Thematic Bible


Thematic Bible




And I will bring the [remaining] third into the fire, and I will refine them like [one] refines silver, and I will test them like [one] tests gold. They will call my name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'They are my people,' and they will say, 'Yahweh [is] my God.'" Verse ConceptsFaith, Testing OfdrossCalling upon GodGoldSilverTestingAnswers By FireAnswered PromisesRefining Influences Of AfflictionAfflictions As Blessings In DisguiseOne ThirdFire Of JudgementGod Will AnswerGod Testing PeopleThings Like GoldThings Like SilverGod Answers PrayerYou Are Our GodTestspressuremold


The poor and the needy [are] seeking water and [there is] none; their tongue is dried up with thirst. I, Yahweh, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. Verse ConceptsThe Needydrought, physicalPrayer, God's Promises ConcerningTongueGod And The PoorAnswered PromisesSeeking WaterGod Not ForsakingWater, As A Symbol Of Affliction

Then you shall call, and Yahweh himself will answer. You shall cry for help, and he will say, 'Here I [am]!' If you remove from among you [the] yoke, the {finger-pointing} and {evil speech}, Verse ConceptsFingersCalling upon GodAnswered PromisesGod Will AnswerBehold Me!rumors


'Call to me, and I will answer you, and I will tell you great [things] and inaccessible [things that] you have not known.' Verse ConceptsCalling upon GodConfusionAdventureAnswered PromisesSecret ThingsGod Will AnswerUnknown ThingsGod Revealing MysteriesSurvivalCallingPrayer During Hard Timessecretsanswers

And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. Verse ConceptsBaptism Of The Holy SpiritThe Act Of OpeningPrayer, As Asking GodAnswered PromisesFinding ThingsGod Answers PrayerGod Giving Freely


and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do [what is] pleasing {in his sight}. Verse Conceptsethics, incentives towardsdiscipleship, nature ofPrayer, God's Promises ConcerningFruits Of RighteousnessAnswered PromisesObeying JesusGod Hears My Prayer



And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. Verse ConceptsBaptism Of The Holy SpiritThe Act Of OpeningPrayer, As Asking GodAnswered PromisesFinding ThingsGod Answers PrayerGod Giving Freely

Yahweh appeared to Solomon at Gibeon in a dream at night, and God said, "Ask what I should give to you." Verse ConceptsCommunicationNightGod AppearingDuring One NightGod Answers Prayer

Ask rain from Yahweh in the season of [the] spring rain-- Yahweh, who makes storm clouds, and he gives showers of rain to them, to everyone vegetation in the field. Verse Conceptsdrought, physicalPlantsRainSpringStormsWeather, God's Sovereignty OverGifts From God, TemporalAnswered PromisesShowersGod Sending RainspringtimeGod Controls Storms

For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Verse ConceptsThe Act Of OpeningKnockingFinding ThingsGod Answers PrayerAccess





And Abraham drew near [to Yahweh] and said, "Will you also sweep away the righteous with the wicked? If perhaps there are fifty righteous in the midst of the city, will you also sweep [them] away and not forgive the place on account of the fifty righteous in her midst? Far be it from you to do such a thing as this, to kill [the] righteous with [the] wicked, that the righteous would be as the wicked! Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do justice?" read more.
And Yahweh said, "If I find fifty righteous in Sodom, in the midst of the city, then I will forgive the whole place for their sake." Then Abraham answered and said, "Look, please, I was bold to speak to my Lord, but I [am] dust and ashes. Perhaps the fifty righteous are lacking five--will you destroy the whole city on account of the five?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] if I find forty-five there." And {once again he spoke} to him and said, "What if forty are found there?" And he answered, "I will not do [it] on account of the forty." And he said, "Please, let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak. What if thirty be found there?" And he answered, "I will not do [it] if I find thirty there." And he said, "Please, now, I was bold to speak to my Lord. What if twenty be found there?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] for the sake of the twenty." And he said, "Please, let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak only once more. What if ten are found there?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] for the sake of the ten."

And Jacob remained alone, and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the dawn. And when he saw that he could not prevail against him, he struck his hip socket, so that Jacob's hip socket was sprained as he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for dawn is breaking." But he answered, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." read more.
Then he said to him, "What [is] your name?" And he said, "Jacob." And he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed." Then Jacob asked and said, "Please tell me your name." And he said, "Why do you ask this--for my name?" And he blessed him there. Then Jacob called the name of the place Peniel [which means] "I have seen God face to face and my life was spared."

Then King David went and sat before Yahweh and said, "Who [am] I, my lord Yahweh, and what [is] my house that you have brought me up to {this place}? Still, this [was] {insignificant} in your eyes, my lord Yahweh, and also you have spoken about the house of your servant from afar, and this [may be] the teaching of humans, my lord Yahweh. {What more can David say to you}? You know your servant, my lord Yahweh. read more.
Because of your word and according to your heart, you have done all of this great thing, [in order] to let your servant know. Therefore you [are] great, my lord Yahweh, for there is no one like you, and there [is] no god except you, in all that we have heard with our ears. Who [is] like your people, like Israel? [Israel is] the one nation on earth whose God {led them}, [in order] to redeem a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to do for you the great and awesome things for your land in the presence of your people whom he redeemed for himself from Egypt, [from the] nations and their gods. You have established your people Israel for yourself as a people forever, and you, O Yahweh, have become their God. So then, Yahweh God, the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, confirm it forever, and do just as you have promised. Your name shall be great forever, {and they will say}, 'Yahweh of hosts [is] God over Israel'; and the house of your servant David shall be established before you. For you, O Yahweh of hosts, [are] God of Israel! You have revealed to the ear of your servant, 'I will build a house for you'; therefore your servant {has found courage} to pray this prayer to you. Now, my Lord Yahweh, you alone [are] God, and your words [are] true. You have promised this good to your servant. So then, be content and bless the house of your servant to be forever in your presence, for you, my Lord Yahweh, have spoken, and because of your blessing, may the house of your servant be blessed forever."

Then Solomon stood before the altar of Yahweh in the presence of all of the assembly of Israel, and he spread out his hands [to] the heavens, and he said, "O Yahweh, God of Israel, there is no god like you in the heavens above or on the earth beneath, keeping the covenant and the loyal love for your servants who are walking before you with all their heart. You have kept for your servant David my father what you promised to him, and you have spoken with your mouth, and with your hand you have fulfilled [it] this very day. read more.
So then, O Yahweh, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you promised to him, saying, 'For you, no man will be cut off from before me who [will be] sitting on the throne of Israel, if only your sons keep their ways to walk before me just as you have walked before me.' So then, O God of Israel, please let your word be confirmed which you have promised to your servant David my father. For will God really dwell on the earth? Behold, the heavens and the heaven of heavens could not contain you! {How could} this house that I have built? You must regard the prayer of your servant and his plea! O Yahweh my God, listen to the pleading and to the prayer that your servant [is] praying before you this day, so that your eyes [will] be open to this house night and day, to the place which you said, 'My name will be there,' to hear the prayer that your servant prays toward this place. You must listen to the plea of your servant and your people Israel which they pray [toward] this place; and you must hear from the place where you live, from heaven you must hear and you must forgive. [If] a man sins against his neighbor and he pronounces an oath against him to curse him, and the curse comes before your altar in this house, then you shall hear in heaven and you shall act and you shall judge your servant, to declare the wicked guilty by bringing his way upon his head and {to declare the righteous innocent} by rewarding him according to his righteousness. When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy {because} they sinned against you, and [when] they turn to you and confess your name and pray and beg for mercy from you in this house, then you shall hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and you shall bring them back to the ground which you gave to their ancestors. When you shut up the heavens so there is no rain because they have sinned against you, then they pray to this place and they confess your name and they return from their sin because you punished them, then you shall hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants and your people Israel, for you will teach them the good way in which they should go, and you will give rain upon your land which you have given to your people as an inheritance. If there should be in the land famine or disease, if there should be blight or mildew or locust or caterpillars, if it happens that his enemy lays siege against him in the land of his gates, if any plague or any disease, any prayer or any plea which is [offered] by any person for all of your people Israel, who each knows the infestation of his [own] heart and spreads out his palms to this house, then you shall hear in heaven the place of your dwelling, and you shall forgive and act and give to the man whose heart you know, according to all his ways, for you alone know the heart of all the sons of man. [Do these things] so that they may fear you all the days that they live on the face of the land that you gave to our ancestors. Also for the foreigner who is not from your people Israel, and he comes from a distant land because of your name, (for they shall hear of your great name and your powerful hand and your outstretched arm), and he shall come and pray toward this house, you shall hear in heaven, the place of your dwelling, and act according to all that the foreigner calls to you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name, to fear you as your people Israel, and to know that your name has been invoked over this house that I have built. If your people go out to battle against his enemy in the way that you shall send them and they pray to Yahweh, toward the city which you have chosen and the house which I have built for your name, then you shall hear in heaven their prayer and their plea, and you shall {vindicate} them. "If they sin against you (for there is not a person who does not sin) and you are angry with them and you give them to an enemy and they take them captive to the land of the enemy far or near, and then they return their heart in the land where they have been taken captive and they return and plead to you in the land of their captivity, saying, 'We have sinned and we did wrong. We acted wickedly,' if they return to you with all of their heart and with all of their soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive and they pray to you toward their land which you gave to their ancestors, the city that you have chosen and the house that you built for your name, then you shall hear in heaven, the place of your dwelling, their prayer and their plea, and you shall {vindicate them}. You shall forgive your people who sinned against you, [even] for all their transgressions which they committed against you. You shall give them compassion before their captors so that they may have compassion on them, for they [are] your people and your inheritance whom you brought from Egypt from the middle of the smelter of iron. [O,] that your eyes [may] be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, to listen to them in all things [when] they call to you. For you have separated them for yourself as an inheritance from all the peoples of the earth, as you promised through the hand of Moses your servant when you brought out our ancestors from Egypt, my Lord Yahweh!" It happened that when Solomon finished praying to Yahweh all of the prayer and this plea, he got up from before the altar of Yahweh, from kneeling down on his knees with his palms outstretched to heaven. He stood and blessed all of the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, "Blessed be Yahweh who gave a resting place to his people Israel. According to all that he promised, not one word has fallen from all of his promises [concerning] the good which he spoke through the hand of Moses his servant. May Yahweh our God be with us as he was with our ancestors, and may he not leave us or abandon us, to incline our hearts toward him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his judgments which he commanded our ancestors. Let these my words which I pleaded before Yahweh [be] near to Yahweh our God, by day and by night, to maintain the justice of his servant and the justice of his people Israel {as each day requires} so that all of the people of the earth may know that Yahweh, he [is] God; there is none other. Let your heart be completely with Yahweh our God by walking in his statutes, by keeping his commands as this day."

And it happened that while he was in a certain place praying, when he stopped a certain one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples." And he said to them, "When you pray, say, "Father, may your name be treated as holy. May your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. read more.
And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation." And he said to them, "Who of you will have a friend, and will go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves, because a friend of mine has come to me on a journey, and I do not have anything to set before him.' And that one will answer from inside [and] say, 'Do not cause me trouble! The door has already been shut and my children are with me in bed! I am not able to get up to give you [anything].' I tell you, even if he does not give him [anything] [after he] gets up because [he] is his friend, at any rate because of his impudence he will get up [and] give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. But what father from among you, [if his] son will ask for a fish, instead of a fish will give him a snake? Or also, [if] he will ask for an egg, will give him a scorpion? Therefore if you, [although you] are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"

And he told them a parable to [show that] they must always pray and not be discouraged, saying, "There was a certain judge in a certain town who did not fear God and did not respect people. And there was a widow in that town, and she kept coming to him, saying, 'Grant me justice against my adversary!' read more.
And he was not willing for a time, but after these [things] he said to himself, 'Even if I do not fear God or respect people, yet because this widow is causing trouble for me, I will grant her justice, so that she does not wear me down in the end [by her] coming back!'" And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unrighteous judge is saying! And will not God surely {see to it that justice is done} to his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night, and will he delay toward them? I tell you that {he will see to it that justice is done} for them soon! Nevertheless, [when] the Son of Man comes, then will he find faith on earth?"

And Abraham drew near [to Yahweh] and said, "Will you also sweep away the righteous with the wicked? If perhaps there are fifty righteous in the midst of the city, will you also sweep [them] away and not forgive the place on account of the fifty righteous in her midst? Far be it from you to do such a thing as this, to kill [the] righteous with [the] wicked, that the righteous would be as the wicked! Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do justice?" read more.
And Yahweh said, "If I find fifty righteous in Sodom, in the midst of the city, then I will forgive the whole place for their sake." Then Abraham answered and said, "Look, please, I was bold to speak to my Lord, but I [am] dust and ashes. Perhaps the fifty righteous are lacking five--will you destroy the whole city on account of the five?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] if I find forty-five there." And {once again he spoke} to him and said, "What if forty are found there?" And he answered, "I will not do [it] on account of the forty." And he said, "Please, let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak. What if thirty be found there?" And he answered, "I will not do [it] if I find thirty there." And he said, "Please, now, I was bold to speak to my Lord. What if twenty be found there?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] for the sake of the twenty." And he said, "Please, let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak only once more. What if ten are found there?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] for the sake of the ten."

And Jacob remained alone, and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the dawn. And when he saw that he could not prevail against him, he struck his hip socket, so that Jacob's hip socket was sprained as he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for dawn is breaking." But he answered, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." read more.
Then he said to him, "What [is] your name?" And he said, "Jacob." And he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed." Then Jacob asked and said, "Please tell me your name." And he said, "Why do you ask this--for my name?" And he blessed him there. Then Jacob called the name of the place Peniel [which means] "I have seen God face to face and my life was spared."

Then King David went and sat before Yahweh and said, "Who [am] I, my lord Yahweh, and what [is] my house that you have brought me up to {this place}? Still, this [was] {insignificant} in your eyes, my lord Yahweh, and also you have spoken about the house of your servant from afar, and this [may be] the teaching of humans, my lord Yahweh. {What more can David say to you}? You know your servant, my lord Yahweh. read more.
Because of your word and according to your heart, you have done all of this great thing, [in order] to let your servant know. Therefore you [are] great, my lord Yahweh, for there is no one like you, and there [is] no god except you, in all that we have heard with our ears. Who [is] like your people, like Israel? [Israel is] the one nation on earth whose God {led them}, [in order] to redeem a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to do for you the great and awesome things for your land in the presence of your people whom he redeemed for himself from Egypt, [from the] nations and their gods. You have established your people Israel for yourself as a people forever, and you, O Yahweh, have become their God. So then, Yahweh God, the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, confirm it forever, and do just as you have promised. Your name shall be great forever, {and they will say}, 'Yahweh of hosts [is] God over Israel'; and the house of your servant David shall be established before you. For you, O Yahweh of hosts, [are] God of Israel! You have revealed to the ear of your servant, 'I will build a house for you'; therefore your servant {has found courage} to pray this prayer to you. Now, my Lord Yahweh, you alone [are] God, and your words [are] true. You have promised this good to your servant. So then, be content and bless the house of your servant to be forever in your presence, for you, my Lord Yahweh, have spoken, and because of your blessing, may the house of your servant be blessed forever."

