At that time you were without the Messiah, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.

These all died in faith without having received the promises, but they saw them from a distance, greeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on the earth.

Scattered

But I will scatter you among the nations, and I will draw a sword to chase after you. So your land will become desolate, and your cities will become ruins.

The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be reduced to a few survivors among the nations where the Lord your God will drive you.

Then the Lord will scatter you among all peoples from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will worship other gods, of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known.

“I would have said: I will cut them to pieces
and blot out the memory of them from mankind,

Then Haman informed King Ahasuerus, “There is one ethnic group, scattered throughout the peoples in every province of your kingdom, yet living in isolation. Their laws are different from everyone else’s and they do not obey the king’s laws. It is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them.

You hand us over to be eaten like sheep
and scatter us among the nations.

“Yet I will leave a remnant when you are scattered among the nations, for throughout the countries there will be some of you who will escape the sword.

Then the Jews said to one another, “Where does He intend to go so we won’t find Him? He doesn’t intend to go to the Dispersion

among the Greeks and teach the Greeks, does He?

and not for the nation only, but also to unite the scattered children of God.

So those who were scattered went on their way preaching the message of good news.

James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ:

To the 12 tribes in the Dispersion.

Greetings.

Pontus

There were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven.

where he found a Jewish man named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul came to them,

Galatia

They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia and were prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the message in Asia.

And after spending some time there, he set out, traveling through one place after another in the Galatian territory and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

and all the brothers who are with me:

To the churches of Galatia.

Cappadocia

Parthians, Medes, Elamites; those who live in Mesopotamia, in Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,

Asia

Then some from what is called the Freedmen’s Synagogue, composed of both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, came forward and disputed with Stephen.

They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia and were prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the message in Asia.

And this went on for two years, so that all the inhabitants of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the message about the Lord.

For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so he would not have to spend time in Asia, because he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if possible, for the day of Pentecost.

The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, along with the church that meets in their home.

For we don’t want you to be unaware, brothers, of our affliction that took place in Asia: we were completely overwhelmed—beyond our strength—so that we even despaired of life.

This you know: All those in Asia have turned away from me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.

saying, “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

Bithynia

When they came to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.

General references

From beyond the rivers of Cush
My supplicants, My dispersed people,
will bring an offering to Me.