Romans 11 Cross References - Goodspeed

¹ I ask then, has God repudiated his people? By no means. Why, I am an Israelite myself, I am descended from Abraham, and I belong to the tribe of Benjamin. ² God has not repudiated his people, which he had marked out from the first. Do you not know what the Scripture says in speaking of Elijah, how he appealed to God against Israel? ³ "Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, I am the only one left and they are trying to take my life." ⁴ But what is God's reply? "I have left myself seven thousand men who have never knelt to Baal!" ⁵ So too at the present time there is a remnant selected by God's mercy. ⁶ But if it is by his mercy, it is not for anything they have done. Otherwise, his mercy would not be mercy at all. ⁷ What follows? Israel failed to get what it sought, but those whom God selected got it. ⁸ The rest became callous; as the Scripture says, "God has thrown them into a state of spiritual insensibility, with eyes that cannot see and cars that cannot hear, that has lasted down to this day." ⁹ And David said, "Let their feasting prove a snare and a trap to them, Their ruin and their retribution. ¹⁰ Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see; Make their backs bend forever under their burden!" ¹¹ I ask then, has their stumbling led to their absolute ruin? By no means. Through their false step salvation has gone to the heathen, so as to make the Israelites jealous. ¹² But if their false step has so enriched the world, and their defeat has so enriched the heathen, how much more good the addition of their full number will do! ¹³ But it is to you who are of the heathen that I am speaking. So far then as I am an apostle to the heathen, I make the most of my ministry, ¹⁴ in the hope of making my countrymen jealous, and thus saving some of them. ¹⁵ For if their rejection has meant the reconciling of the world, what can the acceptance of them mean but life from the dead? ¹⁶ If the first handful of dough is consecrated, the whole mass is, and if the root of a tree is consecrated, so are its branches. ¹⁷ If some of the branches have been broken off, and you who were only a wild olive shoot have been grafted in, in place of them, and made to share the richness of the olive's root, ¹⁸ you must not look down upon the branches. If you do, remember that you do not support the root; the root supports you. ¹⁹ "But," you will say, "branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in!" ²⁰ That is true; but it was for their want of faith that they were broken off, and it is through your faith that you stand where you do. You ought not to feel proud; you ought to be afraid, ²¹ for if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you. ²² Observe then the goodness and the severity of God—severity to those who have fallen, but goodness to you, provided you abide by his goodness, for otherwise, you in your turn will be pruned away. ²³ Those others too, if they do not cling to their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. ²⁴ For if you were cut from a wild olive and unnaturally grafted upon a cultivated one, how much easier it will be to graft them upon the olive to which they properly belong! ²⁵ For to keep you from thinking too well of yourselves, brothers, I do not want you to miss this secret, that only partial insensibility has come upon Israel, to last until all the heathen have come in, ²⁶ and then all Israel will be saved, just as the Scripture says, "The deliverer will come from Zion, He will drive all ungodliness away from Jacob, ²⁷ And this will be my agreement with them, When I take away their sins." ²⁸ From the point of view of the good news they are treated as enemies of God on your account; but from the point of view of God's choice, they are dear to him because of their forefathers, ²⁹ for God does not change his mind about those to whom he gives his blessings or sends his call. ³⁰ For just as you once disobeyed God, but now have had mercy shown you because they disobeyed, ³¹ so they are now disobedient in order that they in turn may experience the same mercy as you. ³² For God has made all men prisoners of disobedience so as to have mercy upon them all. ³³ How inexhaustible God's resources, wisdom, and knowledge are! How unfathomable his decisions are, and how untraceable his ways! ³⁴ "Who has ever known the Lord's thoughts, or advised him? ³⁵ "Or who has advanced anything to him, for which he will have to be repaid?" ³⁶ For from him everything comes; through him everything exists; and in him everything ends! Glory to him forever! Amen.

²¹ She will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for it is he who is to save his people from their sins."

⁹ Do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our forefather,' for I tell you God can produce descendants for Abraham right out of these stones! ¹⁰ But the axe is already lying at the roots of the trees. Any tree that fails to produce good fruit is going to be cut down and thrown into the fire.

¹³ And do not subject us to temptation, But save us from the evil one.'

¹¹ And I tell you, many will come from the east and from the west and take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the Kingdom of Heaven, ¹² while the heirs to the kingdom will be driven into the darkness outside, there to weep and grind their teeth!"

¹³ This is why I speak to them in figures, because though they look they do not see, and though they listen they do not hear or understand. ¹⁴ They are a fulfilment of Isaiah's prophecy, " 'You will listen and listen, and never understand, And you will look and look, and never see!

¹⁴ They are a fulfilment of Isaiah's prophecy, " 'You will listen and listen, and never understand, And you will look and look, and never see! ¹⁵ For this nation's mind has grown dull, And they hear faintly with their ears, And they have shut their eyes, So as never to see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their minds, and turn back, And let me cure them!'

¹⁵ Have I no right to do what I please with what is mine? Or do you begrudge my generosity?'

