Thematic Bible: General references to


Thematic Bible



So he said to her, "How often do you intend to get drunk? Put away your wine!"

You have also established prophets to announce in Jerusalem on your behalf, 'We have a king in Judah!' Now the king is going to hear about these rumors. So come on! Let's talk about this."

But extend your hand and strike his bone and his flesh, and he will no doubt curse you to your face!"

"For you took pledges from your brothers for no reason, and you stripped the clothing from the naked.

But he only got as far as the Benjamin Gate. There an officer in charge of the guards named Irijah, who was the son of Shelemiah and the grandson of Hananiah, stopped him. He seized Jeremiah and said, "You are deserting to the Babylonians!"


But when he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he did not respond.




for they are eager to inflict harm, and they hasten to shed blood.

For they cannot sleep unless they cause harm; they are robbed of sleep until they make someone stumble.


They are eager to do evil, quick to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are sinful; they crush and destroy.

Those who devise sinful plans are as good as dead, those who dream about doing evil as they lie in bed. As soon as morning dawns they carry out their plans, because they have the power to do so.




He wears his desire for justice like body armor, and his desire to deliver is like a helmet on his head. He puts on the garments of vengeance and wears zeal like a robe.







They came, men and women alike, all who had willing hearts. They brought brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments, all kinds of gold jewelry, and everyone came who waved a wave offering of gold to the Lord.

So we have brought as an offering for the Lord what each man found: gold ornaments, armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and necklaces, to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord."


Then he brought out gold, silver jewelry, and clothing and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave valuable gifts to her brother and to her mother.

Every woman will ask her neighbor and the one who happens to be staying in her house for items of silver and gold and for clothing. You will put these articles on your sons and daughters -- thus you will plunder Egypt!"




And the eye of the adulterer watches for the twilight, thinking, 'No eye can see me,' and covers his face with a mask.



So then, if she is joined to another man while her husband is alive, she will be called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she is joined to another man, she is not an adulteress.




Through all that they suffered, he suffered too. The messenger sent from his very presence delivered them. In his love and mercy he protected them; he lifted them up and carried them throughout ancient times.


The Lord said, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt. I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.







The land of Judah will be inhabited by people who live in its towns as well as by farmers and shepherds with their flocks.

I used you to smash shepherds and their flocks. I used you to smash farmers and their teams of oxen. I used you to smash governors and leaders."

Because of Israel's sins this is what the Lord, the God who commands armies, the sovereign One, says: "In all the squares there will be wailing, in all the streets they will mourn the dead. They will tell the field workers to lament and the professional mourners to wail.

Instead he will say, 'I am no prophet -- indeed, I am a farmer, for a man has made me his indentured servant since my youth.'

"Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it, dug a pit for its winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went on a journey.

At harvest time he sent a slave to the tenants to collect from them his portion of the crop.

He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others." When the people heard this, they said, "May this never happen!"







When Isaac planted in that land, he reaped in the same year a hundred times what he had sown, because the Lord blessed him.

Six years you may sow your field, and six years you may prune your vineyard and gather the produce,

Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve pairs of oxen; he was near the twelfth pair. Elijah passed by him and threw his robe over him.

and a messenger came to Job, saying, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing beside them,



He built towers in the desert and dug many cisterns, for he owned many herds in the lowlands and on the plain. He had workers in the fields and vineyards in the hills and in Carmel, for he loved agriculture.


Ezri son of Kelub was in charge of the field workers who farmed the land.


Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve pairs of oxen; he was near the twelfth pair. Elijah passed by him and threw his robe over him.






He then told them a parable: "The land of a certain rich man produced an abundant crop,


In the thirty-eighth year of Asa's reign over Judah, Omri's son Ahab became king over Israel. Ahab son of Omri ruled over Israel for twenty-two years in Samaria.

Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, "As certainly as the Lord God of Israel lives (whom I serve), there will be no dew or rain in the years ahead unless I give the command."

Ahab told Obadiah, "Go through the land to all the springs and valleys. Maybe we can find some grazing areas so we can keep the horses and mules alive and not have to kill some of the animals."

Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, including a detailed account of how he killed all the prophets with the sword.

He sent messengers to King Ahab of Israel, who was in the city.

(There had never been anyone like Ahab, who was firmly committed to doing evil in the sight of the Lord, urged on by his wife Jezebel.

The king of Israel said to his servants, "Surely you recognize that Ramoth Gilead belongs to us, though we are hesitant to reclaim it from the king of Syria."

He found another man and said, "Wound me!" So the man wounded him severely.

Ahab had seventy sons living in Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria to the leading officials of Jezreel and to the guardians of Ahab's dynasty. This is what the letters said,

Therefore take note that not one of the judgments the Lord announced against Ahab's dynasty has failed to materialize. The Lord had done what he announced through his servant Elijah."



Even if you go and fight bravely in battle, God will defeat you before the enemy. God is capable of helping or defeating."

By his power he stills the sea; by his wisdom he cut Rahab the great sea monster to pieces.

God has declared one principle; two principles I have heard: God is strong,


Above the sound of the surging water, and the mighty waves of the sea, the Lord sits enthroned in majesty.


Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that had been kept secret for long ages,



As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee he saw two brothers, Simon (called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea (for they were fishermen).

Now as soon as they left the synagogue, they entered Simon and Andrew's house, with James and John.

So while he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately,

Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two disciples who heard what John said and followed Jesus.

One of Jesus' disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him,

Philip went and told Andrew, and they both went and told Jesus.

When they had entered Jerusalem, they went to the upstairs room where they were staying. Peter and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James were there.


David replied to Saul, "Your servant has been a shepherd for his father's flock. Whenever a lion or bear would come and carry off a sheep from the flock,

Samson went down to Timnah. When he approached the vineyards of Timnah, he saw a roaring young lion attacking him.

As the prophet from Judah was traveling, a lion attacked him on the road and killed him. His corpse was lying on the road, and the donkey and the lion just stood there beside it.

In the morning, at the earliest sign of daylight, the king got up and rushed to the lions' den.


Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, arrived in Ephesus. He was an eloquent speaker, well-versed in the scriptures.

While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul went through the inland regions and came to Ephesus. He found some disciples there

Now I mean this, that each of you is saying, "I am with Paul," or "I am with Apollos," or "I am with Cephas," or "I am with Christ."

For whenever someone says, "I am with Paul," or "I am with Apollos," are you not merely human?

With regard to our brother Apollos: I strongly encouraged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was simply not his intention to come now. He will come when he has the opportunity.

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


Now in all Israel everyone acknowledged that there was no man as handsome as Absalom. From the sole of his feet to the top of his head he was perfect in appearance.

He had a son named Saul, a handsome young man. There was no one among the Israelites more handsome than he was; he stood head and shoulders above all the people.

When they arrived, Samuel noticed Eliab and said to himself, "Surely, here before the Lord stands his chosen king!"

After noticing in the distance a fig tree with leaves, he went to see if he could find any fruit on it. When he came to it he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.


and because he worked at the same trade, he stayed with them and worked with them (for they were tentmakers by trade).

He gathered these together, along with the workmen in similar trades, and said, "Men, you know that our prosperity comes from this business.

And the sound of the harpists, musicians, flute players, and trumpeters will never be heard in you again. No craftsman who practices any trade will ever be found in you again; the noise of a mill will never be heard in you again.


Now John wore clothing made from camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his diet consisted of locusts and wild honey.


Even though they have the appearance of wisdom with their self-imposed worship and false humility achieved by an unsparing treatment of the body -- a wisdom with no true value -- they in reality result in fleshly indulgence.



God made two great lights -- the greater light to rule over the day and the lesser light to rule over the night. He made the stars also.

with the harvest produced by the daylight and by the moonlight;

The sun stood still and the moon stood motionless while the nation took vengeance on its enemies. The event is recorded in the Scroll of the Upright One. The sun stood motionless in the middle of the sky and did not set for about a full day.


The full moon will be covered up, the bright sun will be darkened; for the Lord who commands armies will rule on Mount Zion in Jerusalem in the presence of his assembly, in majestic splendor.

The sunlight will be turned to darkness and the moon to the color of blood, before the day of the Lord comes -- that great and terrible day!


Who is the liar but the person who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This one is the antichrist: the person who denies the Father and the Son.



For the music director; written by the Lord's servant, David; an oracle. An evil man is rebellious to the core. He does not fear God,

lest I become satisfied and act deceptively and say, "Who is the Lord?" Or lest I become poor and steal and demean the name of my God.

"These people have denied what the Lord says. They have said, 'That is not so! No harm will come to us. We will not experience war and famine.



Even if you go and fight bravely in battle, God will defeat you before the enemy. God is capable of helping or defeating."

By his power he stills the sea; by his wisdom he cut Rahab the great sea monster to pieces.

God has declared one principle; two principles I have heard: God is strong,


Above the sound of the surging water, and the mighty waves of the sea, the Lord sits enthroned in majesty.


Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that had been kept secret for long ages,



Crispus, the president of the synagogue, believed in the Lord together with his entire household, and many of the Corinthians who heard about it believed and were baptized.



But some men from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.

When all the people saw this, they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground and said, "The Lord is the true God! The Lord is the true God!"

While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself to the ground before the temple of God, a very large crowd of Israelites -- men, women, and children alike -- gathered around him. The people wept loudly.

So the crowds were asking him, "What then should we do?"

Now many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the report of the woman who testified, "He told me everything I ever did."

The crowds were paying attention with one mind to what Philip said, as they heard and saw the miraculous signs he was performing.

All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.

When the Gentiles heard this, they began to rejoice and praise the word of the Lord, and all who had been appointed for eternal life believed.

Many of those who had believed came forward, confessing and making their deeds known.


Return to the Lord and repent! Say to him: "Completely forgive our iniquity; accept our penitential prayer, that we may offer the praise of our lips as sacrificial bulls.

Then the lame will leap like a deer, the mute tongue will shout for joy; for water will flow in the desert, streams in the wilderness.


He will restore us in a very short time; he will heal us in a little while, so that we may live in his presence.


Crispus, the president of the synagogue, believed in the Lord together with his entire household, and many of the Corinthians who heard about it believed and were baptized.



But some men from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.

When all the people saw this, they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground and said, "The Lord is the true God! The Lord is the true God!"

While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself to the ground before the temple of God, a very large crowd of Israelites -- men, women, and children alike -- gathered around him. The people wept loudly.

So the crowds were asking him, "What then should we do?"

Now many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the report of the woman who testified, "He told me everything I ever did."

The crowds were paying attention with one mind to what Philip said, as they heard and saw the miraculous signs he was performing.

All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.

When the Gentiles heard this, they began to rejoice and praise the word of the Lord, and all who had been appointed for eternal life believed.

Many of those who had believed came forward, confessing and making their deeds known.


The primary regions of his kingdom were Babel, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh in the land of Shinar.

The Babylonians broke the two bronze pillars in the Lord's temple, as well as the movable stands and the big bronze basin called the "The Sea." They took the bronze to Babylon.

you will taunt the king of Babylon with these words: "Look how the oppressor has met his end! Hostility has ceased!

But suddenly Babylonia will fall and be destroyed. Cry out in mourning over it! Get medicine for her wounds! Perhaps she can be healed!

After twelve months, he happened to be walking around on the battlements of the royal palace of Babylon.

The church in Babylon, chosen together with you, greets you, and so does Mark, my son.


When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at a city of Moab which was on the border of the Arnon at the boundary of his territory.

So Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab.

And he sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the Euphrates River in the land of Amaw, to summon him, saying, "Look, a nation has come out of Egypt. They cover the face of the earth, and they are settling next to me.

But God said to Balaam, "You must not go with them; you must not curse the people, for they are blessed."

They killed the kings of Midian in addition to those slain -- Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba -- five Midianite kings. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.

Look, these people through the counsel of Balaam caused the Israelites to act treacherously against the Lord in the matter of Peor -- which resulted in the plague among the community of the Lord!

My people, recall how King Balak of Moab planned to harm you, how Balaam son of Beor responded to him. Recall how you journeyed from Shittim to Gilgal, so you might acknowledge that the Lord has treated you fairly."



He lifts the weak from the dust; he raises the poor from the ash heap to seat them with princes and to bestow on them an honored position. The foundations of the earth belong to the Lord, and he has placed the world on them.


May his children roam around begging, asking for handouts as they leave their ruined home!




Every living creature of the earth and every bird of the sky will be terrified of you. Everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea are under your authority.

All ritually clean birds you may eat.

If you happen to notice a bird's nest along the road, whether in a tree or on the ground, and there are chicks or eggs with the mother bird sitting on them, you must not take the mother from the young.

God said, "Let the water swarm with swarms of living creatures and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky."

"'These you are to detest from among the birds -- they must not be eaten, because they are detestable: the griffon vulture, the bearded vulture, the black vulture,

the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea and everything that moves through the currents of the seas.

Wherever human beings, wild animals, and birds of the sky live -- he has given them into your power. He has given you authority over them all. You are the head of gold.





For those who have served well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and great boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.



The king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was planning a revolt. Hoshea had sent messengers to King So of Egypt and had not sent his annual tribute to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria arrested him and imprisoned him.

The Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes. They brought him down to Gaza and bound him in bronze chains. He became a grinder in the prison.

so he imprisoned them in the house of the captain of the guard in the same facility where Joseph was confined.

They put him in custody, because there was no clear instruction about what should be done to him.

But these people are looted and plundered; all of them are trapped in pits and held captive in prisons. They were carried away as loot with no one to rescue them; they were carried away as plunder, and no one says, "Bring that back!"

He had Zedekiah's eyes put out and had him bound in chains. Then the king of Babylon had him led off to Babylon and he was imprisoned there until the day he died.

Suddenly a great earthquake occurred, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. Immediately all the doors flew open, and the bonds of all the prisoners came loose.


Now a man from Baal Shalisha brought some food for the prophet -- twenty loaves of bread made from the firstfruits of the barley harvest, as well as fresh ears of grain. Elisha said, "Set it before the people so they may eat."


So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a container of wine, and a young goat and sent them to Saul with his son David.


And let me get a bit of food so that you may refresh yourselves since you have passed by your servant's home. After that you may be on your way." "All right," they replied, "you may do as you say."

The ravens would bring him bread and meat each morning and evening, and he would drink from the stream.


Is there anyone among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?











By faith Abel offered God a greater sacrifice than Cain, and through his faith he was commended as righteous, because God commended him for his offerings. And through his faith he still speaks, though he is dead.



