And continually, up till daybreak, Paul kept urging all on board to take some food. "This is the fourteenth day," he said, "that you have been anxiously waiting for the storm to cease, and have fasted, eating little or nothing.

Having said this he took some bread, and, after giving thanks to God for it before them all, he broke it in pieces and began to eat it.

When the natives saw the creature hanging to his hand, they said to one another, "Beyond doubt this man is a murderer, for, though saved from the sea, unerring Justice does not permit him to live."

They expected him soon to swell with inflammation or suddenly fall down dead; but, after waiting a long time and seeing no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.

After one complete day he invited the leading men among the Jews to meet him; and, when they were come together, he said to them, "As for me, brethren, although I had done nothing prejudicial to our people or contrary to the customs of our forefathers, I was handed over as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the power of the Romans.

What follows? Is the Law itself a sinful thing? No, indeed; on the contrary, unless I had been taught by the Law, I should have known nothing of sin as sin. For instance, I should not have known what covetousness is, if the Law had not repeatedly said, "Thou shalt not covet."

But if I do that which I desire not to do, it can no longer be said that it is I who do it, but the sin which has its home within me does it.

It is *in hope* that we have been saved. But an object of hope is such no longer when it is present to view; for when a man has a thing before his eyes, how can he be said to hope for it?

And from this we learn that everything is dependent not on man's will or endeavour, but upon God who has mercy. For the Scripture said to Pharaoh,

And in the place where it was said to them, 'No people of Mine are you,' there shall they be called sons of the everliving God."

and after giving thanks He broke it and said, "This is my body which is about to be broken for you. Do this in memory of me."

In the same way, when the meal was over, He also took the cup. "This cup," He said, "is the new Covenant of which my blood is the pledge. Do this, every time that you drink it, in memory of me."

For God who said, "Out of darkness let light shine," is He who has shone in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory, which is radiant on the face of Christ.

And what compact has the Temple of God with idols? For *we* are the Temple of the ever-living God; as God has said, "I will dwell among them, and walk about among them; and will be their God, and it is they who shall be My people."

I do not say this to imply blame, for, as I have already said, you have such a place in our hearts that we would die with you or live with you.

Still I send the brethren in order that in this matter our boast about you may not turn out to have been an idle one; so that, as I have said, you may be ready;

What I have just said I repeat--if any one is preaching to you a Good News other than that which you originally received, let him be accursed.

They only heard it said, "He who was once our persecutor is now telling the Good News of the faith of which he formerly made havoc."

As soon as I saw that they were not walking uprightly in the spirit of the Good News, I said to Peter, before them all, "If you, though you are a Jew, live as a Gentile does, and not as a Jew, how can you make the Gentiles follow Jewish customs?

For this reason it is said, "Rise, sleeper; rise from among the dead, and Christ will shed light upon you."

One of their own number--a Prophet who is a countryman of theirs--has said, "Cretans are always liars, dangerous animals, idle gluttons."

To which of the angels has He ever said, "Sit at My right hand till I make Thy foes a footstool for Thy feet"?

But, as we know, a writer has solemnly said, "How poor a creature is man, and yet Thou dost remember him, and a son of man, and yet Thou dost come to him!

Therefore I was greatly grieved with that generation, and I said, 'They are ever going astray in heart, and have not learnt to know My paths.'

We who have believed are soon to be admitted to the true rest; as He has said, "As I swore in My anger, they shall not be admitted to My rest," although God's works had been going on ever since the creation of the world.

So Christ also did not claim for Himself the honour of being made High Priest, but was appointed to it by Him who said to Him, "My Son art Thou: I have to-day become Thy Father;"

Now if the crowning blessing was attainable by means of the Levitical priesthood--for as resting on this foundation the people received the Law, to which they are still subject-- what further need was there for a Priest of a different kind to be raised up belonging to the order of Melchizedek instead of being said to belong to the order of Aaron?

For it is undeniable that our Lord sprang from Judah, a tribe of which Moses said nothing in connection with priests.

for these men hold office without any oath having been taken, but He holds it attested by an oath from Him who said to Him, "The Lord has sworn and will not recall His words, Thou art a Priest for ever" --

and serve a copy and type of the heavenly things, just as Moses was divinely instructed when about to build the tabernacle. For God said, "See that you make everything in imitation of the pattern shown you on the mountain."

Then I said, 'I have come--in the roll of the book it is written concerning Me--to do Thy will, O God.'"

And the Holy Spirit also gives us His testimony; for when He had said,

For we know who it is that has said, "Vengeance belongs to Me: I will pay back;" and again, "The Lord will be His people's judge."

and so terrible was the scene that Moses said, "I tremble with fear."

Your lives should be untainted by love for money. Be content with what you have; for God Himself has said, "I will never, never let go your hand: I will never never forsake you."

For He who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not commit murder," and if you are a murderer, although not an adulterer, you have become an offender against the Law.

But Michael the Archangel, when contending with the Devil and arguing with him about the body of Moses, did not dare to pronounce judgement on him in abusive terms, but simply said, "The Lord rebuke you."