Then Solomon stood before the altar of Yahweh in the presence of all of the assembly of Israel, and he spread out his hands [to] the heavens, and he said, "O Yahweh, God of Israel, there is no god like you in the heavens above or on the earth beneath, keeping the covenant and the loyal love for your servants who are walking before you with all their heart. You have kept for your servant David my father what you promised to him, and you have spoken with your mouth, and with your hand you have fulfilled [it] this very day. read more.
So then, O Yahweh, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you promised to him, saying, 'For you, no man will be cut off from before me who [will be] sitting on the throne of Israel, if only your sons keep their ways to walk before me just as you have walked before me.' So then, O God of Israel, please let your word be confirmed which you have promised to your servant David my father. For will God really dwell on the earth? Behold, the heavens and the heaven of heavens could not contain you! {How could} this house that I have built? You must regard the prayer of your servant and his plea! O Yahweh my God, listen to the pleading and to the prayer that your servant [is] praying before you this day, so that your eyes [will] be open to this house night and day, to the place which you said, 'My name will be there,' to hear the prayer that your servant prays toward this place. You must listen to the plea of your servant and your people Israel which they pray [toward] this place; and you must hear from the place where you live, from heaven you must hear and you must forgive. [If] a man sins against his neighbor and he pronounces an oath against him to curse him, and the curse comes before your altar in this house, then you shall hear in heaven and you shall act and you shall judge your servant, to declare the wicked guilty by bringing his way upon his head and {to declare the righteous innocent} by rewarding him according to his righteousness. When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy {because} they sinned against you, and [when] they turn to you and confess your name and pray and beg for mercy from you in this house, then you shall hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and you shall bring them back to the ground which you gave to their ancestors. When you shut up the heavens so there is no rain because they have sinned against you, then they pray to this place and they confess your name and they return from their sin because you punished them, then you shall hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants and your people Israel, for you will teach them the good way in which they should go, and you will give rain upon your land which you have given to your people as an inheritance. If there should be in the land famine or disease, if there should be blight or mildew or locust or caterpillars, if it happens that his enemy lays siege against him in the land of his gates, if any plague or any disease, any prayer or any plea which is [offered] by any person for all of your people Israel, who each knows the infestation of his [own] heart and spreads out his palms to this house, then you shall hear in heaven the place of your dwelling, and you shall forgive and act and give to the man whose heart you know, according to all his ways, for you alone know the heart of all the sons of man. [Do these things] so that they may fear you all the days that they live on the face of the land that you gave to our ancestors. Also for the foreigner who is not from your people Israel, and he comes from a distant land because of your name, (for they shall hear of your great name and your powerful hand and your outstretched arm), and he shall come and pray toward this house, you shall hear in heaven, the place of your dwelling, and act according to all that the foreigner calls to you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name, to fear you as your people Israel, and to know that your name has been invoked over this house that I have built. If your people go out to battle against his enemy in the way that you shall send them and they pray to Yahweh, toward the city which you have chosen and the house which I have built for your name, then you shall hear in heaven their prayer and their plea, and you shall {vindicate} them. "If they sin against you (for there is not a person who does not sin) and you are angry with them and you give them to an enemy and they take them captive to the land of the enemy far or near, and then they return their heart in the land where they have been taken captive and they return and plead to you in the land of their captivity, saying, 'We have sinned and we did wrong. We acted wickedly,' if they return to you with all of their heart and with all of their soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive and they pray to you toward their land which you gave to their ancestors, the city that you have chosen and the house that you built for your name, then you shall hear in heaven, the place of your dwelling, their prayer and their plea, and you shall {vindicate them}. You shall forgive your people who sinned against you, [even] for all their transgressions which they committed against you. You shall give them compassion before their captors so that they may have compassion on them, for they [are] your people and your inheritance whom you brought from Egypt from the middle of the smelter of iron. [O,] that your eyes [may] be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, to listen to them in all things [when] they call to you. For you have separated them for yourself as an inheritance from all the peoples of the earth, as you promised through the hand of Moses your servant when you brought out our ancestors from Egypt, my Lord Yahweh!" It happened that when Solomon finished praying to Yahweh all of the prayer and this plea, he got up from before the altar of Yahweh, from kneeling down on his knees with his palms outstretched to heaven. He stood and blessed all of the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, "Blessed be Yahweh who gave a resting place to his people Israel. According to all that he promised, not one word has fallen from all of his promises [concerning] the good which he spoke through the hand of Moses his servant. May Yahweh our God be with us as he was with our ancestors, and may he not leave us or abandon us, to incline our hearts toward him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his judgments which he commanded our ancestors. Let these my words which I pleaded before Yahweh [be] near to Yahweh our God, by day and by night, to maintain the justice of his servant and the justice of his people Israel {as each day requires} so that all of the people of the earth may know that Yahweh, he [is] God; there is none other. Let your heart be completely with Yahweh our God by walking in his statutes, by keeping his commands as this day."

And it happened that while he was in a certain place praying, when he stopped a certain one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples." And he said to them, "When you pray, say, "Father, may your name be treated as holy. May your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. read more.
And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation." And he said to them, "Who of you will have a friend, and will go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves, because a friend of mine has come to me on a journey, and I do not have anything to set before him.' And that one will answer from inside [and] say, 'Do not cause me trouble! The door has already been shut and my children are with me in bed! I am not able to get up to give you [anything].' I tell you, even if he does not give him [anything] [after he] gets up because [he] is his friend, at any rate because of his impudence he will get up [and] give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. But what father from among you, [if his] son will ask for a fish, instead of a fish will give him a snake? Or also, [if] he will ask for an egg, will give him a scorpion? Therefore if you, [although you] are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"

And he told them a parable to [show that] they must always pray and not be discouraged, saying, "There was a certain judge in a certain town who did not fear God and did not respect people. And there was a widow in that town, and she kept coming to him, saying, 'Grant me justice against my adversary!' read more.
And he was not willing for a time, but after these [things] he said to himself, 'Even if I do not fear God or respect people, yet because this widow is causing trouble for me, I will grant her justice, so that she does not wear me down in the end [by her] coming back!'" And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unrighteous judge is saying! And will not God surely {see to it that justice is done} to his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night, and will he delay toward them? I tell you that {he will see to it that justice is done} for them soon! Nevertheless, [when] the Son of Man comes, then will he find faith on earth?"

And Abraham drew near [to Yahweh] and said, "Will you also sweep away the righteous with the wicked? If perhaps there are fifty righteous in the midst of the city, will you also sweep [them] away and not forgive the place on account of the fifty righteous in her midst? Far be it from you to do such a thing as this, to kill [the] righteous with [the] wicked, that the righteous would be as the wicked! Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do justice?" read more.
And Yahweh said, "If I find fifty righteous in Sodom, in the midst of the city, then I will forgive the whole place for their sake." Then Abraham answered and said, "Look, please, I was bold to speak to my Lord, but I [am] dust and ashes. Perhaps the fifty righteous are lacking five--will you destroy the whole city on account of the five?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] if I find forty-five there." And {once again he spoke} to him and said, "What if forty are found there?" And he answered, "I will not do [it] on account of the forty." And he said, "Please, let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak. What if thirty be found there?" And he answered, "I will not do [it] if I find thirty there." And he said, "Please, now, I was bold to speak to my Lord. What if twenty be found there?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] for the sake of the twenty." And he said, "Please, let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak only once more. What if ten are found there?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] for the sake of the ten."

And Jacob remained alone, and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the dawn. And when he saw that he could not prevail against him, he struck his hip socket, so that Jacob's hip socket was sprained as he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for dawn is breaking." But he answered, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." read more.
Then he said to him, "What [is] your name?" And he said, "Jacob." And he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed." Then Jacob asked and said, "Please tell me your name." And he said, "Why do you ask this--for my name?" And he blessed him there. Then Jacob called the name of the place Peniel [which means] "I have seen God face to face and my life was spared."

Then King David went and sat before Yahweh and said, "Who [am] I, my lord Yahweh, and what [is] my house that you have brought me up to {this place}? Still, this [was] {insignificant} in your eyes, my lord Yahweh, and also you have spoken about the house of your servant from afar, and this [may be] the teaching of humans, my lord Yahweh. {What more can David say to you}? You know your servant, my lord Yahweh. read more.
Because of your word and according to your heart, you have done all of this great thing, [in order] to let your servant know. Therefore you [are] great, my lord Yahweh, for there is no one like you, and there [is] no god except you, in all that we have heard with our ears. Who [is] like your people, like Israel? [Israel is] the one nation on earth whose God {led them}, [in order] to redeem a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to do for you the great and awesome things for your land in the presence of your people whom he redeemed for himself from Egypt, [from the] nations and their gods. You have established your people Israel for yourself as a people forever, and you, O Yahweh, have become their God. So then, Yahweh God, the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, confirm it forever, and do just as you have promised. Your name shall be great forever, {and they will say}, 'Yahweh of hosts [is] God over Israel'; and the house of your servant David shall be established before you. For you, O Yahweh of hosts, [are] God of Israel! You have revealed to the ear of your servant, 'I will build a house for you'; therefore your servant {has found courage} to pray this prayer to you. Now, my Lord Yahweh, you alone [are] God, and your words [are] true. You have promised this good to your servant. So then, be content and bless the house of your servant to be forever in your presence, for you, my Lord Yahweh, have spoken, and because of your blessing, may the house of your servant be blessed forever."

Then Solomon stood before the altar of Yahweh in the presence of all of the assembly of Israel, and he spread out his hands [to] the heavens, and he said, "O Yahweh, God of Israel, there is no god like you in the heavens above or on the earth beneath, keeping the covenant and the loyal love for your servants who are walking before you with all their heart. You have kept for your servant David my father what you promised to him, and you have spoken with your mouth, and with your hand you have fulfilled [it] this very day. read more.
So then, O Yahweh, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you promised to him, saying, 'For you, no man will be cut off from before me who [will be] sitting on the throne of Israel, if only your sons keep their ways to walk before me just as you have walked before me.' So then, O God of Israel, please let your word be confirmed which you have promised to your servant David my father. For will God really dwell on the earth? Behold, the heavens and the heaven of heavens could not contain you! {How could} this house that I have built? You must regard the prayer of your servant and his plea! O Yahweh my God, listen to the pleading and to the prayer that your servant [is] praying before you this day, so that your eyes [will] be open to this house night and day, to the place which you said, 'My name will be there,' to hear the prayer that your servant prays toward this place. You must listen to the plea of your servant and your people Israel which they pray [toward] this place; and you must hear from the place where you live, from heaven you must hear and you must forgive. [If] a man sins against his neighbor and he pronounces an oath against him to curse him, and the curse comes before your altar in this house, then you shall hear in heaven and you shall act and you shall judge your servant, to declare the wicked guilty by bringing his way upon his head and {to declare the righteous innocent} by rewarding him according to his righteousness. When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy {because} they sinned against you, and [when] they turn to you and confess your name and pray and beg for mercy from you in this house, then you shall hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and you shall bring them back to the ground which you gave to their ancestors. When you shut up the heavens so there is no rain because they have sinned against you, then they pray to this place and they confess your name and they return from their sin because you punished them, then you shall hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants and your people Israel, for you will teach them the good way in which they should go, and you will give rain upon your land which you have given to your people as an inheritance. If there should be in the land famine or disease, if there should be blight or mildew or locust or caterpillars, if it happens that his enemy lays siege against him in the land of his gates, if any plague or any disease, any prayer or any plea which is [offered] by any person for all of your people Israel, who each knows the infestation of his [own] heart and spreads out his palms to this house, then you shall hear in heaven the place of your dwelling, and you shall forgive and act and give to the man whose heart you know, according to all his ways, for you alone know the heart of all the sons of man. [Do these things] so that they may fear you all the days that they live on the face of the land that you gave to our ancestors. Also for the foreigner who is not from your people Israel, and he comes from a distant land because of your name, (for they shall hear of your great name and your powerful hand and your outstretched arm), and he shall come and pray toward this house, you shall hear in heaven, the place of your dwelling, and act according to all that the foreigner calls to you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name, to fear you as your people Israel, and to know that your name has been invoked over this house that I have built. If your people go out to battle against his enemy in the way that you shall send them and they pray to Yahweh, toward the city which you have chosen and the house which I have built for your name, then you shall hear in heaven their prayer and their plea, and you shall {vindicate} them. "If they sin against you (for there is not a person who does not sin) and you are angry with them and you give them to an enemy and they take them captive to the land of the enemy far or near, and then they return their heart in the land where they have been taken captive and they return and plead to you in the land of their captivity, saying, 'We have sinned and we did wrong. We acted wickedly,' if they return to you with all of their heart and with all of their soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive and they pray to you toward their land which you gave to their ancestors, the city that you have chosen and the house that you built for your name, then you shall hear in heaven, the place of your dwelling, their prayer and their plea, and you shall {vindicate them}. You shall forgive your people who sinned against you, [even] for all their transgressions which they committed against you. You shall give them compassion before their captors so that they may have compassion on them, for they [are] your people and your inheritance whom you brought from Egypt from the middle of the smelter of iron. [O,] that your eyes [may] be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, to listen to them in all things [when] they call to you. For you have separated them for yourself as an inheritance from all the peoples of the earth, as you promised through the hand of Moses your servant when you brought out our ancestors from Egypt, my Lord Yahweh!" It happened that when Solomon finished praying to Yahweh all of the prayer and this plea, he got up from before the altar of Yahweh, from kneeling down on his knees with his palms outstretched to heaven. He stood and blessed all of the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, "Blessed be Yahweh who gave a resting place to his people Israel. According to all that he promised, not one word has fallen from all of his promises [concerning] the good which he spoke through the hand of Moses his servant. May Yahweh our God be with us as he was with our ancestors, and may he not leave us or abandon us, to incline our hearts toward him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his judgments which he commanded our ancestors. Let these my words which I pleaded before Yahweh [be] near to Yahweh our God, by day and by night, to maintain the justice of his servant and the justice of his people Israel {as each day requires} so that all of the people of the earth may know that Yahweh, he [is] God; there is none other. Let your heart be completely with Yahweh our God by walking in his statutes, by keeping his commands as this day."