⁴³ "That, I tell you, is why the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and given to a people that will produce its proper fruit.

³⁹ For I tell you, you will never see me again until you say, 'Blessed be he who comes in the Lord's name!' "

³³ Peter answered, "If they all desert you, I will never do it!"

¹¹ And he said to them, "To you has been intrusted the secret of the reign of God, but to those outsiders, everything is offered in figures, ¹² so that " 'They may look and look and yet not see, And listen and listen and yet not understand, Lest possibly they should turn and be forgiven.' ",

⁵⁴ "He has helped his servant Israel, Remembering his mercy,

⁶⁸ "Blessings on the Lord, the God of Israel, Because he has turned his attention to his people, and brought about their deliverance, ⁶⁹ And he has produced a mighty Savior for us In the house of his servant David. ⁷⁰ "By the lips of his holy prophets he promised of old to do this— ⁷¹ To save us from our enemies and from the hands of all who hate us, ⁷² Thus showing mercy to our forefathers, And keeping his sacred agreement, ⁷³ "And the oath that he swore to our forefather Abraham, ⁷⁴ That we should be delivered from the hands of our enemies, ⁷⁵ And should serve him in holiness and uprightness, unafraid, In his own presence all our lives.

¹⁴ "Glory to God in heaven and on earth! Peace to the men he favors!"

¹ Jesus returned from the Jordan full of the holy Spirit, and he was led about in the desert

¹⁰ And he said, "You are permitted to know the secrets of the Kingdom of God, but they are given to others in the form of figures, so that they may look and yet not see, and hear and yet not understand.

¹⁵ But the seed in the good soil means those who listen to the message and keep it in good, true hearts, and yield unfailingly.

²⁰ But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your soul will be demanded of you. Then who will have all you have prepared?'

²⁴ "You must strain every nerve to get in through the narrow door, for I tell you many will try to get in, and will not succeed,

²⁴ for my son here was dead, and he has come to life; he was lost, and he is found!' So they began to celebrate.

³² But we had to celebrate and be glad, because your brother was dead, and has come to life, and was lost and is found!' "

¹⁹ "There was once a rich man, who used to dress in purple and fine linen, and to live in luxury every day. ²⁰ And a beggar named Lazarus was put down at his gate covered with sores ²¹ and eager to satisfy his hunger with what was thrown away from the rich man's table. Why, the very dogs came and licked his sores. ²² And it came about that the beggar died and was carried away by the angels to the companionship of Abraham, and the rich man too died and was buried. ²³ And in Hades he looked up, tormented as he was, and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus beside him. ²⁴ And he called to him and said, 'Father Abraham! take pity on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in torment, here in the flames!' ²⁵ And Abraham said, 'My child, remember that you received your blessings in your lifetime, and Lazarus had his misfortunes in his; and now he is being comforted here, while you are in anguish.

⁹ To some who were confident of their own uprightness, and thought nothing of others, he used this illustration: ¹⁰ "Two men went up to the Temple to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other a tax-collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood up and uttered this prayer to himself: 'O God, I thank you that I am not like other men, greedy, dishonest, or adulterous, like that tax-collector.

¹⁴ I tell you, it was he who went back to his house with God's approval, and not the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the man who humbles himself will be exalted."

³⁸ and to say, "Blessed is the king who comes in the Lord's name, Peace be in heaven and glory on high!"

²⁴ They will fall by the edge of the sword, and be carried off as prisoners among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the heathen, until the time of the heathen comes.

⁷ He came to give testimony, to testify to the light, so that everyone might come to believe in it through him.

²⁹ The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and he said, "There is God's lamb, who is to remove the world's sin!

¹ So when the Lord learned that the Pharisees had been told that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— ² though it was not Jesus himself who baptized them, but his disciples— ³ he left Judea and went back again to Galilee.

¹¹ She said to him, "You have nothing to draw water with, sir, and the well is deep. Where can you get your living water?

¹⁷ The woman answered, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, ¹⁸ "You are right when you say you have no husband, for you have had five husbands and the man you are now living with is not your husband. What you say is true."

²² You worship something you know nothing about; we know what we worship, for salvation comes from the Jews.

³¹ So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide by what I teach, you are really disciples of mine,

¹⁶ I have other sheep too that do not belong to this fold. I must lead them too, and they will obey my voice, and they will all become one flock, with one shepherd.

³² and if I am lifted up from the ground, I will draw all men to myself."

⁴⁰ "He has made their eyes blind and their minds dull, To keep them from seeing with their eyes, and understanding with their minds, And turning to me to be cured."

² Any branch of mine that does not bear fruit he trims away, and he prunes every branch that bears fruit, to make it bear more.

⁴ You must remain united to me and I will remain united to you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself unless it remains united to the vine, you cannot unless you remain united to me. ⁵ I am the vine, you are the branches. Anyone who remains united to me, with me united to him, will be very fruitful, for you cannot do anything apart from me. ⁶ Anyone who does not remain united to me is thrown away like a branch and withers up, and they gather them and throw them into the fire and burn them.