It said, "Write forthwith in a roll an account of what you see, and send it to the seven Churches--to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyateira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea."

When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as if I were dead. But He laid His right hand upon me and said, "Do not be afraid: I am the First and the Last, and the ever-living One.

After all this I looked and saw a door in Heaven standing open, and the voice that I had previously heard, which resembled the blast of a trumpet, again spoke to me and said, "Come up here, and I will show you things which are to happen in the future."

one of the Elders said to me, "Do not weep. The Lion which belongs to the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed, and will open the book and break its seven seals."

Then the four living creatures said "Amen," and the Elders fell down and worshipped.

"Injure neither land nor sea nor trees," he said, "until we have sealed the bondservants of our God upon their foreheads."

Then, addressing me, one of the Elders said, "Who are these people clothed in the long white robes? And where have they come from?"

"My lord, you know," I replied. "They are those," he said, "who have just passed through the great distress, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

It said to the sixth angel--the angel who had the trumpet, "Set at liberty the four angels who are prisoners near the great river Euphrates."

And when the seven peals of thunder had spoken, I was about to write down what they had said; but I heard a voice from Heaven which told me to keep secret all that the seven peals of thunder had said, and not write it down.

Then the voice which I had heard speaking from Heaven once more addressed me. It said, "Go and take the little book which lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land."

So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little book. "Take it," he said, "and eat the whole of it. You will find it bitter when you have eaten it, although in your mouth it will taste as sweet as honey."

And a voice said to me, "You must prophesy yet further concerning peoples, nations, languages, and many kings."

Then a reed was given me to serve as a measuring rod; and a voice said, "Rise, and measure God's sanctuary--and the altar--and count the worshipers who are in it.

The seventh angel blew his trumpet; and there followed loud voices in Heaven which said, "The sovereignty of the world now belongs to our Lord and His Christ; and He will be King until the Ages of the Ages."

Then I heard a loud voice speaking in Heaven. It said, "The salvation and the power and the Kingdom of our God have now come, and the sovereignty of His Christ; for the accuser of our brethren has been hurled down--he who, day after day and night after night, was wont to accuse them in the presence of God.

And they offered worship to the Dragon, because it was to him that the Wild Beast owed his dominion; and they also offered worship to the Wild Beast, and said, "Who is there like him? And who is able to engage in battle with him?"

He said in a loud voice, "Fear God and give Him glory, because the time of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made sky and earth, the sea and the water-springs."

And I heard a voice speaking from Heaven. It said, "Write as follows: "'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from this time onward. Yes, says the Spirit, let them rest from their sorrowful labours; for what they have done goes with them.'"

Then one of the seven angels who were carrying the seven bowls came and spoke to me. "Come with me," he said, "and I will show you the doom of the great Harlot who sits upon many waters.

Then the angel said to me, "Why are you so astonished? I will explain to you the secret meaning of the woman and of the seven-headed, ten-horned Wild Beast which carries her.

He also said to me, "The waters which you have seen, on which the Harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes, nations and languages.

Then I heard another voice from Heaven, which said, "Come out of her, My people, that you may not become partakers in her sins, nor receive a share of her plagues.

stood afar off, and cried aloud when they saw the smoke of her burning. And they said, 'What city is like this great city?'

And they threw dust upon their heads, and cried out, weeping aloud and sorrowing. 'Alas, alas,' they said, 'for this great city, in which, through her vast wealth, the owners of all the ships on the sea have grown rich; because in one short hour she has been laid waste!'

After this I seemed to hear the far-echoing voices of a great multitude in Heaven, who said, "Hallelujah! The salvation and the glory and the power belong to our God.

And a second time they said, "Hallelujah! For her smoke ascends until the Ages of the Ages."

And the twenty-four Elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God who sits upon the throne. "Even so," they said; "Hallelujah!"

And from the throne there came a voice which said, "Praise our God, all you His bondservants--you who fear Him, both the small and the great."

And I seemed to hear the voices of a great multitude and the sound of many waters and of loud peals of thunder, which said, "Hallelujah! Because the Lord our God, the Ruler of all, has become King.

And he said to me, "Write as follows: 'Blessed are those who receive an invitation to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.'" And he added, still addressing me, "These are truly the words of God."

Then He who was seated on the throne said, "I am re-creating all things." And He added, "Write down these words, for they are trustworthy and true."

He also said, "They have now been fulfilled. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To those who are thirsty I will give the privilege of drinking from the well of the Water of Life without payment.

Then there came one of the seven angels who were carrying the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues. "Come with me," he said, "and I will show you the Bride, the Lamb's wife."

"In future there will be no curse," he said, "but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in that city. And His servants will render Him holy service and will see His face,

And he said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the Prophets, sent His angel to make known to His servants the things which must soon happen.

But he said to me, "Oh, do not do that. I am a fellow bondservant of yours, and a fellow bondservant of your brethren the Prophets and of those who are mindful of the teachings of this book. Worship God."