And it happened that while he was in a certain place praying, when he stopped a certain one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples." And he said to them, "When you pray, say, "Father, may your name be treated as holy. May your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. read more.
And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation." And he said to them, "Who of you will have a friend, and will go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves, because a friend of mine has come to me on a journey, and I do not have anything to set before him.' And that one will answer from inside [and] say, 'Do not cause me trouble! The door has already been shut and my children are with me in bed! I am not able to get up to give you [anything].' I tell you, even if he does not give him [anything] [after he] gets up because [he] is his friend, at any rate because of his impudence he will get up [and] give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. But what father from among you, [if his] son will ask for a fish, instead of a fish will give him a snake? Or also, [if] he will ask for an egg, will give him a scorpion? Therefore if you, [although you] are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"

And he told them a parable to [show that] they must always pray and not be discouraged, saying, "There was a certain judge in a certain town who did not fear God and did not respect people. And there was a widow in that town, and she kept coming to him, saying, 'Grant me justice against my adversary!' read more.
And he was not willing for a time, but after these [things] he said to himself, 'Even if I do not fear God or respect people, yet because this widow is causing trouble for me, I will grant her justice, so that she does not wear me down in the end [by her] coming back!'" And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unrighteous judge is saying! And will not God surely {see to it that justice is done} to his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night, and will he delay toward them? I tell you that {he will see to it that justice is done} for them soon! Nevertheless, [when] the Son of Man comes, then will he find faith on earth?"

And Abraham drew near [to Yahweh] and said, "Will you also sweep away the righteous with the wicked? If perhaps there are fifty righteous in the midst of the city, will you also sweep [them] away and not forgive the place on account of the fifty righteous in her midst? Far be it from you to do such a thing as this, to kill [the] righteous with [the] wicked, that the righteous would be as the wicked! Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do justice?" read more.
And Yahweh said, "If I find fifty righteous in Sodom, in the midst of the city, then I will forgive the whole place for their sake." Then Abraham answered and said, "Look, please, I was bold to speak to my Lord, but I [am] dust and ashes. Perhaps the fifty righteous are lacking five--will you destroy the whole city on account of the five?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] if I find forty-five there." And {once again he spoke} to him and said, "What if forty are found there?" And he answered, "I will not do [it] on account of the forty." And he said, "Please, let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak. What if thirty be found there?" And he answered, "I will not do [it] if I find thirty there." And he said, "Please, now, I was bold to speak to my Lord. What if twenty be found there?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] for the sake of the twenty." And he said, "Please, let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak only once more. What if ten are found there?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] for the sake of the ten."

And Jacob remained alone, and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the dawn. And when he saw that he could not prevail against him, he struck his hip socket, so that Jacob's hip socket was sprained as he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for dawn is breaking." But he answered, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." read more.
Then he said to him, "What [is] your name?" And he said, "Jacob." And he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed." Then Jacob asked and said, "Please tell me your name." And he said, "Why do you ask this--for my name?" And he blessed him there. Then Jacob called the name of the place Peniel [which means] "I have seen God face to face and my life was spared."

Then King David went and sat before Yahweh and said, "Who [am] I, my lord Yahweh, and what [is] my house that you have brought me up to {this place}? Still, this [was] {insignificant} in your eyes, my lord Yahweh, and also you have spoken about the house of your servant from afar, and this [may be] the teaching of humans, my lord Yahweh. {What more can David say to you}? You know your servant, my lord Yahweh. read more.
Because of your word and according to your heart, you have done all of this great thing, [in order] to let your servant know. Therefore you [are] great, my lord Yahweh, for there is no one like you, and there [is] no god except you, in all that we have heard with our ears. Who [is] like your people, like Israel? [Israel is] the one nation on earth whose God {led them}, [in order] to redeem a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to do for you the great and awesome things for your land in the presence of your people whom he redeemed for himself from Egypt, [from the] nations and their gods. You have established your people Israel for yourself as a people forever, and you, O Yahweh, have become their God. So then, Yahweh God, the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, confirm it forever, and do just as you have promised. Your name shall be great forever, {and they will say}, 'Yahweh of hosts [is] God over Israel'; and the house of your servant David shall be established before you. For you, O Yahweh of hosts, [are] God of Israel! You have revealed to the ear of your servant, 'I will build a house for you'; therefore your servant {has found courage} to pray this prayer to you. Now, my Lord Yahweh, you alone [are] God, and your words [are] true. You have promised this good to your servant. So then, be content and bless the house of your servant to be forever in your presence, for you, my Lord Yahweh, have spoken, and because of your blessing, may the house of your servant be blessed forever."

Then Solomon stood before the altar of Yahweh in the presence of all of the assembly of Israel, and he spread out his hands [to] the heavens, and he said, "O Yahweh, God of Israel, there is no god like you in the heavens above or on the earth beneath, keeping the covenant and the loyal love for your servants who are walking before you with all their heart. You have kept for your servant David my father what you promised to him, and you have spoken with your mouth, and with your hand you have fulfilled [it] this very day. read more.
So then, O Yahweh, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you promised to him, saying, 'For you, no man will be cut off from before me who [will be] sitting on the throne of Israel, if only your sons keep their ways to walk before me just as you have walked before me.' So then, O God of Israel, please let your word be confirmed which you have promised to your servant David my father. For will God really dwell on the earth? Behold, the heavens and the heaven of heavens could not contain you! {How could} this house that I have built? You must regard the prayer of your servant and his plea! O Yahweh my God, listen to the pleading and to the prayer that your servant [is] praying before you this day, so that your eyes [will] be open to this house night and day, to the place which you said, 'My name will be there,' to hear the prayer that your servant prays toward this place. You must listen to the plea of your servant and your people Israel which they pray [toward] this place; and you must hear from the place where you live, from heaven you must hear and you must forgive. [If] a man sins against his neighbor and he pronounces an oath against him to curse him, and the curse comes before your altar in this house, then you shall hear in heaven and you shall act and you shall judge your servant, to declare the wicked guilty by bringing his way upon his head and {to declare the righteous innocent} by rewarding him according to his righteousness. When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy {because} they sinned against you, and [when] they turn to you and confess your name and pray and beg for mercy from you in this house, then you shall hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and you shall bring them back to the ground which you gave to their ancestors. When you shut up the heavens so there is no rain because they have sinned against you, then they pray to this place and they confess your name and they return from their sin because you punished them, then you shall hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants and your people Israel, for you will teach them the good way in which they should go, and you will give rain upon your land which you have given to your people as an inheritance. If there should be in the land famine or disease, if there should be blight or mildew or locust or caterpillars, if it happens that his enemy lays siege against him in the land of his gates, if any plague or any disease, any prayer or any plea which is [offered] by any person for all of your people Israel, who each knows the infestation of his [own] heart and spreads out his palms to this house, then you shall hear in heaven the place of your dwelling, and you shall forgive and act and give to the man whose heart you know, according to all his ways, for you alone know the heart of all the sons of man. [Do these things] so that they may fear you all the days that they live on the face of the land that you gave to our ancestors. Also for the foreigner who is not from your people Israel, and he comes from a distant land because of your name, (for they shall hear of your great name and your powerful hand and your outstretched arm), and he shall come and pray toward this house, you shall hear in heaven, the place of your dwelling, and act according to all that the foreigner calls to you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name, to fear you as your people Israel, and to know that your name has been invoked over this house that I have built. If your people go out to battle against his enemy in the way that you shall send them and they pray to Yahweh, toward the city which you have chosen and the house which I have built for your name, then you shall hear in heaven their prayer and their plea, and you shall {vindicate} them. "If they sin against you (for there is not a person who does not sin) and you are angry with them and you give them to an enemy and they take them captive to the land of the enemy far or near, and then they return their heart in the land where they have been taken captive and they return and plead to you in the land of their captivity, saying, 'We have sinned and we did wrong. We acted wickedly,' if they return to you with all of their heart and with all of their soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive and they pray to you toward their land which you gave to their ancestors, the city that you have chosen and the house that you built for your name, then you shall hear in heaven, the place of your dwelling, their prayer and their plea, and you shall {vindicate them}. You shall forgive your people who sinned against you, [even] for all their transgressions which they committed against you. You shall give them compassion before their captors so that they may have compassion on them, for they [are] your people and your inheritance whom you brought from Egypt from the middle of the smelter of iron. [O,] that your eyes [may] be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, to listen to them in all things [when] they call to you. For you have separated them for yourself as an inheritance from all the peoples of the earth, as you promised through the hand of Moses your servant when you brought out our ancestors from Egypt, my Lord Yahweh!" It happened that when Solomon finished praying to Yahweh all of the prayer and this plea, he got up from before the altar of Yahweh, from kneeling down on his knees with his palms outstretched to heaven. He stood and blessed all of the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, "Blessed be Yahweh who gave a resting place to his people Israel. According to all that he promised, not one word has fallen from all of his promises [concerning] the good which he spoke through the hand of Moses his servant. May Yahweh our God be with us as he was with our ancestors, and may he not leave us or abandon us, to incline our hearts toward him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his judgments which he commanded our ancestors. Let these my words which I pleaded before Yahweh [be] near to Yahweh our God, by day and by night, to maintain the justice of his servant and the justice of his people Israel {as each day requires} so that all of the people of the earth may know that Yahweh, he [is] God; there is none other. Let your heart be completely with Yahweh our God by walking in his statutes, by keeping his commands as this day."

And it happened that while he was in a certain place praying, when he stopped a certain one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples." And he said to them, "When you pray, say, "Father, may your name be treated as holy. May your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. read more.
And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation." And he said to them, "Who of you will have a friend, and will go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves, because a friend of mine has come to me on a journey, and I do not have anything to set before him.' And that one will answer from inside [and] say, 'Do not cause me trouble! The door has already been shut and my children are with me in bed! I am not able to get up to give you [anything].' I tell you, even if he does not give him [anything] [after he] gets up because [he] is his friend, at any rate because of his impudence he will get up [and] give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. But what father from among you, [if his] son will ask for a fish, instead of a fish will give him a snake? Or also, [if] he will ask for an egg, will give him a scorpion? Therefore if you, [although you] are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"

And he told them a parable to [show that] they must always pray and not be discouraged, saying, "There was a certain judge in a certain town who did not fear God and did not respect people. And there was a widow in that town, and she kept coming to him, saying, 'Grant me justice against my adversary!' read more.
And he was not willing for a time, but after these [things] he said to himself, 'Even if I do not fear God or respect people, yet because this widow is causing trouble for me, I will grant her justice, so that she does not wear me down in the end [by her] coming back!'" And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unrighteous judge is saying! And will not God surely {see to it that justice is done} to his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night, and will he delay toward them? I tell you that {he will see to it that justice is done} for them soon! Nevertheless, [when] the Son of Man comes, then will he find faith on earth?"

And Abraham drew near [to Yahweh] and said, "Will you also sweep away the righteous with the wicked? If perhaps there are fifty righteous in the midst of the city, will you also sweep [them] away and not forgive the place on account of the fifty righteous in her midst? Far be it from you to do such a thing as this, to kill [the] righteous with [the] wicked, that the righteous would be as the wicked! Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do justice?" read more.
And Yahweh said, "If I find fifty righteous in Sodom, in the midst of the city, then I will forgive the whole place for their sake." Then Abraham answered and said, "Look, please, I was bold to speak to my Lord, but I [am] dust and ashes. Perhaps the fifty righteous are lacking five--will you destroy the whole city on account of the five?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] if I find forty-five there." And {once again he spoke} to him and said, "What if forty are found there?" And he answered, "I will not do [it] on account of the forty." And he said, "Please, let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak. What if thirty be found there?" And he answered, "I will not do [it] if I find thirty there." And he said, "Please, now, I was bold to speak to my Lord. What if twenty be found there?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] for the sake of the twenty." And he said, "Please, let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak only once more. What if ten are found there?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] for the sake of the ten."

And Jacob remained alone, and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the dawn. And when he saw that he could not prevail against him, he struck his hip socket, so that Jacob's hip socket was sprained as he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for dawn is breaking." But he answered, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." read more.
Then he said to him, "What [is] your name?" And he said, "Jacob." And he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed." Then Jacob asked and said, "Please tell me your name." And he said, "Why do you ask this--for my name?" And he blessed him there. Then Jacob called the name of the place Peniel [which means] "I have seen God face to face and my life was spared."

Then King David went and sat before Yahweh and said, "Who [am] I, my lord Yahweh, and what [is] my house that you have brought me up to {this place}? Still, this [was] {insignificant} in your eyes, my lord Yahweh, and also you have spoken about the house of your servant from afar, and this [may be] the teaching of humans, my lord Yahweh. {What more can David say to you}? You know your servant, my lord Yahweh. read more.
Because of your word and according to your heart, you have done all of this great thing, [in order] to let your servant know. Therefore you [are] great, my lord Yahweh, for there is no one like you, and there [is] no god except you, in all that we have heard with our ears. Who [is] like your people, like Israel? [Israel is] the one nation on earth whose God {led them}, [in order] to redeem a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to do for you the great and awesome things for your land in the presence of your people whom he redeemed for himself from Egypt, [from the] nations and their gods. You have established your people Israel for yourself as a people forever, and you, O Yahweh, have become their God. So then, Yahweh God, the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, confirm it forever, and do just as you have promised. Your name shall be great forever, {and they will say}, 'Yahweh of hosts [is] God over Israel'; and the house of your servant David shall be established before you. For you, O Yahweh of hosts, [are] God of Israel! You have revealed to the ear of your servant, 'I will build a house for you'; therefore your servant {has found courage} to pray this prayer to you. Now, my Lord Yahweh, you alone [are] God, and your words [are] true. You have promised this good to your servant. So then, be content and bless the house of your servant to be forever in your presence, for you, my Lord Yahweh, have spoken, and because of your blessing, may the house of your servant be blessed forever."