Woe to them! For they have traveled down Cain's path, and because of greed have abandoned themselves to Balaam's error; hence, they will certainly perish in Korah's rebellion.

So Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.



Who is the liar but the person who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This one is the antichrist: the person who denies the Father and the Son.

But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a man who was a murderer be released to you.




Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A slave girl came to him and said, "You also were with Jesus the Galilean." But he denied it in front of them all: "I don't know what you're talking about!"


But false prophets arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. These false teachers will infiltrate your midst with destructive heresies, even to the point of denying the Master who bought them. As a result, they will bring swift destruction on themselves.


As a result God exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow -- in heaven and on earth and under the earth -- and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.



Thus he became so far better than the angels as he has inherited a name superior to theirs.

Listen: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.

His eyes are like a fiery flame and there are many diadem crowns on his head. He has a name written that no one knows except himself.


He poured water into the washbasin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to dry them with the towel he had wrapped around himself.


















But there are some of you who do not believe." (For Jesus had already known from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.)

(For Jesus knew the one who was going to betray him. For this reason he said, "Not every one of you is clean.")

Then Jesus, because he knew everything that was going to happen to him, came and asked them, "Who are you looking for?"




But there are some of you who do not believe." (For Jesus had already known from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.)

(For Jesus knew the one who was going to betray him. For this reason he said, "Not every one of you is clean.")

Then Jesus, because he knew everything that was going to happen to him, came and asked them, "Who are you looking for?"







And you will be secure, because there is hope; you will be protected and will take your rest in safety.



This is the person who will live in a secure place; he will find safety in the rocky, mountain strongholds; he will have food and a constant supply of water.



For it says in scripture, "Look, I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen and priceless cornerstone, and whoever believes in him will never be put to shame."

Therefore, this is what the sovereign master, the Lord, says: "Look, I am laying a stone in Zion, an approved stone, set in place as a precious cornerstone for the foundation. The one who maintains his faith will not panic.

"Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them is like a wise man who built his house on rock.



"O afflicted one, driven away, and unconsoled! Look, I am about to set your stones in antimony and I lay your foundation with lapis-lazuli.

In this way they will save up a treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the future and so lay hold of what is truly life.



A musical composition by David, which he sang to the Lord concerning a Benjaminite named Cush. O Lord my God, in you I have taken shelter. Deliver me from all who chase me! Rescue me!



The enemies who chase me are numerous. Yet I do not turn aside from your rules.

/ (Sin/Shin) Rulers pursue me for no reason, yet I am more afraid of disobeying your instructions.

Certainly my enemies chase me. They smash me into the ground. They force me to live in dark regions, like those who have been dead for ages.

I said, "Lord, you know how I suffer. Take thought of me and care for me. Pay back for me those who have been persecuting me. Do not be so patient with them that you allow them to kill me. Be mindful of how I have put up with their insults for your sake.

We are pursued -- they are breathing down our necks; we are weary and have no rest.








I know that after I am gone fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.


On that day the Lord their God will deliver them as the flock of his people, for they are the precious stones of a crown sparkling over his land.



I know that after I am gone fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.


On that day the Lord their God will deliver them as the flock of his people, for they are the precious stones of a crown sparkling over his land.



Now some men came down from Judea and began to teach the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved."

This is my requirement that you and your descendants after you must keep: Every male among you must be circumcised.

Any uncircumcised male who has not been circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin will be cut off from his people -- he has failed to carry out my requirement."

So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites on the Hill of the Foreskins.

Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was Greek.

Was anyone called after he had been circumcised? He should not try to undo his circumcision. Was anyone called who is uncircumcised? He should not get circumcised.

Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, although he was a Greek.

Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you at all!

Those who want to make a good showing in external matters are trying to force you to be circumcised. They do so only to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.



Jehoahaz's son Jehoash took back from Ben Hadad son of Hazael the cities that he had taken from his father Jehoahaz in war. Joash defeated him three times and recovered the Israelite cities.

But the inhabitants are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. Moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there.

What if there are fifty godly people in the city? Will you really wipe it out and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty godly people who are in it?

Joseph collected all the excess food in the land of Egypt during the seven years and stored it in the cities. In every city he put the food gathered from the fields around it.

Then when the Lord your God brings you to the land he promised your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give you -- a land with large, fine cities you did not build,


I will uproot your images of Asherah from your midst, and destroy your idols.


Everyone who does not observe both the law of your God and the law of the king will be completely liable to the appropriate penalty, whether it is death or banishment or confiscation of property or detainment in prison."


Obey the king's command, because you took an oath before God to be loyal to him.

But so that we don't offend them, go to the lake and throw out a hook. Take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth, you will find a four drachma coin. Take that and give it to them for me and you."




Be subject to every human institution for the Lord's sake, whether to a king as supreme or to governors as those he commissions to punish wrongdoers and praise those who do good.


Everyone who does not observe both the law of your God and the law of the king will be completely liable to the appropriate penalty, whether it is death or banishment or confiscation of property or detainment in prison."


Obey the king's command, because you took an oath before God to be loyal to him.

But so that we don't offend them, go to the lake and throw out a hook. Take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth, you will find a four drachma coin. Take that and give it to them for me and you."




Be subject to every human institution for the Lord's sake, whether to a king as supreme or to governors as those he commissions to punish wrongdoers and praise those who do good.


One nation was crushed by another, and one city by another, for God caused them to be in great turmoil.

Do not lose your courage or become afraid because of the reports that are heard in the land. For a report will come in one year. Another report will follow it in the next. There will be violence in the land with ruler fighting against ruler."

When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. These things must happen, but the end is still to come.

Then he said to them, "Nation will rise up in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and famines and plagues in various places, and there will be terrifying sights and great signs from heaven.


Then, on Belshazzar's orders, Daniel was clothed in purple, a golden collar was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed third ruler in the kingdom.

Now John wore clothing made from camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his diet consisted of locusts and wild honey.


Then Rebekah took her older son Esau's best clothes, which she had with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob.

O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet as well as jewelry, who put gold jewelry on your clothes.

In his teaching Jesus also said, "Watch out for the experts in the law. They like walking around in long robes and elaborate greetings in the marketplaces,

So Peter got up and went with them, and when he arrived they brought him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him, crying and showing him the tunics and other clothing Dorcas used to make while she was with them.

do you pay attention to the one who is finely dressed and say, "You sit here in a good place," and to the poor person, "You stand over there," or "Sit on the floor"?


Then I would not be ashamed, if I were focused on all your commands.



These words I am commanding you today must be kept in mind,

Now pay attention to all the commandments I am giving you today, so that you may be strong enough to enter and possess the land where you are headed,

He answered them, "And why do you disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition?



If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that when you assemble it does not lead to judgment. I will give directions about other matters when I come.


Consequently, just as condemnation for all people came through one transgression, so too through the one righteous act came righteousness leading to life for all people.


You know that such a person is twisted by sin and is conscious of it himself.

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.


"'If the whole congregation of Israel strays unintentionally and the matter is not noticed by the assembly, and they violate one of the Lord's commandments, which must not be violated, so they become guilty,

"Bring the one who cursed outside the camp, and all who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the whole congregation is to stone him to death.

then if anything is done unintentionally without the knowledge of the community, the whole community must prepare one young bull for a burnt offering -- for a pleasing aroma to the Lord -- along with its grain offering and its customary drink offering, and one male goat for a purification offering.

A man with crushed or severed genitals may not enter the assembly of the Lord.




Paul looked directly at the council and said, "Brothers, I have lived my life with a clear conscience before God to this day."

They show that the work of the law is written in their hearts, as their conscience bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or else defend them,

Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of the wrath of the authorities but also because of your conscience.

But this knowledge is not shared by all. And some, by being accustomed to idols in former times, eat this food as an idol sacrifice, and their conscience, because it is weak, is defiled.

Eat anything that is sold in the marketplace without questions of conscience,

Therefore, because we know the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade people, but we are well known to God, and I hope we are well known to your consciences too.


Let me again experience the joy of your deliverance! Sustain me by giving me the desire to obey! Then I will teach rebels your merciful ways, and sinners will turn to you.


My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back, he should know that the one who turns a sinner back from his wandering path will save that person's soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.












The next day we put in at Sidon, and Julius, treating Paul kindly, allowed him to go to his friends so they could provide him with what he needed.

Now in the region around that place were fields belonging to the chief official of the island, named Publius, who welcomed us and entertained us hospitably as guests for three days.


Simeon and Levi are brothers, weapons of violence are their knives!

Do not turn me over to my enemies, for false witnesses who want to destroy me testify against me.

A kind person benefits himself, but a cruel person brings himself trouble.


They speak sinful words. So let them be trapped by their own pride and by the curses and lies they speak!


He loved to curse others, so those curses have come upon him. He had no desire to bless anyone, so he has experienced no blessings.

For you know in your own heart that you also have cursed others many times.

"Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness."



When Daniel realized that a written decree had been issued, he entered his home, where the windows in his upper room opened toward Jerusalem. Three times daily he was kneeling and offering prayers and thanks to his God just as he had been accustomed to do previously.


As it turned out, among these young men were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

Then Daniel spoke with prudent counsel to Arioch, who was in charge of the king's executioners and who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon.

But Daniel replied to the king, "Keep your gifts, and give your rewards to someone else! However, I will read the writing for the king and make known its interpretation.

Then Daniel spoke to the king, "O king, live forever!

in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, came to understand from the sacred books that, according to the word of the LORD disclosed to the prophet Jeremiah, the years for the fulfilling of the desolation of Jerusalem were seventy in number.

Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would save only their own lives by their righteousness, declares the sovereign Lord.

Look, you are wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you.


turn this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.


just as also you have partly understood us, that we are your source of pride just as you also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus.




David instructed Joab and all the people who were with him, "Tear your clothes! Put on sackcloth! Lament before Abner!" Now King David followed behind the funeral bier.

They took forty days, for that is the full time needed for embalming. The Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.

When all the community saw that Aaron was dead, the whole house of Israel mourned for Aaron thirty days.

The Israelites mourned for Moses in the deserts of Moab for thirty days; then the days of mourning for Moses ended.

They lamented and wept and fasted until evening because Saul, his son Jonathan, the Lord's people, and the house of Israel had fallen by the sword.


At that time she became sick and died. When they had washed her body, they placed it in an upstairs room.

When she poured this oil on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial.

The one who had died came out, his feet and hands tied up with strips of cloth, and a cloth wrapped around his face. Jesus said to them, "Unwrap him and let him go."


At that time she became sick and died. When they had washed her body, they placed it in an upstairs room.

When she poured this oil on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial.

The one who had died came out, his feet and hands tied up with strips of cloth, and a cloth wrapped around his face. Jesus said to them, "Unwrap him and let him go."


Now Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time.

Deborah said to Barak, "Spring into action, for this is the day the Lord is handing Sisera over to you! Has the Lord not taken the lead?" Barak quickly went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him.

On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this victory song:



Who is the liar but the person who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This one is the antichrist: the person who denies the Father and the Son.

But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a man who was a murderer be released to you.




Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A slave girl came to him and said, "You also were with Jesus the Galilean." But he denied it in front of them all: "I don't know what you're talking about!"


But false prophets arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. These false teachers will infiltrate your midst with destructive heresies, even to the point of denying the Master who bought them. As a result, they will bring swift destruction on themselves.



When the apostles returned, they told Jesus everything they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew privately to a town called Bethsaida.

So they went away by themselves in a boat to some remote place.


The next morning Jesus departed and went to a deserted place. Yet the crowds were seeking him, and they came to him and tried to keep him from leaving them.

And they said, "The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Let us go a three-day journey into the desert so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, so that he does not strike us with plague or the sword."



I desperately long to know your regulations at all times.


I look for you during the night, my spirit within me seeks you at dawn, for when your judgments come upon the earth, those who live in the world learn about justice.


"Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. "Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

All Judah was happy about the oath, because they made the vow with their whole heart. They willingly sought the Lord and he responded to them. He made them secure on every side.

A psalm of David, written when he was in the Judean wilderness. O God, you are my God! I long for you! My soul thirsts for you, my flesh yearns for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.


I open my mouth and pant, because I long for your commands.



Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask."

You open your hand, and fill every living thing with the food they desire.



How desolate they become in a mere moment! Terrifying judgments make their demise complete!

For the company of the godless is barren, and fire consumes the tents of those who accept bribes.


May those who say to me, "Aha! Aha!" be humiliated and disgraced!

Look, your house is left to you desolate!



Moses told this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and hard labor.

You will go insane from seeing all this.


So I said, "My endurance has expired; I have lost all hope of deliverance from the Lord."

Then he said to me, "Son of man, these bones are all the house of Israel. Look, they are saying, 'Our bones are dry, our hope has perished; we are cut off.'

When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and a violent storm continued to batter us, we finally abandoned all hope of being saved.


His God instructs him; he teaches him the principles of agriculture.

So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Because God has enabled you to know all this, there is no one as wise and discerning as you are!


in order to safeguard discretion, and that your lips may guard knowledge.

When Jesus saw that he had answered thoughtfully, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." Then no one dared any longer to question him.


There is still medicinal ointment available in Gilead! There is still a physician there! Why then have my dear people not been restored to health?

Why do you insist on being battered? Why do you continue to rebel? Your head has a massive wound, your whole body is weak.

Moreover, the Lord says to the people of Zion, "Your injuries are incurable; your wounds are severe.

For Samaria's disease is incurable. It has infected Judah; it has spread to the leadership of my people and has even contaminated Jerusalem!

When Jesus heard this he said to them, "Those who are healthy don't need a physician, but those who are sick do. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."




But you have come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the assembly

So it was necessary for the sketches of the things in heaven to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves required better sacrifices than these.

Now this phrase "once more" indicates the removal of what is shaken, that is, of created things, so that what is unshaken may remain.

For God had provided something better for us, so that they would be made perfect together with us.


Hezekiah welcomed them and showed them his storehouse with its silver, gold, spices, and high-quality olive oil, as well as his whole armory and everything in his treasuries. Hezekiah showed them everything in his palace and in his whole kingdom.

He displayed the riches of his royal glory and the splendor of his majestic greatness for a lengthy period of time -- a hundred and eighty days, to be exact!

Haman then recounted to them his fabulous wealth, his many sons, and how the king had magnified him and exalted him over the king's other officials and servants.

"Beware of the experts in the law. They like walking around in long robes, and they love elaborate greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.