⁶ Anyone who does not remain united to me is thrown away like a branch and withers up, and they gather them and throw them into the fire and burn them. ⁷ If you remain united to me and my words remain in your hearts, ask for whatever you please and you shall have it. ⁸ When you are very fruitful and show yourselves to be disciples of mine, my Father is honored. ⁹ I have loved you just as the Father has loved me. You must retain my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commands you will retain my love, just as I have observed the Father's commands and retain his love.

³⁹ for the promise of it belongs to you and your children, as well as to all those far away whom the Lord our God calls to him."

¹⁷ Yet I know, brothers, that you did not know what you were doing, any more than your leaders did;

²⁶ It was to you that God first sent his servant after he had raised him from the dead, to bless you by making every one of you turn from his wickedness."

⁴⁰ for they said to Aaron, 'Make us gods to march in front of us, for as for this Moses, who brought us out of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him!'

¹⁵ The Lord said to him, "Go! This man is the means I have chosen for carrying my name among the heathen and their kings, and among the descendants of Israel.

²³ When he reached there and saw the favor God had shown them, he was delighted, and encouraged them all to be resolute and steadfast in their devotion to the Lord,

² As they were engaged in worshiping the Lord and in fasting, the holy Spirit said, "Set Barnabas and Saul apart for me, for the work to which I have called them."

⁴² As they were going out, the people begged to have all this said to them again on the following Sabbath,

⁴⁵ But when the Jews saw the crowd, they were very jealous, and they contradicted what Paul said and abused him. ⁴⁶ Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out plainly, and said, "God's message had to be told to you first, but since you thrust it off and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we now turn to the heathen.

⁴⁶ Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out plainly, and said, "God's message had to be told to you first, but since you thrust it off and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we now turn to the heathen.

⁴⁶ Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out plainly, and said, "God's message had to be told to you first, but since you thrust it off and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we now turn to the heathen. ⁴⁷ For these are the orders the Lord has given us: " 'I have made you a light for the heathen, To be the means of salvation to the very ends of the earth!' "

⁴⁷ For these are the orders the Lord has given us: " 'I have made you a light for the heathen, To be the means of salvation to the very ends of the earth!' " ⁴⁸ When the heathen heard this they were delighted, and praised God's message, and all who were destined for eternal life believed,

⁴⁸ When the heathen heard this they were delighted, and praised God's message, and all who were destined for eternal life believed,

² But the Jews who refused their message stirred up the heathen and poisoned their minds against the brothers.

²² reassuring the disciples and encouraging them to stand by the faith and reminding them that we have to undergo many hardships to get into the Kingdom of God.

¹⁸ who has been making this known from of old.'

²⁵ nor is he waited on by human hands as though he were in need of anything, for he himself gives all men life and breath and everything. ²⁶ From one forefather he has created every nation of mankind, and made them live all over the face of the earth, fixing their appointed times and the limits of their lands,

²⁸ For it is through union with him that we live and move and exist, as some of your poets have said, " 'For we are also his offspring.'

⁶ But as they contradicted and abused him, he shook his clothes in protest, and said to them, "Your blood be on your own heads! I am not to blame for it! After this I will go to the heathen."

³ "I am a Jew, and I was born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but was brought up here in this city, and thoroughly educated under the teaching of Gamaliel in the Law of our forefathers. I was zealous for God, just as all of you are today.

¹⁸ and saw him saying to me, 'Make haste and leave Jerusalem at once, for they will not accept your evidence about me.' ¹⁹ And I said, 'Lord, they know that I used to go through one synagogue after another, and to imprison and flog those who believed in you, ²⁰ and when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I stood by and approved it, and took charge of the clothes of the men who killed him.' ²¹ But he said to me, 'Go! I will send you far away to the heathen.' "

²¹ But he said to me, 'Go! I will send you far away to the heathen.' "

⁴ The way I lived from my youth up, spending my early life among my own nation and at Jerusalem, is well known to all Jews,

¹⁷ I will save you from your people and from the heathen, to whom I will send you ¹⁸ to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light and from Satan's control to God, so that they may have their sins forgiven and have a place among those who are consecrated through faith in me.'

²⁴ Some of them were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe. ²⁵ As they could not agree among themselves, they started to leave, when Paul added one last word. "The holy Spirit put it finely," he said, "when it said to your forefathers through the prophet Isaiah, ²⁶ " 'Go to this Nation and say to them, "You will listen, and listen, and never understand, And you will look, and look, and never see!

²⁶ " 'Go to this Nation and say to them, "You will listen, and listen, and never understand, And you will look, and look, and never see! ²⁷ For this nation's mind has grown dull, And they hear faintly with their ears, And they have shut their eyes, So as never to see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their minds, and turn back, And let me cure them!" ' ²⁸ "Understand then that this message of God's salvation has been sent to the heathen. They will listen to it!"

