But God said to Abraham, "Do not be upset about the boy or your slave wife. Do all that Sarah is telling you because through Isaac your descendants will be counted.

But for this purpose I have caused you to stand: to show you my strength, and so that my name may be declared in all the earth.

And the Lord said, "I will make all my goodness pass before your face, and I will proclaim the Lord by name before you; I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy."

However, only to your ancestors did he show his loving favor, and he chose you, their descendants, from all peoples -- as is apparent today.

When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when he divided up humankind, he set the boundaries of the peoples, according to the number of the heavenly assembly.

for the Lord determined to make them obstinate so they would attack Israel. He wanted Israel to annihilate them without mercy, as he had instructed Moses.

How blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen to be his special possession.

How blessed is the one whom you choose, and allow to live in your palace courts. May we be satisfied with the good things of your house -- your holy palace.

He chose the tribe of Judah, and Mount Zion, which he loves.

Indeed, the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel to be his special possession.

"Listen to me in silence, you coastlands! Let the nations find renewed strength! Let them approach and then speak; let us come together for debate! Who stirs up this one from the east? Who officially commissions him for service? He hands nations over to him, and enables him to subdue kings. He makes them like dust with his sword, like windblown straw with his bow. read more. He pursues them and passes by unharmed; he advances with great speed. Who acts and carries out decrees? Who summons the successive generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, am present at the very beginning, and at the very end -- I am the one. The coastlands see and are afraid; the whole earth trembles; they approach and come. They help one another; one says to the other, 'Be strong!' The craftsman encourages the metalsmith, the one who wields the hammer encourages the one who pounds on the anvil. He approves the quality of the welding, and nails it down so it won't fall over." "You, my servant Israel, Jacob whom I have chosen, offspring of Abraham my friend, you whom I am bringing back from the earth's extremities, and have summoned from the remote regions -- I told you, "You are my servant." I have chosen you and not rejected you. Don't be afraid, for I am with you! Don't be frightened, for I am your God! I strengthen you -- yes, I help you -- yes, I uphold you with my saving right hand!

"Before I formed you in your mother's womb I chose you. Before you were born I set you apart. I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations."

And if the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would be saved. But because of the elect, whom he chose, he has cut them short.

For the Son of Man is to go just as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!"

Everyone whom the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never send away.

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that remains, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.

just as you have given him authority over all humanity, so that he may give eternal life to everyone you have given him.

"I have revealed your name to the men you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have obeyed your word.

I am praying on behalf of them. I am not praying on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those you have given me, because they belong to you.

You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of joy with your presence.'

But the things God foretold long ago through all the prophets -- that his Christ would suffer -- he has fulfilled in this way.

to do as much as your power and your plan had decided beforehand would happen.

to do as much as your power and your plan had decided beforehand would happen.

When the Gentiles heard this, they began to rejoice and praise the word of the Lord, and all who had been appointed for eternal life believed.

From one man he made every nation of the human race to inhabit the entire earth, determining their set times and the fixed limits of the places where they would live,

because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified.

even before they were born or had done anything good or bad (so that God's purpose in election would stand, not by works but by his calling) --

So then, God has mercy on whom he chooses to have mercy, and he hardens whom he chooses to harden.

Has the potter no right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special use and another for ordinary use?

So in the same way at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.

He did this by predestining us to adoption as his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the pleasure of his will --

In Christ we too have been claimed as God's own possession, since we were predestined according to the one purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will

This was according to the eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,

rooted and built up in him and firm in your faith just as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

in hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the ages began.

He must hold firmly to the faithful message as it has been taught, so that he will be able to give exhortation in such healthy teaching and correct those who speak against it.

this man, who was handed over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you executed by nailing him to a cross at the hands of Gentiles.

to do as much as your power and your plan had decided beforehand would happen.

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, this person does not belong to him.

