"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel"(which means, God with us).

"'And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'"

and 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."

"A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more."

"A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more."

And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled: "He shall be called a Nazarene."

"The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles--

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

"You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.'

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.'

"It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'

This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: "He took our illnesses and bore our diseases."

Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."

For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

"Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:"I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world."

You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: "'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; read more. in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'"

"Say to the daughter of Zion, 'Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.'"

Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: "'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?

Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel,

the voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,'"

And he said to them, "Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him:

And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?

Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, read more. it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.

and "'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'"

When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, "This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.

so they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be."This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, "They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots."So the soldiers did these things,

"'And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;

Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says,

Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: "Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth.

for "'In him we live and move and have our being';as even some of your own poets have said, "'For we are indeed his offspring.'

"'Go to this people, and say, You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.

By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, "That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged."

as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. read more. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." "Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive." "The venom of asps is under their lips." "Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness." "Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known." "There is no fear of God before their eyes."

Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness.

Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: "It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman."

Now concerningfood offered to idols: we know that "all of us possess knowledge." This "knowledge"puffs up, but love builds up.

For it is written in the Law of Moses, "You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain." Is it for oxen that God is concerned?

Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play."

Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you.

But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse.

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them."

Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. read more. But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. For it is written, "Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband." Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. But what does the Scripture say? "Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman." So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.

I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.

For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.

that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,

I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need,

Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. read more. Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. I 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.

One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons."

because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, 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. read more. For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.

For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. read more. He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever. See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, though these also are descended from Abraham. But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom it is testified that he lives. One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away.

for "All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls,

Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals.

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree.

saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates."

Another angel, a second, followed, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality."

having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.