall come up with acceptance on my altar,and I will beautify my beautiful house.
8Who are these that fly like a cloud,andlike doves to their windows?9Forthe coastlands shall hope for me,the ships of Tarshish first,to bring your children from afar,their silver and gold with them,for the name of theLordyour God,and for the Holy One of Israel,becausehe has made you beautiful.
10Foreigners shall build up your walls,andtheir kings shall minister to you;for in my wrath I struck you,but in my favor I have had mercy on you.11Your gates shall be open continually;day and night they shall not be shut,that people may bring to you the wealth of the nations,with their kings led in procession.12For the nation and kingdomthat will not serve you shall perish;those nations shall be utterly laid waste.13The glory of Lebanon shall come to you,the cypress, the plane, andthe pine,to beautify the place of my sanctuary,and I will make the place of my feet glorious.14The sons of those who afflicted youshall come bending low to you,and all who despised youshall bow down at your feet;they shall call you the City of theLord,the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
15Whereas you have been forsaken and hated,with no one passing through,I will make you majestic forever,a joy from age to age.16You shall suck the milk of nations;you shall nurse at the breast of kings;and you shall know thatI, theLord, am your Saviorand your Redeemer,the Mighty One of Jacob.
17Instead of bronze I will bring gold,and instead of iron I will bring silver;instead of wood, bronze,instead of stones, iron.I will make your overseers peaceand your taskmasters righteousness.18Violence shall no more be heard in your land,devastation or destruction within your borders;you shall call your walls Salvation,and your gates Praise.
19The sun shall be no moreyour light by day,nor for brightness shall the moongive you light;[b]but theLordwill be your everlasting light,and your God will be your glory.[c]20Your sun shall no more go down,nor your moon withdraw itself;for theLordwill be your everlasting light,andyour days of mourning shall be ended.21Your people shall all be righteous;they shall possess the land forever,the branch of my planting, the work of my hands,that I might be glorified.[d]22The least one shall become a clan,and the smallest one a mighty nation;I am theLord;in its time I will hasten it.
Samuel Judges Israel 3And Samuel said to all the house of Israel,If you are returning to theLordwith all your heart, thenput away the foreign gods and theAshtaroth from among you anddirect your heart to theLordand serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.4So the people of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and they served theLordonly. 5Then Samuel said, Gather all Israel atMizpah, and I will pray to theLordfor you.6So they gathered atMizpahand drew water and poured it out before theLordand fasted on that day and said there,We have sinned against theLord. And Samuel judged the people of Israel at Mizpah.7Now when the Philistines heard that the people of Israel had gathered at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the people of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines.8And the people of Israel said to Samuel, Do not cease to cry out to theLordour God for us, that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines.9So Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to theLord. AndSamuel cried out to theLordfor Israel, and theLordanswered him.10As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel.But theLordthundered with a mighty sound that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion, and they were defeated before Israel.11And the men of Israel went out from Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them, as far as below Beth-car. 12Then Samueltook a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen[a]and called its name Ebenezer;[b]for he said, Till now theLordhas helped us.13So the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the territory of Israel. And the hand of theLordwas against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.14The cities that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath, and Israel delivered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. There was peace also between Israel and the Amorites. 15Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.16And he went on a circuit year by year to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah. And he judged Israel in all these places.17Then he would return toRamah, for his home was there, and there also he judged Israel.And he built there an altar to theLord.
The Ark Returned to Israel 6The ark of theLordwas in the country of the Philistines seven months.2And the Philistines called for the priests andthe diviners and said, What shall we do with the ark of theLord? Tell us with what we shall send it to its place.3They said, If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty, but by all means return hima guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you whyhis hand does not turn away from you.4And they said, What is the guilt offering that we shall return to him? They answered, Five goldentumors and five golden mice,according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for the same plague was on all of you and on your lords.5So you must make images of yourtumors and images of your mice that ravage the land,and give glory to the God of Israel. Perhapshe will lighten his hand from off youand your gods and your land.6Why should you harden your hearts asthe Egyptians andPharaoh hardened their hearts? After he had dealt severely with them,did they not send the people away, and they departed?7Now then, take and preparea new cart and two milk cowson which there has never come a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from them.8And take the ark of theLordand place it on the cart and put in a box at its sidethe figures of gold, which you are returning to him asa guilt offering. Then send it off and let it go its way9and watch. If it goes up on the way to its own land, toBeth-shemesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm, but if not, then we shall know that it is nothis hand that struck us; it happened to us by coincidence. 10The men did so, and took two milk cows and yoked them to the cart and shut up their calves at home.11And they put the ark of theLordon the cart and the box with the golden mice and the images of their tumors.12And the cows went straight in the direction ofBeth-shemesh alongone highway, lowing as they went. They turned neither to the right nor to the left, and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as the border ofBeth-shemesh.13Now the people ofBeth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. And when they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, they rejoiced to see it.14The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there.A great stone was there. And they split up the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to theLord.15And the Levites took down the ark of theLordand the box that was beside it, in which were the golden figures, and set them uponthe great stone. And the men ofBeth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices on that day to theLord.16And whenthe five lords of the Philistines saw it, they returned that day to Ekron. 17These are the golden tumors that the Philistines returned as aguilt offering to theLord: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron,18and the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords,both fortified cities and unwalled villages.The great stone beside which they set down the ark of theLordis a witness to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh. 19And he struck some of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they looked upon the ark of theLord. He struck seventy men of them,[a]and the people mourned because theLordhad struck the people with a great blow.20Then the men of Beth-shemesh said,Who is able to stand before theLord, this holy God? And to whom shall he go up away from us?21So they sent messengers to the inhabitants ofKiriath-jearim, saying, The Philistines have returned the ark of theLord. Come down and take it up to you. 7And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the ark of theLordand brought it to the house ofAbinadab on the hill. And they consecrated his son Eleazar to have charge of the ark of theLord.2From the day that the ark was lodged at Kiriath-jearim, a long time passed, some twenty years, and all the house of Israel lamented after theLord.
The Philistines and the Ark 5When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it fromEbenezer toAshdod.2Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up besideDagon.3And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold,Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of theLord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place.4But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of theLord,and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him.5This is why the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagondo not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day. 6The hand of theLordwas heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them withtumors, both Ashdod and its territory.7And when the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our god.8So they sent and gathered together allthe lords of the Philistines and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? They answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath. So they brought the ark of the God of Israel there.9But after they had brought it around,the hand of theLordwas against the city, causing a very great panic, and he afflicted the men of the city, both young and old, so thattumors broke out on them.10So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. But as soon as the ark of God came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, They have brought around to us the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our people.11They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people. For there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city.The hand of God was very heavy there.12The men who did not die were struck withtumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven. The Ark Returned to Israel 6The ark of theLordwas in the country of the Philistines seven months.2And the Philistines called for the priests andthe diviners and said, What shall we do with the ark of theLord? Tell us with what we shall send it to its place.3They said, If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty, but by all means return hima guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you whyhis hand does not turn away from you.4And they said, What is the guilt offering that we shall return to him? They answered, Five goldentumors and five golden mice,according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for the same plague was on all of you and on your lords.5So you must make images of yourtumors and images of your mice that ravage the land,and give glory to the God of Israel. Perhapshe will lighten his hand from off youand your gods and your land.6Why should you harden your hearts asthe Egyptians andPharaoh hardened their hearts? After he had dealt severely with them,did they not send the people away, and they departed?7Now then, take and preparea new cart and two milk cowson which there has never come a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from them.8And take the ark of theLordand place it on the cart and put in a box at its sidethe figures of gold, which you are returning to him asa guilt offering. Then send it off and let it go its way9and watch. If it goes up on the way to its own land, toBeth-shemesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm, but if not, then we shall know that it is nothis hand that struck us; it happened to us by coincidence. 10The men did so, and took two milk cows and yoked them to the cart and shut up their calves at home.11And they put the ark of theLordon the cart and the box with the golden mice and the images of their tumors.12And the cows went straight in the direction ofBeth-shemesh alongone highway, lowing as they went. They turned neither to the right nor to the left, and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as the border ofBeth-shemesh.
The Philistines Capture the Ark 4And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped atEbenezer, and the Philistines encamped atAphek.2The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle.3And when the people came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, Why has theLorddefeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of theLordherefrom Shiloh, that it[a]may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.4So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of theLordof hosts,who is enthroned on the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. 5As soon as the ark of the covenant of theLordcame into the camp, all Israelgave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded.6And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean? And when they learned that the ark of theLordhad come to the camp,7the Philistines were afraid, for they said, A god has come into the camp. And they said, Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before.8Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness.9Take courage, and be men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrewsas they have been to you; be men and fight. 10So the Philistines fought,and Israel was defeated,and they fled, every man to his home. And there was a very great slaughter, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell.11And the ark of God was captured,and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died. The Death of Eli 12A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day,with his clothes torn and with dirt on his head.13When he arrived,Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told the news, all the city cried out.14When Eli heard the sound of the outcry, he said, What is this uproar? Then the man hurried and came and told Eli.15Now Eli was ninety-eight years oldand his eyes were set so that he could not see.16And the man said to Eli, I am he who has come from the battle; I fled from the battle today. And he said,How did it go, my son?17He who brought the news answered and said, Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great defeat among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.18As soon as he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backwardfrom his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years. 19Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth. And when she heard the news that the ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed and gave birth, for her pains came upon her.20And about the time of her death the women attending her said to her,Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son. But she did not answer or pay attention.21And she named the childIchabod, saying,The glory has departed[b]from Israel! becausethe ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband.22And she said, The glory has departed from Israel,for the ark of God has been captured.
