"Look! The virgin will conceive and bear a son, and they will call him Emmanuel," which means "God with us."

And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are in no way least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'"

He stayed there until Herod died. In this way what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet was fulfilled: "I called my Son out of Egypt."

"A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud wailing, Rachel weeping for her children, and she did not want to be comforted, because they were gone."

"A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud wailing, Rachel weeping for her children, and she did not want to be comforted, because they were gone."

He came to a town called Nazareth and lived there. Then what had been spoken by the prophets was fulfilled, that Jesus would be called a Nazarene.

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

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

"You have heard that it was said to an older generation, 'Do not murder,' and 'whoever murders will be subjected to judgment.'

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

"It was said, 'Whoever divorces his wife must give her a legal document.'

In this way what was spoken by Isaiah the prophet was fulfilled: "He took our weaknesses and carried our diseases."

Go and learn what this saying means: 'I want mercy and not sacrifice.' For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

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

"Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I take great delight. I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.

For just as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. The people of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented when Jonah preached to them -- and now, something greater than Jonah is here!

This fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has been hidden from the foundation of the world."

Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said, This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me, read more. and they worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'"

"Tell the people of Zion, 'Look, your king is coming to you, unassuming and seated on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.'"

Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures: 'The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?

Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: "They took the thirty silver coins, the price of the one whose price had been set by the people of Israel,

the voice of one shouting in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make his paths straight.'"

He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry --

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

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

Now many have undertaken to compile an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, like the accounts passed on to us by those who were eyewitnesses and servants of the word from the beginning. read more. So it seemed good to me as well, because I have followed all things carefully from the beginning, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know for certain the things you were taught.

and 'with their hands they will lift you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'"

As the crowds were increasing, Jesus began to say, "This generation is a wicked generation; it looks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.

So the soldiers said to one another, "Let's not tear it, but throw dice to see who will get it." This took place to fulfill the scripture that says, "They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they threw dice." So the soldiers did these things.

And in the last days it will be,' God says, 'that I will pour out my Spirit on all people, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, and your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.

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

Now the passage of scripture the man was reading was this: "He was led like a sheep to slaughter, and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

For in him we live and move about and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we too are his offspring.'

when he said, 'Go to this people and say, "You will keep on hearing, but will never understand, and you will keep on looking, but will never perceive.

Absolutely not! Let God be proven true, and every human being shown up as a liar, just as it is written: "so that you will be justified in your words and will prevail when you are judged."

just as it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one, there is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks God. read more. All have turned away, together they have become worthless; there is no one who shows kindness, not even one." "Their throats are open graves, they deceive with their tongues, the poison of asps is under their lips." "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness." "Their feet are swift to shed blood, ruin and misery are in their paths, and the way of peace they have not known." "There is no fear of God before their eyes."

Is this blessedness then for the circumcision or also for the uncircumcision? For we say, "faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness."

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

With regard to food sacrificed to idols, we know that "we all have knowledge." Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.

For it is written in the law of Moses, "Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." God is not concerned here about oxen, is he?

So 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."

I praise you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions just as I passed them on to you.

Now in giving the following instruction I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse.

With regard to spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.

For all who rely on doing the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written, "Cursed is everyone who does not keep on doing everything written in the book of the law."

Tell me, you who want to be under the law, do you not understand the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. read more. But one, the son by the slave woman, was born by natural descent, while the other, the son by the free woman, was born through the promise. These things may be treated as an allegory, for these women represent two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai bearing children for slavery; this is Hagar. Now Hagar represents Mount Sinai in Arabia and 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 woman who does not bear children; break forth and shout, you who have no birth pains, because the children of the desolate woman are more numerous than those of the woman who has a husband." But you, brothers and sisters, are children of the promise like Isaac. But just as at that time the one born by natural descent persecuted the one born according to the Spirit, so it is now. But what does the scripture say? "Throw out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman will not share the inheritance with the son" of the free woman. Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman but of the free woman.

And I testify again to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.

For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that matters is a new creation! And all who will behave in accordance with this rule, peace and mercy be on them, and on the Israel of God.

This power he exercised in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms

I thank my God every time I remember you.

But for now I have considered it necessary to send Epaphroditus to you. For he is my brother, coworker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to me in my need.

Nevertheless, you did well to share with me in my trouble. And as you Philippians know, at the beginning of my gospel ministry, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in this matter of giving and receiving except you alone. read more. For even in Thessalonica on more than one occasion you sent something for my need. I do not say this because I am seeking a gift. Rather, I seek the credit that abounds to your account. For I have received everything, and I have plenty. I have all I need because I received from Epaphroditus what you sent -- a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, very pleasing to God.

A certain one of them, in fact, one of their own prophets, said, "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons."

because I hear of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. I pray that the faith you share with us may deepen your understanding of every blessing that belongs to you in Christ. read more. I have had great joy and encouragement because of your love, for the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.

Now this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, met Abraham as he was returning from defeating the kings and blessed him. To him also Abraham apportioned a tithe of everything. His name first means king of righteousness, then king of Salem, that is, king of peace. read more. Without father, without mother, without genealogy, he has neither beginning of days nor end of life but is like the son of God, and he remains a priest for all time. But see how great he must be, if Abraham the patriarch gave him a tithe of his plunder. And those of the sons of Levi who receive the priestly office have authorization according to the law to collect a tithe from the people, that is, from their fellow countrymen, although they too are descendants of Abraham. But Melchizedek who does not share their ancestry collected a tithe from Abraham and blessed the one who possessed the promise. Now without dispute the inferior is blessed by the superior, and in one case tithes are received by mortal men, while in the other by him who is affirmed to be alive. And it could be said that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid a tithe through Abraham. For he was still in his ancestor Abraham's loins when Melchizedek met him.

But the rich person's pride should be in his humiliation, because he will pass away like a wildflower in the meadow.

For all flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of the grass; the grass withers and the flower falls off,

Then I saw in the right hand of the one who was seated on the throne a scroll written on the front and back and 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 so no wind could blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree.

saying to the sixth angel, the one holding the trumpet, "Set free the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates!"

A second angel followed the first, declaring: "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great city! She made all the nations drink of the wine of her immoral passion."

The city possesses the glory of God; its brilliance is like a precious jewel, like a stone of crystal-clear jasper.