Bible verses about "heritage" | NSB

¹ God spoke all these words: ² »I am Jehovah your God, who brought you out of slavery in Egypt. ³ »Do not have any other god. ⁴ »Do not make your own carved idols or statues that represent any creature in the sky, on the earth, or in the water. ⁵ »Do not worship them or serve them. I, Jehovah your God, am a God demanding exclusive devotion. (I do not tolerate rivals.) I will not share your affection with any other god. I punish children for their parents’ sins to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me. ⁶ »I show mercy (loving kindness) to thousands of generations of those who love me and obey my commandments. ⁷ »Never use the name of Jehovah your God in a false and evil way. Jehovah will make sure that anyone who is false, evil, careless and vain with his name will be punished. ⁸ »Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. ⁹ »You have six days to do all your work. ¹⁰ »The seventh day is a Sabbath dedicated to Jehovah your God. Do not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. ¹¹ »Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them in six days. He rested on the seventh day. Therefore Jehovah blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. ¹² »Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land Jehovah your God gives you. ¹³ »Do not murder. ¹⁴ »Do not commit adultery. ¹⁵ »Do not steal. ¹⁶ »Do not (lie) accuse anyone falsely. ¹⁷ »Do not covet (desire) another man’s house. Do not desire his wife, his slaves, his cattle, his donkeys, or anything else that he owns. ¹⁸ The people heard the thunder and the trumpet blast. They saw the lightning and the smoking mountain. They trembled with fear and stood at a distance. ¹⁹ They said to Moses: »If you speak to us, we will listen. However, we are afraid that if God speaks to us, we will die.« ²⁰ Moses responded: »Do not be afraid. God has only come to test you and to inspire you to obey him, so that you will not sin.« ²¹ But the people continued to stand at a distance. Only Moses went near the dark cloud where God was. ²² Jehovah commanded Moses to tell the Israelites: »You have seen how I have spoken to you from heaven. ²³ »Do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gold to be worshiped in addition to me. ²⁴ »Make an altar of earth for me. Sacrifice your sheep and your cattle as offerings to be completely burned and as peace offerings. In every place that I set-aside for you to worship me, I will come to you and bless you. ²⁵ »If you make an altar of stone for me, do not build it out of cut stones. This is because when you use a chisel on stones, you make them unfit for my use. ²⁶ »Do not build an altar for me with steps leading up to it. If you do, you will expose yourselves as you go up the steps.«

³ Children are an inheritance from Jehovah. They are a blessing from him. ⁴ The children born to a man when he is young are like arrows in the hand of a warrior. ⁵ Blessed is the man who has filled his quiver with them. He will not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the city gate.

⁵ »Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I set you apart for my holy purpose. I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.«

¹⁵ »A light is not placed under a cover. To the contrary, it is placed on a table so all may see. ¹⁶ »Likewise, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. ¹⁷ »Do not think I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I came, not to destroy, but to fulfill (perfect) (execute) (accomplish). ¹⁸ »I solemnly tell you, heaven and earth would pass away before one small letter (detail) will pass away from the Law. All things must be accomplished. ¹⁹ »Whoever disobeys even the least of the commandments and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. On the other hand whoever obeys and teaches others to obey the Law will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ »I also tell you, your righteousness must be greater than the scribes and Pharisees or you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven. ²¹ »You were told in the past, do not murder (kill). Any one who murders will be brought to trial. ²² »Now I tell you that everyone who is angry with his brother [without cause] shall be guilty before the court. Whoever speaks to his brother with words of contempt shall receive condemnation before the Sanhedrin [Supreme Court]. Curse your brother and you will be guilty enough to be destroyed by fire, with the burning trash, at the Valley of Hinnom, outside of Jerusalem (Greek: Gehenna). ²³ »When making an offering at the altar and you remember your brother has something against you, ²⁴ »leave your gift at the altar and go make peace with your brother. Then return and make your offering. ²⁵ »Come to an agreement quickly with the one who has a legal case against you. Do it before he turns the case over to the judge and you are thrown into jail. ²⁶ »Take it from me; you will stay in jail until you pay the very last penny of your fine. ²⁷ »You have heard it was said, ‘You should not commit adultery.’ ²⁸ »However, I tell you that whoever looks at a woman with lustful thoughts commits adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ »If your right eye causes you to sin, take it out and throw it away! It is better to lose a part of your body then to have your whole body destroyed in the ever-burning fires of the Valley of Hinnom. ³⁰ »If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better to lose part of your body, than for your whole body to be destroyed in the ever-burning fire. (Figuratively: lose prospect for everlasting life; ever-burning fire means total destruction.) ³¹ »Again, it was said, ‘Whoever gets rid of his wife has to give her a certificate of divorce.’ ³² »I say to you that everyone divorcing his wife, except for the reason of fornication, makes her liable to commit adultery. And if she marries again, the man she marries also commits adultery. ³³ »You were also told that you should keep a promise (oath). Always keep your promises (vows) to Jehovah. ³⁴ »I tell you, offer no promises at all, not by heaven, because it is God’s throne. ³⁵ »Not by earth, for it is the footstool under His feet. Not by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. ³⁶ »And do not promise by your head, for you cannot even control the hair on your head. ³⁷ »Let your answer be ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’ Anything more than this is from the evil one. ³⁸ »You have heard it said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. ³⁹ »But I tell you, do not resist a wicked person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other to that person. ⁴⁰ »If someone takes you to court to sue you and takes your shirt, let him have your coat as well. ⁴¹ »Whoever makes you go one mile, go with him two. ⁴² »Give to those who ask. Lend to those who borrow. ⁴³ »You have heard it said, ‘You should love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ (Leviticus 19:18) ⁴⁴ »I say love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! ⁴⁵ »You will then act as true children of your Father in heaven. He gives sunlight to both evil and good people. He sends rain for the just and the unjust. ⁴⁶ »What good is there, when you love only those who love you? Even [corrupt] tax collectors do that! ⁴⁷ »When you are kind only to your friends [and brothers] what makes you different from anyone else? Even people of the nations do that. ⁴⁸ »Be perfect (mature), even as your Father in heaven is perfect (mature). (Leviticus 19:2)