So the next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the audience hall, along with the senior military officers and the prominent men of the city. When Festus gave the order, Paul was brought in.




These are the things you must do: Speak the truth, each of you, to one another. Practice true and righteous judgment in your courts.




The Lord said, "Hear now my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known to him in a vision; I will speak with him in a dream.

Let the prophet who has had a dream go ahead and tell his dream. Let the person who has received my message report that message faithfully. What is like straw cannot compare to what is like grain! I, the Lord, affirm it!

After all of this I will pour out my Spirit on all kinds of people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your elderly will have revelatory dreams; your young men will see prophetic visions.


Just as there is futility in many dreams, so also in many words. Therefore, fear God!

then you scare me with dreams and terrify me with visions,


Then, on Belshazzar's orders, Daniel was clothed in purple, a golden collar was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed third ruler in the kingdom.

Now John wore clothing made from camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his diet consisted of locusts and wild honey.


Then Rebekah took her older son Esau's best clothes, which she had with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob.

O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet as well as jewelry, who put gold jewelry on your clothes.

In his teaching Jesus also said, "Watch out for the experts in the law. They like walking around in long robes and elaborate greetings in the marketplaces,

So Peter got up and went with them, and when he arrived they brought him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him, crying and showing him the tunics and other clothing Dorcas used to make while she was with them.

do you pay attention to the one who is finely dressed and say, "You sit here in a good place," and to the poor person, "You stand over there," or "Sit on the floor"?


Everyone who does not observe both the law of your God and the law of the king will be completely liable to the appropriate penalty, whether it is death or banishment or confiscation of property or detainment in prison."


Obey the king's command, because you took an oath before God to be loyal to him.

But so that we don't offend them, go to the lake and throw out a hook. Take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth, you will find a four drachma coin. Take that and give it to them for me and you."




Be subject to every human institution for the Lord's sake, whether to a king as supreme or to governors as those he commissions to punish wrongdoers and praise those who do good.


He died at a good old age, having enjoyed long life, wealth, and honor. His son Solomon succeeded him.

For I will honor you greatly, and whatever you tell me I will do. So come, put a curse on this nation for me.'"

The Lord made his kingdom secure; all Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and he became very wealthy and greatly respected.

Hezekiah was very wealthy and greatly respected. He made storehouses for his silver, gold, precious stones, spices, and all his other valuable possessions.


Destructive forces will come against her horses and her chariots. Destructive forces will come against all the foreign troops within her; they will be as frightened as women! Destructive forces will come against her treasures; they will be taken away as plunder!

At that time the Egyptians will be like women. They will tremble and fear because the Lord who commands armies brandishes his fist against them.

The soldiers of Babylonia will stop fighting. They will remain in their fortified cities. They will lose their strength to do battle. They will be as frightened as women. The houses in her cities will be set on fire. The gates of her cities will be broken down.

Your warriors will be like women in your midst; the gates of your land will be wide open to your enemies; fire will consume the bars of your gates.


Just then some people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Have courage, son! Your sins are forgiven."

But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has been raised! He is not here. Look, there is the place where they laid him.

But Jesus came and touched them. "Get up," he said. "Do not be afraid."

The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, "Have courage, for just as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome."

Moses said to the people, "Do not fear! Stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord that he will provide for you today; for the Egyptians that you see today you will never, ever see again.

He appointed the priests to fulfill their duties and encouraged them to carry out their service in the Lord's temple.





Now Enoch, the seventh in descent beginning with Adam, even prophesied of them, saying, "Look! The Lord is coming with thousands and thousands of his holy ones,

the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel, the son of Kenan,

After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God for 300 years, and he had other sons and daughters.

By faith Enoch was taken up so that he did not see death, and he was not to be found because God took him up. For before his removal he had been commended as having pleased God.

When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch.


When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, as well as Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite.

And see to it that no one becomes an immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal.

When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind, he called his older son Esau and said to him, "My son!" "Here I am!" Esau replied.

The first came out reddish all over, like a hairy garment, so they named him Esau.

But Esau said, "I have plenty, my brother. Keep what belongs to you."

Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew; Esau ate and drank, then got up and went out. So Esau despised his birthright.

Isaac had just finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely left his father's presence, when his brother Esau returned from the hunt.

What follows is the account of Esau (also known as Edom).







This is what the Lord says: "What fault could your ancestors have possibly found in me that they strayed so far from me? They paid allegiance to worthless idols, and so became worthless to me.

I will do this in order to capture the hearts of the house of Israel, who have alienated themselves from me on account of all their idols.'

"'But the Levites who went far from me, straying off from me after their idols when Israel went astray, will be responsible for their sin.




Was it not because of things like these that King Solomon of Israel sinned? Among the many nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. But the foreign wives made even him sin!

Then his wife said to him, "Are you still holding firmly to your integrity? Curse God, and die!"

But on Herod's birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod,

When Jezebel was killing the Lord's prophets, Obadiah took one hundred prophets and hid them in two caves in two groups of fifty. He also brought them food and water.)

So she made him go to sleep, wove the seven braids of his hair into the fabric on the loom, fastened it with the pin, and said to him, "The Philistines are here, Samson!" He woke up and tore away the pin of the loom and the fabric.

Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah with this warning, "May the gods judge me severely if by this time tomorrow I do not take your life as you did theirs!"

When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she was determined to destroy the entire royal line.

King Asa also removed Maacah his grandmother from her position as queen mother because she had made a loathsome Asherah pole. Asa cut down her Asherah pole and crushed and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

Haman's wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, "Have a gallows seventy-five feet high built, and in the morning tell the king that Mordecai should be hanged on it. Then go with the king to the banquet contented." It seemed like a good idea to Haman, so he had the gallows built.


Those who devise sinful plans are as good as dead, those who dream about doing evil as they lie in bed. As soon as morning dawns they carry out their plans, because they have the power to do so.

He plans ways to sin while he lies in bed; he is committed to a sinful lifestyle; he does not reject what is evil.

The one who plans to do evil will be called a scheming person.

But they just keep saying, 'We do not care what you say! We will do whatever we want to do! We will continue to behave wickedly and stubbornly!'"



Do not those who devise evil go astray? But those who plan good exhibit faithful covenant love.

The one who winks his eyes devises perverse things, and one who compresses his lips brings about evil.

A deceiver's methods are evil; he dreams up evil plans to ruin the poor with lies, even when the needy are in the right.

The Lord said to me, "Son of man, these are the men who plot evil and give wicked advice in this city.




The words he speaks are sinful and deceitful; he does not care about doing what is wise and right.

And the tongue is a fire! The tongue represents the world of wrongdoing among the parts of our bodies. It pollutes the entire body and sets fire to the course of human existence -- and is set on fire by hell.


His words are as smooth as butter, but he harbors animosity in his heart. His words seem softer than oil, but they are really like sharp swords.



Offspring of vipers! How are you able to say anything good, since you are evil? For the mouth speaks from what fills the heart.



whose paths are morally crooked, and who are devious in their ways;

They are unfamiliar with peace; their deeds are unjust. They use deceitful methods, and whoever deals with them is unfamiliar with peace.


"Enter through the narrow gate, because the gate is wide and the way is spacious that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.

Keen insight wins favor, but the conduct of the unfaithful is harsh.

The Lord abhors the way of the wicked, but he loves those who pursue righteousness.


for they are eager to inflict harm, and they hasten to shed blood.

For they cannot sleep unless they cause harm; they are robbed of sleep until they make someone stumble.


They are eager to do evil, quick to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are sinful; they crush and destroy.

Those who devise sinful plans are as good as dead, those who dream about doing evil as they lie in bed. As soon as morning dawns they carry out their plans, because they have the power to do so.




I will destroy anyone who slanders his neighbor in secret. I will not tolerate anyone who has a cocky demeanor and an arrogant attitude.

Everyone must be on his guard around his friends. He must not even trust any of his relatives. For every one of them will find some way to cheat him. And all of his friends will tell lies about him.

For I hear what so many are saying, the terrifying news that comes from every direction. When they plot together against me, they figure out how they can take my life.

The one who conceals hatred utters lies, and the one who spreads slander is certainly a fool.

With his speech the godless person destroys his neighbor, but by knowledge the righteous will be delivered.




I said to myself, 'Age should speak, and length of years should make wisdom known.'

I thought to myself, "I have become much wiser than any of my predecessors who ruled over Jerusalem; I have acquired much wisdom and knowledge."


Jesus said to them, "The wedding guests cannot mourn while the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days are coming when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and then they will fast.

When they were sick, I wore sackcloth, and refrained from eating food. (If I am lying, may my prayers go unanswered!)

I weep and refrain from eating food, which causes others to insult me.

They lament, 'Why don't you notice when we fast? Why don't you pay attention when we humble ourselves?' Look, at the same time you fast, you satisfy your selfish desires, you oppress your workers.

Even if they fast, I will not hear their cries for help. Even if they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will kill them through wars, famines, and plagues."

"Speak to all the people and priests of the land as follows: 'When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and seventh months through all these seventy years, did you truly fast for me -- for me, indeed?


King Belshazzar prepared a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in front of them all.

So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces from the five barley loaves left over by the people who had eaten.

At that time Solomon and all Israel with him celebrated a festival before the Lord our God for two entire weeks. This great assembly included people from all over the land, from Lebo Hamath in the north to the Brook of Egypt in the south.

So they prepared a dinner for Jesus there. Martha was serving, and Lazarus was among those present at the table with him.

Then Levi gave a great banquet in his house for Jesus, and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others sitting at the table with them.

But a suitable day came, when Herod gave a banquet on his birthday for his court officials, military commanders, and leaders of Galilee.

So he threw a big banquet for them and they ate and drank. Then he sent them back to their master. After that no Syrian raiding parties again invaded the land of Israel.

They spent three days feasting there with David, for their relatives had given them provisions.

When those days were completed, the king then provided a seven-day banquet for all the people who were present in Susa the citadel, for those of highest standing to the most lowly. It was held in the court located in the garden of the royal palace.

Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the head steward," and they did.


He wears his desire for justice like body armor, and his desire to deliver is like a helmet on his head. He puts on the garments of vengeance and wears zeal like a robe.







So the Lord brought against them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria. They seized Manasseh, put hooks in his nose, bound him with bronze chains, and carried him away to Babylon.

Zedekiah's sons were executed while Zedekiah was forced to watch. The king of Babylon then had Zedekiah's eyes put out, bound him in bronze chains, and carried him off to Babylon.

The Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes. They brought him down to Gaza and bound him in bronze chains. He became a grinder in the prison.

For his hands and feet had often been bound with chains and shackles, but he had torn the chains apart and broken the shackles in pieces. No one was strong enough to subdue him.


"'These you can eat from all creatures that are in the water: Any creatures in the water that have both fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the streams, you may eat.

the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea and everything that moves through the currents of the seas.

He told them, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they threw the net, and were not able to pull it in because of the large number of fish.

God created the great sea creatures and every living and moving thing with which the water swarmed, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. God saw that it was good.


I know that after I am gone fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.


On that day the Lord their God will deliver them as the flock of his people, for they are the precious stones of a crown sparkling over his land.



One dead fly makes the perfumer's ointment give off a rancid stench, so a little folly can outweigh much wisdom.



This is the destiny of fools, and of those who approve of their philosophy. (Selah)

The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of fools feeds on folly.

The one who gives an answer before he listens -- that is his folly and his shame.

I realized that wisdom is preferable to folly, just as light is preferable to darkness:



The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will give him some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and on that stone will be written a new name that no one can understand except the one who receives it.'


Why pay money for something that will not nourish you? Why spend your hard-earned money on something that will not satisfy? Listen carefully to me and eat what is nourishing! Enjoy fine food!

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats from this bread he will live forever. The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."


The Lord who commands armies will hold a banquet for all the nations on this mountain. At this banquet there will be plenty of meat and aged wine -- tender meat and choicest wine.

In a good pasture I will feed them; the mountain heights of Israel will be their pasture. There they will lie down in a lush pasture, and they will feed on rich grass on the mountains of Israel.

and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they were all drinking from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.


Then your survivors will remember me among the nations where they are exiled. They will realize how I was crushed by their unfaithful heart which turned from me and by their eyes which lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves because of the evil they have done and because of all their abominable practices.

I was embarrassed to request soldiers and horsemen from the king to protect us from the enemy along the way, because we had said to the king, "The good hand of our God is on everyone who is seeking him, but his great anger is against everyone who forsakes him."

I, the Lord, say: 'You people have deserted me! You keep turning your back on me.' So I have unleashed my power against you and have begun to destroy you. I have grown tired of feeling sorry for you!"


"Do so because my people have committed a double wrong: they have rejected me, the fountain of life-giving water, and they have dug cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns which cannot even hold water."

He met Asa and told him, "Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin! The Lord is with you when you are loyal to him. If you seek him, he will respond to you, but if you reject him, he will reject you.

In this way I will pass sentence on the people of Jerusalem and Judah because of all their wickedness. For they rejected me and offered sacrifices to other gods, worshiping what they made with their own hands."

"So then, Jeremiah, when your people ask, 'Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?' tell them, 'It is because you rejected me and served foreign gods in your own land. So you must serve foreigners in a land that does not belong to you.'


For it says in scripture, "Look, I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen and priceless cornerstone, and whoever believes in him will never be put to shame."

Therefore, this is what the sovereign master, the Lord, says: "Look, I am laying a stone in Zion, an approved stone, set in place as a precious cornerstone for the foundation. The one who maintains his faith will not panic.

"Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them is like a wise man who built his house on rock.



"O afflicted one, driven away, and unconsoled! Look, I am about to set your stones in antimony and I lay your foundation with lapis-lazuli.

In this way they will save up a treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the future and so lay hold of what is truly life.



King Hiram of Tyre sent messengers to Solomon when he heard that he had been anointed king in his father's place. (Hiram had always been an ally of David.)

I grieve over you, my brother Jonathan! You were very dear to me. Your love was more special to me than the love of women.

May the Lord grant mercy to the family of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my imprisonment.

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.

When David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan and David became bound together in close friendship. Jonathan loved David as much as he did his own life.

When the servant had left, David got up from beside the mound, knelt with his face to the ground, and bowed three times. Then they kissed each other and they both wept, especially David.

So David's friend Hushai arrived in the city, just as Absalom was entering Jerusalem.

I had no relief in my spirit, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-bye to them and set out for Macedonia.