Then Solomon stood before the altar of Yahweh in the presence of all of the assembly of Israel, and he spread out his hands [to] the heavens, and he said, "O Yahweh, God of Israel, there is no god like you in the heavens above or on the earth beneath, keeping the covenant and the loyal love for your servants who are walking before you with all their heart. You have kept for your servant David my father what you promised to him, and you have spoken with your mouth, and with your hand you have fulfilled [it] this very day. read more.
So then, O Yahweh, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you promised to him, saying, 'For you, no man will be cut off from before me who [will be] sitting on the throne of Israel, if only your sons keep their ways to walk before me just as you have walked before me.' So then, O God of Israel, please let your word be confirmed which you have promised to your servant David my father. For will God really dwell on the earth? Behold, the heavens and the heaven of heavens could not contain you! {How could} this house that I have built? You must regard the prayer of your servant and his plea! O Yahweh my God, listen to the pleading and to the prayer that your servant [is] praying before you this day, so that your eyes [will] be open to this house night and day, to the place which you said, 'My name will be there,' to hear the prayer that your servant prays toward this place. You must listen to the plea of your servant and your people Israel which they pray [toward] this place; and you must hear from the place where you live, from heaven you must hear and you must forgive. [If] a man sins against his neighbor and he pronounces an oath against him to curse him, and the curse comes before your altar in this house, then you shall hear in heaven and you shall act and you shall judge your servant, to declare the wicked guilty by bringing his way upon his head and {to declare the righteous innocent} by rewarding him according to his righteousness. When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy {because} they sinned against you, and [when] they turn to you and confess your name and pray and beg for mercy from you in this house, then you shall hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and you shall bring them back to the ground which you gave to their ancestors. When you shut up the heavens so there is no rain because they have sinned against you, then they pray to this place and they confess your name and they return from their sin because you punished them, then you shall hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants and your people Israel, for you will teach them the good way in which they should go, and you will give rain upon your land which you have given to your people as an inheritance. If there should be in the land famine or disease, if there should be blight or mildew or locust or caterpillars, if it happens that his enemy lays siege against him in the land of his gates, if any plague or any disease, any prayer or any plea which is [offered] by any person for all of your people Israel, who each knows the infestation of his [own] heart and spreads out his palms to this house, then you shall hear in heaven the place of your dwelling, and you shall forgive and act and give to the man whose heart you know, according to all his ways, for you alone know the heart of all the sons of man. [Do these things] so that they may fear you all the days that they live on the face of the land that you gave to our ancestors. Also for the foreigner who is not from your people Israel, and he comes from a distant land because of your name, (for they shall hear of your great name and your powerful hand and your outstretched arm), and he shall come and pray toward this house, you shall hear in heaven, the place of your dwelling, and act according to all that the foreigner calls to you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name, to fear you as your people Israel, and to know that your name has been invoked over this house that I have built. If your people go out to battle against his enemy in the way that you shall send them and they pray to Yahweh, toward the city which you have chosen and the house which I have built for your name, then you shall hear in heaven their prayer and their plea, and you shall {vindicate} them. "If they sin against you (for there is not a person who does not sin) and you are angry with them and you give them to an enemy and they take them captive to the land of the enemy far or near, and then they return their heart in the land where they have been taken captive and they return and plead to you in the land of their captivity, saying, 'We have sinned and we did wrong. We acted wickedly,' if they return to you with all of their heart and with all of their soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive and they pray to you toward their land which you gave to their ancestors, the city that you have chosen and the house that you built for your name, then you shall hear in heaven, the place of your dwelling, their prayer and their plea, and you shall {vindicate them}. You shall forgive your people who sinned against you, [even] for all their transgressions which they committed against you. You shall give them compassion before their captors so that they may have compassion on them, for they [are] your people and your inheritance whom you brought from Egypt from the middle of the smelter of iron. [O,] that your eyes [may] be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, to listen to them in all things [when] they call to you. For you have separated them for yourself as an inheritance from all the peoples of the earth, as you promised through the hand of Moses your servant when you brought out our ancestors from Egypt, my Lord Yahweh!" It happened that when Solomon finished praying to Yahweh all of the prayer and this plea, he got up from before the altar of Yahweh, from kneeling down on his knees with his palms outstretched to heaven. He stood and blessed all of the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, "Blessed be Yahweh who gave a resting place to his people Israel. According to all that he promised, not one word has fallen from all of his promises [concerning] the good which he spoke through the hand of Moses his servant. May Yahweh our God be with us as he was with our ancestors, and may he not leave us or abandon us, to incline our hearts toward him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his judgments which he commanded our ancestors. Let these my words which I pleaded before Yahweh [be] near to Yahweh our God, by day and by night, to maintain the justice of his servant and the justice of his people Israel {as each day requires} so that all of the people of the earth may know that Yahweh, he [is] God; there is none other. Let your heart be completely with Yahweh our God by walking in his statutes, by keeping his commands as this day."

And it happened that while he was in a certain place praying, when he stopped a certain one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples." And he said to them, "When you pray, say, "Father, may your name be treated as holy. May your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. read more.
And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation." And he said to them, "Who of you will have a friend, and will go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves, because a friend of mine has come to me on a journey, and I do not have anything to set before him.' And that one will answer from inside [and] say, 'Do not cause me trouble! The door has already been shut and my children are with me in bed! I am not able to get up to give you [anything].' I tell you, even if he does not give him [anything] [after he] gets up because [he] is his friend, at any rate because of his impudence he will get up [and] give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. But what father from among you, [if his] son will ask for a fish, instead of a fish will give him a snake? Or also, [if] he will ask for an egg, will give him a scorpion? Therefore if you, [although you] are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"

And he told them a parable to [show that] they must always pray and not be discouraged, saying, "There was a certain judge in a certain town who did not fear God and did not respect people. And there was a widow in that town, and she kept coming to him, saying, 'Grant me justice against my adversary!' read more.
And he was not willing for a time, but after these [things] he said to himself, 'Even if I do not fear God or respect people, yet because this widow is causing trouble for me, I will grant her justice, so that she does not wear me down in the end [by her] coming back!'" And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unrighteous judge is saying! And will not God surely {see to it that justice is done} to his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night, and will he delay toward them? I tell you that {he will see to it that justice is done} for them soon! Nevertheless, [when] the Son of Man comes, then will he find faith on earth?"


My child, if you will receive my sayings, and hide my commands with you, [in order] to incline your ear toward wisdom, [then] you shall apply your heart to understanding. For if you cry out for understanding, [if] you lift your voice for insight, read more.
if you seek her like silver and search her out {like treasure}, then you will understand the fear of Yahweh, and the knowledge of God you will find.

But from there you shall seek Yahweh your God and will find him, if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. Verse ConceptsFindingRestoration After BackslidingPrayer, Advice For EffectiveReceptivenessRevival, CorporateFinding GodWhole HeartednessSingle Mindedness

And he went out before Asa and said to him, "Hear me, O Asa and all of Judah and Benjamin! Yahweh [is] with you while you are with him. And if you will seek him he will be found by you. But if you forsake him he will forsake you. Verse ConceptsRejection Of God, Results OfForsaking God

For thus says Yahweh, '{As soon as the time has passed}, seventy years for Babylon, I will attend to you, and I will fulfill my good word to you, to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans that I [am] planning concerning you,' {declares} Yahweh, 'plans for prosperity and not for harm, to give to you a future and a hope. Then [when] you call me, and you come and pray to me, then I will listen to you. read more.
When you search for me, then you will find [me], if you seek me with all your heart. And I will let myself be found by you,' {declares} Yahweh, 'and I will restore your fortunes, and I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places to which I have driven you,' {declares} Yahweh, 'and I will bring you back to the place from which I deported you.'

And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. Verse ConceptsBaptism Of The Holy SpiritThe Act Of OpeningPrayer, As Asking GodAnswered PromisesFinding ThingsGod Answers PrayerGod Giving Freely

And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. Verse ConceptsBaptism Of The Holy SpiritThe Act Of OpeningPrayer, As Asking GodAnswered PromisesFinding ThingsGod Answers PrayerGod Giving Freely





And will not God surely {see to it that justice is done} to his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night, and will he delay toward them? Verse ConceptsChosen OnesJustification, Necessity OfNightGod Is JustJusticeGod Not DelayingGod Does Right For PeopleGod VindicatesRevengeExercisePersistencevindication

But from there you shall seek Yahweh your God and will find him, if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. Verse ConceptsFindingRestoration After BackslidingPrayer, Advice For EffectiveReceptivenessRevival, CorporateFinding GodWhole HeartednessSingle Mindedness


And I will bring the [remaining] third into the fire, and I will refine them like [one] refines silver, and I will test them like [one] tests gold. They will call my name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'They are my people,' and they will say, 'Yahweh [is] my God.'" Verse ConceptsFaith, Testing OfdrossCalling upon GodGoldSilverTestingAnswers By FireAnswered PromisesRefining Influences Of AfflictionAfflictions As Blessings In DisguiseOne ThirdFire Of JudgementGod Will AnswerGod Testing PeopleThings Like GoldThings Like SilverGod Answers PrayerYou Are Our GodTestspressuremold


The poor and the needy [are] seeking water and [there is] none; their tongue is dried up with thirst. I, Yahweh, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. Verse ConceptsThe Needydrought, physicalPrayer, God's Promises ConcerningTongueGod And The PoorAnswered PromisesSeeking WaterGod Not ForsakingWater, As A Symbol Of Affliction

Then you shall call, and Yahweh himself will answer. You shall cry for help, and he will say, 'Here I [am]!' If you remove from among you [the] yoke, the {finger-pointing} and {evil speech}, Verse ConceptsFingersCalling upon GodAnswered PromisesGod Will AnswerBehold Me!rumors


'Call to me, and I will answer you, and I will tell you great [things] and inaccessible [things that] you have not known.' Verse ConceptsCalling upon GodConfusionAdventureAnswered PromisesSecret ThingsGod Will AnswerUnknown ThingsGod Revealing MysteriesSurvivalCallingPrayer During Hard Timessecretsanswers

And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. Verse ConceptsBaptism Of The Holy SpiritThe Act Of OpeningPrayer, As Asking GodAnswered PromisesFinding ThingsGod Answers PrayerGod Giving Freely


and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do [what is] pleasing {in his sight}. Verse Conceptsethics, incentives towardsdiscipleship, nature ofPrayer, God's Promises ConcerningFruits Of RighteousnessAnswered PromisesObeying JesusGod Hears My Prayer


And I will bring the [remaining] third into the fire, and I will refine them like [one] refines silver, and I will test them like [one] tests gold. They will call my name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'They are my people,' and they will say, 'Yahweh [is] my God.'" Verse ConceptsFaith, Testing OfdrossCalling upon GodGoldSilverTestingAnswers By FireAnswered PromisesRefining Influences Of AfflictionAfflictions As Blessings In DisguiseOne ThirdFire Of JudgementGod Will AnswerGod Testing PeopleThings Like GoldThings Like SilverGod Answers PrayerYou Are Our GodTestspressuremold


The poor and the needy [are] seeking water and [there is] none; their tongue is dried up with thirst. I, Yahweh, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. Verse ConceptsThe Needydrought, physicalPrayer, God's Promises ConcerningTongueGod And The PoorAnswered PromisesSeeking WaterGod Not ForsakingWater, As A Symbol Of Affliction

Then you shall call, and Yahweh himself will answer. You shall cry for help, and he will say, 'Here I [am]!' If you remove from among you [the] yoke, the {finger-pointing} and {evil speech}, Verse ConceptsFingersCalling upon GodAnswered PromisesGod Will AnswerBehold Me!rumors


'Call to me, and I will answer you, and I will tell you great [things] and inaccessible [things that] you have not known.' Verse ConceptsCalling upon GodConfusionAdventureAnswered PromisesSecret ThingsGod Will AnswerUnknown ThingsGod Revealing MysteriesSurvivalCallingPrayer During Hard Timessecretsanswers

And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. Verse ConceptsBaptism Of The Holy SpiritThe Act Of OpeningPrayer, As Asking GodAnswered PromisesFinding ThingsGod Answers PrayerGod Giving Freely


and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do [what is] pleasing {in his sight}. Verse Conceptsethics, incentives towardsdiscipleship, nature ofPrayer, God's Promises ConcerningFruits Of RighteousnessAnswered PromisesObeying JesusGod Hears My Prayer

And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. Verse ConceptsBaptism Of The Holy SpiritThe Act Of OpeningPrayer, As Asking GodAnswered PromisesFinding ThingsGod Answers PrayerGod Giving Freely





And will not God surely {see to it that justice is done} to his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night, and will he delay toward them? Verse ConceptsChosen OnesJustification, Necessity OfNightGod Is JustJusticeGod Not DelayingGod Does Right For PeopleGod VindicatesRevengeExercisePersistencevindication

But from there you shall seek Yahweh your God and will find him, if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. Verse ConceptsFindingRestoration After BackslidingPrayer, Advice For EffectiveReceptivenessRevival, CorporateFinding GodWhole HeartednessSingle Mindedness


Now on the last day of the feast--the great [day]--Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me, and let him drink, the one who believes in me. Just as the scripture said, 'Out of his belly will flow rivers of living water.'" Now he said this concerning the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were about to receive. For the Spirit was not yet [given], because Jesus had not yet been glorified.)

The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you killed [by] hanging [him] on a tree. This one God has exalted to his right hand [as] Leader and Savior to grant repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses of these things, and [so is] the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him."

And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. But what father from among you, [if his] son will ask for a fish, instead of a fish will give him a snake? read more.
Or also, [if] he will ask for an egg, will give him a scorpion? Therefore if you, [although you] are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"

Both the apostles and the elders assembled to deliberate concerning this matter. And [after] there was much debate, Peter stood up [and] said to them, "Men [and] brothers, you know that in the early days God chose among you through my mouth [that] the Gentiles should hear the message of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, testified to them [by] giving [them] the Holy Spirit, just as he also [did] to us.

And Abraham drew near [to Yahweh] and said, "Will you also sweep away the righteous with the wicked? If perhaps there are fifty righteous in the midst of the city, will you also sweep [them] away and not forgive the place on account of the fifty righteous in her midst? Far be it from you to do such a thing as this, to kill [the] righteous with [the] wicked, that the righteous would be as the wicked! Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do justice?" read more.
And Yahweh said, "If I find fifty righteous in Sodom, in the midst of the city, then I will forgive the whole place for their sake." Then Abraham answered and said, "Look, please, I was bold to speak to my Lord, but I [am] dust and ashes. Perhaps the fifty righteous are lacking five--will you destroy the whole city on account of the five?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] if I find forty-five there." And {once again he spoke} to him and said, "What if forty are found there?" And he answered, "I will not do [it] on account of the forty." And he said, "Please, let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak. What if thirty be found there?" And he answered, "I will not do [it] if I find thirty there." And he said, "Please, now, I was bold to speak to my Lord. What if twenty be found there?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] for the sake of the twenty." And he said, "Please, let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak only once more. What if ten are found there?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] for the sake of the ten."

And Jacob remained alone, and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the dawn. And when he saw that he could not prevail against him, he struck his hip socket, so that Jacob's hip socket was sprained as he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for dawn is breaking." But he answered, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." read more.
Then he said to him, "What [is] your name?" And he said, "Jacob." And he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed." Then Jacob asked and said, "Please tell me your name." And he said, "Why do you ask this--for my name?" And he blessed him there. Then Jacob called the name of the place Peniel [which means] "I have seen God face to face and my life was spared."

Then King David went and sat before Yahweh and said, "Who [am] I, my lord Yahweh, and what [is] my house that you have brought me up to {this place}? Still, this [was] {insignificant} in your eyes, my lord Yahweh, and also you have spoken about the house of your servant from afar, and this [may be] the teaching of humans, my lord Yahweh. {What more can David say to you}? You know your servant, my lord Yahweh. read more.
Because of your word and according to your heart, you have done all of this great thing, [in order] to let your servant know. Therefore you [are] great, my lord Yahweh, for there is no one like you, and there [is] no god except you, in all that we have heard with our ears. Who [is] like your people, like Israel? [Israel is] the one nation on earth whose God {led them}, [in order] to redeem a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to do for you the great and awesome things for your land in the presence of your people whom he redeemed for himself from Egypt, [from the] nations and their gods. You have established your people Israel for yourself as a people forever, and you, O Yahweh, have become their God. So then, Yahweh God, the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, confirm it forever, and do just as you have promised. Your name shall be great forever, {and they will say}, 'Yahweh of hosts [is] God over Israel'; and the house of your servant David shall be established before you. For you, O Yahweh of hosts, [are] God of Israel! You have revealed to the ear of your servant, 'I will build a house for you'; therefore your servant {has found courage} to pray this prayer to you. Now, my Lord Yahweh, you alone [are] God, and your words [are] true. You have promised this good to your servant. So then, be content and bless the house of your servant to be forever in your presence, for you, my Lord Yahweh, have spoken, and because of your blessing, may the house of your servant be blessed forever."