¹ Seeing great masses of people, he went up to the mountain. When he was seated his disciples came to him. ² He opened his mouth and taught them: ³ »Blessed (Greek: makarios: happy, blessed) are those conscious of their spiritual need, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. ⁴ »Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. ⁵ »Blessed are the meek (gentle) (mild) (humble), for they will inherit the earth. ⁶ »Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. ⁷ »Blessed are the merciful and compassionate, for they will receive mercy and compassion. ⁸ »Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. ⁹ »Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God. ¹⁰ »Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. ¹¹ »Blessed are you when men revile you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. ¹² »Rejoice, and be filled with joy, for great is your reward in heaven. The prophets, who came before you, were also persecuted. ¹³ »You are the salt of the earth. If its taste goes away, how will you restore it? It is good for nothing. All you can do is throw it on the ground and walk on it. ¹⁴ »You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill may be seen by all.

²⁷ He answered: »Love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your life, with all your strength and with all your mind. (Feelings and total existence) (Might and total thinking capacity) And you should love your neighbor as yourself.« (Deuteronomy 6:5) (Leviticus 19:18)

³⁰ Jesus answered: »A man traveled from Jerusalem to Jericho. He fell among robbers. They stripped him, beat him and left him half dead. ³¹ »A priest traveled on that road. When he saw him he passed by on the other side. ³² »When a Levite came to the place he saw the man and passed by on the other side. ³³ »Then a Samaritan arrived where he was. He was moved with compassion when he saw him. ³⁴ »He went to him and bandaged his wounds pouring oil and wine on them. He set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn to take care of him. ³⁵ »The next day he paid the host two shillings. He said take care of him and if you spend more I will repay you when I return. ³⁶ »Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?« ³⁷ He said: »The one who showed mercy to him.« Jesus said to him: »Go and you do like wise.«

¹⁶ God inspired all Scripture! It is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness. (Greek: theopneustos: God-breathed) ¹⁷ Thus the man of God may be completely equipped for every good work.

¹ Jehoshaphat succeeded his father Asa as king and strengthened his position against Israel. ² He stationed troops in the fortified cities of Judah. He also put troops in the Judean countryside, and in the cities that Asa had captured in the territory of Ephraim. ³ Jehovah blessed Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of his father’s early life and did not worship Baal. ⁴ He served his father’s God. He obeyed God’s commandments, and did not act the way the kings of Israel did. ⁵ Jehovah gave Jehoshaphat firm control over the kingdom of Judah. The people brought him gifts, so that he became wealthy and highly honored. ⁶ His heart was devoted to the ways of Jehovah. He destroyed all the pagan places of worship and the symbols of the goddess Asherah in Judah. ⁷ In the third year of his reign he sent out the following officials to teach in the cities of Judah: Benhail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah. ⁸ With them were the Levites Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, Tob Adonijah, and the priests Elishama and Jehoram. ⁹ They taught in Judah. They had the Book of Torah (the Law) (Jehovah’s Teachings) with them when they taught the people in all the cities of Judah. ¹⁰ All the kingdoms around Judah were afraid of Jehovah. As a result, they did not wage war against Jehoshaphat. ¹¹ Some of the Philistines brought gifts and silver as taxes. The Arabs also brought him flocks: seven thousand and seven hundred rams and seven thousand and seven hundred male goats. ¹² Jehoshaphat became more and more powerful. He built fortresses and cities where supplies were stored in Judah. ¹³ He stored large supplies of food in the cities of Judah and an army of professional soldiers served him in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ The following is a breakdown of these soldiers. They are listed by families. Judah’s regimental commanders were Commander Adnah with three hundred thousand fighting men, ¹⁵ next to him was Commander Jehohanan with two hundred and eighty thousand men. ¹⁶ There was Amasiah, Zichri’s son, who volunteered to serve Jehovah with two hundred thousand fighting men. ¹⁷ From Benjamin there was the fighting man Eliada with two hundred thousand armed men with bows and shields. ¹⁸ Next to him was Jehozabad with an army of one hundred and eighty thousand armed men. ¹⁹ These were the men who served the king in addition to those whom the king put in the fortified cities throughout Judah.