And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose, because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. read more. And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified.

who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age according to the will of our God and Father,

But when the one who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace was pleased

For he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we may be holy and unblemished in his sight in love. He did this by predestining us to adoption as his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the pleasure of his will -- read more. to the praise of the glory of his grace that he has freely bestowed on us in his dearly loved Son.

In Christ we too have been claimed as God's own possession, since we were predestined according to the one purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, would be to the praise of his glory.

who is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of his glory.

This was according to the eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,

But we ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.

But we ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.

He is the one who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not based on our works but on his own purpose and grace, granted to us in Christ Jesus before time began,

He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was manifested in these last times for your sake.

and all those who live on the earth will worship the beast, everyone whose name has not been written since the foundation of the world in the book of life belonging to the Lamb who was killed.

The beast you saw was, and is not, but is about to come up from the abyss and then go to destruction. The inhabitants of the earth -- all those whose names have not been written in the book of life since the foundation of the world -- will be astounded when they see that the beast was, and is not, but is to come.

After all, Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using his name. I have chosen him so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. Then the Lord will give to Abraham what he promised him."

So now, it is not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me an adviser to Pharaoh, lord over all his household, and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

As for you, you meant to harm me, but God intended it for a good purpose, so he could preserve the lives of many people, as you can see this day.

So I have said to you: You yourselves will possess their land and I myself will give it to you for a possession, a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the Lord your God who has set you apart from the other peoples.

You must be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the other peoples to be mine.

My advice therefore is this: Let all Israel from Dan to Beer Sheba -- in number like the sand by the sea! -- be mustered to you, and you lead them personally into battle. We will come against him wherever he happens to be found. We will descend on him like the dew falls on the ground. Neither he nor any of the men who are with him will be spared alive -- not one of them!

He said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will return there. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. May the name of the Lord be blessed!"

You godly ones, shout for joy because of the Lord! It is appropriate for the morally upright to offer him praise.

He says, "Stop your striving and recognize that I am God! I will be exalted over the nations! I will be exalted over the earth!" The Lord who commands armies is on our side! The God of Jacob is our protector! (Selah)

Our God is in heaven! He does whatever he pleases!

He does whatever he pleases in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all the ocean depths.

A person plans his course, but the Lord directs his steps.

The dice are thrown into the lap, but their every decision is from the Lord.

The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord like channels of water; he turns it wherever he wants.

The Lord who commands armies makes this solemn vow: "Be sure of this: Just as I have intended, so it will be; just as I have planned, it will happen.

The Lord who commands armies makes this solemn vow: "Be sure of this: Just as I have intended, so it will be; just as I have planned, it will happen. I will break Assyria in my land, I will trample them underfoot on my hills. Their yoke will be removed from my people, the burden will be lifted from their shoulders. read more. This is the plan I have devised for the whole earth; my hand is ready to strike all the nations." Indeed, the Lord who commands armies has a plan, and who can possibly frustrate it? His hand is ready to strike, and who can possibly stop it?

Indeed, the Lord who commands armies has a plan, and who can possibly frustrate it? His hand is ready to strike, and who can possibly stop it?

Certainly you must have heard! Long ago I worked it out, in ancient times I planned it, and now I am bringing it to pass. The plan is this: Fortified cities will crash into heaps of ruins.

Now, this is what the Lord says, the one who created you, O Jacob, and formed you, O Israel: "Don't be afraid, for I will protect you. I call you by name, you are mine.

everyone who belongs to me, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed -- yes, whom I made!

I am the one who forms light and creates darkness; the one who brings about peace and creates calamity. I am the Lord, who accomplishes all these things.

who announces the end from the beginning and reveals beforehand what has not yet occurred, who says, 'My plan will be realized, I will accomplish what I desire,' who summons an eagle from the east, from a distant land, one who carries out my plan. Yes, I have decreed, yes, I will bring it to pass; I have formulated a plan, yes, I will carry it out.

All the inhabitants of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he wishes with the army of heaven and with those who inhabit the earth. No one slaps his hand and says to him, 'What have you done?'