Then Solomon stood before the altar of Yahweh in the presence of all of the assembly of Israel, and he spread out his hands [to] the heavens, and he said, "O Yahweh, God of Israel, there is no god like you in the heavens above or on the earth beneath, keeping the covenant and the loyal love for your servants who are walking before you with all their heart. You have kept for your servant David my father what you promised to him, and you have spoken with your mouth, and with your hand you have fulfilled [it] this very day. read more.
So then, O Yahweh, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you promised to him, saying, 'For you, no man will be cut off from before me who [will be] sitting on the throne of Israel, if only your sons keep their ways to walk before me just as you have walked before me.' So then, O God of Israel, please let your word be confirmed which you have promised to your servant David my father. For will God really dwell on the earth? Behold, the heavens and the heaven of heavens could not contain you! {How could} this house that I have built? You must regard the prayer of your servant and his plea! O Yahweh my God, listen to the pleading and to the prayer that your servant [is] praying before you this day, so that your eyes [will] be open to this house night and day, to the place which you said, 'My name will be there,' to hear the prayer that your servant prays toward this place. You must listen to the plea of your servant and your people Israel which they pray [toward] this place; and you must hear from the place where you live, from heaven you must hear and you must forgive. [If] a man sins against his neighbor and he pronounces an oath against him to curse him, and the curse comes before your altar in this house, then you shall hear in heaven and you shall act and you shall judge your servant, to declare the wicked guilty by bringing his way upon his head and {to declare the righteous innocent} by rewarding him according to his righteousness. When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy {because} they sinned against you, and [when] they turn to you and confess your name and pray and beg for mercy from you in this house, then you shall hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and you shall bring them back to the ground which you gave to their ancestors. When you shut up the heavens so there is no rain because they have sinned against you, then they pray to this place and they confess your name and they return from their sin because you punished them, then you shall hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants and your people Israel, for you will teach them the good way in which they should go, and you will give rain upon your land which you have given to your people as an inheritance. If there should be in the land famine or disease, if there should be blight or mildew or locust or caterpillars, if it happens that his enemy lays siege against him in the land of his gates, if any plague or any disease, any prayer or any plea which is [offered] by any person for all of your people Israel, who each knows the infestation of his [own] heart and spreads out his palms to this house, then you shall hear in heaven the place of your dwelling, and you shall forgive and act and give to the man whose heart you know, according to all his ways, for you alone know the heart of all the sons of man. [Do these things] so that they may fear you all the days that they live on the face of the land that you gave to our ancestors. Also for the foreigner who is not from your people Israel, and he comes from a distant land because of your name, (for they shall hear of your great name and your powerful hand and your outstretched arm), and he shall come and pray toward this house, you shall hear in heaven, the place of your dwelling, and act according to all that the foreigner calls to you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name, to fear you as your people Israel, and to know that your name has been invoked over this house that I have built. If your people go out to battle against his enemy in the way that you shall send them and they pray to Yahweh, toward the city which you have chosen and the house which I have built for your name, then you shall hear in heaven their prayer and their plea, and you shall {vindicate} them. "If they sin against you (for there is not a person who does not sin) and you are angry with them and you give them to an enemy and they take them captive to the land of the enemy far or near, and then they return their heart in the land where they have been taken captive and they return and plead to you in the land of their captivity, saying, 'We have sinned and we did wrong. We acted wickedly,' if they return to you with all of their heart and with all of their soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive and they pray to you toward their land which you gave to their ancestors, the city that you have chosen and the house that you built for your name, then you shall hear in heaven, the place of your dwelling, their prayer and their plea, and you shall {vindicate them}. You shall forgive your people who sinned against you, [even] for all their transgressions which they committed against you. You shall give them compassion before their captors so that they may have compassion on them, for they [are] your people and your inheritance whom you brought from Egypt from the middle of the smelter of iron. [O,] that your eyes [may] be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, to listen to them in all things [when] they call to you. For you have separated them for yourself as an inheritance from all the peoples of the earth, as you promised through the hand of Moses your servant when you brought out our ancestors from Egypt, my Lord Yahweh!" It happened that when Solomon finished praying to Yahweh all of the prayer and this plea, he got up from before the altar of Yahweh, from kneeling down on his knees with his palms outstretched to heaven. He stood and blessed all of the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, "Blessed be Yahweh who gave a resting place to his people Israel. According to all that he promised, not one word has fallen from all of his promises [concerning] the good which he spoke through the hand of Moses his servant. May Yahweh our God be with us as he was with our ancestors, and may he not leave us or abandon us, to incline our hearts toward him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his judgments which he commanded our ancestors. Let these my words which I pleaded before Yahweh [be] near to Yahweh our God, by day and by night, to maintain the justice of his servant and the justice of his people Israel {as each day requires} so that all of the people of the earth may know that Yahweh, he [is] God; there is none other. Let your heart be completely with Yahweh our God by walking in his statutes, by keeping his commands as this day."

And it happened that while he was in a certain place praying, when he stopped a certain one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples." And he said to them, "When you pray, say, "Father, may your name be treated as holy. May your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. read more.
And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation." And he said to them, "Who of you will have a friend, and will go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves, because a friend of mine has come to me on a journey, and I do not have anything to set before him.' And that one will answer from inside [and] say, 'Do not cause me trouble! The door has already been shut and my children are with me in bed! I am not able to get up to give you [anything].' I tell you, even if he does not give him [anything] [after he] gets up because [he] is his friend, at any rate because of his impudence he will get up [and] give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. But what father from among you, [if his] son will ask for a fish, instead of a fish will give him a snake? Or also, [if] he will ask for an egg, will give him a scorpion? Therefore if you, [although you] are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"

And he told them a parable to [show that] they must always pray and not be discouraged, saying, "There was a certain judge in a certain town who did not fear God and did not respect people. And there was a widow in that town, and she kept coming to him, saying, 'Grant me justice against my adversary!' read more.
And he was not willing for a time, but after these [things] he said to himself, 'Even if I do not fear God or respect people, yet because this widow is causing trouble for me, I will grant her justice, so that she does not wear me down in the end [by her] coming back!'" And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unrighteous judge is saying! And will not God surely {see to it that justice is done} to his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night, and will he delay toward them? I tell you that {he will see to it that justice is done} for them soon! Nevertheless, [when] the Son of Man comes, then will he find faith on earth?"

And it happened that while he was in a certain place praying, when he stopped a certain one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples." And he said to them, "When you pray, say, "Father, may your name be treated as holy. May your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. read more.
And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation." And he said to them, "Who of you will have a friend, and will go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves, because a friend of mine has come to me on a journey, and I do not have anything to set before him.' And that one will answer from inside [and] say, 'Do not cause me trouble! The door has already been shut and my children are with me in bed! I am not able to get up to give you [anything].' I tell you, even if he does not give him [anything] [after he] gets up because [he] is his friend, at any rate because of his impudence he will get up [and] give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. But what father from among you, [if his] son will ask for a fish, instead of a fish will give him a snake? Or also, [if] he will ask for an egg, will give him a scorpion? Therefore if you, [although you] are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"

And he said to them, "Who of you will have a friend, and will go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves, because a friend of mine has come to me on a journey, and I do not have anything to set before him.' And that one will answer from inside [and] say, 'Do not cause me trouble! The door has already been shut and my children are with me in bed! I am not able to get up to give you [anything].' read more.
I tell you, even if he does not give him [anything] [after he] gets up because [he] is his friend, at any rate because of his impudence he will get up [and] give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you.


And I will bring the [remaining] third into the fire, and I will refine them like [one] refines silver, and I will test them like [one] tests gold. They will call my name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'They are my people,' and they will say, 'Yahweh [is] my God.'" Verse ConceptsFaith, Testing OfdrossCalling upon GodGoldSilverTestingAnswers By FireAnswered PromisesRefining Influences Of AfflictionAfflictions As Blessings In DisguiseOne ThirdFire Of JudgementGod Will AnswerGod Testing PeopleThings Like GoldThings Like SilverGod Answers PrayerYou Are Our GodTestspressuremold


The poor and the needy [are] seeking water and [there is] none; their tongue is dried up with thirst. I, Yahweh, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. Verse ConceptsThe Needydrought, physicalPrayer, God's Promises ConcerningTongueGod And The PoorAnswered PromisesSeeking WaterGod Not ForsakingWater, As A Symbol Of Affliction

Then you shall call, and Yahweh himself will answer. You shall cry for help, and he will say, 'Here I [am]!' If you remove from among you [the] yoke, the {finger-pointing} and {evil speech}, Verse ConceptsFingersCalling upon GodAnswered PromisesGod Will AnswerBehold Me!rumors


'Call to me, and I will answer you, and I will tell you great [things] and inaccessible [things that] you have not known.' Verse ConceptsCalling upon GodConfusionAdventureAnswered PromisesSecret ThingsGod Will AnswerUnknown ThingsGod Revealing MysteriesSurvivalCallingPrayer During Hard Timessecretsanswers

And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. Verse ConceptsBaptism Of The Holy SpiritThe Act Of OpeningPrayer, As Asking GodAnswered PromisesFinding ThingsGod Answers PrayerGod Giving Freely


and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do [what is] pleasing {in his sight}. Verse Conceptsethics, incentives towardsdiscipleship, nature ofPrayer, God's Promises ConcerningFruits Of RighteousnessAnswered PromisesObeying JesusGod Hears My Prayer


And I will bring the [remaining] third into the fire, and I will refine them like [one] refines silver, and I will test them like [one] tests gold. They will call my name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'They are my people,' and they will say, 'Yahweh [is] my God.'" Verse ConceptsFaith, Testing OfdrossCalling upon GodGoldSilverTestingAnswers By FireAnswered PromisesRefining Influences Of AfflictionAfflictions As Blessings In DisguiseOne ThirdFire Of JudgementGod Will AnswerGod Testing PeopleThings Like GoldThings Like SilverGod Answers PrayerYou Are Our GodTestspressuremold


The poor and the needy [are] seeking water and [there is] none; their tongue is dried up with thirst. I, Yahweh, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. Verse ConceptsThe Needydrought, physicalPrayer, God's Promises ConcerningTongueGod And The PoorAnswered PromisesSeeking WaterGod Not ForsakingWater, As A Symbol Of Affliction

Then you shall call, and Yahweh himself will answer. You shall cry for help, and he will say, 'Here I [am]!' If you remove from among you [the] yoke, the {finger-pointing} and {evil speech}, Verse ConceptsFingersCalling upon GodAnswered PromisesGod Will AnswerBehold Me!rumors


'Call to me, and I will answer you, and I will tell you great [things] and inaccessible [things that] you have not known.' Verse ConceptsCalling upon GodConfusionAdventureAnswered PromisesSecret ThingsGod Will AnswerUnknown ThingsGod Revealing MysteriesSurvivalCallingPrayer During Hard Timessecretsanswers

And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. Verse ConceptsBaptism Of The Holy SpiritThe Act Of OpeningPrayer, As Asking GodAnswered PromisesFinding ThingsGod Answers PrayerGod Giving Freely


and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do [what is] pleasing {in his sight}. Verse Conceptsethics, incentives towardsdiscipleship, nature ofPrayer, God's Promises ConcerningFruits Of RighteousnessAnswered PromisesObeying JesusGod Hears My Prayer



And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. Verse ConceptsBaptism Of The Holy SpiritThe Act Of OpeningPrayer, As Asking GodAnswered PromisesFinding ThingsGod Answers PrayerGod Giving Freely

Yahweh appeared to Solomon at Gibeon in a dream at night, and God said, "Ask what I should give to you." Verse ConceptsCommunicationNightGod AppearingDuring One NightGod Answers Prayer

Ask rain from Yahweh in the season of [the] spring rain-- Yahweh, who makes storm clouds, and he gives showers of rain to them, to everyone vegetation in the field. Verse Conceptsdrought, physicalPlantsRainSpringStormsWeather, God's Sovereignty OverGifts From God, TemporalAnswered PromisesShowersGod Sending RainspringtimeGod Controls Storms

For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Verse ConceptsThe Act Of OpeningKnockingFinding ThingsGod Answers PrayerAccess





And Abraham drew near [to Yahweh] and said, "Will you also sweep away the righteous with the wicked? If perhaps there are fifty righteous in the midst of the city, will you also sweep [them] away and not forgive the place on account of the fifty righteous in her midst? Far be it from you to do such a thing as this, to kill [the] righteous with [the] wicked, that the righteous would be as the wicked! Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do justice?" read more.
And Yahweh said, "If I find fifty righteous in Sodom, in the midst of the city, then I will forgive the whole place for their sake." Then Abraham answered and said, "Look, please, I was bold to speak to my Lord, but I [am] dust and ashes. Perhaps the fifty righteous are lacking five--will you destroy the whole city on account of the five?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] if I find forty-five there." And {once again he spoke} to him and said, "What if forty are found there?" And he answered, "I will not do [it] on account of the forty." And he said, "Please, let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak. What if thirty be found there?" And he answered, "I will not do [it] if I find thirty there." And he said, "Please, now, I was bold to speak to my Lord. What if twenty be found there?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] for the sake of the twenty." And he said, "Please, let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak only once more. What if ten are found there?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] for the sake of the ten."

And Jacob remained alone, and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the dawn. And when he saw that he could not prevail against him, he struck his hip socket, so that Jacob's hip socket was sprained as he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for dawn is breaking." But he answered, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." read more.
Then he said to him, "What [is] your name?" And he said, "Jacob." And he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed." Then Jacob asked and said, "Please tell me your name." And he said, "Why do you ask this--for my name?" And he blessed him there. Then Jacob called the name of the place Peniel [which means] "I have seen God face to face and my life was spared."

Then King David went and sat before Yahweh and said, "Who [am] I, my lord Yahweh, and what [is] my house that you have brought me up to {this place}? Still, this [was] {insignificant} in your eyes, my lord Yahweh, and also you have spoken about the house of your servant from afar, and this [may be] the teaching of humans, my lord Yahweh. {What more can David say to you}? You know your servant, my lord Yahweh. read more.
Because of your word and according to your heart, you have done all of this great thing, [in order] to let your servant know. Therefore you [are] great, my lord Yahweh, for there is no one like you, and there [is] no god except you, in all that we have heard with our ears. Who [is] like your people, like Israel? [Israel is] the one nation on earth whose God {led them}, [in order] to redeem a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to do for you the great and awesome things for your land in the presence of your people whom he redeemed for himself from Egypt, [from the] nations and their gods. You have established your people Israel for yourself as a people forever, and you, O Yahweh, have become their God. So then, Yahweh God, the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, confirm it forever, and do just as you have promised. Your name shall be great forever, {and they will say}, 'Yahweh of hosts [is] God over Israel'; and the house of your servant David shall be established before you. For you, O Yahweh of hosts, [are] God of Israel! You have revealed to the ear of your servant, 'I will build a house for you'; therefore your servant {has found courage} to pray this prayer to you. Now, my Lord Yahweh, you alone [are] God, and your words [are] true. You have promised this good to your servant. So then, be content and bless the house of your servant to be forever in your presence, for you, my Lord Yahweh, have spoken, and because of your blessing, may the house of your servant be blessed forever."