¹¹¹ I have inherited your laws forever, for they are the joy of my heart.

⁸ If any do not provide for his own, and specially his own household, he denies the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever.

²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one (united) in Christ Jesus. (John 17:21) (Ephesians 4:4-6)

¹ »Carefully obey Jehovah your God. Faithfully follow all his commandments that I give you today. If you do this Jehovah your God will place you high above all the other nations in the world. ² »These are all the blessings that will come to you and stay close to you because you obey Jehovah your God: ³ »Jehovah will bless your towns and your fields. ⁴ »Jehovah will bless you with many children, with abundant crops, and with many cattle and sheep. ⁵ »Jehovah will bless your grain crops and the food you prepare from them. ⁶ »Jehovah will make you successful in your daily work. ⁷ »Jehovah will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be struck before you: they shall come out against you one-way, and shall flee before you seven ways. ⁸ »Jehovah will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land Jehovah your God gives you. ⁹ »Jehovah will establish you as a holy people to himself. He swore this to you, if you obey the commandments of Jehovah your God and walk in His ways. ¹⁰ »All the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of Jehovah, and they will be afraid of you. ¹¹ »Jehovah will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your animals and in the produce of your ground, the land that Jehovah swore to your fathers to give you. ¹² »Jehovah will open for you his good storehouse. The skies will give rain to your land in due season. It will bless all the work of your hand. You will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow. ¹³ »Jehovah will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath. If you listen to the commandments of Jehovah your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully, ¹⁴ and do not turn aside from any of the words I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. ¹⁵ »If you do not obey Jehovah your God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes with which I charge you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: ¹⁶ »Cursed will you be in the city, and cursed will you be in the country. ¹⁷ »Your basket and your kneading bowl will be cursed. ¹⁸ »Cursed will be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock. ¹⁹ »Jehovah will curse everything you do! ²⁰ »If you do evil and reject Jehovah, he will bring on you trouble, confusion, and rebuke in everything you do. Soon you will be quickly and completely destroyed. ²¹ »He will plague you with disease after disease on you until there is not one of you left in the land. ²² »Jehovah will strike you with infectious diseases, with swelling and fever. He will send drought and scorching winds to destroy your crops. These disasters will be with you until you die. ²³ »The sky above will look like copper and the ground below will be as hard as iron. ²⁴ Jehovah will send dust storms and sandstorms on you from the sky until you are destroyed. ²⁵ »Jehovah will cause you to be stricken before your enemies. You will go out one way against them, and flee seven ways from them. You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. ²⁶ »Your body will be food to all birds of the air, and to the beasts of the earth. And no man shall frighten them away. ²⁷ »Jehovah will strike you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors and with the scab and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed. ²⁸ »You will become insane and go blind. Jehovah will make you so confused, ²⁹ that even in bright sunshine you will have to feel your way around like a blind person. You will tell day from night! For the rest of your life, people will beat and rob you. No one will be able to stop them. ³⁰ »A man will be engaged to a woman, but before they can get married, enemy soldiers will rape her. Some of you will build houses, but never get to live in them. If you plant a vineyard, you will not be around long enough to enjoy the first harvest. ³¹ »Your cattle will be killed while you watch. You will not get to eat any of the meat. Your donkeys and sheep will be stolen. No one will be around to force your enemies to give them back. ³² »Your sons and daughters will be dragged off to a foreign country. And you will stand there helpless. Even if you watch for them until you go blind, you will never see them again. ³³ »A foreign nation will take all the crops that you have worked so hard to grow. You will receive nothing but constant oppression and harsh treatment. ³⁴ »You will lose your mind (experience insanity) because of all the suffering. ³⁵ »Jehovah will strike you on the knees and legs with sore boils. From the sole of your foot to the crown of your head they will not heal. ³⁶ »Jehovah will bring you and your king, whom you set over you, to a nation that neither you nor your fathers have known. There you will serve other gods made of wood and stone. ³⁷ »You will become a thing of revulsion. All the nations where Jehovah will send you will make an example of you and laugh at you. ³⁸ »You will plant many crops in your