¹³ I want you to understand, brothers, that I have often intended to come to see you (though thus far I have been prevented) in order to produce some results among you, as well as among the rest of the heathen.

²¹ for, though they knew God, they have not honored him as God or given thanks to him, but they have indulged in futile speculations, until their stupid minds have become dark.

⁴ Do you think so lightly of his wealth of kindness, forbearance, and patience, and fail to see that God's kindness ought to induce you to repent?

⁴ Do you think so lightly of his wealth of kindness, forbearance, and patience, and fail to see that God's kindness ought to induce you to repent? ⁵ But in your obstinacy and impenitence you are storing up wrath for yourself on the Day of Wrath, when the justice of God will burst forth.

⁷ Those who by persistently doing right strive for glory, honor, and immortality will have eternal life,

³ What if some of them have shown a lack of faith? Can their lack of it nullify the faithfulness of God? ⁴ By no means! God must prove true, though every man be false; as the Scripture says, "That you may be shown to be upright in what you say, And win your case when you go into court."

⁹ What does this mean? Are we Jews at a disadvantage? Not at all. We have already charged Jews and Greeks all alike with being under the control of sin.

²² It is God's way of uprightness and comes through having faith in Jesus Christ, and it is for all who have faith, without distinction.

²⁷ Then what becomes of our boasting? It is shut out. On what principle? What a man does? No, but whether a man has faith.

²⁷ Then what becomes of our boasting? It is shut out. On what principle? What a man does? No, but whether a man has faith. ²⁸ For we hold that a man is made upright by faith; the observance of the Law has nothing to do with it.

⁴ Now paying a workman is not considered a favor, but an obligation, ⁵ but a man who has no work to offer, but has faith in him who can make the ungodly upright, has his faith credited to him as uprightness.

¹⁶ That is why it all turns upon faith; it is to make it a matter of God's favor, so that the promise may hold good for all Abraham's descendants, not only those who are adherents of the Law, but also those who share the faith of Abraham. For he is the father of all of us;

¹ So as we have been made upright by faith, let us live in peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² by whom we have been introduced through faith to the favor of God that we now enjoy, and let us glory in our hope of sharing the glory of God.

¹⁰ If, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, it is far more certain that now that we are reconciled we shall be saved through sharing in his life!

¹⁰ If, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, it is far more certain that now that we are reconciled we shall be saved through sharing in his life! ¹¹ More than that, we actually glory in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom we owe our reconciliation.

²⁰ Then law slipped in, and multiplied the offense. But greatly as sin multiplied, God's mercy has far surpassed it, ²¹ so that just as sin had reigned through death, mercy might reign through uprightness and bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

¹⁵ What follows, then? Are we to sin, because we live not under law but under mercy? Certainly not!

²⁸ We know that in everything God works with those who love him, whom he has called in accordance with his purpose, to bring about what is good.

²⁸ We know that in everything God works with those who love him, whom he has called in accordance with his purpose, to bring about what is good. ²⁹ For those whom he had marked out from the first he predestined to be made like his Son, so that he should be the eldest of many brothers; ³⁰ and those whom he has predestined he calls, and those whom he calls he makes upright, and those whom he makes upright he glorifies.

³² Will not he who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, with that gift give us everything?

³ for I could wish myself accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my natural kindred.

⁵ and the patriarchs, and from them physically Christ came—God who is over all be blessed forever! Amen. ⁶ Not that God's message has failed. For not everybody who is descended from Israel really belongs to Israel,

¹¹ For before the children were born or had done anything either good or bad, in order to carry out God's purpose of selection, which depends not on what men do but on his calling them,

¹⁸ So he has mercy on anyone he pleases, and hardens the heart of anyone he pleases.

²² Then what if God, though he wanted to display his anger and show his power, has shown great patience toward the objects of his anger, already ripe for destruction, ²³ so as to show all the wealth of his glory in dealing with the objects of his mercy, whom he has prepared from the beginning to share his glory,

²³ so as to show all the wealth of his glory in dealing with the objects of his mercy, whom he has prepared from the beginning to share his glory,

²⁷ And Isaiah cries out about Israel, "Although the sons of Israel are as numerous as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved,

³¹ while Israel, straining after a law that should bring uprightness, did not come up to it. ³² And why? Because they did not seek it through faith, but through doing certain things. They stumbled over that stone that makes people stumble,

³ For in their ignorance of God's way of uprightness and in the attempt to set up one of their own, they refused to conform to God's way of uprightness.

¹⁶ It is true, they have not all accepted the good news, for Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed what we have told?"

¹⁹ But I ask again, did Israel fail to understand? Why, to begin with, Moses said, "I will make you jealous of what is no nation at all, I will exasperate you at a senseless nation."

¹ I ask then, has God repudiated his people? By no means. Why, I am an Israelite myself, I am descended from Abraham, and I belong to the tribe of Benjamin.