Then Solomon stood before the altar of Yahweh in the presence of all of the assembly of Israel, and he spread out his hands [to] the heavens, and he said, "O Yahweh, God of Israel, there is no god like you in the heavens above or on the earth beneath, keeping the covenant and the loyal love for your servants who are walking before you with all their heart. You have kept for your servant David my father what you promised to him, and you have spoken with your mouth, and with your hand you have fulfilled [it] this very day. read more.
So then, O Yahweh, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you promised to him, saying, 'For you, no man will be cut off from before me who [will be] sitting on the throne of Israel, if only your sons keep their ways to walk before me just as you have walked before me.' So then, O God of Israel, please let your word be confirmed which you have promised to your servant David my father. For will God really dwell on the earth? Behold, the heavens and the heaven of heavens could not contain you! {How could} this house that I have built? You must regard the prayer of your servant and his plea! O Yahweh my God, listen to the pleading and to the prayer that your servant [is] praying before you this day, so that your eyes [will] be open to this house night and day, to the place which you said, 'My name will be there,' to hear the prayer that your servant prays toward this place. You must listen to the plea of your servant and your people Israel which they pray [toward] this place; and you must hear from the place where you live, from heaven you must hear and you must forgive. [If] a man sins against his neighbor and he pronounces an oath against him to curse him, and the curse comes before your altar in this house, then you shall hear in heaven and you shall act and you shall judge your servant, to declare the wicked guilty by bringing his way upon his head and {to declare the righteous innocent} by rewarding him according to his righteousness. When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy {because} they sinned against you, and [when] they turn to you and confess your name and pray and beg for mercy from you in this house, then you shall hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and you shall bring them back to the ground which you gave to their ancestors. When you shut up the heavens so there is no rain because they have sinned against you, then they pray to this place and they confess your name and they return from their sin because you punished them, then you shall hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants and your people Israel, for you will teach them the good way in which they should go, and you will give rain upon your land which you have given to your people as an inheritance. If there should be in the land famine or disease, if there should be blight or mildew or locust or caterpillars, if it happens that his enemy lays siege against him in the land of his gates, if any plague or any disease, any prayer or any plea which is [offered] by any person for all of your people Israel, who each knows the infestation of his [own] heart and spreads out his palms to this house, then you shall hear in heaven the place of your dwelling, and you shall forgive and act and give to the man whose heart you know, according to all his ways, for you alone know the heart of all the sons of man. [Do these things] so that they may fear you all the days that they live on the face of the land that you gave to our ancestors. Also for the foreigner who is not from your people Israel, and he comes from a distant land because of your name, (for they shall hear of your great name and your powerful hand and your outstretched arm), and he shall come and pray toward this house, you shall hear in heaven, the place of your dwelling, and act according to all that the foreigner calls to you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name, to fear you as your people Israel, and to know that your name has been invoked over this house that I have built. If your people go out to battle against his enemy in the way that you shall send them and they pray to Yahweh, toward the city which you have chosen and the house which I have built for your name, then you shall hear in heaven their prayer and their plea, and you shall {vindicate} them. "If they sin against you (for there is not a person who does not sin) and you are angry with them and you give them to an enemy and they take them captive to the land of the enemy far or near, and then they return their heart in the land where they have been taken captive and they return and plead to you in the land of their captivity, saying, 'We have sinned and we did wrong. We acted wickedly,' if they return to you with all of their heart and with all of their soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive and they pray to you toward their land which you gave to their ancestors, the city that you have chosen and the house that you built for your name, then you shall hear in heaven, the place of your dwelling, their prayer and their plea, and you shall {vindicate them}. You shall forgive your people who sinned against you, [even] for all their transgressions which they committed against you. You shall give them compassion before their captors so that they may have compassion on them, for they [are] your people and your inheritance whom you brought from Egypt from the middle of the smelter of iron. [O,] that your eyes [may] be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, to listen to them in all things [when] they call to you. For you have separated them for yourself as an inheritance from all the peoples of the earth, as you promised through the hand of Moses your servant when you brought out our ancestors from Egypt, my Lord Yahweh!" It happened that when Solomon finished praying to Yahweh all of the prayer and this plea, he got up from before the altar of Yahweh, from kneeling down on his knees with his palms outstretched to heaven. He stood and blessed all of the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, "Blessed be Yahweh who gave a resting place to his people Israel. According to all that he promised, not one word has fallen from all of his promises [concerning] the good which he spoke through the hand of Moses his servant. May Yahweh our God be with us as he was with our ancestors, and may he not leave us or abandon us, to incline our hearts toward him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his judgments which he commanded our ancestors. Let these my words which I pleaded before Yahweh [be] near to Yahweh our God, by day and by night, to maintain the justice of his servant and the justice of his people Israel {as each day requires} so that all of the people of the earth may know that Yahweh, he [is] God; there is none other. Let your heart be completely with Yahweh our God by walking in his statutes, by keeping his commands as this day."

And it happened that while he was in a certain place praying, when he stopped a certain one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples." And he said to them, "When you pray, say, "Father, may your name be treated as holy. May your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. read more.
And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation." And he said to them, "Who of you will have a friend, and will go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves, because a friend of mine has come to me on a journey, and I do not have anything to set before him.' And that one will answer from inside [and] say, 'Do not cause me trouble! The door has already been shut and my children are with me in bed! I am not able to get up to give you [anything].' I tell you, even if he does not give him [anything] [after he] gets up because [he] is his friend, at any rate because of his impudence he will get up [and] give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. But what father from among you, [if his] son will ask for a fish, instead of a fish will give him a snake? Or also, [if] he will ask for an egg, will give him a scorpion? Therefore if you, [although you] are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"

And he told them a parable to [show that] they must always pray and not be discouraged, saying, "There was a certain judge in a certain town who did not fear God and did not respect people. And there was a widow in that town, and she kept coming to him, saying, 'Grant me justice against my adversary!' read more.
And he was not willing for a time, but after these [things] he said to himself, 'Even if I do not fear God or respect people, yet because this widow is causing trouble for me, I will grant her justice, so that she does not wear me down in the end [by her] coming back!'" And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unrighteous judge is saying! And will not God surely {see to it that justice is done} to his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night, and will he delay toward them? I tell you that {he will see to it that justice is done} for them soon! Nevertheless, [when] the Son of Man comes, then will he find faith on earth?"

And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

These [things] I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have before him: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us [in] whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked from him.

And Jesus answered [and] said to them, "Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will do not only [what was done to] the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the sea," it will happen! And whatever you ask in prayer, [if you] believe, you will receive."

And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

Truly I say to you that whoever says to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the sea!' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be [done] for him. For this [reason] I say to you, whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received [it], and it will be [done] for you.

Dear friends, if our heart does not condemn [us], we have confidence before God, and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do [what is] pleasing {in his sight}.

And Abraham drew near [to Yahweh] and said, "Will you also sweep away the righteous with the wicked? If perhaps there are fifty righteous in the midst of the city, will you also sweep [them] away and not forgive the place on account of the fifty righteous in her midst? Far be it from you to do such a thing as this, to kill [the] righteous with [the] wicked, that the righteous would be as the wicked! Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do justice?" read more.
And Yahweh said, "If I find fifty righteous in Sodom, in the midst of the city, then I will forgive the whole place for their sake." Then Abraham answered and said, "Look, please, I was bold to speak to my Lord, but I [am] dust and ashes. Perhaps the fifty righteous are lacking five--will you destroy the whole city on account of the five?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] if I find forty-five there." And {once again he spoke} to him and said, "What if forty are found there?" And he answered, "I will not do [it] on account of the forty." And he said, "Please, let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak. What if thirty be found there?" And he answered, "I will not do [it] if I find thirty there." And he said, "Please, now, I was bold to speak to my Lord. What if twenty be found there?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] for the sake of the twenty." And he said, "Please, let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak only once more. What if ten are found there?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] for the sake of the ten."

And Jacob remained alone, and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the dawn. And when he saw that he could not prevail against him, he struck his hip socket, so that Jacob's hip socket was sprained as he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for dawn is breaking." But he answered, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." read more.
Then he said to him, "What [is] your name?" And he said, "Jacob." And he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed." Then Jacob asked and said, "Please tell me your name." And he said, "Why do you ask this--for my name?" And he blessed him there. Then Jacob called the name of the place Peniel [which means] "I have seen God face to face and my life was spared."

Then King David went and sat before Yahweh and said, "Who [am] I, my lord Yahweh, and what [is] my house that you have brought me up to {this place}? Still, this [was] {insignificant} in your eyes, my lord Yahweh, and also you have spoken about the house of your servant from afar, and this [may be] the teaching of humans, my lord Yahweh. {What more can David say to you}? You know your servant, my lord Yahweh. read more.
Because of your word and according to your heart, you have done all of this great thing, [in order] to let your servant know. Therefore you [are] great, my lord Yahweh, for there is no one like you, and there [is] no god except you, in all that we have heard with our ears. Who [is] like your people, like Israel? [Israel is] the one nation on earth whose God {led them}, [in order] to redeem a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to do for you the great and awesome things for your land in the presence of your people whom he redeemed for himself from Egypt, [from the] nations and their gods. You have established your people Israel for yourself as a people forever, and you, O Yahweh, have become their God. So then, Yahweh God, the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, confirm it forever, and do just as you have promised. Your name shall be great forever, {and they will say}, 'Yahweh of hosts [is] God over Israel'; and the house of your servant David shall be established before you. For you, O Yahweh of hosts, [are] God of Israel! You have revealed to the ear of your servant, 'I will build a house for you'; therefore your servant {has found courage} to pray this prayer to you. Now, my Lord Yahweh, you alone [are] God, and your words [are] true. You have promised this good to your servant. So then, be content and bless the house of your servant to be forever in your presence, for you, my Lord Yahweh, have spoken, and because of your blessing, may the house of your servant be blessed forever."

Then Solomon stood before the altar of Yahweh in the presence of all of the assembly of Israel, and he spread out his hands [to] the heavens, and he said, "O Yahweh, God of Israel, there is no god like you in the heavens above or on the earth beneath, keeping the covenant and the loyal love for your servants who are walking before you with all their heart. You have kept for your servant David my father what you promised to him, and you have spoken with your mouth, and with your hand you have fulfilled [it] this very day. read more.
So then, O Yahweh, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you promised to him, saying, 'For you, no man will be cut off from before me who [will be] sitting on the throne of Israel, if only your sons keep their ways to walk before me just as you have walked before me.' So then, O God of Israel, please let your word be confirmed which you have promised to your servant David my father. For will God really dwell on the earth? Behold, the heavens and the heaven of heavens could not contain you! {How could} this house that I have built? You must regard the prayer of your servant and his plea! O Yahweh my God, listen to the pleading and to the prayer that your servant [is] praying before you this day, so that your eyes [will] be open to this house night and day, to the place which you said, 'My name will be there,' to hear the prayer that your servant prays toward this place. You must listen to the plea of your servant and your people Israel which they pray [toward] this place; and you must hear from the place where you live, from heaven you must hear and you must forgive. [If] a man sins against his neighbor and he pronounces an oath against him to curse him, and the curse comes before your altar in this house, then you shall hear in heaven and you shall act and you shall judge your servant, to declare the wicked guilty by bringing his way upon his head and {to declare the righteous innocent} by rewarding him according to his righteousness. When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy {because} they sinned against you, and [when] they turn to you and confess your name and pray and beg for mercy from you in this house, then you shall hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and you shall bring them back to the ground which you gave to their ancestors. When you shut up the heavens so there is no rain because they have sinned against you, then they pray to this place and they confess your name and they return from their sin because you punished them, then you shall hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants and your people Israel, for you will teach them the good way in which they should go, and you will give rain upon your land which you have given to your people as an inheritance. If there should be in the land famine or disease, if there should be blight or mildew or locust or caterpillars, if it happens that his enemy lays siege against him in the land of his gates, if any plague or any disease, any prayer or any plea which is [offered] by any person for all of your people Israel, who each knows the infestation of his [own] heart and spreads out his palms to this house, then you shall hear in heaven the place of your dwelling, and you shall forgive and act and give to the man whose heart you know, according to all his ways, for you alone know the heart of all the sons of man. [Do these things] so that they may fear you all the days that they live on the face of the land that you gave to our ancestors. Also for the foreigner who is not from your people Israel, and he comes from a distant land because of your name, (for they shall hear of your great name and your powerful hand and your outstretched arm), and he shall come and pray toward this house, you shall hear in heaven, the place of your dwelling, and act according to all that the foreigner calls to you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name, to fear you as your people Israel, and to know that your name has been invoked over this house that I have built. If your people go out to battle against his enemy in the way that you shall send them and they pray to Yahweh, toward the city which you have chosen and the house which I have built for your name, then you shall hear in heaven their prayer and their plea, and you shall {vindicate} them. "If they sin against you (for there is not a person who does not sin) and you are angry with them and you give them to an enemy and they take them captive to the land of the enemy far or near, and then they return their heart in the land where they have been taken captive and they return and plead to you in the land of their captivity, saying, 'We have sinned and we did wrong. We acted wickedly,' if they return to you with all of their heart and with all of their soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive and they pray to you toward their land which you gave to their ancestors, the city that you have chosen and the house that you built for your name, then you shall hear in heaven, the place of your dwelling, their prayer and their plea, and you shall {vindicate them}. You shall forgive your people who sinned against you, [even] for all their transgressions which they committed against you. You shall give them compassion before their captors so that they may have compassion on them, for they [are] your people and your inheritance whom you brought from Egypt from the middle of the smelter of iron. [O,] that your eyes [may] be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, to listen to them in all things [when] they call to you. For you have separated them for yourself as an inheritance from all the peoples of the earth, as you promised through the hand of Moses your servant when you brought out our ancestors from Egypt, my Lord Yahweh!" It happened that when Solomon finished praying to Yahweh all of the prayer and this plea, he got up from before the altar of Yahweh, from kneeling down on his knees with his palms outstretched to heaven. He stood and blessed all of the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, "Blessed be Yahweh who gave a resting place to his people Israel. According to all that he promised, not one word has fallen from all of his promises [concerning] the good which he spoke through the hand of Moses his servant. May Yahweh our God be with us as he was with our ancestors, and may he not leave us or abandon us, to incline our hearts toward him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his judgments which he commanded our ancestors. Let these my words which I pleaded before Yahweh [be] near to Yahweh our God, by day and by night, to maintain the justice of his servant and the justice of his people Israel {as each day requires} so that all of the people of the earth may know that Yahweh, he [is] God; there is none other. Let your heart be completely with Yahweh our God by walking in his statutes, by keeping his commands as this day."