TheLordCalls Samuel 3Now the boy Samuel was ministering to theLordin the presence of Eli.And the word of theLordwas rare in those days; there was no frequent vision. 2At that time Eli,whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place.3The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying downin the temple of theLord, where the ark of God was. 4Then theLordcalled Samuel, and he said, Here I am!5and ran to Eli and said, Here I am, for you called me. But he said, I did not call; lie down again. So he went and lay down. 6And theLordcalled again, Samuel! and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, Here I am, for you called me. But he said, I did not call, my son; lie down again.7Now Samuel did not yet know theLord, and the word of theLordhad not yet been revealed to him. 8And theLordcalled Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, Here I am, for you called me. Then Eli perceived that theLordwas calling the boy.9Therefore Eli said to Samuel, Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, Speak,Lord, for your servant hears. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10And theLordcame and stood, calling as at other times, Samuel! Samuel! And Samuel said, Speak, for your servant hears.11Then theLordsaid to Samuel, Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israelat which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.12On that day I will fulfill against Eliall that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end.13And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew,because his sons were blaspheming God,[a]and he did not restrain them.14Therefore I swear to the house of Elithat the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever. 15Samuel lay until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of theLord. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli.16But Eli called Samuel and said, Samuel, my son. And he said, Here I am.17And Eli said, What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me.May God do so to you and more also if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.18So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said,It is theLord. Let him do what seems good to him. 19And Samuel grew, and theLordwas with himand let none of his words fall to the ground.20And all Israelfrom Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of theLord.21And theLordappeared again at Shiloh, for theLordrevealed himself to Samuelat Shilohby the word of theLord.
Eli's Worthless Sons 12Now the sons of Eli wereworthless men.They did not know theLord.13The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant would come, while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand,14and he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot. All that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they did at Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.15Moreover,before the fat was burned, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, Give meat for the priest to roast, for he will not accept boiled meat from you but only raw.16And if the man said to him, Let them burn the fat first, and then take as much as you wish, he would say, No, you must give it now, and if not, I will take it by force.17Thus the sin of the young men was very greatin the sight of theLord,for the men treated the offering of theLordwith contempt. 18Samuel was ministering before theLord, a boyclothed with a linen ephod.19And his mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each yearwhen she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.20Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, May theLordgive you children by this womanfor the petition she asked of theLord. So then they would return to their home. 21Indeed theLordvisited Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters.And the boy Samuel grew in the presence of theLord. Eli Rebukes His Sons 22Now Eli was very old, and he kept hearing all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women whowere serving at the entrance to the tent of meeting.23And he said to them, Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all these people.24No, my sons; it is no good report that I hear the people of theLordspreading abroad.25If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against theLord, who can intercede for him? But they would not listen to the voice of their father,for it was the will of theLordto put them to death. 26Now the boy Samuelcontinued to grow both in stature and in favor with theLordand also with man. TheLordRejects Eli's Household 27And there camea man of God to Eli and said to him, Thus says theLord,Did I indeed reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt subject to the house of Pharaoh?28Did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense,to wear an ephod before me?I gave to the house of your father all my offerings by fire from the people of Israel.29Why then do youscorn[a]my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded for my dwelling, and honor your sons above me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?30Therefore theLord, the God of Israel, declares:I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,but now theLorddeclares: Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed.31Behold,the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father's house, so that there will not be an old man in your house.32Thenin distress you will look with envious eye on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed on Israel,and there shall not be an old man in your house forever.33The only one of you whom I shall not cut off from my altar shall be spared to weep his[b]eyes out to grieve his heart, and all the descendants[c]of your house shall die by the sword of men.[d]34And this that shall come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you: both of them shall dieon the same day.35And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind.And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out beforemy anointed forever.36And everyone who is left in your house shall come to implore him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread and shall say, Please put me in one of the priests' places, that I may eat a morsel of bread.
Samuel Given to theLord 21The man Elkanah and all his housewent up to offer to theLordthe yearly sacrifice and to pay his vow.22But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him, so that he may appear in the presence of theLordand dwell there forever.23Elkanah her husband said to her, Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him;only, may theLordestablish his word. So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him.24And when she had weaned him,she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull,[a]an ephah[b]of flour, and a skin of wine, and she brought him tothe house of theLordat Shiloh. And the child was young.25Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli.26And she said, Oh, my lord!As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to theLord.27For this child I prayed,and theLordhas granted me my petition that I made to him.28Therefore I have lent him to theLord. As long as he lives, he is lent to theLord. And he worshiped theLordthere. Hannah's Prayer 2And Hannah prayed and said,
My heart exults in theLord;my horn is exalted in theLord.My mouth derides my enemies,becauseI rejoice in your salvation.
2There is none holy like theLord:for there is none besides you;there isno rock like our God.3Talk no more so very proudly,let not arrogance come from your mouth;for theLordis a God of knowledge,and by him actions are weighed.4The bows of the mighty are broken,but the feeble bind on strength.5Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.The barren has borne seven,but she who has many children is forlorn.6TheLordkills and brings to life;he brings down to Sheol and raises up.7TheLordmakes poor and makes rich;he brings low and he exalts.8He raises up the poor from the dust;he lifts the needy from the ash heapto make them sit with princesand inherit a seat of honor.For the pillars of the earth are theLord's,and on them he has set the world.
9He will guard the feet of his faithful ones,but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness,for not by might shall a man prevail.10The adversaries of theLordshall be broken to pieces;against them he will thunder in heaven.TheLordwill judge the ends of the earth;he will give strength to his kingand exalt the horn of his anointed.
11Then Elkanah went hometo Ramah.And the boy[c]was ministering to theLordin the presence of Eli the priest.
The Birth of Samuel1There was a certain man ofRamathaim-zophim ofthe hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph,an Ephrathite.2He had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other, Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.3Now this man used to go upyear by year from his cityto worship and to sacrifice to theLordof hostsat Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests of theLord.4On the day when Elkanah sacrificed,he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters.5But to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though theLordhad closed her womb.[a]6And her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because theLordhad closed her womb.7So it went on year by year. As often as she went up to the house of theLord, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat.8And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad?Am I not more to you than ten sons?9After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost ofthe temple of theLord.10She wasdeeply distressed and prayed to theLordand wept bitterly.11And shevowed a vow and said, OLordof hosts, if you will indeedlook on the affliction of your servant andremember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to theLordall the days of his life,and no razor shall touch his head.12As she continued praying before theLord, Eli observed her mouth.13Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman.14And Eli said to her, How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.15But Hannah answered, No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, butI have been pouring out my soul before theLord.16Do not regard your servant asa worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.17Then Eli answered,Go in peace, and the God of Israelgrant your petition that you have made to him.18And she said,Let your servant find favor in your eyes. Then the womanwent her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.19They rose early in the morning and worshiped before theLord; then they went back to their house atRamah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and theLordremembered her.20And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, I have asked for him from theLord.[b]
John 15:1616You did not choose me, butI chose you and appointed you that you should go andbear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so thatwhatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.John 17:2020I do notask for these only, but also for thosewho will believe in me through their word,Matthew 28Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene andthe other Mary went to see the tomb.2And behold, there was a great earthquake, foran angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.3His appearance was like lightning, andhis clothing white as snow.4And for fear of him the guards trembled andbecame like dead men.5But the angel said to the women, Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.6He is not here, for he has risen,as he said. Come, see the place where he[a]lay.7Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold,he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.8So they departed quickly from the tombwith fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.9And behold, Jesusmet them and said,Greetings!And they came up andtook hold of his feet andworshiped him.10Then Jesus said to them,Do not be afraid;go and tellmy brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.11While they were going, behold, some ofthe guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place.12And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers13and said, Tell people,His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.14And if this comes tothe governor's ears, we willsatisfy him and keep you out of trouble.15So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jewsto this day.16Now the eleven discipleswent to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.17And when they saw him theyworshiped him, but some doubted.18And Jesus came and said to them,All authorityin heaven and on earth has been given to me.19Go therefore andmake disciples ofall nations,baptizing themin[b]the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,20teaching themto observe all thatI have commanded you. And behold,I am with you always, tothe end of the age.
17AndJesus, aware of this, said to them,Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread?Do you not yet perceiveor understand?Are your hearts hardened?
18As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.19Andfor their sakeI consecrate myself,[a]that they alsomay be sanctified[b]in truth.25O righteous Father, even thoughthe world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me.26I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the lovewith which you have loved me may be in them, andI in them.
19Go therefore andmake disciples ofall nations,baptizing themin[a]the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,20teaching themto observe all thatI have commanded you. And behold,I am with you always, tothe end of the age.
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit15If you love me, you willkeep my commandments.16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you anotherHelper,[a]to be with you forever,17eventhe Spirit of truth,whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you andwill be[b]in you.18I will not leave you as orphans;I will come to you.19Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, butyou will see me.Because I live, you also will live.20In that day you will know thatI am in my Father, andyou in me, andI in you.21Whoever has my commandments andkeeps them, he it is who loves me. Andhe who loves mewill be loved by my Father, and I will love him andmanifest myself to him.
13And when day came,he called his disciplesandchose from them twelve, whom he namedapostles:
The Resurrection28Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene andthe other Mary went to see the tomb.2And behold, there was a great earthquake, foran angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.3His appearance was like lightning, andhis clothing white as snow.4And for fear of him the guards trembled andbecame like dead men.5But the angel said to the women, Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.6He is not here, for he has risen,as he said. Come, see the place where he[a]lay.7Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold,he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.8So they departed quickly from the tombwith fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.9And behold, Jesusmet them and said,Greetings!And they came up andtook hold of his feet andworshiped him.10Then Jesus said to them,Do not be afraid;go and tellmy brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.