While they were talking and debating these things, Jesus himself approached and began to accompany them



Then those who respected the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord took notice. A scroll was prepared before him in which were recorded the names of those who respected the Lord and honored his name.






Our God, you drove out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and gave it as a permanent possession to the descendants of your friend Abraham.


The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, the way a person speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his servant, Joshua son of Nun, a young man, did not leave the tent.




One of his disciples, the one Jesus loved, was at the table to the right of Jesus in a place of honor.


Jesus wept. Thus the people who had come to mourn said, "Look how much he loved him!"



Many women who had followed Jesus from Galilee and given him support were also there, watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.



Jonathan once again took an oath with David, because he loved him. In fact Jonathan loved him as much as he did his own life.

But Ittai replied to the king, "As surely as the Lord lives and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king is, whether dead or alive, there I will be as well!"


Two people are better than one, because they can reap more benefit from their labor. For if they fall, one will help his companion up, but pity the person who falls down and has no one to help him up.


Naomi took the child and placed him on her lap; she became his caregiver.










May the Lord grant mercy to the family of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my imprisonment.


No one has greater love than this -- that one lays down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.


who risked their own necks for my life. Not only I, but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.


Elijah told Elisha, "Stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Bethel." But Elisha said, "As certainly as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel.


So Thomas (called Didymus) said to his fellow disciples, "Let us go too, so that we may die with him."




At harvest time he sent a slave to the tenants to collect from them his portion of the crop.

When David had gone a short way beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth was there to meet him. He had a couple of donkeys that were saddled, and on them were two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred raisin cakes, a hundred baskets of summer fruit, and a container of wine.

After noticing a fig tree by the road he went to it, but found nothing on it except leaves. He said to it, "Never again will there be fruit from you!" And the fig tree withered at once.

God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: plants yielding seeds according to their kinds, and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds." It was so.

The sovereign Lord showed me this: I saw a basket of summer fruit.





But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.


Planted in the Lord's house, they grow in the courts of our God. They bear fruit even when they are old; they are filled with vitality and have many leaves.


On both sides of the river's banks, every kind of tree will grow for food. Their leaves will not wither nor will their fruit fail, but they will bear fruit every month, because their water source flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing."


But other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.








They must not slander anyone, but be peaceable, gentle, showing complete courtesy to all people.


The Lord's angelic messenger came and sat down under the oak tree in Ophrah owned by Joash the Abiezrite. He arrived while Joash's son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress so he could hide it from the Midianites.

They captured the two Midianite generals, Oreb and Zeeb. They executed Oreb on the rock of Oreb and Zeeb in the winepress of Zeeb. They chased the Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was now on the other side of the Jordan River.

So he brought the men down to the water. Then the Lord said to Gideon, "Separate those who lap the water as a dog laps from those who kneel to drink."

So Gideon took ten of his servants and did just as the Lord had told him. He was too afraid of his father's family and the men of the city to do it in broad daylight, so he waited until nighttime.

Gideon said to God, "If you really intend to use me to deliver Israel, as you promised, then give me a sign as proof.

Gideon took a hundred men to the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guards. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars they were carrying.

Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle by the pass of Heres.

The men of Israel said to Gideon, "Rule over us -- you, your son, and your grandson. For you have delivered us from Midian's power."

Gideon son of Joash died at a very old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash located in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.



Your justice is like the highest mountains, your fairness like the deepest sea; you preserve mankind and the animal kingdom.

Therefore, tell the Israelites, 'I am the Lord. I will bring you out from your enslavement to the Egyptians, I will rescue you from the hard labor they impose, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.

I will judge him with plague and bloodshed. I will rain down on him, his troops and the many peoples who are with him a torrential downpour, hailstones, fire, and brimstone.

I will pass through the land of Egypt in the same night, and I will attack all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both of humans and of animals, and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. I am the Lord.

The Lord revealed himself; he accomplished justice; the wicked were ensnared by their own actions. (Higgaion. Selah)

I will execute judgments against Moab. Then they will know that I am the Lord.'"

I will desolate Pathros, I will ignite a fire in Zoan, and I will execute judgments on Thebes.

"I will display my majesty among the nations. All the nations will witness the judgment I have executed, and the power I have exhibited among them.




For you are our father, though Abraham does not know us and Israel does not recognize us. You, Lord, are our father; you have been called our protector from ancient times.




David praised the Lord before the entire assembly: "O Lord God of our father Israel, you deserve praise forevermore!




They sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb: "Great and astounding are your deeds, Lord God, the All-Powerful! Just and true are your ways, King over the nations!

He does amazing things that will be remembered; the Lord is merciful and compassionate.


God has made everything fit beautifully in its appropriate time, but he has also placed ignorance in the human heart so that people cannot discover what God has ordained, from the beginning to the end of their lives.


O Lord, my God, you have accomplished many things; you have done amazing things and carried out your purposes for us. No one can thwart you! I want to declare them and talk about them, but they are too numerous to recount!






The one true God acts in a faithful manner; the Lord's promise is reliable; he is a shield to all who take shelter in him.



He sends his command through the earth; swiftly his order reaches its destination.



Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, "As certainly as the Lord God of Israel lives (whom I serve), there will be no dew or rain in the years ahead unless I give the command."

They are dismayed because the ground is cracked because there has been no rain in the land. The farmers, too, are dismayed and bury their faces in their hands.

To you, O Lord, I call out for help, for fire has burned up the grassy pastures, flames have razed all the trees in the fields.

"I withheld rain from you three months before the harvest. I gave rain to one city, but not to another. One field would get rain, but the field that received no rain dried up.

Moreover, I have called for a drought that will affect the fields, the hill country, the grain, new wine, fresh olive oil, and everything that grows from the ground; it also will harm people, animals, and everything they produce.'"

Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain and there was no rain on the land for three years and six months!



Who prepares prey for the raven, when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food?






Your justice is like the highest mountains, your fairness like the deepest sea; you preserve mankind and the animal kingdom.

Therefore, tell the Israelites, 'I am the Lord. I will bring you out from your enslavement to the Egyptians, I will rescue you from the hard labor they impose, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.

I will judge him with plague and bloodshed. I will rain down on him, his troops and the many peoples who are with him a torrential downpour, hailstones, fire, and brimstone.

I will pass through the land of Egypt in the same night, and I will attack all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both of humans and of animals, and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. I am the Lord.

The Lord revealed himself; he accomplished justice; the wicked were ensnared by their own actions. (Higgaion. Selah)

I will execute judgments against Moab. Then they will know that I am the Lord.'"

I will desolate Pathros, I will ignite a fire in Zoan, and I will execute judgments on Thebes.

"I will display my majesty among the nations. All the nations will witness the judgment I have executed, and the power I have exhibited among them.



Then Moses said to Aaron, "Take the censer, put burning coals from the altar in it, place incense on it, and go quickly into the assembly and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone out from the Lord -- the plague has begun!"

then the Lord will increase your punishments and those of your descendants -- great and long-lasting afflictions and severe, enduring illnesses.

"'If you walk in hostility against me and are not willing to obey me, I will increase your affliction seven times according to your sins.

those men who produced the evil report about the land, died by the plague before the Lord.







If others receive this right from you, are we not more deserving? But we have not made use of this right. Instead we endure everything so that we may not be a hindrance to the gospel of Christ.


Pray for me also, that I may be given the message when I begin to speak -- that I may confidently make known the mystery of the gospel,




Her leaders take bribes when they decide legal cases, her priests proclaim rulings for profit, and her prophets read omens for pay. Yet they claim to trust the Lord and say, "The Lord is among us. Disaster will not overtake us!"

The dogs have big appetites; they are never full. They are shepherds who have no understanding; they all go their own way, each one looking for monetary gain.


All day long he craves greedily, but the righteous gives and does not hold back.

We will seize all kinds of precious wealth; we will fill our houses with plunder.

Such are the ways of all who gain profit unjustly; it takes away the life of those who obtain it!



How blessed are the people who experience these things! How blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!


The one who despises his neighbor sins, but whoever is kind to the needy is blessed.

The one who deals wisely in a matter will find success, and blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord.


She is like a tree of life to those who obtain her, and everyone who grasps hold of her will be blessed.

If you understand these things, you will be blessed if you do them.


You must never bring the pay of a female prostitute or the wage of a male prostitute into the temple of the Lord your God in fulfillment of any vow, for both of these are abhorrent to the Lord your God.

He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, or one profaned by prostitution; he may only take a virgin from his people as a wife.

Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, so that the land does not practice prostitution and become full of lewdness.

But Simeon and Levi replied, "Should he treat our sister like a common prostitute?"

Then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.


The Israelites who were returning from the exile ate it, along with all those who had joined them in separating themselves from the uncleanness of the nations of the land to seek the Lord God of Israel.

He followed in the footsteps of the kings of Israel. He passed his son through the fire, a horrible sin practiced by the nations whom the Lord drove out from before the Israelites.

When you pray, do not babble repetitiously like the Gentiles, because they think that by their many words they will be heard.

The nations fell into the pit they had made; their feet were caught in the net they had hidden.

Why do the nations rebel? Why are the countries devising plots that will fail?

"I will display my majesty among the nations. All the nations will witness the judgment I have executed, and the power I have exhibited among them.

At that time we laughed loudly and shouted for joy. At that time the nations said, "The Lord has accomplished great things for these people."

they observed the practices of the nations whom the Lord had driven out from before Israel, and followed the example of the kings of Israel.

The nations' idols are made of silver and gold, they are man-made.




For you are our father, though Abraham does not know us and Israel does not recognize us. You, Lord, are our father; you have been called our protector from ancient times.




David praised the Lord before the entire assembly: "O Lord God of our father Israel, you deserve praise forevermore!





keeping loyal love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished, responding to the transgression of fathers by dealing with children and children's children, to the third and fourth generation."

You will not be buried with them, because you destroyed your land and killed your people. The offspring of the wicked will never be mentioned again.


"What do you mean by quoting this proverb concerning the land of Israel, "'The fathers eat sour grapes And the children's teeth become numb?'

"'As for the ones who remain among you, they will rot away because of their iniquity in the lands of your enemies, and they will also rot away because of their ancestors' iniquities which are with them.

Let us acknowledge our shame. Let us bear the disgrace that we deserve. For we have sinned against the Lord our God, both we and our ancestors. From earliest times to this very day we have not obeyed the Lord our God.'


Ahaz passed away and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David. His son Hezekiah replaced him as king.

In those days Hezekiah was stricken with a terminal illness. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz visited him and told him, "This is what the Lord says, 'Give your household instructions, for you are about to die; you will not get well.'"

In the fourth year of King Hezekiah's reign (it was the seventh year of the reign of Israel's King Hoshea, son of Elah), King Shalmaneser of Assyria marched up against Samaria and besieged it.

"This is what Hezekiah says: 'This is a day of distress, insults, and humiliation, as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal, but the mother lacks the strength to push it through.

Hezekiah answered, "It is easy for the shadow to lengthen ten steps, but not for it to go back ten steps."

Hezekiah passed away and his son Manasseh replaced him as king.


On that day the bells of the horses will bear the inscription "Holy to the Lord." The cooking pots in the Lord's temple will be as holy as the bowls in front of the altar.


A thoroughfare will be there -- it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it; it is reserved for those authorized to use it -- fools will not stray into it.


They made a plate, the holy diadem, of pure gold and wrote on it an inscription, as on the engravings of a seal, "Holiness to the Lord."








Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have attained this. Instead I am single-minded: Forgetting the things that are behind and reaching out for the things that are ahead, with this goal in mind, I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.



But Jesus did not permit him to do so. Instead, he said to him, "Go to your home and to your people and tell them what the Lord has done for you, that he had mercy on you."



He then said to his disciple, "Look, here is your mother!" From that very time the disciple took her into his own home.

to be self-controlled, pure, fulfilling their duties at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the message of God may not be discredited.

I left here full, but the Lord has caused me to return empty-handed. Why do you call me 'Naomi,' seeing that the Lord has opposed me, and the Sovereign One has caused me to suffer?"


If you have no desire to worship the Lord, choose today whom you will worship, whether it be the gods whom your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But I and my family will worship the Lord!"







He poured water into the washbasin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to dry them with the towel he had wrapped around himself.







I desperately long to know your regulations at all times.


I look for you during the night, my spirit within me seeks you at dawn, for when your judgments come upon the earth, those who live in the world learn about justice.


"Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. "Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

All Judah was happy about the oath, because they made the vow with their whole heart. They willingly sought the Lord and he responded to them. He made them secure on every side.

A psalm of David, written when he was in the Judean wilderness. O God, you are my God! I long for you! My soul thirsts for you, my flesh yearns for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.


I open my mouth and pant, because I long for your commands.


Meanwhile, when many thousands of the crowd had gathered so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.



In the same way, on the outside you look righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

for he is like someone calculating the cost in his mind. "Eat and drink," he says to you, but his heart is not with you;

When he speaks graciously, do not believe him, for there are seven abominations within him.


An ox recognizes its owner, a donkey recognizes where its owner puts its food; but Israel does not recognize me, my people do not understand."



"They do not know how to do what is right." (The Lord is speaking.) "They store up the spoils of destructive violence in their fortresses.

But they do not know what the Lord is planning; they do not understand his strategy. He has gathered them like stalks of grain to be threshed at the threshing floor.

They are unfamiliar with peace; their deeds are unjust. They use deceitful methods, and whoever deals with them is unfamiliar with peace.

I thought, "Surely it is only the ignorant poor who act this way. They act like fools because they do not know what the Lord demands. They do not know what their God requires of them.

For ignoring the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking instead to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to God's righteousness.


As they drank wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

You know that when you were pagans you were often led astray by speechless idols, however you were led.

Has a nation ever changed its gods (even though they are not really gods at all)? But my people have exchanged me, their glorious God, for a god that cannot help them at all!

For all the gods of the nations are worthless, but the Lord made the heavens.

Then those living in the towns of Judah and in Jerusalem will go and cry out for help to the gods to whom they have been sacrificing. However, those gods will by no means be able to save them when disaster strikes them.

Their land is full of worthless idols; they worship the product of their own hands, what their own fingers have fashioned.


If after all there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords),

Can people make their own gods? No, what they make are not gods at all."








This is the bread that has come down from heaven, so that a person may eat from it and not die.


For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.









(I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh.) For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.



The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the estate that will belong to me.' So he divided his assets between them.

They said, "The Lord commanded my lord to give the land as an inheritance by lot to the Israelites; and my lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters.

