Judah the father of Perez and Zerah (by Tamar), Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram,

So a report about him spread throughout Syria. People brought to him all who suffered with various illnesses and afflictions, those who had seizures, paralytics, and those possessed by demons, and he healed them.

He told them many things in parables, saying: "Listen! A sower went out to sow.

"So listen to the parable of the sower:

So the slaves of the owner came and said to him, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?'

Don't you understand that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach and then passes out into the sewer?

The father went to the other son and said the same thing. This boy answered, 'I will, sir,' but did not go.

You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Make sure that you are not alarmed, for this must happen, but the end is still to come.

The one who had received the five talents came and brought five more, saying, 'Sir, you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.'

The one with the two talents also came and said, 'Sir, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more.'

Then the one who had received the one talent came and said, 'Sir, I knew that you were a hard man, harvesting where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed,

At that he began to curse, and he swore with an oath, "I do not know the man!" At that moment a rooster crowed.

Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink.

and said, "Sir, we remember that while that deceiver was still alive he said, 'After three days I will rise again.'

"Listen! A sower went out to sow.

The sower sows the word.

He swore to her, "Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom."

For it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and then goes out into the sewer." (This means all foods are clean.)

Then he began to curse, and he swore with an oath, "I do not know this man you are talking about!"

Then someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, "Leave him alone! Let's see if Elijah will come to take him down!"

Zechariah said to the angel, "How can I be sure of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is old as well."

the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham. This oath grants

This was the first registration, taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.

"A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled on, and the wild birds devoured it.

But the worker answered him, 'Sir, leave it alone this year too, until I dig around it and put fertilizer on it.

Then the slave said, 'Sir, what you instructed has been done, and there is still room.'

Jesus said to his disciples, "Stumbling blocks are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come!

So the first one came before him and said, 'Sir, your mina has made ten minas more.'

Then the second one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has made five minas.'

Then another slave came and said, 'Sir, here is your mina that I put away for safekeeping in a piece of cloth.

But they said to him, 'Sir, he has ten minas already!'

The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine,

"Sir," the woman said to him, "you have no bucket and the well is deep; where then do you get this living water?

The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water."

The woman said to him, "Sir, I see that you are a prophet.

"Sir," the official said to him, "come down before my child dies."

The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up. While I am trying to get into the water, someone else goes down there before me."

So they said to him, "Sir, give us this bread all the time!"

The man replied, "And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?"

So these approached Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and requested, "Sir, we would like to see Jesus."

So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.

A jar full of sour wine was there, so they put a sponge soaked in sour wine on a branch of hyssop and lifted it to his mouth.

When he had received the sour wine, Jesus said, "It is completed!" Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?" Because she thought he was the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will take him."

They sent this letter with them: From the apostles and elders, your brothers, to the Gentile brothers and sisters in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia, greetings!

He passed through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

Paul, after staying many more days in Corinth, said farewell to the brothers and sailed away to Syria accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. He had his hair cut off at Cenchrea because he had made a vow.

where he stayed for three months. Because the Jews had made a plot against him as he was intending to sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia.

After we sighted Cyprus and left it behind on our port side, we sailed on to Syria and put in at Tyre, because the ship was to unload its cargo there.

Without being weak in faith, he considered his own body as dead (because he was about one hundred years old) and the deadness of Sarah's womb.

I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.

For this is what the promise declared: "About a year from now I will return and Sarah will have a son."

Every day I am in danger of death! This is as sure as my boasting in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord.

But as you excel in everything -- in faith, in speech, in knowledge, and in all eagerness and in the love from us that is in you -- make sure that you excel in this act of kindness too.

Now God who provides seed for the sower and bread for food will provide and multiply your supply of seed and will cause the harvest of your righteousness to grow.

Afterward I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia.

I went there because of a revelation and presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did so only in a private meeting with the influential people, to make sure that I was not running -- or had not run -- in vain.

For I am sure of this very thing, that the one who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill.

And since I am sure of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for the sake of your progress and joy in the faith,

I recall your sincere faith that was alive first in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice, and I am sure is in you.

Make every effort to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way; make sure they have what they need.

"As I swore in my anger, 'They will never enter my rest!'"

And to whom did he swear they would never enter into his rest, except those who were disobedient?

For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, "As I swore in my anger, 'They will never enter my rest!'" And yet God's works were accomplished from the foundation of the world.

Now when God made his promise to Abraham, since he could swear by no one greater, he swore by himself,

For people swear by something greater than themselves, and the oath serves as a confirmation to end all dispute.

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, sure and steadfast, which reaches inside behind the curtain,

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see.

By faith, even though Sarah herself was barren and he was too old, he received the ability to procreate, because he regarded the one who had given the promise to be trustworthy.

Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to conduct ourselves rightly in every respect.

But be sure you live out the message and do not merely listen to it and so deceive yourselves.

And above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath. But let your "Yes" be yes and your "No" be no, so that you may not fall into judgment.

like Sarah who obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. You become her children when you do what is good and have no fear in doing so.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, make every effort to be sure of your calling and election. For by doing this you will never stumble into sin.

and swore by the one who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, and the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, "There will be no more delay!