The Crucifixion32As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man tocarry his cross.33And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull),34they offered him wine to drink, mixed withgall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it.35And when they had crucified him,they divided his garments among them by casting lots.36Then they sat down andkept watch over him there.37And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, This is Jesus,the King of the Jews.38Then tworobbers were crucified with him,one on the right and one on the left.39Andthose who passed byderided him,wagging their heads40and saying,You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself!If you arethe Son of God, come down from the cross.41So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying,42He saved others;he cannot save himself.He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.43He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, I am the Son of God.44And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.The Death of Jesus45Now from the sixth hour[a]there was darkness over all the land[b]until the ninth hour.[c]46And about the ninth hour Jesuscried out with a loud voice, saying,Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?that is,My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?47And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, This man is calling Elijah.48And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it withsour wine, and put it on a reed andgave it to him to drink.49But the others said, Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.50And Jesuscried out again with a loud voice andyielded up his spirit.51And behold,the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. Andthe earth shook, and the rocks were split.52The tombs also were opened. And many bodies ofthe saintswho had fallen asleep were raised,53and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went intothe holy city and appeared to many.54When the centurion and those who were with him,keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said,Truly this was the Son[d]of God!55There were alsomany women there, looking onfrom a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee,ministering to him,
The Triumphal Entry21Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, tothe Mount of Olives, then Jesussent two disciples,2saying to them,Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me.3If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, The Lord needs them, and he will send them at once.4This took placeto fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,5Say to the daughter of Zion,Behold, your king is coming to you,humble, and mounted on a donkey,on a colt,[a]the foal of a beast of burden.6The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them.7They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them.8Most of the crowdspread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.9And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting,Hosanna tothe Son of David!Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosannain the highest!10Andwhen he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, Who is this?11And the crowds said, This isthe prophet Jesus,from Nazareth of Galilee.
25For circumcision indeed is of valueif you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision.26So, ifa man who is uncircumcised keepsthe precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded[a]as circumcision?27Then he who is physically[b]uncircumcised but keeps the lawwill condemn you who havethe written code[c]and circumcision but break the law.28Forno one is a Jewwho is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical.29But a Jew is oneinwardly, andcircumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter.His praise is not from man but from God.
17But if you call yourself a Jew andrely on the law and boast in God18and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law;19and if you are sure that you yourself area guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,20an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the lawthe embodiment ofknowledge and truth21you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal?22You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do yourob temples?23You whoboast in the lawdishonor God by breaking the law.24For,as it is written, The name of God is blasphemedamong the Gentiles because of you.
14For when Gentiles, who do not have the law,by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law.15They show that the work of the law iswritten on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them16on that day when,according to my gospel, God judgesthe secrets of menby Christ Jesus.
God's Judgment and the Law12For all who have sinnedwithout the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.13Forit is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.
6He will render to each one according to his works:7to those whoby patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;8but for those who are self-seeking[a]anddo not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.9There will be tribulation and distressfor every human being who does evil, the Jewfirst and also the Greek,10but glory and honor andpeace for everyone who does good,the Jew first and also the Greek.11ForGod shows no partiality.
God's Righteous Judgment2Therefore you haveno excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. Forin passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.2We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things.3Do you suppose, O manyou who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourselfthat you will escape the judgment of God?4Or do you presume onthe riches of his kindness andforbearance andpatience,not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?5But because of your hard and impenitent heart you arestoring upwrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.
26For this reasonGod gave them up todishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature;27and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another,men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.28And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God,God gave them up toa debased mind to dowhat ought not to be done.29They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,30slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,31foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.32Though they knowGod's righteous decree that those who practice such thingsdeserve to die, they not only do them butgive approval to those who practice them.
19For what can beknown about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.20For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature,have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,[a]in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.21For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but theybecame futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.22Claiming to be wise, they became fools,23andexchanged the glory ofthe immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.24ThereforeGod gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, tothe dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,25because they exchanged the truth about God fora lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator,who is blessed forever! Amen.Romans 1:19-25
God's Wrath on Unrighteousness18Forthe wrath of Godis revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.Romans 1:18 ESV
The Righteous Shall Live by Faith16ForI am not ashamed of the gospel, for it isthe power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jewfirst and also tothe Greek.17For in itthe righteousness of God is revealedfrom faith for faith,[a]as it is written, The righteous shall live by faith.Romans 1:16-17 ESV
Longing to Go to Rome8First,I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you,because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.9For God is my witness,whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son,that without ceasing I mention you10always in my prayers, asking that somehowby God's will I may now at last succeed in coming to you.11ForI long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you12that is, that we may be mutually encouragedby each other's faith, both yours and mine.13I do not want you to be unaware, brothers,[a]thatI have often intended to come to you (butthus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap someharvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles.14I am under obligation both to Greeks and tobarbarians,[b]both to the wise and to the foolish.Romans 1:8-14 ESV
1Paul,a servant[a]of Christ Jesus,called to be an apostle,set apart for the gospel of God,2whichhe promised beforehandthrough his prophets in the holy Scriptures,3concerning his Son,who was descended from David[b]according to the flesh4andwas declared to be the Son of Godin power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,5through whomwe have received grace andapostleshipto bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his nameamong all the nations,6including you who arecalled to belong to Jesus Christ,7To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.Romans 1:1-7 ESV
The Shepherds and the Angels8And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.9And an angel of the Lordappeared to them, andthe glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.10And the angel said to them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for allthe people.11Forunto you is born this day inthe city of Davida Savior, who isChristthe Lord.12Andthis will be a sign for you: you will find a babywrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.13And suddenly there was with the angela multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,14Glory to Godin the highest,and on earthpeaceamong those with whom he is pleased![a]15When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.16And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the babylying in a manger.17And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.18And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.19ButMary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.20And the shepherds returned,glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
In those daysa decree went out fromCaesar Augustus that all the world should beregistered.2This was the firstregistration when[a]Quiriniuswas governor of Syria.3And all went to be registered, each to his own town.4And Joseph also went upfrom Galilee, from the town ofNazareth, to Judea, tothe city of David, which is calledBethlehem,because he was of the house and lineage of David,5to be registered with Mary, his betrothed,[b]who was with child.6Andwhile they were there, the time came for her to give birth.7And she gave birth to her firstborn son andwrapped him in swaddling cloths andlaid him in a manger, because there was no place for them inthe inn.Luke 2:1-7 ESV
In those daysa decree went out fromCaesar Augustus that all the world should beregistered.2This was the firstregistration when[a]Quiriniuswas governor of Syria.3And all went to be registered, each to his own town.4And Joseph also went upfrom Galilee, from the town ofNazareth, to Judea, tothe city of David, which is calledBethlehem,because he was of the house and lineage of David,5to be registered with Mary, his betrothed,[b]who was with child.6Andwhile they were there, the time came for her to give birth.7And she gave birth to her firstborn son andwrapped him in swaddling cloths andlaid him in a manger, because there was no place for them inthe inn.Luke 2:1-7 ESV
The Birth of John the Baptist57Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son.58And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lordhad shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.59Andon the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father,60but his mother answered, No;he shall be called John.61And they said to her, None of your relatives is called by this name.62Andthey made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called.63And he asked fora writing tablet and wrote,His name is John. And they all wondered.64And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongueloosed, and he spoke,blessing God.65Andfear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through allthe hill country of Judea,66and all who heard themlaid them up in their hearts, saying, What then will this child be? Forthe hand of the Lord was with him.Zechariah's Prophecy67And his father Zechariahwas filled with the Holy Spirit andprophesied, saying,68Blessed be the LordGod of Israel,for he hasvisited andredeemed his people69andhas raised upa horn of salvation for usin the house of his servant David,70ashe spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,71that we should be saved from our enemiesand from the hand of all who hate us;72to show the mercy promised to our fathersandto remember his holycovenant,73the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us74that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,might serve himwithout fear,75in holiness and righteousness before himall our days.76And you, child, will be calledthe prophet ofthe Most High;foryou will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,77to give knowledge of salvation to his peoplein the forgiveness of their sins,78because of thetender mercy of our God,wherebythe sunrise shallvisit us[a]from on high79togive light tothose who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,to guide our feet intothe way ofpeace.80And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he wasin the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.Luke 1:57-80 ESV
39In those days Mary arose and went with haste intothe hill country, to a town in Judah,40and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.41And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabethwas filled with the Holy Spirit,42and she exclaimed with a loud cry,Blessed are you among women, andblessed isthe fruit of your womb!43And why is this granted to me that the mother ofmy Lord should come to me?44For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.45Andblessed is she who believed that there would be[a]a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.Mary's Song of Praise: The Magnificat46And Mary said,Mysoulmagnifies the Lord,47and myspirit rejoices inGod my Savior,48forhe has looked on the humble estate of his servant.For behold, from now on all generationswill call me blessed;49forhe who is mightyhas done great things for me,andholy is his name.50Andhis mercy is for those who fear himfrom generation to generation.51He has shown strength with his arm;he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;52he has brought down the mighty from their thronesand exalted those of humble estate;53he has filledthe hungry with good things,and the richhe has sent away empty.54He hashelpedhis servant Israel,in remembrance of his mercy,55as he spoke to our fathers,to Abraham and to his offspring forever.56And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.Luke 1:39-56 ESV
26In the sixth month the angelGabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee namedNazareth,27to a virgin betrothed[a]to a man whose name was Joseph,of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary.28And he came to her and said, Greetings,O favored one,the Lord is with you![b]29Butshe was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.30And the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, foryou have found favor with God.31And behold,you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, andyou shall call his name Jesus.32He will be great and will be called the Son ofthe Most High. And the Lord Godwill give to him the throne ofhis father David,33and he will reign over the house of Jacobforever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.34And Mary said to the angel, How will this be, since I am a virgin?[c]35And the angel answered her,The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power ofthe Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born[d]will be calledholythe Son of God.36And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with herwho was called barren.37Fornothing will be impossible with God.38And Mary said, Behold, I am the servant[e]of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word. Andthe angel departed from her.Luke 1:26-38 ESV
1Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things thathave been accomplished among us,2just as those whofrom the beginning wereeyewitnesses andministers ofthe wordhave delivered them to us,3it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to writean orderly account for you,most excellentTheophilus,4that you may havecertainty concerning the thingsyou have been taught. Birth of John the Baptist Foretold 5In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,[a]ofthe division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.6And they were bothrighteous before God, walkingblamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.7But they had no child, becauseElizabeth was barren, andboth were advanced in years. 8Nowwhile he was serving as priest before God whenhis division was on duty,9according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lotto enterthe temple of the Lord and burn incense.10And the whole multitude of the peoplewere prayingoutside at the hour of incense.11And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side ofthe altar of incense.12And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, andfear fell upon him.13But the angel said to him, Do not be afraid, Zechariah, foryour prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, andyou shall call his name John.14And you will have joy and gladness, and many willrejoice at his birth,15for he will begreat before the Lord. Andhe must not drink wine or strongdrink, andhe will befilled with the Holy Spirit,even from his mother's womb.16And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God,17andhe will go before himin the spirit and power of Elijah,to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, andthe disobedient to the wisdom of the just,to make ready for the Lord a people prepared. 18And Zechariah said to the angel,How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.19And the angel answered him, I amGabriel.I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.20And behold,you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.21And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay inthe temple.22And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision inthe temple. Andhe kept making signs to them and remained mute.23Andwhen his time ofservice was ended, he went to his home. 24After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying,25Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me,to take away my reproach among people. Luke 1:1-25 ESV
35Thus says theLord,whogives the sun for light by dayandthe fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,who stirs up the sea so that its waves roartheLordof hosts is his name:36If this fixed order departsfrom before me, declares theLord,then shall the offspring of Israel ceasefrom being a nation before me forever.