Joseph's descendants, Manasseh and Ephraim, were assigned their land.

They went before Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders and said, "The Lord told Moses to assign us land among our relatives." So Joshua assigned them land among their uncles, as the Lord had commanded.

The second lot belonged to the tribe of Simeon by its clans.

When Joshua dismissed the people, the Israelites went to their allotted portions of territory, intending to take possession of the land.

The guardian said, "Then I am unable to redeem it, for I would ruin my own inheritance in that case. You may exercise my redemption option, for I am unable to redeem it."

Now it happened just as the Lord had said! My cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guardhouse. He said to me, 'Buy my field which is at Anathoth in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin. Buy it for yourself since you are entitled as my closest relative to take possession of it for yourself.' When this happened, I recognized that the Lord had indeed spoken to me.


So this sin will become your downfall. You will be like a high wall that bulges and cracks and is ready to collapse; it crumbles suddenly, in a flash.

Show the Lord your God the respect that is due him. Do it before he brings the darkness of disaster. Do it before you stumble into distress like a traveler on the mountains at twilight. Do it before he turns the light of deliverance you hope for into the darkness and gloom of exile.

Surely you put them in slippery places; you bring them down to ruin.

And you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, and like one who lies down on the top of the rigging.

So the paths they follow will be dark and slippery. They will stumble and fall headlong. For I will bring disaster on them. A day of reckoning is coming for them." The Lord affirms it!

"'This is because they have led my people astray saying, "All is well," when things are not well. When anyone builds a wall without mortar, they coat it with whitewash. Tell the ones who coat it with whitewash that it will fall. When there is a deluge of rain, hailstones will fall and a violent wind will break out.

Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds beat against that house, and it collapsed; it was utterly destroyed!"


Reach agreement quickly with your accuser while on the way to court, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the warden, and you will be thrown into prison.

I furthermore admonished your judges at that time that they should pay attention to issues among your fellow citizens and judge fairly, whether between one citizen and another or a citizen and a resident foreigner.

Year after year he used to travel the circuit of Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah; he used to judge Israel in all of these places.

If a man sins against a man, one may appeal to God on his behalf. But if a man sins against the Lord, who then will intercede for him?" But Eli's sons would not listen to their father, for the Lord had decided to kill them.

You must appoint judges and civil servants for each tribe in all your villages that the Lord your God is giving you, and they must judge the people fairly.

He appointed judges throughout the land and in each of the fortified cities of Judah.

If controversy arises between people, they should go to court for judgment. When the judges hear the case, they shall exonerate the innocent but condemn the guilty.

On the next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning until evening.

He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected people.


The Lord's angelic messenger came and sat down under the oak tree in Ophrah owned by Joash the Abiezrite. He arrived while Joash's son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress so he could hide it from the Midianites.

They captured the two Midianite generals, Oreb and Zeeb. They executed Oreb on the rock of Oreb and Zeeb in the winepress of Zeeb. They chased the Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was now on the other side of the Jordan River.

So he brought the men down to the water. Then the Lord said to Gideon, "Separate those who lap the water as a dog laps from those who kneel to drink."

So Gideon took ten of his servants and did just as the Lord had told him. He was too afraid of his father's family and the men of the city to do it in broad daylight, so he waited until nighttime.

Gideon said to God, "If you really intend to use me to deliver Israel, as you promised, then give me a sign as proof.

Gideon took a hundred men to the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guards. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars they were carrying.

Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle by the pass of Heres.

The men of Israel said to Gideon, "Rule over us -- you, your son, and your grandson. For you have delivered us from Midian's power."

Gideon son of Joash died at a very old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash located in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.


In the spring of the year, at the time when kings normally conduct wars, David sent out Joab with his officers and the entire Israelite army. They defeated the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed behind in Jerusalem.

She arrived in Jerusalem with a great display of pomp, bringing with her camels carrying spices, a very large quantity of gold, and precious gems. She visited Solomon and discussed with him everything that was on her mind.

So David said to all his servants who were with him in Jerusalem, "Come on! Let's escape! Otherwise no one will be delivered from Absalom! Go immediately, or else he will quickly overtake us and bring disaster on us and kill the city's residents with the sword."

David reigned over Israel forty years; he reigned in Hebron seven years, and in Jerusalem thirty-three years.

Then the king and his men advanced to Jerusalem against the Jebusites who lived in the land. The Jebusites said to David, "You cannot invade this place! Even the blind and the lame will turn you back, saying, 'David cannot invade this place!'"

Adoni-Zedek, king of Jerusalem, heard how Joshua captured Ai and annihilated it and its king as he did Jericho and its king. He also heard how the people of Gibeon made peace with Israel and lived among them.

But the man did not want to stay another night. He left and traveled as far as Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). He had with him a pair of saddled donkeys and his concubine.

Then David went to his palace in Jerusalem. The king took the ten concubines he had left to care for the palace and placed them under confinement. Though he provided for their needs, he did not have sexual relations with them. They remained in confinement until the day they died, living out the rest of their lives as widows.

Then Solomon convened in Jerusalem Israel's elders, all the leaders of the Israelite tribes and families, so they could witness the transferal of the ark of the Lord's covenant from the city of David (that is, Zion).


They came, men and women alike, all who had willing hearts. They brought brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments, all kinds of gold jewelry, and everyone came who waved a wave offering of gold to the Lord.

So we have brought as an offering for the Lord what each man found: gold ornaments, armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and necklaces, to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord."


Then he brought out gold, silver jewelry, and clothing and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave valuable gifts to her brother and to her mother.

Every woman will ask her neighbor and the one who happens to be staying in her house for items of silver and gold and for clothing. You will put these articles on your sons and daughters -- thus you will plunder Egypt!"



that the elation of the wicked is brief, the joy of the godless lasts but a moment.

I did not restrain myself from getting whatever I wanted; I did not deny myself anything that would bring me pleasure. So all my accomplishments gave me joy; this was my reward for all my effort.

For like the crackling of quick-burning thorns under a cooking pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This kind of folly also is useless.

Joy and happiness disappear from the orchards, and in the vineyards no one rejoices or shouts; no one treads out juice in the wine vats -- I have brought the joyful shouts to an end.

Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter into mourning and your joy into despair.


Reach agreement quickly with your accuser while on the way to court, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the warden, and you will be thrown into prison.

I furthermore admonished your judges at that time that they should pay attention to issues among your fellow citizens and judge fairly, whether between one citizen and another or a citizen and a resident foreigner.

Year after year he used to travel the circuit of Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah; he used to judge Israel in all of these places.

If a man sins against a man, one may appeal to God on his behalf. But if a man sins against the Lord, who then will intercede for him?" But Eli's sons would not listen to their father, for the Lord had decided to kill them.

You must appoint judges and civil servants for each tribe in all your villages that the Lord your God is giving you, and they must judge the people fairly.

He appointed judges throughout the land and in each of the fortified cities of Judah.

If controversy arises between people, they should go to court for judgment. When the judges hear the case, they shall exonerate the innocent but condemn the guilty.

On the next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning until evening.

He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected people.



Now Enoch, the seventh in descent beginning with Adam, even prophesied of them, saying, "Look! The Lord is coming with thousands and thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all, and to convict every person of all their thoroughly ungodly deeds that they have committed, and of all the harsh words that ungodly sinners have spoken against him."


And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. Then books were opened, and another book was opened -- the book of life. So the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to their deeds.




"When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be assembled before him, and he will separate people one from another like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.



Jesus replied, "My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my servants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish authorities. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here."

Now this is what I am saying, brothers and sisters: Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.



nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is in your midst."




I said to myself, 'Age should speak, and length of years should make wisdom known.'

I thought to myself, "I have become much wiser than any of my predecessors who ruled over Jerusalem; I have acquired much wisdom and knowledge."




I said to myself, 'Age should speak, and length of years should make wisdom known.'

I thought to myself, "I have become much wiser than any of my predecessors who ruled over Jerusalem; I have acquired much wisdom and knowledge."


Early the next morning they marched out to the Desert of Tekoa. When they were ready to march, Jehoshaphat stood up and said: "Listen to me, you people of Judah and residents of Jerusalem! Trust in the Lord your God and you will be safe! Trust in the message of his prophets and you will win."



When Jezebel was killing the Lord's prophets, Obadiah took one hundred prophets and hid them in two caves in two groups of fifty. He also brought them food and water.)

And so they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own house."

But they mocked God's messengers, despised his warnings, and ridiculed his prophets. Finally the Lord got very angry at his people and there was no one who could prevent his judgment.

The Lord said, "Hear now my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known to him in a vision; I will speak with him in a dream.


When everyone who had known him previously saw him prophesying with the prophets, the people all asked one another, "What on earth has happened to the son of Kish? Does even Saul belong with the prophets?"



Joshua told the priests, "Pick up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people." So they picked up the ark of the covenant and went ahead of the people.


He sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls for peace offerings to the Lord.

The priests then entered the Lord's temple to purify it; they brought out to the courtyard of the Lord's temple every ceremonially unclean thing they discovered inside. The Levites took them out to the Kidron Valley.

Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard about all that God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, that the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.

The priests and Levites who lived throughout Israel supported him, no matter where they resided.





In this way they will save up a treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the future and so lay hold of what is truly life.











In this way they will save up a treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the future and so lay hold of what is truly life.








You must actively help the hungry and feed the oppressed. Then your light will dispel the darkness, and your darkness will be transformed into noonday.






David replied to Saul, "Your servant has been a shepherd for his father's flock. Whenever a lion or bear would come and carry off a sheep from the flock,

Samson went down to Timnah. When he approached the vineyards of Timnah, he saw a roaring young lion attacking him.

As the prophet from Judah was traveling, a lion attacked him on the road and killed him. His corpse was lying on the road, and the donkey and the lion just stood there beside it.

In the morning, at the earliest sign of daylight, the king got up and rushed to the lions' den.



They will not be hungry or thirsty; the sun's oppressive heat will not beat down on them, for one who has compassion on them will guide them; he will lead them to springs of water.

You are the one in whom Israel may find hope. All who leave you will suffer shame. Those who turn away from you will be consigned to the nether world. For they have rejected you, the Lord, the fountain of life.

You are a garden spring, a well of fresh water flowing down from Lebanon.



















This is the bread that has come down from heaven, so that a person may eat from it and not die.


For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.



He will treat the poor fairly, and make right decisions for the downtrodden of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and order the wicked to be executed.

The downtrodden will again rejoice in the Lord; the poor among humankind will take delight in the Holy One of Israel.


Let the oppressed eat and be filled! Let those who seek his help praise the Lord! May you live forever!

The Lord lifts up the oppressed, but knocks the wicked to the ground.





But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.


They must not slander anyone, but be peaceable, gentle, showing complete courtesy to all people.






Seek the Lord's favor, all you humble people of the land who have obeyed his commands! Strive to do what is right! Strive to be humble! Maybe you will be protected on the day of the Lord's angry judgment.




To the person who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other as well, and from the person who takes away your coat, do not withhold your tunic either.


The king said to Ziba, "Everything that was Mephibosheth's now belongs to you." Ziba replied, "I bow before you. May I find favor in your sight, my lord the king."

Now Saul's son Jonathan had a son who was crippled in both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan arrived from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but in her haste to get away, he fell and was injured. Mephibosheth was his name.

When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed low with his face toward the ground. David said, "Mephibosheth?" He replied, "Yes, at your service."


As I watched, I noticed a windstorm coming from the north -- an enormous cloud, with lightning flashing, such that bright light rimmed it and came from it like glowing amber from the middle of a fire.

Just before the Lord took Elijah up to heaven in a windstorm, Elijah and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal.

A tempest blows out from its chamber, icy cold from the driving winds.


Before the kindling is even placed under your pots, he will sweep it away along with both the raw and cooked meat.



At whom are you laughing? At whom are you opening your mouth and sticking out your tongue? You are the children of rebels, the offspring of liars,


For they said to you, "In the end time there will come scoffers, propelled by their own ungodly desires."


David instructed Joab and all the people who were with him, "Tear your clothes! Put on sackcloth! Lament before Abner!" Now King David followed behind the funeral bier.

They took forty days, for that is the full time needed for embalming. The Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.

When all the community saw that Aaron was dead, the whole house of Israel mourned for Aaron thirty days.

The Israelites mourned for Moses in the deserts of Moab for thirty days; then the days of mourning for Moses ended.

They lamented and wept and fasted until evening because Saul, his son Jonathan, the Lord's people, and the house of Israel had fallen by the sword.



The men worked faithfully. Their supervisors were Jahath and Obadiah (Levites descended from Merari), as well as Zechariah and Meshullam (descendants of Kohath). The Levites, all of whom were skilled musicians,

Let our lord instruct his servants who are here before you to look for a man who knows how to play the lyre. Then whenever the evil spirit from God comes upon you, he can play the lyre and you will feel better."

They and their relatives, all of them skilled and trained to make music to the Lord, numbered two hundred eighty-eight.



The men worked faithfully. Their supervisors were Jahath and Obadiah (Levites descended from Merari), as well as Zechariah and Meshullam (descendants of Kohath). The Levites, all of whom were skilled musicians,

Let our lord instruct his servants who are here before you to look for a man who knows how to play the lyre. Then whenever the evil spirit from God comes upon you, he can play the lyre and you will feel better."

They and their relatives, all of them skilled and trained to make music to the Lord, numbered two hundred eighty-eight.



so that they would search for God and perhaps grope around for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.




Do you people think that I am some local deity and not the transcendent God?" the Lord asks.

The one who vindicates me is close by. Who dares to argue with me? Let us confront each other! Who is my accuser? Let him challenge me!


There will never cease to be some poor people in the land; therefore, I am commanding you to make sure you open your hand to your fellow Israelites who are needy and poor in your land.

I will leave in your midst a humble and meek group of people, and they will find safety in the Lord's presence.









Older men are to be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in endurance. Older women likewise are to exhibit behavior fitting for those who are holy, not slandering, not slaves to excessive drinking, but teaching what is good.






They came, men and women alike, all who had willing hearts. They brought brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments, all kinds of gold jewelry, and everyone came who waved a wave offering of gold to the Lord.

So we have brought as an offering for the Lord what each man found: gold ornaments, armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and necklaces, to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord."


Then he brought out gold, silver jewelry, and clothing and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave valuable gifts to her brother and to her mother.

Every woman will ask her neighbor and the one who happens to be staying in her house for items of silver and gold and for clothing. You will put these articles on your sons and daughters -- thus you will plunder Egypt!"