fields, but harvest little for locusts will destroy your crops. ³⁹ »You will plant vineyards and tend them but will not drink the wine from them. Worms will eat them. ⁴⁰ »You will have olive trees throughout all your coasts, but you shall not anoint with the oil, for your olive shall drop off its fruit. ⁴¹ »Even your infant sons and daughters will be taken as prisoners of war. ⁴² »Locusts will take over all your trees and the fruit of your land. ⁴³ »The alien who is living among you will be lifted up higher and higher over you, while you go down lower and lower. ⁴⁴ »They will be able to make loans to you, but you won't be able to make loans to them. They will be the head, and you will be the tail. ⁴⁵ »All these disasters will come on you. They will be with you until you are destroyed. This is because you did not obey Jehovah your God and keep all the laws that he gave you. ⁴⁶ »Everyone will look at you and your descendants and realize that Jehovah has placed you under a curse for a very long time. ⁴⁷ »You did not serve Jehovah your God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things. ⁴⁸ »You will serve your enemies whom Jehovah will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in the lack of all things. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you. ⁴⁹ »Jehovah will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, as the eagle swoops down, a nation whose language you will not understand, ⁵⁰ a nation of fierce countenance who will have no respect for the old, nor show favor to the young. ⁵¹ »They will eat the offspring of your animals and the crops from your fields until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain, no new wine, no olive oil, no calves from your herds, and no lambs or kids from your flocks. They will continue to do this until you are completely desolate. ⁵² »They will blockade all your cities until the high, fortified walls you trust come down everywhere in your land. They will blockade all the cities everywhere in the land that Jehovah your God is giving you. ⁵³ »Because of the hardships your enemies will make you suffer during the blockade, you will eat the flesh of your own children, the sons and daughters, whom Jehovah your God has given you. ⁵⁴ »The kindest and most sensitive man among you will become stingy toward his brother, the wife he loves, and the children he still has left. ⁵⁵ »He will give none of them any of the flesh of his children that he is eating. It will be all that he has left. These are hardships your enemies will make you suffer during the blockade of all your cities. ⁵⁶ »The kindest and most sensitive woman among you, so sensitive and tender that she would not even step on an ant, will become stingy toward the husband she loves or toward her own son or daughter. ⁵⁷ »She will not share with them the afterbirth from her body and the children she gives birth to. She will secretly eat them out of dire necessity. These are hardships your enemies will make you suffer during the blockade of your cities. ⁵⁸ »You might not faithfully obey every word of the teachings that are written in this book. You might not respect this glorious and awe inspiring name: JEHOVAH your God. ⁵⁹ »If so, Jehovah will strike you and your descendants with unimaginable plagues. They will be terrible continuing plagues. They will be severe and lingering diseases. ⁶⁰ »He will bring all the diseases of Egypt that you dreaded. They will cling to you. ⁶¹ »Jehovah will also bring you every kind of sickness and plague not written in this Book of the Law. They will continue until you are dead. ⁶² »You were at one time as numerous as the stars in the sky. But only a few of you will be left. This is because you did not obey Jehovah your God. ⁶³ »Jehovah was very glad to make you prosperous and numerous. Now Jehovah will be more than glad to destroy you and wipe you out. You will be torn out of the land you are about to enter and possess. ⁶⁴ »Jehovah will scatter you among all the people of the world. He will scatter you from one end of the earth to the other. There you will serve gods made of wood and stone that neither you nor your ancestors ever knew. ⁶⁵ »You will find no peace among those nations. There will be no place to call your own. There Jehovah will give you an unsettled mind, failing eyesight, and despair. ⁶⁶ »Your life will always be in danger. Day and night you will be filled with terror. You will live in constant fear of death. ⁶⁷ »Your hearts will pound with fear at everything you see. Every morning you will wish for evening. Every evening you will wish for morning. ⁶⁸ »Jehovah will send you back to Egypt in ships, even though he said that you would never have to go there again. There you will try to sell yourselves to your enemies as slaves. But no one will want to buy you.

³ Children are an inheritance from Jehovah. They are a blessing from him.

⁴⁷ »You did not serve Jehovah your God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things. ⁴⁸ »You will serve your enemies whom Jehovah will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in the lack of all things. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you.

⁵ You have heard my vows, O God, and you have given me what belongs to those who respect your name.