37Thus says theLord:If the heavens above can be measured,and the foundations of the earth below can be explored,then I will cast off all the offspring of Israelfor all that they have done,declares theLord.
38Behold, the days are coming, declares theLord, when the city shall be rebuilt for theLordfrom the Tower of Hananel tothe Corner Gate.39And the measuring line shall go out farther, straight to the hill Gareb, and shall then turn to Goah.40The whole valley of the dead bodies and the ashes, and all the fields as far as thebrook Kidron, to the corner ofthe Horse Gate toward the east,shall be sacred to theLord.It shall not be plucked up or overthrown anymore forever. Jeremiah 31:35-40 ESV
33For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares theLord:I will put my law within them, and I will write iton their hearts.And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.34And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, Know theLord,for they shall all know me,from the least of them to the greatest, declares theLord. ForI will forgive their iniquity, andI will remember their sin no more. Jeremiah 31:33-34 ESV
31Behold, the days are coming, declares theLord, when I will makea new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,32not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day whenI took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke,though I was their husband, declares theLord.33For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares theLord:I will put my law within them, and I will write iton their hearts.And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Jeremiah 31:31-33 ESV
23Thus says theLordof hosts, the God of Israel: Once more they shall use these words in the land of Judah and in its cities,when I restore their fortunes:
TheLordbless you,O habitation of righteousness,O holy hill!
24And Judah and all its cities shall dwell there together, andthe farmers and those who wander with their flocks.25For I willsatisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish. 26At this I awoke and looked, and my sleep was pleasant to me. 27Behold, the days are coming, declares theLord, whenI will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah withthe seed of man and the seed of beast.28And it shall come to pass thatas I have watched over themto pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring harm,so I will watch over themto build and to plant, declares theLord.29In those days they shall no longer say:
The fathers have eaten sour grapes,and the children's teeth are set on edge.
30But everyone shall die for his own iniquity. Each man who eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.
15Thus says theLord:A voice is heard inRamah,lamentation and bitter weeping.Rachel is weeping for her children;she refuses to be comforted for her children,because they are no more.
16Thus says theLord:Keep your voice from weeping,and your eyes from tears,for there is a reward for your work,declares theLord,andthey shall come back from the land of the enemy.17There is hope for your future,declares theLord,and your children shall come back to their own country.18I have heardEphraim grieving,You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined,like an untrained calf;bring me back that I may be restored,for you are theLordmy God.19For afterI had turned away, I relented,and after I was instructed,I struck my thigh;I was ashamed, and I was confounded,because I bore the disgrace of my youth.20Is Ephraim my dear son?Is he my darling child?For as often as I speak against him,I do remember him still.Therefore my heart[a]yearns for him;I will surely have mercy on him,declares theLord.
21Set up road markers for yourself;make yourself guideposts;consider well the highway,the road by which you went.Return, O virgin Israel,return to these your cities.22How long will you waver,O faithless daughter?For theLordhas created a new thing on the earth:a woman encircles a man. Jeremiah 31:15-22 ESV
7 For thus says the Lord: Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and raise shouts for the chief of the nations; proclaim, give praise, and say, O Lord, save your people, the remnant of Israel. 8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, the pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together; a great company, they shall return here. 9 With weeping they shall come, and with pleas for mercy I will lead them back, I will make them walk by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they shall not stumble, for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. 10 Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, and declare it in the coastlands far away; say, He who scattered Israel will gather him, and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock. 11 For the Lord has ransomed Jacob and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him. 12 They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord, over the grain, the wine, and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; their life shall be like a watered garden, and they shall languish no more. 13 Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy; I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow. 14 I will feast the soul of the priests with abundance, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, declares the Lord. Jeremiah 31:7-14 ESV
31At that time, declares theLord,I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they shall be my people.
2Thus says theLord:The people who survived the swordfound grace in the wilderness;when Israel sought for rest,3theLordappeared to him[a]from far away.I have loved you with an everlasting love;thereforeI have continuedmy faithfulness to you.4Again I will build you, and you shall be built,O virgin Israel!Again you shall adorn yourself with tambourinesand shall go forth inthe dance of the merrymakers.5Again you shall plant vineyardson the mountains of Samaria;the planters shall plantand shall enjoy the fruit.6For there shall be a day when watchmen will callinthe hill country of Ephraim:Arise, and let us go up to Zion,to theLordour God.
12When I send Artemas orTychicus to you, do your best to come to meat Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there.13Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer andApollos on their way; see that they lack nothing.14And let our people learnto devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and notbe unfruitful. 15All who are with me send greetings to you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Titus 3:12-15 ESV
4But whenthe goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared,5he saved us,not because of works done by us in righteousness, butaccording to his own mercy, bythe washing of regeneration andrenewal of the Holy Spirit,6whom hepoured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,7so thatbeing justified by his grace we might becomeheirsaccording to the hope of eternal life.8The saying istrustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be carefulto devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.9Butavoid foolishcontroversies,genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, forthey are unprofitable and worthless.10As for a person who stirs up division,after warning him once and then twice,have nothing more to do with him,11knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned. Titus 3:4-11 ESV
Remind themto be submissive to rulers and authorities,to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,2to speak evil of no one,to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, andto show perfect courtesy toward all people.3Forwe ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.4But whenthe goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared,5he saved us,not because of works done by us in righteousness, butaccording to his own mercy, bythe washing of regeneration andrenewal of the Holy Spirit, Titus 3:1-5 ESV
11Forthe grace of Godhas appeared, bringing salvationfor all people,12training us to renounce ungodliness andworldly passions, andto live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives inthe present age,13waiting for our blessedhope, theappearing of the glory of our greatGod and Savior Jesus Christ,14who gave himself for us toredeem us from all lawlessness andto purify for himselfa people for his own possession who arezealous for good works. 15Declare these things; exhort andrebuke with all authority.Let no one disregard you. Titus 2:11-15 ESV
2But as for you, teach what accords withsound[a]doctrine.2Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled,sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness.3Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior,not slanderersor slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good,4and so train the young women to love their husbands and children,5to be self-controlled,pure,working at home, kind, andsubmissive to their own husbands,that the word of God may not be reviled.6Likewise, urgethe younger men to be self-controlled.7Show yourself in all respects to bea model of good works, and in your teachingshow integrity,dignity,8andsound speech that cannot be condemned,so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.9Bondservants[b]are to be submissive to their own mastersin everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative,10not pilfering,but showing all good faith,so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior. Titus 2:1-10 ESV
9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. Titus 1:9 ESV
5 This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you 6 if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. 7 For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, 8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.
Paul, a servant[a]of God andan apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect andtheir knowledge of the truth,which accords with godliness,2in hope of eternal life, which God,who never lies,promisedbefore the ages began[b]3andat the proper time manifested in his word[c]through the preachingwith which I have been entrustedby the command of God our Savior; 4To Titus,my true child ina common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
Paul, a servant[a]of God andan apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect andtheir knowledge of the truth,which accords with godliness,2in hope of eternal life, which God,who never lies,promisedbefore the ages began[b]3andat the proper time manifested in his word[c]through the preachingwith which I have been entrustedby the command of God our Savior;
19Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews.20But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists[a]also,preaching the Lord Jesus.21Andthe hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believedturned to the Lord.22The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.23When he came and sawthe grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lordwith steadfast purpose,24for he was a good man,full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many peoplewere added to the Lord.25So Barnabas went toTarsus to look for Saul,26and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first calledChristians.
