Then they went into the house and saw the young child with His mother Mary. They fell to the ground and worshiped Him, and unpacking their treasures, they offered Him gifts of gold, incense and aromatic spices.

His winnowing shovel [Note: This was a process whereby grain was tossed into the air so that the wind could blow the husks away, leaving only good grain on the ground] is in His hand and He will completely clear off His threshing floor [by removing all of the husks]. And He will gather His wheat into the barn, but will burn up the husks with a fire that will never go out."

and said to Him, "I will give you all these things if you fall to the ground and worship me."

Are not two sparrows sold [in the market for food] for a small coin [Note: The coin mentioned here was worth about a half hour's worth of a farm laborer's pay, or about $3 in 1994]? And not a [single] one of them can fall to the ground without your Father [knowing about it].

And other seed fell on rocky ground where there was not much soil and immediately it sprouted up because the soil was so shallow.

And the person who was sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the message and immediately welcomes it joyfully,

Then He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground,

And when the disciples heard [the voice], they fell [to the ground] on their faces and became very afraid.

I tell you again, if two of you agree [here] on earth concerning anything you ask for [i.e., in prayer], God in heaven will grant it to you.

The servant then fell to the ground [before his master] and humbly implored him, saying, 'Master, [please] be patient with me and I will repay you everything [I owe].'

His fellow-servant fell [on the ground before him] and begged him, saying, '[Please] be patient with me and I will repay you [all I owe you].'

[This will be done] so that on you may fall the guilt for shedding on the ground the blood of all those innocent people, from the blood of righteous Abel to that of Barachiah's son Zachariah, whom you murdered between the Sanctuary and the Altar [i.e., in the Temple area].

But the one who was given one talent went and dug a hole in the ground and buried his master's money.

and I was afraid, so I went away and hid your talent in the ground. Look, you [can] have your own talent [back].'

Just then the Temple curtain was torn in two from top to bottom, the ground shook, and rocks were split open.

And whenever they saw Him, [people possessed by] evil spirits fell to the ground in front of Him, shouting, "You are the Son of God."

And some seed fell on rocky ground where there was not much soil, and immediately it sprouted up because the soil was so shallow.

And Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is like a farmer who scattered seed on the ground,

It is similar to a seed from the mustard tree which, when planted in the ground,

About then a man named Jairus, one of the officials of the synagogue, came to Jesus and, upon seeing Him, fell to the ground at His feet.

Then He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground; he took the seven loaves, and after giving thanks to God [for them], He divided the food and gave it to His disciples to set in front of them. They [in turn] set it in front of the crowd.

Then they [i.e., some people from the crowd] brought the sick boy to Jesus, and when the spirit saw Him, it immediately caused the boy to have convulsions and to fall to the ground and roll around, foaming at the mouth.

And He went on ahead a short distance and fell to the ground and prayed for that hour [i.e., that time of terrible grief] to pass away from Him, if it were at all possible.

So, when Joseph and Mary had completed everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to their [current home] town of Nazareth, in Galilee.

And it happened while Jesus was in one of the towns [i.e., surrounding Lake Galilee], that a man covered with an infectious skin disease appeared and, when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face [to the ground] and begged Him, saying, "If you want to, you can heal me." [Note: Throughout this narrative the terms "heal/healing" are originally "clean/cleansing" because the Jews viewed a person with such a disease as ceremonially "unclean." See Lev. 13:1-3].

But the person who hears [my words] and does not obey them is like a man who built a house on the ground, without a foundation. [When] the river pounded against it, immediately it collapsed and the destruction of that house was complete."

And other [seed] fell on rocky ground and as soon as it started to grow, it [quickly] withered away, because it had no moisture.

And those people [represented by the seed falling] on rocky ground are those who, upon hearing the word [of God], accept it gladly, but since they have no root [system], they believe it for [only] awhile, and [then] in times of trial fall away [from God].

And while the boy was approaching [Jesus], an evil spirit threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus spoke sternly to the evil spirit and [then] returned him to his father healed.

There was [also] a widow in that [same] town who kept coming to the judge saying, 'Grant me a [favorable] judgment against my opponent.'

I will grant her a [favorable] judgment because she keeps bothering me [about the matter] and is about to exhaust my patience by her persistent visits.'"

So, will God not grant justice to His elect [i.e., His people] who call out to Him [i.e., in prayer] day and night? Will He be slow in helping them?

I tell you, He will grant justice to them quickly. However, will the Son of man find [very many] believing people on the earth when He returns?"

They will throw you and your children, [who are] within your walls, to the ground and they will not allow one stone to remain on top of another in your city because you did not recognize that [God was] visiting you." [Note: This "visitation" refers either to the redemption which they had rejected or to the punishment of the siege and destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70].

And He became anguished as He prayed more fervently; even His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

As the women became terrified and bowed down with their faces toward the ground [i.e., in reverence and awe], the two men said to them, "Why are you looking for the living [One] where they bury dead people?

Jesus answered, "Have these people recline [on the ground]." Now there was a lot of grass in that place. So, the men, numbering about five thousand, reclined [on the grass].

They said this to test Him, in order to have a charge to bring against Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote [something] on the ground [i.e., in the dirt] with His finger.

Then He stooped down again and wrote [something else] on the ground.

After He had said this, He spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then He put the mud on the man's eyes

for the Father Himself loves you [i.e., and will grant your requests without my persuasion], because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.

Now when Jesus had said to them, "I am [He]," they [all] moved backward and fell to the ground. [Note: This appears to have been done by some miraculous power].

Meanwhile, the head priest asked Jesus about His disciples and His teaching. [Note: This was probably Annas, the former "head priest" who later sent Jesus to the current head priest, Caiaphas. See verse 24].

And the Lord said to him, 'Take off your shoes, [Moses], for the place you are standing on is holy ground.

Now when the Council members heard these things they were enraged and ground their teeth at him.

He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"

Saul got up from the ground and opened his eyes but could not see anything, so had to be led by the hand into Damascus.

and could see the sky open up and a huge sheet-like container being lowered to the ground by its four corners.

I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?'

When we all fell to the ground I heard a voice speaking in the Hebrew [i.e., Aramaic] language. [It said], 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? You are only hurting yourself by kicking against the spurs [i.e., opposing the work of God].'

saying, 'Do not be afraid Paul, for you must appear before Caesar, and look, God will grant you [the safety of] all these men aboard ship [along] with yourself.'

However, we speak [divine] wisdom among people who are [spiritually] mature, yet it is not a wisdom of this current age, nor of [its] current rulers, who are coming to nothing.

The secrets of his heart will be revealed so that he will fall [to the ground] on his face and worship God, declaring that God is truly among you.

The first man [i.e., Adam] came from the dust of the ground [See Gen. 2:7]; the second man [i.e., Christ] came from heaven.

[But], may the Lord grant mercy to Onesiphorus' family, for he cheered me up many times and was not ashamed of my [being in] chains.

May the Lord grant that he will find mercy on that day [i.e., the day of judgment]. And you know very well the many things he did to serve [me while I was] at Ephesus.

By [having] faith, the Israelites passed [safely] through the Red Sea as if it were dry ground, but when the Egyptians attempted to do it, they were drowned.

(The world did not deserve such people). They wandered in deserts and mountains, [living] in caves and [even] holes in the ground.

Then he prayed again and the sky poured rain and the ground produced its crop.

Keep yourselves in God's love [i.e., continue to love God], as you look forward to [receiving] the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, [who will grant you] never ending life.

The person who has victory [in the Christian life], I will grant him [the privilege of] sitting down with me on my throne, as I also had victory and sat down with my Father on His throne.