And it happened that while he was in a certain place praying, when he stopped a certain one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples." And he said to them, "When you pray, say, "Father, may your name be treated as holy. May your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. read more.
And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation." And he said to them, "Who of you will have a friend, and will go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves, because a friend of mine has come to me on a journey, and I do not have anything to set before him.' And that one will answer from inside [and] say, 'Do not cause me trouble! The door has already been shut and my children are with me in bed! I am not able to get up to give you [anything].' I tell you, even if he does not give him [anything] [after he] gets up because [he] is his friend, at any rate because of his impudence he will get up [and] give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. But what father from among you, [if his] son will ask for a fish, instead of a fish will give him a snake? Or also, [if] he will ask for an egg, will give him a scorpion? Therefore if you, [although you] are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"

And he told them a parable to [show that] they must always pray and not be discouraged, saying, "There was a certain judge in a certain town who did not fear God and did not respect people. And there was a widow in that town, and she kept coming to him, saying, 'Grant me justice against my adversary!' read more.
And he was not willing for a time, but after these [things] he said to himself, 'Even if I do not fear God or respect people, yet because this widow is causing trouble for me, I will grant her justice, so that she does not wear me down in the end [by her] coming back!'" And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unrighteous judge is saying! And will not God surely {see to it that justice is done} to his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night, and will he delay toward them? I tell you that {he will see to it that justice is done} for them soon! Nevertheless, [when] the Son of Man comes, then will he find faith on earth?"

And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. Verse ConceptsBaptism Of The Holy SpiritThe Act Of OpeningPrayer, As Asking GodAnswered PromisesFinding ThingsGod Answers PrayerGod Giving Freely





And will not God surely {see to it that justice is done} to his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night, and will he delay toward them? Verse ConceptsChosen OnesJustification, Necessity OfNightGod Is JustJusticeGod Not DelayingGod Does Right For PeopleGod VindicatesRevengeExercisePersistencevindication

But from there you shall seek Yahweh your God and will find him, if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. Verse ConceptsFindingRestoration After BackslidingPrayer, Advice For EffectiveReceptivenessRevival, CorporateFinding GodWhole HeartednessSingle Mindedness

And Abraham drew near [to Yahweh] and said, "Will you also sweep away the righteous with the wicked? If perhaps there are fifty righteous in the midst of the city, will you also sweep [them] away and not forgive the place on account of the fifty righteous in her midst? Far be it from you to do such a thing as this, to kill [the] righteous with [the] wicked, that the righteous would be as the wicked! Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do justice?" read more.
And Yahweh said, "If I find fifty righteous in Sodom, in the midst of the city, then I will forgive the whole place for their sake." Then Abraham answered and said, "Look, please, I was bold to speak to my Lord, but I [am] dust and ashes. Perhaps the fifty righteous are lacking five--will you destroy the whole city on account of the five?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] if I find forty-five there." And {once again he spoke} to him and said, "What if forty are found there?" And he answered, "I will not do [it] on account of the forty." And he said, "Please, let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak. What if thirty be found there?" And he answered, "I will not do [it] if I find thirty there." And he said, "Please, now, I was bold to speak to my Lord. What if twenty be found there?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] for the sake of the twenty." And he said, "Please, let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak only once more. What if ten are found there?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] for the sake of the ten."

And Jacob remained alone, and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the dawn. And when he saw that he could not prevail against him, he struck his hip socket, so that Jacob's hip socket was sprained as he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for dawn is breaking." But he answered, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." read more.
Then he said to him, "What [is] your name?" And he said, "Jacob." And he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed." Then Jacob asked and said, "Please tell me your name." And he said, "Why do you ask this--for my name?" And he blessed him there. Then Jacob called the name of the place Peniel [which means] "I have seen God face to face and my life was spared."

Then King David went and sat before Yahweh and said, "Who [am] I, my lord Yahweh, and what [is] my house that you have brought me up to {this place}? Still, this [was] {insignificant} in your eyes, my lord Yahweh, and also you have spoken about the house of your servant from afar, and this [may be] the teaching of humans, my lord Yahweh. {What more can David say to you}? You know your servant, my lord Yahweh. read more.
Because of your word and according to your heart, you have done all of this great thing, [in order] to let your servant know. Therefore you [are] great, my lord Yahweh, for there is no one like you, and there [is] no god except you, in all that we have heard with our ears. Who [is] like your people, like Israel? [Israel is] the one nation on earth whose God {led them}, [in order] to redeem a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to do for you the great and awesome things for your land in the presence of your people whom he redeemed for himself from Egypt, [from the] nations and their gods. You have established your people Israel for yourself as a people forever, and you, O Yahweh, have become their God. So then, Yahweh God, the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, confirm it forever, and do just as you have promised. Your name shall be great forever, {and they will say}, 'Yahweh of hosts [is] God over Israel'; and the house of your servant David shall be established before you. For you, O Yahweh of hosts, [are] God of Israel! You have revealed to the ear of your servant, 'I will build a house for you'; therefore your servant {has found courage} to pray this prayer to you. Now, my Lord Yahweh, you alone [are] God, and your words [are] true. You have promised this good to your servant. So then, be content and bless the house of your servant to be forever in your presence, for you, my Lord Yahweh, have spoken, and because of your blessing, may the house of your servant be blessed forever."

Then Solomon stood before the altar of Yahweh in the presence of all of the assembly of Israel, and he spread out his hands [to] the heavens, and he said, "O Yahweh, God of Israel, there is no god like you in the heavens above or on the earth beneath, keeping the covenant and the loyal love for your servants who are walking before you with all their heart. You have kept for your servant David my father what you promised to him, and you have spoken with your mouth, and with your hand you have fulfilled [it] this very day. read more.
So then, O Yahweh, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you promised to him, saying, 'For you, no man will be cut off from before me who [will be] sitting on the throne of Israel, if only your sons keep their ways to walk before me just as you have walked before me.' So then, O God of Israel, please let your word be confirmed which you have promised to your servant David my father. For will God really dwell on the earth? Behold, the heavens and the heaven of heavens could not contain you! {How could} this house that I have built? You must regard the prayer of your servant and his plea! O Yahweh my God, listen to the pleading and to the prayer that your servant [is] praying before you this day, so that your eyes [will] be open to this house night and day, to the place which you said, 'My name will be there,' to hear the prayer that your servant prays toward this place. You must listen to the plea of your servant and your people Israel which they pray [toward] this place; and you must hear from the place where you live, from heaven you must hear and you must forgive. [If] a man sins against his neighbor and he pronounces an oath against him to curse him, and the curse comes before your altar in this house, then you shall hear in heaven and you shall act and you shall judge your servant, to declare the wicked guilty by bringing his way upon his head and {to declare the righteous innocent} by rewarding him according to his righteousness. When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy {because} they sinned against you, and [when] they turn to you and confess your name and pray and beg for mercy from you in this house, then you shall hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and you shall bring them back to the ground which you gave to their ancestors. When you shut up the heavens so there is no rain because they have sinned against you, then they pray to this place and they confess your name and they return from their sin because you punished them, then you shall hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants and your people Israel, for you will teach them the good way in which they should go, and you will give rain upon your land which you have given to your people as an inheritance. If there should be in the land famine or disease, if there should be blight or mildew or locust or caterpillars, if it happens that his enemy lays siege against him in the land of his gates, if any plague or any disease, any prayer or any plea which is [offered] by any person for all of your people Israel, who each knows the infestation of his [own] heart and spreads out his palms to this house, then you shall hear in heaven the place of your dwelling, and you shall forgive and act and give to the man whose heart you know, according to all his ways, for you alone know the heart of all the sons of man. [Do these things] so that they may fear you all the days that they live on the face of the land that you gave to our ancestors. Also for the foreigner who is not from your people Israel, and he comes from a distant land because of your name, (for they shall hear of your great name and your powerful hand and your outstretched arm), and he shall come and pray toward this house, you shall hear in heaven, the place of your dwelling, and act according to all that the foreigner calls to you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name, to fear you as your people Israel, and to know that your name has been invoked over this house that I have built. If your people go out to battle against his enemy in the way that you shall send them and they pray to Yahweh, toward the city which you have chosen and the house which I have built for your name, then you shall hear in heaven their prayer and their plea, and you shall {vindicate} them. "If they sin against you (for there is not a person who does not sin) and you are angry with them and you give them to an enemy and they take them captive to the land of the enemy far or near, and then they return their heart in the land where they have been taken captive and they return and plead to you in the land of their captivity, saying, 'We have sinned and we did wrong. We acted wickedly,' if they return to you with all of their heart and with all of their soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive and they pray to you toward their land which you gave to their ancestors, the city that you have chosen and the house that you built for your name, then you shall hear in heaven, the place of your dwelling, their prayer and their plea, and you shall {vindicate them}. You shall forgive your people who sinned against you, [even] for all their transgressions which they committed against you. You shall give them compassion before their captors so that they may have compassion on them, for they [are] your people and your inheritance whom you brought from Egypt from the middle of the smelter of iron. [O,] that your eyes [may] be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, to listen to them in all things [when] they call to you. For you have separated them for yourself as an inheritance from all the peoples of the earth, as you promised through the hand of Moses your servant when you brought out our ancestors from Egypt, my Lord Yahweh!" It happened that when Solomon finished praying to Yahweh all of the prayer and this plea, he got up from before the altar of Yahweh, from kneeling down on his knees with his palms outstretched to heaven. He stood and blessed all of the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, "Blessed be Yahweh who gave a resting place to his people Israel. According to all that he promised, not one word has fallen from all of his promises [concerning] the good which he spoke through the hand of Moses his servant. May Yahweh our God be with us as he was with our ancestors, and may he not leave us or abandon us, to incline our hearts toward him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his judgments which he commanded our ancestors. Let these my words which I pleaded before Yahweh [be] near to Yahweh our God, by day and by night, to maintain the justice of his servant and the justice of his people Israel {as each day requires} so that all of the people of the earth may know that Yahweh, he [is] God; there is none other. Let your heart be completely with Yahweh our God by walking in his statutes, by keeping his commands as this day."

And it happened that while he was in a certain place praying, when he stopped a certain one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples." And he said to them, "When you pray, say, "Father, may your name be treated as holy. May your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. read more.
And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation." And he said to them, "Who of you will have a friend, and will go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves, because a friend of mine has come to me on a journey, and I do not have anything to set before him.' And that one will answer from inside [and] say, 'Do not cause me trouble! The door has already been shut and my children are with me in bed! I am not able to get up to give you [anything].' I tell you, even if he does not give him [anything] [after he] gets up because [he] is his friend, at any rate because of his impudence he will get up [and] give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. But what father from among you, [if his] son will ask for a fish, instead of a fish will give him a snake? Or also, [if] he will ask for an egg, will give him a scorpion? Therefore if you, [although you] are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"

And he told them a parable to [show that] they must always pray and not be discouraged, saying, "There was a certain judge in a certain town who did not fear God and did not respect people. And there was a widow in that town, and she kept coming to him, saying, 'Grant me justice against my adversary!' read more.
And he was not willing for a time, but after these [things] he said to himself, 'Even if I do not fear God or respect people, yet because this widow is causing trouble for me, I will grant her justice, so that she does not wear me down in the end [by her] coming back!'" And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unrighteous judge is saying! And will not God surely {see to it that justice is done} to his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night, and will he delay toward them? I tell you that {he will see to it that justice is done} for them soon! Nevertheless, [when] the Son of Man comes, then will he find faith on earth?"

And Abraham drew near [to Yahweh] and said, "Will you also sweep away the righteous with the wicked? If perhaps there are fifty righteous in the midst of the city, will you also sweep [them] away and not forgive the place on account of the fifty righteous in her midst? Far be it from you to do such a thing as this, to kill [the] righteous with [the] wicked, that the righteous would be as the wicked! Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do justice?" read more.
And Yahweh said, "If I find fifty righteous in Sodom, in the midst of the city, then I will forgive the whole place for their sake." Then Abraham answered and said, "Look, please, I was bold to speak to my Lord, but I [am] dust and ashes. Perhaps the fifty righteous are lacking five--will you destroy the whole city on account of the five?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] if I find forty-five there." And {once again he spoke} to him and said, "What if forty are found there?" And he answered, "I will not do [it] on account of the forty." And he said, "Please, let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak. What if thirty be found there?" And he answered, "I will not do [it] if I find thirty there." And he said, "Please, now, I was bold to speak to my Lord. What if twenty be found there?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] for the sake of the twenty." And he said, "Please, let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak only once more. What if ten are found there?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] for the sake of the ten."

And Jacob remained alone, and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the dawn. And when he saw that he could not prevail against him, he struck his hip socket, so that Jacob's hip socket was sprained as he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for dawn is breaking." But he answered, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." read more.
Then he said to him, "What [is] your name?" And he said, "Jacob." And he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed." Then Jacob asked and said, "Please tell me your name." And he said, "Why do you ask this--for my name?" And he blessed him there. Then Jacob called the name of the place Peniel [which means] "I have seen God face to face and my life was spared."

Then King David went and sat before Yahweh and said, "Who [am] I, my lord Yahweh, and what [is] my house that you have brought me up to {this place}? Still, this [was] {insignificant} in your eyes, my lord Yahweh, and also you have spoken about the house of your servant from afar, and this [may be] the teaching of humans, my lord Yahweh. {What more can David say to you}? You know your servant, my lord Yahweh. read more.
Because of your word and according to your heart, you have done all of this great thing, [in order] to let your servant know. Therefore you [are] great, my lord Yahweh, for there is no one like you, and there [is] no god except you, in all that we have heard with our ears. Who [is] like your people, like Israel? [Israel is] the one nation on earth whose God {led them}, [in order] to redeem a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to do for you the great and awesome things for your land in the presence of your people whom he redeemed for himself from Egypt, [from the] nations and their gods. You have established your people Israel for yourself as a people forever, and you, O Yahweh, have become their God. So then, Yahweh God, the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, confirm it forever, and do just as you have promised. Your name shall be great forever, {and they will say}, 'Yahweh of hosts [is] God over Israel'; and the house of your servant David shall be established before you. For you, O Yahweh of hosts, [are] God of Israel! You have revealed to the ear of your servant, 'I will build a house for you'; therefore your servant {has found courage} to pray this prayer to you. Now, my Lord Yahweh, you alone [are] God, and your words [are] true. You have promised this good to your servant. So then, be content and bless the house of your servant to be forever in your presence, for you, my Lord Yahweh, have spoken, and because of your blessing, may the house of your servant be blessed forever."