Now the apostles andthe brothers[a]who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.2So when Peter went up to Jerusalem,the circumcision party[b]criticized him, saying,3You went to uncircumcised men andate with them.4But Peter began and explained it to them in order:5I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me.6Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air.7And I heard a voice saying to me,Rise, Peter; kill and eat.8But I said, By no means, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.9But the voice answered a second time from heaven,What God has made clean, do not call common.10This happened three times, and all was drawn up again into heaven.11And behold, at that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea.12And the Spirit told me to go with them,making no distinction.These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man's house.13And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter;14he will declare to you a message by whichyou will be saved, you and all your household.15As I began to speak,the Holy Spirit fell on themjust as on us at the beginning.16And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said,John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.17If thenGod gavethe same gift to them as he gave to uswhen we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ,who was Ithat I could stand in God's way?18When they heard these things they fell silent. And theyglorified God, saying,Then to the Gentiles also God hasgrantedrepentance that leads to life.
26 And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. 28 So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him. 30 And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.
The Conversion of Saul 9But Saul,stillbreathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went tothe high priest2and asked him for lettersto the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging tothe Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.3Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him.4And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him,Saul, Saul, why are you persecutingme?5And he said, Who are you, Lord? And he said,I am Jesus,whom you are persecuting.6Butrise and enter the city, and you will be toldwhat you are to do.7The men who were traveling with him stood speechless,hearing the voice but seeing no one.8Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened,he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.9And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. 10Now there was a disciple at Damascus namedAnanias. The Lord said to him in a vision,Ananias.And he said,Here I am, Lord.11And the Lord said to him,Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a manof Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying,12and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in andlay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.13But Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many about this man,how much evil he has done toyoursaints at Jerusalem.14And here he has authority fromthe chief priests to bind all whocall on your name.15But the Lord said to him,Go, forhe is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my namebefore the Gentiles andkings and the children of Israel.16ForI will show him how muchhe must sufferfor the sake of my name.17SoAnanias departed and entered the house. Andlaying his hands on him he said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight andbe filled with the Holy Spirit.18And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, andhe regained his sight. Thenhe rose and was baptized;19andtaking food, he was strengthened. Saul Proclaims Jesus in Synagogues Forsome days he was with the disciples at Damascus.20And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying,He is the Son of God.21And all who heard him were amazed and said, Is not this the man whomade havocin Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?22But Saulincreased all the more in strength, andconfounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by provingthat Jesus was the Christ. Saul Escapes from Damascus 23When many days had passed, the Jews[a]plotted to kill him,24but theirplot became known to Saul.They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him,25but his disciples took him by night andlet him down through an opening in the wall,[b]lowering him in a basket.
8 And Saul approved of his execution.And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. 3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the city[a] of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. 6 And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was much joy in that city.
54Now when they heard these thingsthey were enraged, and theyground their teeth at him.55But he,full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and sawthe glory of God, and Jesus standingat the right hand of God.56And he said, Behold, I seethe heavens opened, andthe Son of Man standingat the right hand of God.57But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together[a]at him.58Thenthey cast him out of the city andstoned him. Andthe witnesses laid down their garmentsat the feet of a young man named Saul.59And as they were stoning Stephen,he called out, Lord Jesus,receive my spirit.60Andfalling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice,Lord, do not hold this sin against them. And when he had said this,he fell asleep.
Many Signs and Wonders Done 12Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the peopleby the hands of the apostles. And they were alltogether inSolomon's Portico.13None of the rest dared join them, butthe people held them in high esteem.14Andmore than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women,15so that they evencarried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came byat least his shadow might fall on some of them.16The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem,bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed. The Apostles Arrested and Freed 17But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party ofthe Sadducees), and filled withjealousy18they arrested the apostles andput them in the public prison.19But during the nightan angel of the Lordopened the prison doors and brought them out, and said,20Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people allthe words ofthisLife.21And when they heard this,they entered the templeat daybreak and began to teach. Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.22But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported,23We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside.24Now whenthe captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to.25And someone came and told them, Look! The men whom you put in prisonare standing in the temple and teaching the people.26Thenthe captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, forthey were afraid of being stoned by the people. 27And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them,28saying,We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and youintend to bring this man's blood upon us.29But Peter and the apostles answered,We must obey God rather than men.30The God of our fathersraised Jesus,whom you killed by hanging him ona tree.31God exaltedhim at his right hand asLeader andSavior,to giverepentance to Israel andforgiveness of sins.32Andwe are witnesses to these things, andso is the Holy Spirit,whom God has given to those who obey him. 33When they heard this, theywere enraged and wanted to kill them.34But a Pharisee in the council namedGamaliel,a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while.35And he said to them, Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men.36Forbefore these days Theudas rose up,claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing.37After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days ofthe census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered.38So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, forif this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail;39butif it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. Youmight even be found opposing God! So they took his advice,40andwhen they had called in the apostles,they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.41Then they left the presence of the council,rejoicing that they were counted worthyto suffer dishonor forthe name.42And every day,in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching andpreachingthat the Christ is Jesus.
And as they were speaking to the people, the priests andthe captain of the temple andthe Sadducees came upon them,2greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaimingin Jesus the resurrection from the dead.3And they arrested them andput them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.4But many of those who had heard the word believed, andthe number of the men came to about five thousand. 5On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem,6withAnnas the high priest andCaiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family.7And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired,By what power orby what name did you do this?8Then Peter,filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers of the people and elders,9if we are being examined todayconcerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed,10let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel thatby the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified,whom God raised from the deadby him this man is standing before you well.11This Jesus[a]is the stone that wasrejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.[b]12And there issalvationin no one else, forthere is no othername under heaven given among men[c]by which we must be saved. 13Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.14But seeing the man who was healedstanding beside them,they had nothing to say in opposition.15But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another,16saying,What shall we do with these men? For thata notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.17But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn themto speak no more to anyone in this name.18So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.19But Peter and John answered them,Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge,20forwe cannot but speak of whatwe have seen and heard.21And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them,because of the people, for all were praising Godfor what had happened.22For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.
29Brothers, I may say to you with confidence aboutthe patriarch Davidthat he both died andwas buried, andhis tomb is with us to this day.30Being therefore a prophet, and knowing thatGod had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne,31he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, thathe was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.32This JesusGod raised up,and of that we all are witnesses.33Being thereforeexalted at the right hand of God, and having received fromthe Fatherthe promise of the Holy Spirit,he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.34ForDavid did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,
The Lord said to my Lord,Sit at my right hand,35until I make your enemies your footstool.
36Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain thatGod has made himboth Lord and Christ, this Jesuswhom you crucified. 37Now whenthey heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brothers,what shall we do?38And Peter said to them,Repent andbe baptized every one of youin the name of Jesus Christfor the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receivethe gift of the Holy Spirit.39Forthe promise is for you andfor your children and for allwho are far off, everyonewhom the Lord our God calls to himself.40And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying,Save yourselves from thiscrooked generation.41So those who received his word were baptized, andthere were added that day about three thousand souls.
22Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth,a man attested to you by Godwithmighty works and wonders and signs thatGod did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know23this Jesus,[a]delivered up according tothe definite plan andforeknowledge of God,you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.24God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, becauseit was not possible for him to be held by it.25For David says concerning him,
I saw the Lord always before me,for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;26therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;my flesh also will dwellin hope.27For you will not abandon my soul toHades,or let yourHoly Onesee corruption.28You have made known to me the paths of life;you will make me full of gladness with your presence.
14But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words.15For these people are not drunk, as you suppose,since it is only the third hour of the day.[a]16But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:
17And in the last days it shall be, God declares,that I will pour out my Spiriton all flesh,and your sons andyour daughters shall prophesy,and your young men shall see visions,and your old men shall dream dreams;18even on my male servants and female servantsin those days I will pour out my Spirit, andthey shall prophesy.19And I will show wonders in the heavens aboveand signs on the earth below,blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;20the sun shall be turned to darknessand the moon to blood,beforethe day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.21And it shall come to pass thateveryone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Whenthe day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.2And suddenly there came from heaven a sound likea mighty rushing wind, andit filled the entire house where they were sitting.3And divided tonguesas of fire appeared to them and rested[a]on each one of them.4And they were allfilled with the Holy Spirit and beganto speak in other tonguesas the Spirit gave them utterance. 5Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.6Andat this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language.7Andthey were amazed and astonished, saying, Are not all these who are speakingGalileans?8And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?9Parthians andMedes andElamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome,11both Jews andproselytes, Cretans and Arabianswe hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.12Andall were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, What does this mean?13But othersmocking said, They are filled with new wine.
Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas 12Thenthey returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away.13And when they had entered, they went up tothe upper room, where they were staying,Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simonthe Zealot and Judas the son of James.14All thesewith one accordwere devoting themselves to prayer, together withthe women and Mary the mother of Jesus, andhis brothers.[a] 15In those days Peter stood up amongthe brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said,16Brothers,the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas,who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.17Forhe was numbered among us and was allotted his share inthis ministry.18(Now this manacquired a field withthe reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong[b]he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out.19And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was calledin their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)20For it is written in the Book of Psalms,
May his camp become desolate,and let there be no one to dwell in it;
and
Let another take his office.
21So one of the men who have accompanied us duringall the time that the Lord Jesuswent in and out among us,22beginning from the baptism of John until the day whenhe was taken up from usone of these men must become with usa witness to his resurrection.23And they put forward two, Joseph calledBarsabbas, who was also calledJustus, andMatthias.24Andthey prayed and said, You, Lord,who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen25to take the place inthis ministry andapostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.26And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
6So when they had come together, they asked him, Lord,will you at this timerestore the kingdom to Israel?7He said to them,It is not for you to knowtimes or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.8But you will receivepowerwhen the Holy Spirit has come upon you, andyou will bemy witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea andSamaria, andto the end of the earth.9And when he had said these things, as they were looking on,he was lifted up, anda cloud took him out of their sight.10And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold,twomen stood by them inwhite robes,11and said,Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven,willcome in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.