Hezekiah welcomed them and showed them his storehouse with its silver, gold, spices, and high-quality olive oil, as well as his whole armory and everything in his treasuries. Hezekiah showed them everything in his palace and in his whole kingdom.

He displayed the riches of his royal glory and the splendor of his majestic greatness for a lengthy period of time -- a hundred and eighty days, to be exact!

Haman then recounted to them his fabulous wealth, his many sons, and how the king had magnified him and exalted him over the king's other officials and servants.

"Beware of the experts in the law. They like walking around in long robes, and they love elaborate greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.

So the next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the audience hall, along with the senior military officers and the prominent men of the city. When Festus gave the order, Paul was brought in.




keeping loyal love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished, responding to the transgression of fathers by dealing with children and children's children, to the third and fourth generation."

You will not be buried with them, because you destroyed your land and killed your people. The offspring of the wicked will never be mentioned again.


"What do you mean by quoting this proverb concerning the land of Israel, "'The fathers eat sour grapes And the children's teeth become numb?'

"'As for the ones who remain among you, they will rot away because of their iniquity in the lands of your enemies, and they will also rot away because of their ancestors' iniquities which are with them.

Let us acknowledge our shame. Let us bear the disgrace that we deserve. For we have sinned against the Lord our God, both we and our ancestors. From earliest times to this very day we have not obeyed the Lord our God.'


"Why wasn't this oil sold for three hundred silver coins and the money given to the poor?"



You did not bring me lambs for your burnt offerings; you did not honor me with your sacrifices. I did not burden you with offerings; I did not make you weary by demanding incense.

a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of expensive perfumed oil, and she poured it on his head as he was at the table. When the disciples saw this, they became indignant and said, "Why this waste?

Can a person rob God? You indeed are robbing me, but you say, 'How are we robbing you?' In tithes and contributions!


Here is a misfortune on earth that I have seen: Wealth hoarded by its owner to his own misery.


Observe the month Abib and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for in that month he brought you out of Egypt by night.

Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch of dough -- you are, in fact, without yeast. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

This is how you are to eat it -- dressed to travel, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You are to eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover.

They slaughtered the Passover lambs and the priests splashed the blood, while the Levites skinned the animals.

They departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the day after the Passover the Israelites went out defiantly in plain sight of all the Egyptians.

They slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and Levites were ashamed, so they consecrated themselves and brought burnt sacrifices to the Lord's temple.

The priests and the Levites had purified themselves, every last one, and they all were ceremonially pure. They sacrificed the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their colleagues the priests, and for themselves.

Now on the first day of the feast of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, Jesus' disciples said to him, "Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?"



whose paths are morally crooked, and who are devious in their ways;

They are unfamiliar with peace; their deeds are unjust. They use deceitful methods, and whoever deals with them is unfamiliar with peace.


"Enter through the narrow gate, because the gate is wide and the way is spacious that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.

Keen insight wins favor, but the conduct of the unfaithful is harsh.

The Lord abhors the way of the wicked, but he loves those who pursue righteousness.



Think about the circumstances of your call, brothers and sisters. Not many were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were born to a privileged position.






And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet blast, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.







Then he will elevate you above all the nations he has made and you will receive praise, fame, and honor. You will be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he has said.


The Lord will not abandon his people because he wants to uphold his great reputation. The Lord was pleased to make you his own people.


And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: "Look! The residence of God is among human beings. He will live among them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them.

"For this is the covenant that I will establish with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and I will inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be their God and they will be my people.




Yet he brought out his people like sheep; he led them through the wilderness like a flock.


And he will go as forerunner before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him."

Simeon has explained how God first concerned himself to select from among the Gentiles a people for his name.




And now, if you will diligently listen to me and keep my covenant, then you will be my special possession out of all the nations, for all the earth is mine,




A musical composition by David, which he sang to the Lord concerning a Benjaminite named Cush. O Lord my God, in you I have taken shelter. Deliver me from all who chase me! Rescue me!



The enemies who chase me are numerous. Yet I do not turn aside from your rules.

/ (Sin/Shin) Rulers pursue me for no reason, yet I am more afraid of disobeying your instructions.

Certainly my enemies chase me. They smash me into the ground. They force me to live in dark regions, like those who have been dead for ages.

I said, "Lord, you know how I suffer. Take thought of me and care for me. Pay back for me those who have been persecuting me. Do not be so patient with them that you allow them to kill me. Be mindful of how I have put up with their insults for your sake.

We are pursued -- they are breathing down our necks; we are weary and have no rest.


Those who devise sinful plans are as good as dead, those who dream about doing evil as they lie in bed. As soon as morning dawns they carry out their plans, because they have the power to do so.

He plans ways to sin while he lies in bed; he is committed to a sinful lifestyle; he does not reject what is evil.

The one who plans to do evil will be called a scheming person.

But they just keep saying, 'We do not care what you say! We will do whatever we want to do! We will continue to behave wickedly and stubbornly!'"



Do not those who devise evil go astray? But those who plan good exhibit faithful covenant love.

The one who winks his eyes devises perverse things, and one who compresses his lips brings about evil.

A deceiver's methods are evil; he dreams up evil plans to ruin the poor with lies, even when the needy are in the right.

The Lord said to me, "Son of man, these are the men who plot evil and give wicked advice in this city.


Those who devise sinful plans are as good as dead, those who dream about doing evil as they lie in bed. As soon as morning dawns they carry out their plans, because they have the power to do so.

He plans ways to sin while he lies in bed; he is committed to a sinful lifestyle; he does not reject what is evil.

If the king is so inclined, let an edict be issued to destroy them. I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to be conveyed to the king's treasuries for the officials who carry out this business."


A deceiver's methods are evil; he dreams up evil plans to ruin the poor with lies, even when the needy are in the right.

Evil men plot against the godly and viciously attack them.


There will never cease to be some poor people in the land; therefore, I am commanding you to make sure you open your hand to your fellow Israelites who are needy and poor in your land.

I will leave in your midst a humble and meek group of people, and they will find safety in the Lord's presence.



At that time the brother will shout, 'I am no doctor, I have no food or coat in my house; don't make me a leader of the people!'"

The wealth of a rich person is like a fortified city, but the poor are brought to ruin by their poverty.




Even if you go and fight bravely in battle, God will defeat you before the enemy. God is capable of helping or defeating."

By his power he stills the sea; by his wisdom he cut Rahab the great sea monster to pieces.

God has declared one principle; two principles I have heard: God is strong,


Above the sound of the surging water, and the mighty waves of the sea, the Lord sits enthroned in majesty.


Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that had been kept secret for long ages,



I will bring them to my holy mountain; I will make them happy in the temple where people pray to me. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, for my temple will be known as a temple where all nations may pray."




Another angel holding a golden censer came and was stationed at the altar. A large amount of incense was given to him to offer up, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar that is before the throne. The smoke coming from the incense, along with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel's hand.


and when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders threw themselves to the ground before the Lamb. Each of them had a harp and golden bowls full of incense (which are the prayers of the saints).


In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how we should pray, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes on behalf of the saints according to God's will.


And a son was also born to Seth, whom he named Enosh. At that time people began to worship the Lord.


So I have made every effort to provide what is needed for the temple of my God, including the gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, as well as a large amount of onyx, settings of antimony and other stones, all kinds of precious stones, and alabaster.

cargo such as gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all sorts of things made of citron wood, all sorts of objects made of ivory, all sorts of things made of expensive wood, bronze, iron and marble,

She arrived in Jerusalem with a great display of pomp, bringing with her camels carrying spices, a very large quantity of gold, and precious gems. She visited Solomon and discussed with him everything that was on her mind.

David took the crown from the head of their king and wore it (its weight was a talent of gold and it was set with precious stones). He took a large amount of plunder from the city.

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

If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw,

What he will honor is a god of fortresses -- a god his fathers did not acknowledge he will honor with gold, silver, valuable stones, and treasured commodities.

A bribe works like a charm for the one who offers it; in whatever he does he succeeds.


The king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was planning a revolt. Hoshea had sent messengers to King So of Egypt and had not sent his annual tribute to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria arrested him and imprisoned him.

The Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes. They brought him down to Gaza and bound him in bronze chains. He became a grinder in the prison.

so he imprisoned them in the house of the captain of the guard in the same facility where Joseph was confined.

They put him in custody, because there was no clear instruction about what should be done to him.

But these people are looted and plundered; all of them are trapped in pits and held captive in prisons. They were carried away as loot with no one to rescue them; they were carried away as plunder, and no one says, "Bring that back!"

He had Zedekiah's eyes put out and had him bound in chains. Then the king of Babylon had him led off to Babylon and he was imprisoned there until the day he died.

Suddenly a great earthquake occurred, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. Immediately all the doors flew open, and the bonds of all the prisoners came loose.


They drink wine from sacrificial bowls, and pour the very best oils on themselves. Yet they are not concerned over the ruin of Joseph.

After a few days, the younger son gathered together all he had and left on a journey to a distant country, and there he squandered his wealth with a wild lifestyle.

But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your assets with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!'




Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.

for your sins and your ancestors' sins," says the Lord. "Because they burned incense on the mountains and offended me on the hills, I will punish them in full measure."

Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, and on its horns were ten diadem crowns, and on its heads a blasphemous name.

They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their sufferings and because of their sores, but nevertheless they still refused to repent of their deeds.

The Israelite woman's son misused the Name and cursed, so they brought him to Moses. (Now his mother's name was Shelomith daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.)

When they opposed him and reviled him, he protested by shaking out his clothes and said to them, "Your blood be on your own heads! I am guiltless! From now on I will go to the Gentiles!"

Do they not blaspheme the good name of the one you belong to?

But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and they began to contradict what Paul was saying by reviling him.

Sennacherib's servants further insulted the Lord God and his servant Hezekiah.

He will speak words against the Most High. He will harass the holy ones of the Most High continually. His intention will be to change times established by law. They will be delivered into his hand For a time, times, and half a time.


Early the next morning they marched out to the Desert of Tekoa. When they were ready to march, Jehoshaphat stood up and said: "Listen to me, you people of Judah and residents of Jerusalem! Trust in the Lord your God and you will be safe! Trust in the message of his prophets and you will win."



When Jezebel was killing the Lord's prophets, Obadiah took one hundred prophets and hid them in two caves in two groups of fifty. He also brought them food and water.)

And so they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own house."

But they mocked God's messengers, despised his warnings, and ridiculed his prophets. Finally the Lord got very angry at his people and there was no one who could prevent his judgment.

The Lord said, "Hear now my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known to him in a vision; I will speak with him in a dream.


When everyone who had known him previously saw him prophesying with the prophets, the people all asked one another, "What on earth has happened to the son of Kish? Does even Saul belong with the prophets?"



"For indeed the day is coming, burning like a furnace, and all the arrogant evildoers will be chaff. The coming day will burn them up," says the Lord who rules over all. "It will not leave even a root or branch.


Though the Lord is exalted, he takes note of the lowly, and recognizes the proud from far away.

We have had our fill of the taunts of the self-assured, of the contempt of the proud.

he is conceited and understands nothing, but has an unhealthy interest in controversies and verbal disputes. This gives rise to envy, dissension, slanders, evil suspicions,


The arrogant dig pits to trap me, which violates your law.

May the arrogant be humiliated, for they have slandered me! But I meditate on your precepts.




Who prepares prey for the raven, when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food?






Indeed I am composed and quiet, like a young child carried by its mother; I am content like the young child I carry.


But if God is quiet, who can condemn him? If he hides his face, then who can see him? Yet he is over the individual and the nation alike,



They caused Isaac and Rebekah great anxiety.

Before he had finished praying, there came Rebekah with her water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah (Milcah was the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor).

When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean.

There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah; there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah; and there I buried Leah.

When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he replied, "She is my sister." He was afraid to say, "She is my wife," for he thought to himself, "The men of this place will kill me to get Rebekah because she is very beautiful."

Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "I am deeply depressed because of these daughters of Heth. If Jacob were to marry one of these daughters of Heth who live in this land, I would want to die!"

Rebekah said to her son Jacob, "Look, I overheard your father tell your brother Esau,



But as for the seed sown on good soil, this is the person who hears the word and understands. He bears fruit, yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown."


And so we too constantly thank God that when you received God's message that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human message, but as it truly is, God's message, which is at work among you who believe.


Meanwhile, when many thousands of the crowd had gathered so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.



In the same way, on the outside you look righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

for he is like someone calculating the cost in his mind. "Eat and drink," he says to you, but his heart is not with you;

When he speaks graciously, do not believe him, for there are seven abominations within him.


Early the next morning they marched out to the Desert of Tekoa. When they were ready to march, Jehoshaphat stood up and said: "Listen to me, you people of Judah and residents of Jerusalem! Trust in the Lord your God and you will be safe! Trust in the message of his prophets and you will win."



When Jezebel was killing the Lord's prophets, Obadiah took one hundred prophets and hid them in two caves in two groups of fifty. He also brought them food and water.)

And so they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own house."

But they mocked God's messengers, despised his warnings, and ridiculed his prophets. Finally the Lord got very angry at his people and there was no one who could prevent his judgment.

The Lord said, "Hear now my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known to him in a vision; I will speak with him in a dream.


When everyone who had known him previously saw him prophesying with the prophets, the people all asked one another, "What on earth has happened to the son of Kish? Does even Saul belong with the prophets?"



Crispus, the president of the synagogue, believed in the Lord together with his entire household, and many of the Corinthians who heard about it believed and were baptized.



But some men from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.

When all the people saw this, they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground and said, "The Lord is the true God! The Lord is the true God!"

While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself to the ground before the temple of God, a very large crowd of Israelites -- men, women, and children alike -- gathered around him. The people wept loudly.

So the crowds were asking him, "What then should we do?"

Now many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the report of the woman who testified, "He told me everything I ever did."

The crowds were paying attention with one mind to what Philip said, as they heard and saw the miraculous signs he was performing.

All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.

When the Gentiles heard this, they began to rejoice and praise the word of the Lord, and all who had been appointed for eternal life believed.

Many of those who had believed came forward, confessing and making their deeds known.


Joshua told the priests, "Pick up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people." So they picked up the ark of the covenant and went ahead of the people.


He sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls for peace offerings to the Lord.

The priests then entered the Lord's temple to purify it; they brought out to the courtyard of the Lord's temple every ceremonially unclean thing they discovered inside. The Levites took them out to the Kidron Valley.

Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard about all that God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, that the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.

The priests and Levites who lived throughout Israel supported him, no matter where they resided.


But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and domestic animals that were with him in the ark. God caused a wind to blow over the earth and the waters receded.

If you go to war in your land against an adversary who opposes you, then you must sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the Lord your God, and you will be saved from your enemies.

to the one who remembered us when we were down, for his loyal love endures,

He remains loyal and faithful to the family of Israel. All the ends of the earth see our God deliver us.

"Zion said, 'The Lord has abandoned me, the sovereign master has forgotten me.' Can a woman forget her baby who nurses at her breast? Can she withhold compassion from the child she has borne? Even if mothers were to forget, I could never forget you! Look, I have inscribed your name on my palms; your walls are constantly before me.

So when God destroyed the cities of the region, God honored Abraham's request. He removed Lot from the midst of the destruction when he destroyed the cities Lot had lived in.





The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle and sinful people their plans. They should return to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, and to their God, for he will freely forgive them.

When he struck them down, they sought his favor; they turned back and longed for God.

When they return to you with all their heart and being in the land where they are held prisoner, and direct their prayers to you toward the land you gave to their ancestors, your chosen city, and the temple I built for your honor,

The Lord will strike Egypt, striking and then healing them. They will turn to the Lord and he will listen to their prayers and heal them.

For this is what the master, the Lord, the Holy One of Israel says: "If you repented and patiently waited for me, you would be delivered; if you calmly trusted in me you would find strength, but you are unwilling.

Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for your sin has been your downfall!

From the days of your ancestors you have ignored my commandments and have not kept them! Return to me, and I will return to you," says the Lord who rules over all. "But you say, 'How should we return?'


Return to the Lord and repent! Say to him: "Completely forgive our iniquity; accept our penitential prayer, that we may offer the praise of our lips as sacrificial bulls.

Then the lame will leap like a deer, the mute tongue will shout for joy; for water will flow in the desert, streams in the wilderness.


He will restore us in a very short time; he will heal us in a little while, so that we may live in his presence.



I know the distress you are suffering and your poverty (but you are rich). I also know the slander against you by those who call themselves Jews and really are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.


For you were made rich in every way in him, in all your speech and in every kind of knowledge --










There is one who pretends to be rich and yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor and yet possesses great wealth.







At whom are you laughing? At whom are you opening your mouth and sticking out your tongue? You are the children of rebels, the offspring of liars,


For they said to you, "In the end time there will come scoffers, propelled by their own ungodly desires."


For he has spoken somewhere about the seventh day in this way: "And God rested on the seventh day from all his works,"

He said to them, "This is what the Lord has said: 'Tomorrow is a time of cessation from work, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Whatever you want to bake, bake today; whatever you want to boil, boil today; whatever is left put aside for yourselves to be kept until morning.'"

God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it he ceased all the work that he had been doing in creation.

For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath."

At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on a Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pick heads of wheat and eat them.




All the raised offerings of the holy things that the Israelites offer to the Lord, I have given to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual ordinance. It is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord for you and for your descendants with you."

Moreover, you must season every one of your grain offerings with salt; you must not allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be missing from your grain offering -- on every one of your grain offerings you must present salt.

Elisha said, "Get me a new jar and put some salt in it." So they got it.

But Lot's wife looked back longingly and was turned into a pillar of salt.

Whatever is needed -- whether oxen or rams or lambs or burnt offerings for the God of heaven or wheat or salt or wine or oil, as required by the priests who are in Jerusalem -- must be given to them daily without any neglect,







And you will be secure, because there is hope; you will be protected and will take your rest in safety.



This is the person who will live in a secure place; he will find safety in the rocky, mountain strongholds; he will have food and a constant supply of water.








Abram traveled through the land as far as the oak tree of Moreh at Shechem. (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.)

The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the part of the field that Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for one hundred pieces of money. So it became the inheritance of the tribe of Joseph.

After he left Paddan Aram, Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan, and he camped near the city.

When his brothers had gone to graze their father's flocks near Shechem,



Now to the one who is able to keep you from falling, and to cause you to stand, rejoicing, without blemish before his glorious presence,











A psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He takes me to lush pastures, he leads me to refreshing water.






The one who denounces his neighbor lacks wisdom, but the one who has discernment keeps silent.


Then they sat down with him on the ground for seven days and seven nights, yet no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.

If only you would keep completely silent! For you, that would be wisdom.

I was stone silent; I held back the urge to speak. My frustration grew;

Even a fool who remains silent is considered wise, and the one who holds his tongue is deemed discerning.

(Yod) Let a person sit alone in silence, when the Lord is disciplining him.


with four posts and their four bronze bases. Their hooks and their bands were silver, and their tops were overlaid with silver.

He made forty silver bases under the twenty frames -- two bases under the first frame for its two projections, and likewise two bases under the next frame for its two projections,

Everyone making an offering of silver or bronze brought it as an offering to the Lord, and everyone who had acacia wood for any work of the service brought it.

This is the offering you are to accept from them: gold, silver, bronze,

Likewise for its length on the north side, there are to be hangings for one hundred fifty feet, with twenty posts and their twenty bronze bases, with silver hooks and bands on the posts.



I tell you the truth, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it."


Your obedience is known to all and thus I rejoice over you. But I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.



The Lord protects the untrained; I was in serious trouble and he delivered me.

A song of ascents, by David. O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor do I have a haughty look. I do not have great aspirations, or concern myself with things that are beyond me.


I will destroy anyone who slanders his neighbor in secret. I will not tolerate anyone who has a cocky demeanor and an arrogant attitude.

Everyone must be on his guard around his friends. He must not even trust any of his relatives. For every one of them will find some way to cheat him. And all of his friends will tell lies about him.

For I hear what so many are saying, the terrifying news that comes from every direction. When they plot together against me, they figure out how they can take my life.

The one who conceals hatred utters lies, and the one who spreads slander is certainly a fool.

With his speech the godless person destroys his neighbor, but by knowledge the righteous will be delivered.


Even when my strength leaves me, you watch my footsteps. In the path where I walk they have hidden a trap for me.

Proud men hide a snare for me; evil men spread a net by the path; they set traps for me. (Selah)

Hear this, you priests! Pay attention, you Israelites! Listen closely, O king! For judgment is about to overtake you! For you were like a trap to Mizpah, like a net spread out to catch Tabor.

The arrogant dig pits to trap me, which violates your law.

"Indeed, there are wicked scoundrels among my people. They lie in wait like bird catchers hiding in ambush. They set deadly traps to catch people.

I did not harm them, but they hid a net to catch me and dug a pit to trap me.

The wicked lay a trap for me, but I do not wander from your precepts.

Protect me from the snare they have laid for me, and the traps the evildoers have set.

Let cries of terror be heard in their houses when you send bands of raiders unexpectedly to plunder them. For they have virtually dug a pit to capture me and have hidden traps for me to step into.


Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.

She is not afraid of the snow for her household, for all of her household are clothed with scarlet.



Benaiah son of Jehoida was a brave warrior from Kabzeel who performed great exploits. He struck down the two sons of Ariel of Moab. He also went down and killed a lion in a cistern on a snowy day.

Does the snow ever completely vanish from the rocky slopes of Lebanon? Do the cool waters from those distant mountains ever cease to flow?

He sends the snow that is white like wool; he spreads the frost that is white like ashes.

They are dark because of ice; snow is piled up over them.

Have you entered the storehouse of the snow, or seen the armory of the hail,



When you sit down to eat with a ruler, consider carefully what is before you, and put a knife to your throat if you possess a large appetite.

When you find honey, eat only what is sufficient for you, lest you become stuffed with it and vomit it up.

While Paul was discussing righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became frightened and said, "Go away for now, and when I have an opportunity, I will send for you."




gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.


King Belshazzar prepared a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in front of them all.

So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces from the five barley loaves left over by the people who had eaten.

At that time Solomon and all Israel with him celebrated a festival before the Lord our God for two entire weeks. This great assembly included people from all over the land, from Lebo Hamath in the north to the Brook of Egypt in the south.

So they prepared a dinner for Jesus there. Martha was serving, and Lazarus was among those present at the table with him.

Then Levi gave a great banquet in his house for Jesus, and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others sitting at the table with them.

But a suitable day came, when Herod gave a banquet on his birthday for his court officials, military commanders, and leaders of Galilee.

So he threw a big banquet for them and they ate and drank. Then he sent them back to their master. After that no Syrian raiding parties again invaded the land of Israel.

They spent three days feasting there with David, for their relatives had given them provisions.

When those days were completed, the king then provided a seven-day banquet for all the people who were present in Susa the citadel, for those of highest standing to the most lowly. It was held in the court located in the garden of the royal palace.

Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the head steward," and they did.




He was despised and rejected by people, one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness; people hid their faces from him; he was despised, and we considered him insignificant.


Instead your hearts are filled with sadness because I have said these things to you.




The words he speaks are sinful and deceitful; he does not care about doing what is wise and right.

And the tongue is a fire! The tongue represents the world of wrongdoing among the parts of our bodies. It pollutes the entire body and sets fire to the course of human existence -- and is set on fire by hell.


His words are as smooth as butter, but he harbors animosity in his heart. His words seem softer than oil, but they are really like sharp swords.



Offspring of vipers! How are you able to say anything good, since you are evil? For the mouth speaks from what fills the heart.


For it says in scripture, "Look, I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen and priceless cornerstone, and whoever believes in him will never be put to shame."

Therefore, this is what the sovereign master, the Lord, says: "Look, I am laying a stone in Zion, an approved stone, set in place as a precious cornerstone for the foundation. The one who maintains his faith will not panic.

"Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them is like a wise man who built his house on rock.



"O afflicted one, driven away, and unconsoled! Look, I am about to set your stones in antimony and I lay your foundation with lapis-lazuli.

In this way they will save up a treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the future and so lay hold of what is truly life.



An ox recognizes its owner, a donkey recognizes where its owner puts its food; but Israel does not recognize me, my people do not understand."



"They do not know how to do what is right." (The Lord is speaking.) "They store up the spoils of destructive violence in their fortresses.

But they do not know what the Lord is planning; they do not understand his strategy. He has gathered them like stalks of grain to be threshed at the threshing floor.

They are unfamiliar with peace; their deeds are unjust. They use deceitful methods, and whoever deals with them is unfamiliar with peace.

I thought, "Surely it is only the ignorant poor who act this way. They act like fools because they do not know what the Lord demands. They do not know what their God requires of them.

For ignoring the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking instead to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to God's righteousness.


And what mutual agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, just as God said, "I will live in them and will walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."




because you have been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.




Jesus replied, "My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my servants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish authorities. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here."

Now this is what I am saying, brothers and sisters: Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.



nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is in your midst."


You must actively help the hungry and feed the oppressed. Then your light will dispel the darkness, and your darkness will be transformed into noonday.







But as for the seed sown on good soil, this is the person who hears the word and understands. He bears fruit, yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown."


And so we too constantly thank God that when you received God's message that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human message, but as it truly is, God's message, which is at work among you who believe.





But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.


Planted in the Lord's house, they grow in the courts of our God. They bear fruit even when they are old; they are filled with vitality and have many leaves.


On both sides of the river's banks, every kind of tree will grow for food. Their leaves will not wither nor will their fruit fail, but they will bear fruit every month, because their water source flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing."


But other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.




Furthermore, remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and so be careful to observe these statutes.


He said, "If you will diligently obey the Lord your God, and do what is right in his sight, and pay attention to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, then all the diseases that I brought on the Egyptians I will not bring on you, for I, the Lord, am your healer."

Look! I have taught you statutes and ordinances just as the Lord my God told me to do, so that you might carry them out in the land you are about to enter and possess.

These are the statutes, regulations, and instructions which the Lord established between himself and the Israelites at Mount Sinai through Moses.

If you follow my instructions by obeying my rules and regulations, just as your father David did, then I will grant you long life."

Your statutes have been my songs in the house where I live.



A musical composition by David, which he sang to the Lord concerning a Benjaminite named Cush. O Lord my God, in you I have taken shelter. Deliver me from all who chase me! Rescue me!



The enemies who chase me are numerous. Yet I do not turn aside from your rules.

/ (Sin/Shin) Rulers pursue me for no reason, yet I am more afraid of disobeying your instructions.

Certainly my enemies chase me. They smash me into the ground. They force me to live in dark regions, like those who have been dead for ages.

I said, "Lord, you know how I suffer. Take thought of me and care for me. Pay back for me those who have been persecuting me. Do not be so patient with them that you allow them to kill me. Be mindful of how I have put up with their insults for your sake.

We are pursued -- they are breathing down our necks; we are weary and have no rest.




Then I saw thrones and seated on them were those who had been given authority to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. These had not worshiped the beast or his image and had refused to receive his mark on their forehead or hand. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.




At that the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth.

They spat on him and took the staff and struck him repeatedly on the head.


Zedekiah son of Kenaanah approached, hit Micaiah on the jaw, and said, "Which way did the Lord's spirit go when he went from me to speak to you?"

When Jesus had said this, one of the high priest's officers who stood nearby struck him on the face and said, "Is that the way you answer the high priest?"


Look, I will make the shadow go back ten steps on the stairs of Ahaz." And then the shadow went back ten steps.

The day the Lord delivered the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua prayed to the Lord before Israel: "O sun, stand still over Gibeon! O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon!"

God made two great lights -- the greater light to rule over the day and the lesser light to rule over the night. He made the stars also.

The sunlight will be turned to darkness and the moon to the color of blood, before the day of the Lord comes -- that great and terrible day!

by serving other gods and worshiping them -- the sun, moon, or any other heavenly bodies which I have not permitted you to worship.

about noon along the road, Your Majesty, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining everywhere around me and those traveling with me.


Yet its voice echoes throughout the earth; its words carry to the distant horizon. In the sky he has pitched a tent for the sun.

The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries away to a place from which it rises again.




But you have come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the assembly

So it was necessary for the sketches of the things in heaven to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves required better sacrifices than these.

Now this phrase "once more" indicates the removal of what is shaken, that is, of created things, so that what is unshaken may remain.

For God had provided something better for us, so that they would be made perfect together with us.


Abram traveled through the land as far as the oak tree of Moreh at Shechem. (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.)

The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the part of the field that Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for one hundred pieces of money. So it became the inheritance of the tribe of Joseph.

After he left Paddan Aram, Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan, and he camped near the city.