Then Solomon stood before the altar of Yahweh in the presence of all of the assembly of Israel, and he spread out his hands [to] the heavens, and he said, "O Yahweh, God of Israel, there is no god like you in the heavens above or on the earth beneath, keeping the covenant and the loyal love for your servants who are walking before you with all their heart. You have kept for your servant David my father what you promised to him, and you have spoken with your mouth, and with your hand you have fulfilled [it] this very day. read more.
So then, O Yahweh, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you promised to him, saying, 'For you, no man will be cut off from before me who [will be] sitting on the throne of Israel, if only your sons keep their ways to walk before me just as you have walked before me.' So then, O God of Israel, please let your word be confirmed which you have promised to your servant David my father. For will God really dwell on the earth? Behold, the heavens and the heaven of heavens could not contain you! {How could} this house that I have built? You must regard the prayer of your servant and his plea! O Yahweh my God, listen to the pleading and to the prayer that your servant [is] praying before you this day, so that your eyes [will] be open to this house night and day, to the place which you said, 'My name will be there,' to hear the prayer that your servant prays toward this place. You must listen to the plea of your servant and your people Israel which they pray [toward] this place; and you must hear from the place where you live, from heaven you must hear and you must forgive. [If] a man sins against his neighbor and he pronounces an oath against him to curse him, and the curse comes before your altar in this house, then you shall hear in heaven and you shall act and you shall judge your servant, to declare the wicked guilty by bringing his way upon his head and {to declare the righteous innocent} by rewarding him according to his righteousness. When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy {because} they sinned against you, and [when] they turn to you and confess your name and pray and beg for mercy from you in this house, then you shall hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and you shall bring them back to the ground which you gave to their ancestors. When you shut up the heavens so there is no rain because they have sinned against you, then they pray to this place and they confess your name and they return from their sin because you punished them, then you shall hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants and your people Israel, for you will teach them the good way in which they should go, and you will give rain upon your land which you have given to your people as an inheritance. If there should be in the land famine or disease, if there should be blight or mildew or locust or caterpillars, if it happens that his enemy lays siege against him in the land of his gates, if any plague or any disease, any prayer or any plea which is [offered] by any person for all of your people Israel, who each knows the infestation of his [own] heart and spreads out his palms to this house, then you shall hear in heaven the place of your dwelling, and you shall forgive and act and give to the man whose heart you know, according to all his ways, for you alone know the heart of all the sons of man. [Do these things] so that they may fear you all the days that they live on the face of the land that you gave to our ancestors. Also for the foreigner who is not from your people Israel, and he comes from a distant land because of your name, (for they shall hear of your great name and your powerful hand and your outstretched arm), and he shall come and pray toward this house, you shall hear in heaven, the place of your dwelling, and act according to all that the foreigner calls to you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name, to fear you as your people Israel, and to know that your name has been invoked over this house that I have built. If your people go out to battle against his enemy in the way that you shall send them and they pray to Yahweh, toward the city which you have chosen and the house which I have built for your name, then you shall hear in heaven their prayer and their plea, and you shall {vindicate} them. "If they sin against you (for there is not a person who does not sin) and you are angry with them and you give them to an enemy and they take them captive to the land of the enemy far or near, and then they return their heart in the land where they have been taken captive and they return and plead to you in the land of their captivity, saying, 'We have sinned and we did wrong. We acted wickedly,' if they return to you with all of their heart and with all of their soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive and they pray to you toward their land which you gave to their ancestors, the city that you have chosen and the house that you built for your name, then you shall hear in heaven, the place of your dwelling, their prayer and their plea, and you shall {vindicate them}. You shall forgive your people who sinned against you, [even] for all their transgressions which they committed against you. You shall give them compassion before their captors so that they may have compassion on them, for they [are] your people and your inheritance whom you brought from Egypt from the middle of the smelter of iron. [O,] that your eyes [may] be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, to listen to them in all things [when] they call to you. For you have separated them for yourself as an inheritance from all the peoples of the earth, as you promised through the hand of Moses your servant when you brought out our ancestors from Egypt, my Lord Yahweh!" It happened that when Solomon finished praying to Yahweh all of the prayer and this plea, he got up from before the altar of Yahweh, from kneeling down on his knees with his palms outstretched to heaven. He stood and blessed all of the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, "Blessed be Yahweh who gave a resting place to his people Israel. According to all that he promised, not one word has fallen from all of his promises [concerning] the good which he spoke through the hand of Moses his servant. May Yahweh our God be with us as he was with our ancestors, and may he not leave us or abandon us, to incline our hearts toward him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his judgments which he commanded our ancestors. Let these my words which I pleaded before Yahweh [be] near to Yahweh our God, by day and by night, to maintain the justice of his servant and the justice of his people Israel {as each day requires} so that all of the people of the earth may know that Yahweh, he [is] God; there is none other. Let your heart be completely with Yahweh our God by walking in his statutes, by keeping his commands as this day."

And it happened that while he was in a certain place praying, when he stopped a certain one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples." And he said to them, "When you pray, say, "Father, may your name be treated as holy. May your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. read more.
And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation." And he said to them, "Who of you will have a friend, and will go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves, because a friend of mine has come to me on a journey, and I do not have anything to set before him.' And that one will answer from inside [and] say, 'Do not cause me trouble! The door has already been shut and my children are with me in bed! I am not able to get up to give you [anything].' I tell you, even if he does not give him [anything] [after he] gets up because [he] is his friend, at any rate because of his impudence he will get up [and] give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. But what father from among you, [if his] son will ask for a fish, instead of a fish will give him a snake? Or also, [if] he will ask for an egg, will give him a scorpion? Therefore if you, [although you] are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"

And he told them a parable to [show that] they must always pray and not be discouraged, saying, "There was a certain judge in a certain town who did not fear God and did not respect people. And there was a widow in that town, and she kept coming to him, saying, 'Grant me justice against my adversary!' read more.
And he was not willing for a time, but after these [things] he said to himself, 'Even if I do not fear God or respect people, yet because this widow is causing trouble for me, I will grant her justice, so that she does not wear me down in the end [by her] coming back!'" And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unrighteous judge is saying! And will not God surely {see to it that justice is done} to his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night, and will he delay toward them? I tell you that {he will see to it that justice is done} for them soon! Nevertheless, [when] the Son of Man comes, then will he find faith on earth?"

And Abraham drew near [to Yahweh] and said, "Will you also sweep away the righteous with the wicked? If perhaps there are fifty righteous in the midst of the city, will you also sweep [them] away and not forgive the place on account of the fifty righteous in her midst? Far be it from you to do such a thing as this, to kill [the] righteous with [the] wicked, that the righteous would be as the wicked! Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do justice?" read more.
And Yahweh said, "If I find fifty righteous in Sodom, in the midst of the city, then I will forgive the whole place for their sake." Then Abraham answered and said, "Look, please, I was bold to speak to my Lord, but I [am] dust and ashes. Perhaps the fifty righteous are lacking five--will you destroy the whole city on account of the five?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] if I find forty-five there." And {once again he spoke} to him and said, "What if forty are found there?" And he answered, "I will not do [it] on account of the forty." And he said, "Please, let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak. What if thirty be found there?" And he answered, "I will not do [it] if I find thirty there." And he said, "Please, now, I was bold to speak to my Lord. What if twenty be found there?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] for the sake of the twenty." And he said, "Please, let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak only once more. What if ten are found there?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] for the sake of the ten."

And Jacob remained alone, and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the dawn. And when he saw that he could not prevail against him, he struck his hip socket, so that Jacob's hip socket was sprained as he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for dawn is breaking." But he answered, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." read more.
Then he said to him, "What [is] your name?" And he said, "Jacob." And he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed." Then Jacob asked and said, "Please tell me your name." And he said, "Why do you ask this--for my name?" And he blessed him there. Then Jacob called the name of the place Peniel [which means] "I have seen God face to face and my life was spared."

Then King David went and sat before Yahweh and said, "Who [am] I, my lord Yahweh, and what [is] my house that you have brought me up to {this place}? Still, this [was] {insignificant} in your eyes, my lord Yahweh, and also you have spoken about the house of your servant from afar, and this [may be] the teaching of humans, my lord Yahweh. {What more can David say to you}? You know your servant, my lord Yahweh. read more.
Because of your word and according to your heart, you have done all of this great thing, [in order] to let your servant know. Therefore you [are] great, my lord Yahweh, for there is no one like you, and there [is] no god except you, in all that we have heard with our ears. Who [is] like your people, like Israel? [Israel is] the one nation on earth whose God {led them}, [in order] to redeem a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to do for you the great and awesome things for your land in the presence of your people whom he redeemed for himself from Egypt, [from the] nations and their gods. You have established your people Israel for yourself as a people forever, and you, O Yahweh, have become their God. So then, Yahweh God, the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, confirm it forever, and do just as you have promised. Your name shall be great forever, {and they will say}, 'Yahweh of hosts [is] God over Israel'; and the house of your servant David shall be established before you. For you, O Yahweh of hosts, [are] God of Israel! You have revealed to the ear of your servant, 'I will build a house for you'; therefore your servant {has found courage} to pray this prayer to you. Now, my Lord Yahweh, you alone [are] God, and your words [are] true. You have promised this good to your servant. So then, be content and bless the house of your servant to be forever in your presence, for you, my Lord Yahweh, have spoken, and because of your blessing, may the house of your servant be blessed forever."

Then Solomon stood before the altar of Yahweh in the presence of all of the assembly of Israel, and he spread out his hands [to] the heavens, and he said, "O Yahweh, God of Israel, there is no god like you in the heavens above or on the earth beneath, keeping the covenant and the loyal love for your servants who are walking before you with all their heart. You have kept for your servant David my father what you promised to him, and you have spoken with your mouth, and with your hand you have fulfilled [it] this very day. read more.
So then, O Yahweh, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you promised to him, saying, 'For you, no man will be cut off from before me who [will be] sitting on the throne of Israel, if only your sons keep their ways to walk before me just as you have walked before me.' So then, O God of Israel, please let your word be confirmed which you have promised to your servant David my father. For will God really dwell on the earth? Behold, the heavens and the heaven of heavens could not contain you! {How could} this house that I have built? You must regard the prayer of your servant and his plea! O Yahweh my God, listen to the pleading and to the prayer that your servant [is] praying before you this day, so that your eyes [will] be open to this house night and day, to the place which you said, 'My name will be there,' to hear the prayer that your servant prays toward this place. You must listen to the plea of your servant and your people Israel which they pray [toward] this place; and you must hear from the place where you live, from heaven you must hear and you must forgive. [If] a man sins against his neighbor and he pronounces an oath against him to curse him, and the curse comes before your altar in this house, then you shall hear in heaven and you shall act and you shall judge your servant, to declare the wicked guilty by bringing his way upon his head and {to declare the righteous innocent} by rewarding him according to his righteousness. When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy {because} they sinned against you, and [when] they turn to you and confess your name and pray and beg for mercy from you in this house, then you shall hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and you shall bring them back to the ground which you gave to their ancestors. When you shut up the heavens so there is no rain because they have sinned against you, then they pray to this place and they confess your name and they return from their sin because you punished them, then you shall hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants and your people Israel, for you will teach them the good way in which they should go, and you will give rain upon your land which you have given to your people as an inheritance. If there should be in the land famine or disease, if there should be blight or mildew or locust or caterpillars, if it happens that his enemy lays siege against him in the land of his gates, if any plague or any disease, any prayer or any plea which is [offered] by any person for all of your people Israel, who each knows the infestation of his [own] heart and spreads out his palms to this house, then you shall hear in heaven the place of your dwelling, and you shall forgive and act and give to the man whose heart you know, according to all his ways, for you alone know the heart of all the sons of man. [Do these things] so that they may fear you all the days that they live on the face of the land that you gave to our ancestors. Also for the foreigner who is not from your people Israel, and he comes from a distant land because of your name, (for they shall hear of your great name and your powerful hand and your outstretched arm), and he shall come and pray toward this house, you shall hear in heaven, the place of your dwelling, and act according to all that the foreigner calls to you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name, to fear you as your people Israel, and to know that your name has been invoked over this house that I have built. If your people go out to battle against his enemy in the way that you shall send them and they pray to Yahweh, toward the city which you have chosen and the house which I have built for your name, then you shall hear in heaven their prayer and their plea, and you shall {vindicate} them. "If they sin against you (for there is not a person who does not sin) and you are angry with them and you give them to an enemy and they take them captive to the land of the enemy far or near, and then they return their heart in the land where they have been taken captive and they return and plead to you in the land of their captivity, saying, 'We have sinned and we did wrong. We acted wickedly,' if they return to you with all of their heart and with all of their soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive and they pray to you toward their land which you gave to their ancestors, the city that you have chosen and the house that you built for your name, then you shall hear in heaven, the place of your dwelling, their prayer and their plea, and you shall {vindicate them}. You shall forgive your people who sinned against you, [even] for all their transgressions which they committed against you. You shall give them compassion before their captors so that they may have compassion on them, for they [are] your people and your inheritance whom you brought from Egypt from the middle of the smelter of iron. [O,] that your eyes [may] be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, to listen to them in all things [when] they call to you. For you have separated them for yourself as an inheritance from all the peoples of the earth, as you promised through the hand of Moses your servant when you brought out our ancestors from Egypt, my Lord Yahweh!" It happened that when Solomon finished praying to Yahweh all of the prayer and this plea, he got up from before the altar of Yahweh, from kneeling down on his knees with his palms outstretched to heaven. He stood and blessed all of the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, "Blessed be Yahweh who gave a resting place to his people Israel. According to all that he promised, not one word has fallen from all of his promises [concerning] the good which he spoke through the hand of Moses his servant. May Yahweh our God be with us as he was with our ancestors, and may he not leave us or abandon us, to incline our hearts toward him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his judgments which he commanded our ancestors. Let these my words which I pleaded before Yahweh [be] near to Yahweh our God, by day and by night, to maintain the justice of his servant and the justice of his people Israel {as each day requires} so that all of the people of the earth may know that Yahweh, he [is] God; there is none other. Let your heart be completely with Yahweh our God by walking in his statutes, by keeping his commands as this day."

And it happened that while he was in a certain place praying, when he stopped a certain one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples." And he said to them, "When you pray, say, "Father, may your name be treated as holy. May your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. read more.
And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation." And he said to them, "Who of you will have a friend, and will go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves, because a friend of mine has come to me on a journey, and I do not have anything to set before him.' And that one will answer from inside [and] say, 'Do not cause me trouble! The door has already been shut and my children are with me in bed! I am not able to get up to give you [anything].' I tell you, even if he does not give him [anything] [after he] gets up because [he] is his friend, at any rate because of his impudence he will get up [and] give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. But what father from among you, [if his] son will ask for a fish, instead of a fish will give him a snake? Or also, [if] he will ask for an egg, will give him a scorpion? Therefore if you, [although you] are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"

And he told them a parable to [show that] they must always pray and not be discouraged, saying, "There was a certain judge in a certain town who did not fear God and did not respect people. And there was a widow in that town, and she kept coming to him, saying, 'Grant me justice against my adversary!' read more.
And he was not willing for a time, but after these [things] he said to himself, 'Even if I do not fear God or respect people, yet because this widow is causing trouble for me, I will grant her justice, so that she does not wear me down in the end [by her] coming back!'" And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unrighteous judge is saying! And will not God surely {see to it that justice is done} to his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night, and will he delay toward them? I tell you that {he will see to it that justice is done} for them soon! Nevertheless, [when] the Son of Man comes, then will he find faith on earth?"