¹ I ask then, has God repudiated his people? By no means. Why, I am an Israelite myself, I am descended from Abraham, and I belong to the tribe of Benjamin. ² God has not repudiated his people, which he had marked out from the first. Do you not know what the Scripture says in speaking of Elijah, how he appealed to God against Israel?

⁵ So too at the present time there is a remnant selected by God's mercy. ⁶ But if it is by his mercy, it is not for anything they have done. Otherwise, his mercy would not be mercy at all. ⁷ What follows? Israel failed to get what it sought, but those whom God selected got it.

⁷ What follows? Israel failed to get what it sought, but those whom God selected got it.

⁷ What follows? Israel failed to get what it sought, but those whom God selected got it. ⁸ The rest became callous; as the Scripture says, "God has thrown them into a state of spiritual insensibility, with eyes that cannot see and cars that cannot hear, that has lasted down to this day."

⁸ The rest became callous; as the Scripture says, "God has thrown them into a state of spiritual insensibility, with eyes that cannot see and cars that cannot hear, that has lasted down to this day."

¹¹ I ask then, has their stumbling led to their absolute ruin? By no means. Through their false step salvation has gone to the heathen, so as to make the Israelites jealous.

¹¹ I ask then, has their stumbling led to their absolute ruin? By no means. Through their false step salvation has gone to the heathen, so as to make the Israelites jealous. ¹² But if their false step has so enriched the world, and their defeat has so enriched the heathen, how much more good the addition of their full number will do!

¹² But if their false step has so enriched the world, and their defeat has so enriched the heathen, how much more good the addition of their full number will do!

¹⁴ in the hope of making my countrymen jealous, and thus saving some of them. ¹⁵ For if their rejection has meant the reconciling of the world, what can the acceptance of them mean but life from the dead?

¹⁷ If some of the branches have been broken off, and you who were only a wild olive shoot have been grafted in, in place of them, and made to share the richness of the olive's root,

¹⁷ If some of the branches have been broken off, and you who were only a wild olive shoot have been grafted in, in place of them, and made to share the richness of the olive's root, ¹⁸ you must not look down upon the branches. If you do, remember that you do not support the root; the root supports you.

¹⁸ you must not look down upon the branches. If you do, remember that you do not support the root; the root supports you. ¹⁹ "But," you will say, "branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in!" ²⁰ That is true; but it was for their want of faith that they were broken off, and it is through your faith that you stand where you do. You ought not to feel proud; you ought to be afraid,

²³ Those others too, if they do not cling to their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. ²⁴ For if you were cut from a wild olive and unnaturally grafted upon a cultivated one, how much easier it will be to graft them upon the olive to which they properly belong! ²⁵ For to keep you from thinking too well of yourselves, brothers, I do not want you to miss this secret, that only partial insensibility has come upon Israel, to last until all the heathen have come in,

²⁸ From the point of view of the good news they are treated as enemies of God on your account; but from the point of view of God's choice, they are dear to him because of their forefathers,

³⁰ For just as you once disobeyed God, but now have had mercy shown you because they disobeyed, ³¹ so they are now disobedient in order that they in turn may experience the same mercy as you.

³³ How inexhaustible God's resources, wisdom, and knowledge are! How unfathomable his decisions are, and how untraceable his ways!

¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another. Do not be too ambitious, but accept humble tasks. Do not be conceited.

¹⁶ in making me a minister of Christ Jesus among the heathen, to act as a priest of God's good news, to see that the heathen are an acceptable sacrifice, consecrated by the holy Spirit. ¹⁷ So as a follower of Christ Jesus I have reason to be proud of my work for God. ¹⁸ For I will venture to speak only of what Christ has accomplished through me in winning the heathen to obedience, by word and action, ¹⁹ by the force of signs and marvels, and by the power of the holy Spirit, with the result that I have completed the preaching of the good news of Christ all the way from Jerusalem around to Illyricum.

²⁵ To him who can make you strong by the good news I bring and the preaching about Jesus Christ, through the disclosure of the secret kept back for long ages but now revealed,

²⁷ to the one wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ. Amen.

²¹ For since in God's providence the world with all its wisdom did not come to know God, God chose, through the folly of the gospel message, to save those who had faith in him.

¹⁶ For who has ever known the Lord's thoughts, so that he can instruct him? But we share the thoughts of Christ.

⁷ For who sees anything special in you? And what have you got that you have not been given? But if it has been given you, why do you boast as though it had not been?

² Do you not know that the Christians are to be the judges of the world? And if the world is to come before you for judgment, are you unfit to decide the most trivial cases?

⁹ Do you not know that wrongdoers will not have any share in God's kingdom? Do not let anyone mislead you. People who are immoral or idolaters or adulterers or sensual or given to unnatural vice ¹⁰ or thieves or greedy—drunkards, abusive people, robbers—will not have any share in God's kingdom. ¹¹ Some of you used to be like that; but you have washed it all away, you have been consecrated, you have become upright, by the power of our Lord Jesus Christ and through the Spirit of our God.