When his brothers had gone to graze their father's flocks near Shechem,


But when they bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authorities, do not worry about how you should make your defense or what you should say,

I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to force them to blaspheme. Because I was so furiously enraged at them, I went to persecute them even in foreign cities.



(His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jewish religious leaders. For the Jewish leaders had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Christ would be put out of the synagogue.


Some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat tribute, including a load of silver. The Arabs brought him 7,700 rams and 7,700 goats from their flocks.

After they arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and said, "Your teacher pays the double drachma tax, doesn't he?"


King Ahasuerus then imposed forced labor on the land and on the coastlands of the sea.

Tell us then, what do you think? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"



When you sit down to eat with a ruler, consider carefully what is before you, and put a knife to your throat if you possess a large appetite.

When you find honey, eat only what is sufficient for you, lest you become stuffed with it and vomit it up.

While Paul was discussing righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became frightened and said, "Go away for now, and when I have an opportunity, I will send for you."




gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.


Like a thorn that goes into the hand of a drunkard, so is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.


The splendid crown of Ephraim's drunkards will be trampled underfoot.

Wake up, you drunkards, and weep! Wail, all you wine drinkers, because the sweet wine has been taken away from you.

Surely they will be totally consumed like entangled thorn bushes, like the drink of drunkards, like very dry stubble.


Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time for prayer, at three o'clock in the afternoon.

But as for me, because of your great faithfulness I will enter your house; I will bow down toward your holy temple as I worship you.


A psalm of Asaph. O God, foreigners have invaded your chosen land; they have polluted your holy temple and turned Jerusalem into a heap of ruins.

I will bow down toward your holy temple, and give thanks to your name, because of your loyal love and faithfulness, for you have exalted your promise above the entire sky.


And what mutual agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, just as God said, "I will live in them and will walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."




because you have been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.



They will proclaim the splendor of your kingdom; they will tell about your power,

You are my witnesses," says the Lord, "my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may consider and believe in me, and understand that I am he. No god was formed before me, and none will outlive me.


On that day you will be able to speak again; you will talk with the fugitive and be silent no longer. You will be an object lesson for them, and they will know that I am the Lord."


May my tongue sing about your instructions, for all your commands are just.

The mind that acts rashly will possess discernment and the tongue that stutters will speak with ease and clarity.



Furthermore, remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and so be careful to observe these statutes.


He said, "If you will diligently obey the Lord your God, and do what is right in his sight, and pay attention to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, then all the diseases that I brought on the Egyptians I will not bring on you, for I, the Lord, am your healer."

Look! I have taught you statutes and ordinances just as the Lord my God told me to do, so that you might carry them out in the land you are about to enter and possess.

These are the statutes, regulations, and instructions which the Lord established between himself and the Israelites at Mount Sinai through Moses.

If you follow my instructions by obeying my rules and regulations, just as your father David did, then I will grant you long life."

Your statutes have been my songs in the house where I live.



Then I would not be ashamed, if I were focused on all your commands.



These words I am commanding you today must be kept in mind,

Now pay attention to all the commandments I am giving you today, so that you may be strong enough to enter and possess the land where you are headed,

He answered them, "And why do you disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition?




Now Enoch, the seventh in descent beginning with Adam, even prophesied of them, saying, "Look! The Lord is coming with thousands and thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all, and to convict every person of all their thoroughly ungodly deeds that they have committed, and of all the harsh words that ungodly sinners have spoken against him."


And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. Then books were opened, and another book was opened -- the book of life. So the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to their deeds.




"When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be assembled before him, and he will separate people one from another like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.


Some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat tribute, including a load of silver. The Arabs brought him 7,700 rams and 7,700 goats from their flocks.

After they arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and said, "Your teacher pays the double drachma tax, doesn't he?"


King Ahasuerus then imposed forced labor on the land and on the coastlands of the sea.

Tell us then, what do you think? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"


Through all that they suffered, he suffered too. The messenger sent from his very presence delivered them. In his love and mercy he protected them; he lifted them up and carried them throughout ancient times.


The Lord said, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt. I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.






Some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat tribute, including a load of silver. The Arabs brought him 7,700 rams and 7,700 goats from their flocks.

After they arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and said, "Your teacher pays the double drachma tax, doesn't he?"


King Ahasuerus then imposed forced labor on the land and on the coastlands of the sea.

Tell us then, what do you think? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"



Why do you brag about your great power? Your power is ebbing away, you rebellious people of Ammon, who trust in your riches and say, 'Who would dare to attack us?'

You were complacent in your evil deeds; you thought, 'No one sees me.' Your self-professed wisdom and knowledge lead you astray, when you say, 'I am unique! No one can compare to me!'


The Lord says, "I will put a curse on people who trust in mere human beings, who depend on mere flesh and blood for their strength, and whose hearts have turned away from the Lord.


Woe to those who live in ease in Zion, to those who feel secure on Mount Samaria. They think of themselves as the elite class of the best nation. The family of Israel looks to them for leadership.




He built a hedge around it, removed its stones, and planted a vine. He built a tower in the middle of it, and constructed a winepress. He waited for it to produce edible grapes, but it produced sour ones instead.



The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the unfaithful destroys them.

As for me, you uphold me because of my integrity; you allow me permanent access to your presence.



went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).

He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend even the strongest bow.

Even when an army is deployed against me, I do not fear. Even when war is imminent, I remain confident.

And another horse, fiery red, came out, and the one who rode it was granted permission to take peace from the earth, so that people would butcher one another, and he was given a huge sword.





They will not be hungry or thirsty; the sun's oppressive heat will not beat down on them, for one who has compassion on them will guide them; he will lead them to springs of water.

You are the one in whom Israel may find hope. All who leave you will suffer shame. Those who turn away from you will be consigned to the nether world. For they have rejected you, the Lord, the fountain of life.

You are a garden spring, a well of fresh water flowing down from Lebanon.



They will not be hungry or thirsty; the sun's oppressive heat will not beat down on them, for one who has compassion on them will guide them; he will lead them to springs of water.

You are the one in whom Israel may find hope. All who leave you will suffer shame. Those who turn away from you will be consigned to the nether world. For they have rejected you, the Lord, the fountain of life.

You are a garden spring, a well of fresh water flowing down from Lebanon.


As I watched, I noticed a windstorm coming from the north -- an enormous cloud, with lightning flashing, such that bright light rimmed it and came from it like glowing amber from the middle of a fire.

Just before the Lord took Elijah up to heaven in a windstorm, Elijah and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal.

A tempest blows out from its chamber, icy cold from the driving winds.


Before the kindling is even placed under your pots, he will sweep it away along with both the raw and cooked meat.


Those who devise sinful plans are as good as dead, those who dream about doing evil as they lie in bed. As soon as morning dawns they carry out their plans, because they have the power to do so.

He plans ways to sin while he lies in bed; he is committed to a sinful lifestyle; he does not reject what is evil.

The one who plans to do evil will be called a scheming person.

But they just keep saying, 'We do not care what you say! We will do whatever we want to do! We will continue to behave wickedly and stubbornly!'"



Do not those who devise evil go astray? But those who plan good exhibit faithful covenant love.

The one who winks his eyes devises perverse things, and one who compresses his lips brings about evil.

A deceiver's methods are evil; he dreams up evil plans to ruin the poor with lies, even when the needy are in the right.

The Lord said to me, "Son of man, these are the men who plot evil and give wicked advice in this city.


Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, including a detailed account of how he killed all the prophets with the sword.

As if following in the sinful footsteps of Jeroboam son of Nebat were not bad enough, he married Jezebel the daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians. Then he worshiped and bowed to Baal.

Dogs will devour Jezebel on the plot of ground in Jezreel; she will not be buried.'" Then he opened the door and ran away.

When Jezebel was killing the Lord's prophets, Obadiah took one hundred prophets and hid them in two caves in two groups of fifty. He also brought them food and water.)

Jehu approached Jezreel. When Jezebel heard the news, she put on some eye liner, fixed up her hair, and leaned out the window.

The Lord says this about Jezebel, 'Dogs will devour Jezebel by the outer wall of Jezreel.'

Then his wife Jezebel came in and said to him, "Why do you have a bitter attitude and refuse to eat?"

When they went back and told him, he said, "The Lord's word through his servant, Elijah the Tishbite, has come to pass. He warned, 'In the plot of land at Jezreel, dogs will devour Jezebel's flesh.


You must never bring the pay of a female prostitute or the wage of a male prostitute into the temple of the Lord your God in fulfillment of any vow, for both of these are abhorrent to the Lord your God.

He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, or one profaned by prostitution; he may only take a virgin from his people as a wife.

Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, so that the land does not practice prostitution and become full of lewdness.

But Simeon and Levi replied, "Should he treat our sister like a common prostitute?"

Then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.


Now Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time.

Deborah said to Barak, "Spring into action, for this is the day the Lord is handing Sisera over to you! Has the Lord not taken the lead?" Barak quickly went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him.

On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this victory song:



They sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb: "Great and astounding are your deeds, Lord God, the All-Powerful! Just and true are your ways, King over the nations!

He does amazing things that will be remembered; the Lord is merciful and compassionate.


God has made everything fit beautifully in its appropriate time, but he has also placed ignorance in the human heart so that people cannot discover what God has ordained, from the beginning to the end of their lives.


O Lord, my God, you have accomplished many things; you have done amazing things and carried out your purposes for us. No one can thwart you! I want to declare them and talk about them, but they are too numerous to recount!





(Alef) How blessed are those whose actions are blameless, who obey the law of the Lord.


The one true God acts in a faithful manner; the Lord's promise is reliable; he is a shield to all who take shelter in him.



He sends his command through the earth; swiftly his order reaches its destination.


Listen, Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You must love the Lord your God with your whole mind, your whole being, and all your strength. These words I am commanding you today must be kept in mind, read more.
and you must teach them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, as you lie down, and as you get up. You should tie them as a reminder on your forearm and fasten them as symbols on your forehead. Inscribe them on the doorframes of your houses and gates. Then when the Lord your God brings you to the land he promised your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give you -- a land with large, fine cities you did not build, houses filled with choice things you did not accumulate, hewn out cisterns you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant -- and you eat your fill, be careful not to forget the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, that place of slavery.

The law of the Lord is perfect and preserves one's life. The rules set down by the Lord are reliable and impart wisdom to the inexperienced. The Lord's precepts are fair and make one joyful. The Lord's commands are pure and give insight for life. The commands to fear the Lord are right and endure forever. The judgments given by the Lord are trustworthy and absolutely just. read more.
They are of greater value than gold, than even a great amount of pure gold; they bring greater delight than honey, than even the sweetest honey from a honeycomb. Yes, your servant finds moral guidance there; those who obey them receive a rich reward.


Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time for prayer, at three o'clock in the afternoon.

But as for me, because of your great faithfulness I will enter your house; I will bow down toward your holy temple as I worship you.


A psalm of Asaph. O God, foreigners have invaded your chosen land; they have polluted your holy temple and turned Jerusalem into a heap of ruins.

I will bow down toward your holy temple, and give thanks to your name, because of your loyal love and faithfulness, for you have exalted your promise above the entire sky.




If you have no desire to worship the Lord, choose today whom you will worship, whether it be the gods whom your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But I and my family will worship the Lord!"


At that hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and all his family were baptized right away.


She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he said.




Then the father realized that it was the very time Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live," and he himself believed along with his entire household.


He first found his own brother Simon and told him, "We have found the Messiah!" (which is translated Christ).


"Return to your home, and declare what God has done for you." So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole town what Jesus had done for him.


When the days of their feasting were finished, Job would send for them and sanctify them; he would get up early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job thought, "Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." This was Job's customary practice.


As they drank wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

You know that when you were pagans you were often led astray by speechless idols, however you were led.

Has a nation ever changed its gods (even though they are not really gods at all)? But my people have exchanged me, their glorious God, for a god that cannot help them at all!

For all the gods of the nations are worthless, but the Lord made the heavens.

Then those living in the towns of Judah and in Jerusalem will go and cry out for help to the gods to whom they have been sacrificing. However, those gods will by no means be able to save them when disaster strikes them.

Their land is full of worthless idols; they worship the product of their own hands, what their own fingers have fashioned.


If after all there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords),

Can people make their own gods? No, what they make are not gods at all."


many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the Lord's mountain, to the temple of the God of Jacob, so he can teach us his requirements, and we can follow his standards." For Zion will be the center for moral instruction; the Lord will issue edicts from Jerusalem.

I will bring them to my holy mountain; I will make them happy in the temple where people pray to me. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, for my temple will be known as a temple where all nations may pray."

All the sheep of Kedar will be gathered to you; the rams of Nebaioth will be available to you as sacrifices. They will go up on my altar acceptably, and I will bestow honor on my majestic temple.

Be careful what you do when you go to the temple of God; draw near to listen rather than to offer a sacrifice like fools, for they do not realize that they are doing wrong.

To those who sold the doves he said, "Take these things away from here! Do not make my Father's house a marketplace!"

A song of ascents. Attention! Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who serve in the Lord's temple during the night.

saying to them, "It is written, 'My house will be a house of prayer,' but you have turned it into a den of robbers!"


He wears his desire for justice like body armor, and his desire to deliver is like a helmet on his head. He puts on the garments of vengeance and wears zeal like a robe.







As they drank wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

You know that when you were pagans you were often led astray by speechless idols, however you were led.

Has a nation ever changed its gods (even though they are not really gods at all)? But my people have exchanged me, their glorious God, for a god that cannot help them at all!

For all the gods of the nations are worthless, but the Lord made the heavens.

Then those living in the towns of Judah and in Jerusalem will go and cry out for help to the gods to whom they have been sacrificing. However, those gods will by no means be able to save them when disaster strikes them.

Their land is full of worthless idols; they worship the product of their own hands, what their own fingers have fashioned.


If after all there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords),

Can people make their own gods? No, what they make are not gods at all."



Why do you brag about your great power? Your power is ebbing away, you rebellious people of Ammon, who trust in your riches and say, 'Who would dare to attack us?'

You were complacent in your evil deeds; you thought, 'No one sees me.' Your self-professed wisdom and knowledge lead you astray, when you say, 'I am unique! No one can compare to me!'


The Lord says, "I will put a curse on people who trust in mere human beings, who depend on mere flesh and blood for their strength, and whose hearts have turned away from the Lord.


Woe to those who live in ease in Zion, to those who feel secure on Mount Samaria. They think of themselves as the elite class of the best nation. The family of Israel looks to them for leadership.




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