In the first book, OTheophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus beganto do and teach,2until the day whenhe was taken up, after hehad given commandsthrough the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.3He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4And while staying[a]with themhe ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said,you heard from me;5forJohn baptized with water,but you will be baptizedwith[b]the Holy Spirit not many days from now.
36As they were talking about these things,Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them,Peace to you!37But they werestartled andfrightened andthought they saw a spirit.38And he said to them,Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?39See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.40And when he had said this,he showed them his hands and his feet.41And while they still disbelievedfor joy and were marveling,he said to them,Have you anything here to eat?42They gave him a piece of broiled fish,[a]43and he took it and ate before them. 44Then he said to them,These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you,that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.45Thenhe opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,46and said to them,Thusit is written,that the Christ should suffer and on the third dayrise from the dead,47and thatrepentance for[b]the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimedin his nameto all nations,beginning from Jerusalem.48You are witnesses of these things.49And behold, I am sendingthe promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until youare clothed withpowerfrom on high.
66When day came,the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes. And they led him away to theircouncil, and theysaid,67If you arethe Christ, tell us. But he said to them,If I tell you, you will not believe,68and if I ask you, you will not answer.69But from now on the Son of Man shall be seatedat the right hand of the power of God.70So they all said, Are youthe Son of God, then? And he said to them,You say that I am.71Then they said, What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.
He entered Jericho and was passing through.2And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich.3Andhe was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature.4So he ran on ahead and climbed up intoa sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.5And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him,Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, forI must stay at your house today.6So he hurried and came down andreceived him joyfully.7And when they saw it, they allgrumbled, He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.8And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goodsI give to the poor. And if I havedefrauded anyone of anything, I restore itfourfold.9And Jesus said to him,Today salvation has come to this house, sincehe also is a son of Abraham.10Forthe Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
Nowthe tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him.2And the Pharisees and the scribesgrumbled, saying,This man receives sinners andeats with them.
11And he said,There was a man who had two sons.12And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give methe share of property that is coming to me. And he dividedhis property between them.13Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property inreckless living.14And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need.15So he went and hired himself out to[a]one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs.16And hewas longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. 17Butwhen hecame to himself, he said, How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger!18I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father,I have sinned againstheaven and before you.19I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.20And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, andran andembraced him andkissed him.21And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.I am no longer worthy to be called your son.[b]22But the father said to his servants,[c]Bring quicklythe best robe, and put it on him, and puta ring on his hand, andshoes on his feet.23And bringthe fattened calf and kill it, andlet us eat and celebrate.24For this my sonwas dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to celebrate. 25Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.26And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.27And he said to him, Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.28But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him,29but he answered his father, Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I mightcelebrate with my friends.30But when this son of yours came,who has devouredyour property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!31And he said to him, Son,you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.32It was fittingto celebrate and be glad, for this your brotherwas dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.
A Sinful Woman Forgiven 36One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table.37And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment,38and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears andwiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.39Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, Ifthis man werea prophet, hewould have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.40And Jesus answering said to him,Simon, I have something to say to you.And he answered, Say it, Teacher. 41A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundreddenarii, and the other fifty.42When they could not pay, hecancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?43Simon answered, The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt. And he said to him,You have judged rightly.44Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon,Do you see this woman? I entered your house;you gave me no water for my feet, butshe has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.45You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased tokiss my feet.46You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.47Therefore I tell you, her sins,which are many, are forgivenfor she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.48And he said to her,Your sins are forgiven.49Then those who were at table with him began to say among[a]themselves,Who is this, who even forgives sins?50And he said to the woman,Your faith has saved you;go in peace.
Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things thathave been accomplished among us,2just as those whofrom the beginning wereeyewitnesses andministers ofthe wordhave delivered them to us,3it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to writean orderly account for you,most excellentTheophilus,4that you may havecertainty concerning the thingsyou have been taught. Jesus Heals a Paralytic 17On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees andteachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. Andthe power of the Lord was with him to heal.[a]18And behold, some men were bringingon a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus,19but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up onthe roof and let him down with his bedthrough the tiles into the midst before Jesus.20Andwhen he saw their faith, he said,Man,your sins are forgiven you.21And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, Who is this who speaksblasphemies?Who can forgive sins but God alone?22When Jesusperceived their thoughts, he answered them,Why do you question in your hearts?23Which is easier, to say, Your sins are forgiven you, or to say, Rise and walk?24But that you may know thatthe Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sinshe said to the man who was paralyzedI say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.25And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home,glorifying God.26And amazement seized them all, and theyglorified God and were filledwith awe, saying, We have seen extraordinary things today.
But it displeased Jonah exceedingly,[a]andhe was angry.2And he prayed to theLordand said, OLord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country?That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are agracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, andrelenting from disaster.3Therefore now, OLord, please take my life from me,for it is better for me to die than to live.4And theLordsaid,Do you do well to be angry? 5Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city andmade a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city.6Now theLordGod appointed a plant[b]and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort.[c]So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant.7But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered.8When the sun rose, God appointed a scorchingeast wind,and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that hewas faint. And he asked that he might die and said,It is better for me to die than to live.9But God said to Jonah,Do you do well to be angry for the plant? And he said, Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.10And theLordsaid, You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night.11And should not I pityNineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also muchcattle?
When Mordecai learned all that had been done, Mordecai tore his clothesand put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and he cried out with a loud and bitter cry.2He went up to the entrance of the king's gate, for no one was allowed to enter the king's gate clothed in sackcloth.3And in every province, wherever the king's command and his decree reached, there was great mourning among the Jews,with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and many of themlay in sackcloth and ashes. 4When Esther's young women and her eunuchs came and told her, the queen was deeply distressed. She sent garments to clothe Mordecai, so that he might take off his sackcloth, but he would not accept them.5Then Esther called for Hathach, one of the king's eunuchs, who had been appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what this was and why it was.6Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king's gate,7and Mordecai told him all that had happened to him,and the exact sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king's treasuries for the destruction of the Jews.8Mordecai also gave hima copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction,[a]that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her and command her to go to the king to beg his favor and plead with him[b]on behalf of her people.9And Hathach went and told Esther what Mordecai had said.10Then Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him to go to Mordecai and say,11All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king insidethe inner court without being called,there is but one lawto be put to death, except the oneto whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days. 12And they told Mordecai what Esther had said.13Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, Do not think to yourself that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews.14For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?15Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai,16Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink forthree days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law,and if I perish, I perish.[c]17Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.
1 Kings 17:1-7 1Now Elijah the Tishbite, ofTishbe[a]in Gilead, said to Ahab,As theLord, the God of Israel, lives,before whom I stand,there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.2And the word of theLordcame to him:3Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan.4You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.5So he went and did according to the word of theLord. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan.6And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.7And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land. 1 Kings 18:41-45 41And Elijah said to Ahab, Go up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of the rushing of rain.42So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel.And he bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees.43And he said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up and looked and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again, seven times.44And at the seventh time he said, Behold,a little cloud like a man's hand is rising from the sea. And he said, Go up, say to Ahab, Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.45And in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went toJezreel. James 5:17 17Elijah was a manwith a nature like ours, andhe prayed fervently that it might not rain, and forthree years and six months it did not rain on the earth.
1In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besiegedRabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. 2It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking onthe roof of the king's house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful.3And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, Is not thisBathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife ofUriah the Hittite?4So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house.5And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, I am pregnant. 6So David sent word to Joab, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David.7When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab was doing and how the people were doing and how the war was going.8Then David said to Uriah, Go down to your house andwash your feet. And Uriah went out of the king's house, and there followed him a present from the king.9But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house.10When they told David, Uriah did not go down to his house, David said to Uriah, Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?11Uriah said to David,The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths, and my lord Joab andthe servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As you live, andas your soul lives, I will not do this thing.12Then David said to Uriah, Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back. So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next.13And David invited him, and he ate in his presence and drank,so that he made him drunk. And in the evening he went out to lie on his couch withthe servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house. 14In the morning Davidwrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah.15In the letter he wrote, Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him,that he may be struck down, and die.16And as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant men.17And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite also died.18Then Joab sent and told David all the news about the fighting.19And he instructed the messenger, When you have finished telling all the news about the fighting to the king,20then, if the king's anger rises, and if he says to you, Why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall?21Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall? then you shall say, Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also. 22So the messenger went and came and told David all that Joab had sent him to tell.23The messenger said to David, The men gained an advantage over us and came out against us in the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate.24Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall. Some of the king's servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.25David said to the messenger, Thus shall you say to Joab, Do not let this matter displease you, for the sword devours now one and now another. Strengthen your attack against the city and overthrow it. And encourage him. 26When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented over her husband.27And when the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, andshe became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased theLord.
36Then Gideon said to God, If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said,37behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.38And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water.39Then Gideon said to God,Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew.40And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew.
1Then Moses answered, But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, TheLorddid not appear to you.2TheLordsaid to him, What is that in your hand? He said,A staff.3And he said, Throw it on the ground. So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it.4But theLordsaid to Moses, Put out your hand and catch it by the tailso he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand5that they maybelieve that theLord,the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.6Again, theLordsaid to him, Put your hand inside your cloak.[a]And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand wasleprous[b]like snow.7Then God said, Put your hand back inside your cloak. So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold,it was restored like the rest of his flesh.8If they will not believe you, God said, or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign.9If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nilewill become blood on the dry ground. 10But Moses said to theLord, Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, butI am slow of speech and of tongue.11Then theLordsaid to him, Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, theLord?12Now therefore go, andI will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.13But he said, Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.14Then the anger of theLordwas kindled against Moses and he said, Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold,he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart.15You shall speak to him andput the words in his mouth, andI will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do.16He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, andyou shall be as God to him.17And take in your handthis staff, with which you shall do the signs.