¹⁴ For the husband who is not a believer is consecrated through union with his wife, and the woman who is not a believer is consecrated through union with her Christian husband, for otherwise your children would be unblessed, but, as it is, they are consecrated.

¹⁶ For how do you wives know whether you will save your husbands? Or how do you husbands know whether you will save your wives?

²⁵ About unmarried women I have no command of the Lord to give you, but I will give you my opinion as that of one on whom through the Lord's mercy you can depend.

⁶ yet for us there is just one God, the Father, who is the source of all things, and for whom we live, and just one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom everything was made and through whom we live.

²⁰ To the Jews I have become like a Jew, to win Jews over; to men under the Law I have become like a man under the Law, though I am not myself under the Law, so as to win over those who are under the Law. ²¹ To those who have no law I have become like a man without any law—though I am not without the law of God, but under the law of Christ—so as to win over those who are without any law. ²² To the overscrupulous I have become overscrupulous, so as to win the overscrupulous; I have become everything to everybody, so as by all means to save some of them.

¹ For I would not have you forget, brothers, that though our forefathers were all protected by the cloud, and all passed safely through the sea,

¹ For I would not have you forget, brothers, that though our forefathers were all protected by the cloud, and all passed safely through the sea, ² and in the cloud and the sea all, as it were, accepted baptism as followers of Moses, ³ and all ate the same supernatural food ⁴ and drank the same supernatural drink— for they used to drink from a supernatural rock which attended them, and the rock was really Christ— ⁵ still most of them disappointed God, for they were struck down in the desert. ⁶ Now these things happened to warn us, so that we should not long for what is evil as they did. ⁷ You must not become idolaters, like some of them, for the Scripture says, "The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to dance." ⁸ Let us not practice immorality, like some of them, twenty-three thousand of whom fell dead in one day, ⁹ Let us not try the Lord's patience too far, as some of them did, for they were killed for it by the snakes. ¹⁰ You must not grumble, as some of them did, for they were destroyed for it by the destroying angel. ¹¹ These things happened to them as a warning to others, but they were written down to instruct us, in whose days the ages have reached their climax. ¹² So the man who thinks he can stand must be on his guard against a fall.

¹² So the man who thinks he can stand must be on his guard against a fall.

¹⁹ What am I saying then? That there is any such thing as being offered to an idol, or any such thing as an idol?

¹² For just as woman was made from man, man is born of woman, and both like everything else really come from God.

¹ About spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be misinformed.

² and through which you are to be saved, if you hold on, unless your faith has been all for nothing.

¹⁰ But by God's favor I have become what I am, and the favor he showed me has not gone for nothing, but I have worked harder than any of them, although it was not really I but the favor God showed me.

¹³ Be on the watch. Stand firm in your faith. Act like men. Show yourselves strong.

²⁴ Not that we are the masters of you and your faith; we are working with you to make you happy, for in your faith you stand firm enough.

¹⁴ Their minds were dulled. For to this day, that same veil remains unlifted, when they read the old agreement, for only through union with Christ is it removed.

¹⁴ Their minds were dulled. For to this day, that same veil remains unlifted, when they read the old agreement, for only through union with Christ is it removed.

¹⁴ Their minds were dulled. For to this day, that same veil remains unlifted, when they read the old agreement, for only through union with Christ is it removed. ¹⁵ Why, to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil hangs over their minds,

¹⁵ Why, to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil hangs over their minds, ¹⁶ but "whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is removed."

¹⁶ but "whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is removed."

¹ So since by the mercy of God I am engaged in this service, I never lose heart.

⁴ In their case, the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep the light of the good news of the glorious Christ, the likeness of God, from dawning upon them.

¹⁸ All this comes from God, who through Christ has reconciled me to himself, and has commissioned me to proclaim this reconciliation— ¹⁹ how God through Christ reconciled the world to himself, refusing to count men's offenses against them, and intrusted me with the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ It is for Christ, therefore, that I am an envoy, seeing that God makes his appeal through me. On Christ's behalf I beg you to be reconciled to God.

⁵ I destroy arguments and every obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God, and I take captive every thought and make it obey Christ,

²² If they are Hebrews, so am I! If they are Israelites, so am I! If they are descended from Abraham, so am I!

⁵ To him be glory forever and ever! Amen.

¹⁶ to reveal his Son to me, so that I might preach the good news about him to the heathen, immediately, instead of consulting with any human being,

² It was in obedience to a revelation that I went. I laid before them the good news that I preach to the heathen, presenting it privately to the leaders, for fear my efforts might be or might have been futile.

⁷ On the contrary, when they saw that I had been intrusted with the good news for the heathen, just as Peter had been intrusted with it for the Jews— ⁸ for he who actuated Peter to be an apostle to the Jews also actuated me to be one to the heathen— ⁹ and when they recognized the favor God had shown me, James, Cephas, and John, who were regarded as pillars of the church, pledged Barnabas and me their co-operation, with the understanding that we should work among the heathen and they among the Jews.