If an alarm sounds in a city, do people not fear? If disaster overtakes a city, is the Lord not responsible?

may your kingdom come, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Aren't two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. Even all the hairs on your head are numbered.

this man, who was handed over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you executed by nailing him to a cross at the hands of Gentiles.

You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of joy with your presence.'

to do as much as your power and your plan had decided beforehand would happen. And now, Lord, pay attention to their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your message with great courage,

known from long ago.

For it seemed best to the Holy Spirit and to us not to place any greater burden on you than these necessary rules:

From one man he made every nation of the human race to inhabit the entire earth, determining their set times and the fixed limits of the places where they would live,

because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

As it is written, "For your sake we encounter death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered."

What shall we say then? Is there injustice with God? Absolutely not! For he says to Moses: "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." read more. So then, it does not depend on human desire or exertion, but on God who shows mercy. For the scripture says to Pharaoh: "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may demonstrate my power in you, and that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth."

For the scripture says to Pharaoh: "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may demonstrate my power in you, and that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth." So then, God has mercy on whom he chooses to have mercy, and he hardens whom he chooses to harden. read more. You will say to me then, "Why does he still find fault? For who has ever resisted his will?" But who indeed are you -- a mere human being -- to talk back to God? Does what is molded say to the molder, "Why have you made me like this?"

But who indeed are you -- a mere human being -- to talk back to God? Does what is molded say to the molder, "Why have you made me like this?" Has the potter no right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special use and another for ordinary use?

Has the potter no right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special use and another for ordinary use? But what if God, willing to demonstrate his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects of wrath prepared for destruction?

But what if God, willing to demonstrate his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects of wrath prepared for destruction?

But what if God, willing to demonstrate his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects of wrath prepared for destruction? And what if he is willing to make known the wealth of his glory on the objects of mercy that he has prepared beforehand for glory --

God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew! Do you not know what the scripture says about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel?

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how fathomless his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?

For he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we may be holy and unblemished in his sight in love.

For he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we may be holy and unblemished in his sight in love.

For he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we may be holy and unblemished in his sight in love. He did this by predestining us to adoption as his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the pleasure of his will --

He did this by predestining us to adoption as his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the pleasure of his will --

He did this when he revealed to us the secret of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ,

In Christ we too have been claimed as God's own possession, since we were predestined according to the one purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will

In Christ we too have been claimed as God's own possession, since we were predestined according to the one purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will

In Christ we too have been claimed as God's own possession, since we were predestined according to the one purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will

And although you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you formerly lived according to this world's present path, according to the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the ruler of the spirit that is now energizing the sons of disobedience, read more. among whom all of us also formerly lived out our lives in the cravings of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath even as the rest But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even though we were dead in transgressions, made us alive together with Christ -- by grace you are saved! -- and he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, to demonstrate in the coming ages the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God;

Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her to sanctify her by cleansing her with the washing of the water by the word, read more. so that he may present the church to himself as glorious -- not having a stain or wrinkle, or any such blemish, but holy and blameless.

rooted and built up in him and firm in your faith just as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

But we ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold on to the traditions that we taught you, whether by speech or by letter.

From Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those temporarily residing abroad (in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, the province of Asia, and Bithynia) who are chosen

and a stumbling-stone and a rock to trip over. They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

and from Jesus Christ -- the faithful witness, the firstborn from among the dead, the ruler over the kings of the earth. To the one who loves us and has set us free from our sins at the cost of his own blood and has appointed us as a kingdom, as priests serving his God and Father -- to him be the glory and the power for ever and ever! Amen.

"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, since you created all things, and because of your will they existed and were created!"

They were shouting out in a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God, to the one seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!"

Then I looked, and here was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him were one hundred and forty-four thousand, who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. I also heard a sound coming out of heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. Now the sound I heard was like that made by harpists playing their harps, read more. and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one was able to learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been redeemed from the earth. These are the ones who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from humanity as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb, and no lie was found on their lips; they are blameless. Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, and he had an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth -- to every nation, tribe, language, and people.