Some time after this, thecupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker committed an offense against their lord the king of Egypt.2And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker,3and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was confined.4The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended them. They continued for some time in custody. 5And one night they both dreamedthe cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prisoneach his own dream, and each dream with its own interpretation.6When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled.7So he asked Pharaoh's officers who were with him in custody in his master's house,Why are your faces downcast today?8They said to him,We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them. And Joseph said to them,Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me. 9So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, In my dream there was a vine before me,10and on the vine there were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and the clusters ripened into grapes.11Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup and placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand.12Then Joseph said to him,This is its interpretation:the three branches are three days.13In three days Pharaoh willlift up your head and restore you to your office, and you shall place Pharaoh's cup in his hand as formerly, when you were his cupbearer.14Only remember me, when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house.15ForI was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, andhere also I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit. 16When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, I also had a dream: there were three cake baskets on my head,17and in the uppermost basket there were all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating it out of the basket on my head.18And Joseph answered and said,This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days.19In three days Pharaoh will lift up your headfrom you!andhang you on a tree. And the birds will eat the flesh from you. 20On the third day, which was Pharaoh'sbirthday, he made a feast for all his servants andlifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants.21He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, andhe placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand.22But hehanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them.23Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.
And theLordappeared to him by theoaks[a]of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day.2He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him.When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth3and said, O Lord,[b]if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant.4Let alittle water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree,5while I bring a morsel of bread, thatyou may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass onsince you have come to your servant. So they said, Do as you have said.6And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, Quick! Three seahs[c]of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes.7And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly.8Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate. 9They said to him, Where is Sarah your wife? And he said, She isin the tent.10TheLordsaid, I will surely return to youabout this time next year, andSarah your wife shall have a son. And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him.11NowAbraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah.12So Sarah laughed to herself, saying,After I am worn out, andmy lord is old, shall I have pleasure?13TheLordsaid to Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh and say, Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?14Is anything too hard[d]for theLord?At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.15But Sarah denied it,[e]saying, I did not laugh, for she was afraid. He said, No, but you did laugh. 16Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way.17TheLordsaid,Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do,18seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall beblessed in him?19For I havechosen[f]him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of theLordby doing righteousness and justice, so that theLordmay bring to Abraham what he has promised him.20Then theLordsaid, Becausethe outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave,21I will go down to see whether they have done altogether[g]according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not,I will know.
10Nowthere was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land.11When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance,12and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, This is his wife. Then theywill kill me, but they will let you live.13Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.14When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.15And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house.16And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels. 17But theLordafflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife.18So Pharaoh called Abram and said, What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife?19Why did you say, She is my sister, so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and go.20And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had.
1 Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved fellow worker 2 and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, 5 because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, 6 and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ. 7 For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you. 8 Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, 9 yet for love's sake I prefer to appeal to youI, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus 10 I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus,[b] whose father I became in my imprisonment. 11 (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) 12 I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. 13 I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel, 14 but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord. 15 For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, 16 no longer as a bondservant[c] but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brotherespecially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. 17 So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me. 18 If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. 19 I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay itto say nothing of your owing me even your own self. 20 Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ. 21 Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. 22 At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for I am hoping that through your prayers I will be graciously given to you. 23 Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, 24 and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers. 25 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
Chapter 1 In the third year ofthe reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.2And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some ofthe vessels of the house of God. And he brought them tothe land of Shinar, to the house of his god,and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god.3Then the king commanded Ashpenaz,his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family[a]and ofthe nobility,4youths withoutblemish, of good appearance andskillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king's palace, and toteach them the literature and language of theChaldeans.5The king assigned them a daily portion ofthe food that the king ate, and ofthe wine that he drank. They were to be educated forthree years, and at the end of that time they were tostand before the king.6Among these wereDaniel,Hananiah,Mishael, andAzariah of the tribe of Judah.7Andthe chief of the eunuchsgave them names:Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego. 8But Danielresolved that he would notdefile himself withthe king's food, or withthe wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not todefile himself.9And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs,10and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.11Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,12Test your servants forten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink.13Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eatthe king's food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.14So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days.15At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who atethe king's food.16So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave themvegetables. 17As for these four youths,God gave them learning andskill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel hadunderstanding in all visions and dreams.18At the end ofthe time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.19And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Thereforethey stood before the king.20And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than allthe magicians andenchanters that were in all his kingdom.21And Danielwas there until the first year ofKing Cyrus. Chapter 3 8 Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews. 9 They declared to King Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live forever! 10 You, O king, have made a decree, that every man who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image. 11 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace. 12 There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up. 13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? 15 Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands? 16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up. 19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. 20 And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. 22 Because the king's order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace. 24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, Did we not cast three men bound into the fire? They answered and said to the king, True, O king. 25 He answered and said, But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.
13And he said, Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that youweary my God also? 14Therefore theLord himself will give you a sign.Behold, thevirgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his nameImmanuel.
13And he said, Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that youweary my God also? 14Therefore theLord himself will give you a sign.Behold, thevirgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his nameImmanuel.
6For to us a child is born,to usa son is given;and the government shall beuponhis shoulder,and his name shall be calledWonderfulCounselor,Mighty God,EverlastingFather, Prince ofPeace.7Of the increase of his government and of peacethere will be no end,on the throne of David and over his kingdom,to establish it and to uphold itwith justice and with righteousnessfrom this time forth and forevermore.The zeal of theLordof hosts will do this.
1The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;2it shall blossom abundantlyand rejoice with joy and singing.The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,the majesty ofCarmel andSharon.They shall see the glory of theLord,the majesty of our God.
3Strengthen the weak hands,and make firm the feeble knees.4Say to those who have an anxious heart,Be strong; fear not!Behold, your Godwill come with vengeance,with the recompense of God.He will come and save you.
5Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,and the ears of the deaf unstopped;6then shall the lame man leap like a deer,and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.For waters break forth in the wilderness,and streams in the desert;7the burning sand shall become a pool,and the thirsty ground springs of water;in the haunt ofjackals, where they lie down,the grass shall become reeds and rushes.
8And a highway shall be there,and it shall be called the Way of Holiness;the unclean shall not pass over it.It shall belong to those who walk on the way;even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.[a]9No lion shall be there,nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;they shall not be found there,but the redeemed shall walk there.10And the ransomed of theLordshall returnand come to Zion with singing;everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;they shall obtain gladness and joy,and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
1But there will be nogloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time hebrought into contempt the land ofZebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time hehas made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
2 The peoplewho walked in darknesshave seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land ofdeep darkness, on them has light shone.
1There shall come forth a shoot from the stump ofJesse,and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.2Andthe Spirit of theLordshall rest upon him,the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,the Spirit of counsel and might,the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of theLord.3And his delight shall be in the fear of theLord.He shall not judge bywhat his eyes see,or decide disputes bywhat his ears hear,4butwith righteousness he shall judge the poor,and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;and he shallstrike the earth with the rod of his mouth,andwith the breath of his lipshe shall kill the wicked.5Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,andfaithfulness the belt of his loins.
6The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;and a little child shall lead them.7The cow and the bear shall graze;their young shall lie down together;and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.8The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.9They shall not hurt or destroyin allmy holy mountain;for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of theLordas the waters cover the sea.
10In that daythe root ofJesse, who shall stand asa signal for the peoplesof him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.
19And my Godwill supply every need of yoursaccording to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 20Toour God and Father beglory forever and ever. Amen. 21Greet every saint in Christ Jesus.The brothers who are with me greet you. 22All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household. 23The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
14Yet it was kind of youto sharemy trouble. 15And you Philippians yourselves know thatin the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia,no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. 16Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. 17Not that I seek the gift, but I seekthe fruit that increases to your credit. 18I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied,having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent,a fragrant offering,a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.
10I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at lengthyou have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. 11Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to becontent. 12I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty andhunger, abundance andneed. 13I can do all thingsthrough him who strengthens me.
8Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirableif anything is excellent or praiseworthythink about such things. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in meput it into practice.And the God of peacewill be with you.
1Therefore, my brothers, whom I love andlong for,my joy andcrown,stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved. 2I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche toagree in the Lord. 3Yes, I ask you also, true companion,help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers,whose names are in the book of life. 4Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5Let your reasonablenessbe known to everyone.The Lord is at hand; 6do not be anxious about anything,but in everything by prayer and supplicationwith thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7Andthe peace of God,which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
12Not that I have alreadyobtained this oram already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do:forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14I press on toward the goal forthe prize of the upwardcall of God in Christ Jesus. 15Let those of us who aremature think this way, and if in anythingyou think otherwise,God will reveal that also to you. 16Onlylet us hold true to what we have attained. 17Brothers,join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walkaccording to the example you have in us. 18Formany, of whom I have often told you and now tell youeven with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19Their end is destruction,their god is their belly, andthey glory in their shame, withminds set on earthly things. 20Butour citizenship is in heaven, andfrom it weawait a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21who will transformour lowly bodyto be like his glorious body,by the power that enables him evento subject all things to himself.
1Finally, my brothers,[a]rejoice in the Lord.To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. 2Look out forthe dogs, look out forthe evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3Forwe are the circumcision,who worshipby the Spirit of God[b]andglory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh 4though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5circumcised on the eighth day,of the people of Israel,of the tribe of Benjamin,a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law,a Pharisee; 6as to zeal,a persecutor of the church;as to righteousness under the law,[c]blameless. 7Butwhatever gain I had,I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8Indeed, I count everything as loss because ofthe surpassing worth ofknowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake Ihave suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not havinga righteousness of my own that comes from the law, butthat which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith 10that I may know him andthe power of his resurrection, andmay share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11that by any means possible I mayattain the resurrection from the dead.