¹⁵ We who are Jews by birth, and not sinful heathen,

²¹ I refuse to nullify the mercy of God. For if uprightness could be secured through law, then Christ died for nothing!

²² But the Scripture describes all mankind as the prisoners of sin, so that the promised blessing might on the ground of faith in Jesus Christ be given to those who have faith.

²⁹ And if you belong to Christ, then you are true descendants of Abraham and his heirs under the promise.

⁴ You people who propose to be made upright by law have finished with Christ; you have lost your hold upon God's favor.

⁹ Let us not get tired of doing right, for at the proper time we shall reap, if we do not give out.

⁴ Through him he chose us out before the creation of the world, to be consecrated and above reproach in his sight in love. ⁵ He foreordained us to become his sons through Jesus Christ, in fulfilment of his generous purpose, ⁶ so that we might praise the splendid blessing which he has given us through his beloved Son. ⁷ It is through union with him and through his blood that we have been delivered and our offenses forgiven,

¹⁰ and in arranging, when the time should have fully come, that everything in heaven and on earth should be unified in Christ—

¹ You also were dead because of the offenses and sins ² in the midst of which you once lived under the control of the present age of the world, and the master-spirit of the air, who is still at work among the disobedient.

⁴ But God is so rich in mercy that because of the great love he had for us, ⁵ he made us, dead as we were through our offenses, live again with the Christ. It is by his mercy that you have been saved. ⁶ And he raised us with Christ, and through our union with Christ Jesus made us sit down with him in heaven, ⁷ to show the incomparable wealth of his mercy throughout the ages to come by his goodness to us through Christ Jesus.

⁷ to show the incomparable wealth of his mercy throughout the ages to come by his goodness to us through Christ Jesus. ⁸ For it is by his mercy that you have been saved through faith. It is not by your own action, it is the gift of God. ⁹ It has not been earned, so that no one can boast of it.

¹¹ So remember that you were once physically heathen, and called uncircumcised by those who called themselves circumcised, though only physically, by human hands. ¹² At that time you had no connection with Christ, you were aliens to the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the agreements about God's promise; with no hope and no God in all the world. ¹³ But now through your union with Christ Jesus you who were once far away have through the blood of Christ been brought near.

¹⁹ So you are no longer foreigners or strangers, but you are fellow-citizens of God's people and members of his family.

¹⁹ So you are no longer foreigners or strangers, but you are fellow-citizens of God's people and members of his family. ²⁰ You are built upon the apostles and prophets as your foundation, and Christ Jesus himself is the cornerstone.

²⁰ You are built upon the apostles and prophets as your foundation, and Christ Jesus himself is the cornerstone. ²¹ Through him every part of the building is closely united and grows into a temple sacred through its relation to the Lord,

³ and how the secret was made known to me by revelation, as I have just briefly written. ⁴ As you read that, you will be able to understand the insight I have into the secret of the Christ

⁶ that through union with Christ Jesus the heathen are fellow-heirs with the Jews, belong to the same body and share the promise with them, through the good news

⁸ To me, the very least of all his people, this favor has been given, of preaching to the heathen the inexhaustible wealth of the Christ, ⁹ and making clear how the secret purpose is to be worked out which has been hidden away for ages in God the creator of all things, ¹⁰ so that the many-sided wisdom of God may now through the church be made known to the rulers and authorities in heaven,

¹⁶ and beg him out of his wealth of glory to strengthen you mightily through his Spirit in your inner nature

¹⁸ so that you and all God's people may be strong enough to grasp what breadth, length, height, and depth mean,

²¹ be glory through the church and through Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever. Amen.

⁶ one God and Father of all, who is above us all, pervades us all, and is within us all. ⁷ But each one of us has been given mercy in Christ's generous measure. ⁸ So it says, "When he went up on high, he led a host of captives, And gave gifts to mankind." ⁹ What does "he went up" mean, except that he had first gone down to the under parts of the earth? ¹⁰ It is he who went down who has also gone up above all the heavens, to fill the universe.

¹⁸ They are estranged from the life of God because of the ignorance that exists among them and their obstinacy of heart,

¹⁸ But what difference does it make? All that matters is that, in one way or another, from false motives or honest ones, Christ is being made known; I am glad of that. Yes, and I expect to be glad,

²² But if living on here means having my labor bear fruit, I cannot tell which to choose.

¹² So, my dear friends, as you have always been obedient, with reverence and awe make every effort to insure your salvation, not simply as though I were with you, but all the more because I am away.

⁵ I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a descendant of Israel. I belong to the tribe of Benjamin. I am a Hebrew, and the son of Hebrews. As to the Law, I was a Pharisee;

²⁰ Glory to our God and Father forever and ever. Amen.

¹⁵ He is a likeness of the unseen God, born before any creature, ¹⁶ for it was through him that everything was created in heaven and on earth, the seen and the unseen, angelic thrones, dominions, principalities, authorities—all things were created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He existed before all things and he sustains and embraces them all.