19I hope in the Lord Jesusto send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. 20For I have no onelike him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21For they allseek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22But you know Timothy's[a]proven worth, howas a son[b]with a fatherhe has served with me in the gospel. 23I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, 24andI trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also. 25I have thought it necessary to send to youEpaphroditus my brother and fellow worker andfellow soldier, and your messenger andminister to my need, 26for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. 27Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. 28I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. 29Soreceive him in the Lord with all joy, andhonor such men, 30for he nearly died[c]for the work of Christ, risking his lifeto complete what was lacking in your service to me.
14Do all thingswithout grumbling ordisputing, 15that you may be blameless and innocent,children of Godwithout blemishin the midst ofa crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shineas lights in the world, 16holding fast tothe word of life, so that inthe day of ChristI may be proud thatI did not run in vain or labor in vain. 17Even if I am to bepoured out as a drink offering uponthe sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.
12Therefore, my beloved,as you have alwaysobeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13forit is God who works in you, both to will and to work forhis good pleasure.
5Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6who, though he was inthe form of God, did not count equality with Goda thing to be grasped, 7butemptied himself, by taking the form of aservant,[c]being born in the likeness of men. 8And being found in human form, he humbled himself bybecoming obedient to the point of death,even death on a cross. 9ThereforeGod hashighly exalted him and bestowed on himthe name that is above every name, 10so that at the name of Jesusevery knee should bow,in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11andevery tongue confess that Jesus Christ isLord, to the glory of God the Father.
1So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort fromlove, anyparticipation in the Spirit, anyaffection and sympathy, 2complete my joy by beingof the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3Do nothing fromselfish ambition orconceit, but inhumility count others more significant than yourselves. 4Let each of youlook not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus
18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again. 27 Only let your manner of life be worthy[a] of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. 29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.
15It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition,not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. 18But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.
12I want you to know, brothers,that what has happened to me has reallyserved to advance the gospel, 13so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard andto all the rest thatmy imprisonment is for Christ. 14And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more boldto speak the word without fear.
7It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold youin my heart, for you are allpartakers with me of grace, bothin my imprisonment and inthe defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8ForGod is my witness,how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9And it is my prayer thatyour love may abound more and more,with knowledge and all discernment, 10so that you may approve what is excellent,and so be pure and blamelessfor the day of Christ, 11filledwith the fruit of righteousness that comesthrough Jesus Christ,to the glory and praise of God.
1Paul and Timothy, servants[a]of Christ Jesus, To all thesaints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with theoverseers[b]anddeacons:[c] 2Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3I thank my Godin all my remembrance of you, 4always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6And I am sure of this, that he who begana good work in youwill bring it to completion atthe day of Jesus Christ.
6Jesus said to him,I amthe way, andthe truth, andthe life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
1I am thetrue vine, and my Father isthe vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruithe takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes,that it may bear more fruit. 3Alreadyyou are cleanbecause of the word that I have spoken to you. 4Abidein me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5I am the vine;you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is thatbears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
12Again Jesus spoke to them, saying,I am the light of the world. Whoeverfollows me will notwalk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
26Jesus answered them,Truly, truly, I say to you,you are seeking me, not because you sawsigns, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27Do not work for the food that perishes, but forthe food that endures to eternal life, whichthe Son of Man will give to you. For onhim God the Father hasset his seal. 28Then they said to him, What must we do, to be doingthe works of God? 29Jesus answered them,This is the work of God,that you believe in him whomhe has sent. 30So they said to him,Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written,He gave them bread from heaven to eat. 32Jesus then said to them,Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33For the bread of God ishe who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. 34They said to him,Sir, give us this bread always. 35Jesus said to them,I am the bread of life;whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37All thatthe Father gives me will come to me, andwhoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38ForI have come down from heaven, not to domy own will butthe will of himwho sent me. 39Andthis is the will of him who sent me,that I should lose nothing ofall that he has given me, butraise it up on the last day. 40For this is the will of my Father, that everyone wholooks on the Son andbelieves in himshould have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 41So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said,I am the bread that came down from heaven. 42They said,Is not this Jesus,the son of Joseph, whose father and motherwe know? How does he now say,I have come down from heaven? 43Jesus answered them,Do not grumble among yourselves. 44No one can come to me unless the Father who sent medraws him. AndI will raise him up on the last day. 45It is written in the Prophets,And they will all betaught by God.Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me 46not that anyone has seen the Father excepthe who is from God; hehas seen the Father. 47Truly, truly, I say to you,whoever believes has eternal life. 48I am the bread of life. 49Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, andthey died. 50This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of itand not die. 51I am the living breadthat came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will givefor the life of the world ismy flesh.
22Listen to your father who gave you life,and do not despise your mother when she is old.23Buy truth, and do not sell it;buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.24The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice;he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.25Let your father and mother be glad;lether who bore you rejoice.
Proverbs 22:6 6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 23:13-18 13Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. 14Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell. 15My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine. 16Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things. 17Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of theLordall the day long. 18For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.
Proverbs 24:30-34English Standard Version 30 I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense,31 and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down.32 Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction.33 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,34 and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.30 I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense,
Proverbs 16:1-9 English Standard Version
16The plans of the heart belong to man,but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.2All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,but the Lord weighs the spirit.[a]3Commit your work to the Lord,and your plans will be established.4The Lord has made everything for its purpose,even the wicked for the day of trouble.5Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord;be assured, he will not go unpunished.6By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for,and by the fear of the Lord one turns away from evil.7When a man's ways please the Lord,he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.8Better is a little with righteousnessthan great revenues with injustice.9The heart of man plans his way,but the Lord establishes his steps.
Proverbs 15:1-4 English Standard Version 15 A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. 2 The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly. 3 The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good. 4 A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.
Romans 10:14-15 English Standard Version 14How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in himof whom they have never heard? And how are they to hearwithout someone preaching?15And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written,How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!
Proverbs 6:20-35 English Standard Version
Warnings Against Adultery
20My son, keep your father's commandment,and forsake not your mother's teaching.21Bind them on your heart always;tie them around your neck.22When you walk, they[a] will lead you;when you lie down, they will watch over you;and when you awake, they will talk with you.23For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light,and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,24to preserve you from the evil woman,[b]from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.[c]25Do not desire her beauty in your heart,and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes;26for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread,[d]but a married woman[e] hunts down a precious life.27Can a man carry fire next to his chestand his clothes not be burned?28Or can one walk on hot coalsand his feet not be scorched?29So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife;none who touches her will go unpunished.30People do not despise a thief if he stealsto satisfy his appetite when he is hungry,31but if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold;he will give all the goods of his house.32He who commits adultery lacks sense;he who does it destroys himself.33He will get wounds and dishonor,and his disgrace will not be wiped away.34For jealousy makes a man furious,and he will not spare when he takes revenge.35He will accept no compensation;he will refuse though you multiply gifts.
Proverbs 3:1-8 English Standard Version
Trust in the Lord with All Your Heart
3My son, do not forget my teaching,but let your heart keep my commandments,2for length of days and years of lifeand peace they will add to you.
3Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you;bind them around your neck;write them on the tablet of your heart.4So you will find favor and good success[a]in the sight of God and man.
5Trust in the Lord with all your heart,and do not lean on your own understanding.6In all your ways acknowledge him,and he will make straight your paths.7Be not wise in your own eyes;fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.8It will be healing to your flesh[b]and refreshment[c] to your bones.
Proverbs 1:1-7 English Standard Version
The Beginning of Knowledge
1The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:
2To know wisdom and instruction,to understand words of insight,3to receive instruction in wise dealing,in righteousness, justice, and equity;4to give prudence to the simple,knowledge and discretion to the youth5Let the wise hear and increase in learning,and the one who understands obtain guidance,6to understand a proverb and a saying,the words of the wise and their riddles.
7The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Mark 16:1-8 English Standard Version
The Resurrection
16When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3And they were saying to one another, Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb? 4And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled backit was very large. 5And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. 6And he said to them, Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you. 8And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
Mark 11:1-10 English Standard Version
The Triumphal Entry 11Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus[a] sent two of his disciples 2and said to them, Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. 3If anyone says to you, Why are you doing this? say, The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately. 4And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. 5And some of those standing there said to them, What are you doing, untying the colt? 6And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. 7And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. 8And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. 9And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!
Mark 10:17-31 English Standard Version The Rich Young Man 17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? 18 And Jesus said to him, Why do you call me good? No one is good except? God alone. 19 You know the commandments: Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother. 20 And he said to him, Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth. 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! 24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. 26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, Then who can be saved? 27 Jesus looked at them and said, With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God. 28 Peter began to say to him, See, we have left everything and followed you. 29 Jesus said, Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again. And again, as was his custom, he taught them. 2And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife? 3He answered them, What did Moses command you? 4They said, Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away. 5And Jesus said to them, Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. 6But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. 7Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife,[a] 8and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate. 10And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 11And he said to them, Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, 12and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.
Mark 9:42-49 English Standard Version
Temptations to Sin 42Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. 43And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. 45And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. 47And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. 49For everyone will be salted with fire.
Mark 9:33-37 English Standard Version Who Is the Greatest? 33 And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, What were you discussing on the way? 34 But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.35 And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all. 36 And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.
Mark 9:30-32 English Standard Version Jesus Again Foretells Death, Resurrection 30They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know,31for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them,The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed,after three days he will rise.32But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.
Mark 8:31-38English Standard Version Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection 31 And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it.36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For what can a man give in return for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.