²⁰ and through him to reconcile to God all things on earth or in heaven, making this peace through his blood shed on the cross. ²¹ And it has brought you, who were once estranged from him, hostile in attitude and engaged in doing wrong (though now he has reconciled you

²⁷ to whom God has chosen to make known among the heathen how glorious this mystery of Christ in you, the promise of glorification, really is.

² that your hearts may be cheered. I want you to be united by love, and to have all the benefit of assured knowledge in coming to know Christ— ³ that divine mystery in which all treasures of wisdom and knowledge are to be found.

⁷ You must be rooted and built up in him and made strong in faith, just as you were taught to be, overflowing with it in your gratitude.

¹³ Yes, you who were dead through your misdeeds and physically uncircumcised, God raised to life with Christ. He forgave us all our misdeeds,

⁷ And you once practiced them as others do, when you lived that old earthly life.

¹⁵ who killed the Lord Jesus and persecuted the prophets and us; who displease God, and in their hostility to all mankind ¹⁶ try to keep us from speaking to the heathen so that they may be saved, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But God's wrath has overtaken them at last!

⁵ That was why, when I could not bear it any longer, I sent to find out about your faith, for I was afraid that the tempter might have tempted you and all our labor might be lost.

⁸ for now I can really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord.

⁴ the adversary of every being that is called a god or an object of worship, and so overbearing toward them as to enter God's sanctuary and take his seat there, proclaiming himself to be God—

¹⁰ and full of wicked deception for men who are going to destruction, because they refused to love the truth and be saved. ¹¹ This is why God sends upon them a misleading influence, to make them believe what is false, ¹² so that all who have refused to believe the truth but have preferred disobedience may be condemned. ¹³ We always have to thank God for you, brothers whom the Lord so loves, because God chose you from the beginning to be saved through consecration by the Spirit and through faith in the truth, ¹⁴ and called you to it through our preaching of the good news, so that you may share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁷ To the eternal King, immortal and invisible, the one God, be honor and glory forever and ever! Amen. ¹⁸ These are the instructions that I intrust to you, my son Timothy, and they are in accordance with the predictions made long ago about you. Fight the good fight with their aid,

⁴ who wants all men to be saved and to come to know the truth.

⁴ who wants all men to be saved and to come to know the truth. ⁵ For there is but one God, and one intermediary between God and men—the man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who gave himself as a ransom for all men. This is what was testified to at the proper times, ⁷ and I was appointed a herald and apostle of it—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—to teach the heathen faith and truth.

¹⁶ Look out for yourself and for your teaching. Persevere in your work, for if you do you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.

¹⁶ who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. ¹⁷ Charge the rich of this world not to be arrogant, nor to set their hopes on such an uncertain thing as riches, but on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

¹⁷ Charge the rich of this world not to be arrogant, nor to set their hopes on such an uncertain thing as riches, but on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. ¹⁸ Charge them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, open-handed and generous, ¹⁹ storing up a valuable treasure for themselves for the future, so as to grasp the life that is life indeed.

⁹ He saved us and called us to a consecrated life, not for anything we had done, but of his own accord and out of the mercy which he bestowed upon us ages ago through Christ Jesus,

¹¹ of which I have been appointed a herald, apostle and teacher. ¹² This is why I am suffering as I am, but I am not ashamed of it, for I know whom I have trusted and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have intrusted to him for that Day.

¹⁰ For that reason I am ready to submit to anything for the sake of those whom God has chosen, so that they too may gain the salvation that comes through Christ Jesus and brings eternal glory.

³ unfeeling, irreconcilable, slanderous, with no self-control, brutal, with no love for what is good, ⁴ treacherous, reckless, conceited, caring more for pleasure than for God, ⁵ keeping up the forms of religion, but resisting its influence. Avoid such people.

¹⁸ The Lord will rescue me from any harm and bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.

¹⁴ He gave himself for us, to free us from all wickedness and purify for himself a people of his own, eager to do right.

³ For we ourselves were once without understanding, disobedient, deluded, enslaved to all kinds of passions and pleasures. Our minds were full of malice and envy. Men hated us and we hated one another. ⁴ But when the goodness and kindness of God our Savior were revealed, ⁵ he saved us, not for any upright actions we had performed, but from his own mercy, through the bath of regeneration and renewal by the holy Spirit,

⁵ he saved us, not for any upright actions we had performed, but from his own mercy, through the bath of regeneration and renewal by the holy Spirit, ⁶ which he has poured out upon us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that we might be made upright through his mercy and become possessors of eternal life in fulfilment of our hope.

¹² and now that I send him back to you, it is like sending my very heart.

¹ It was little by little and in different ways that God spoke in old times to our forefathers through the prophets,

² For if the message delivered by angels proved to be authentic, and every violation or neglect of it led to a corresponding penalty,

¹⁰ For it was appropriate that he who is the great First Cause of the universe should, in guiding his many children to his glorious salvation, make their leader in it fully qualified through what he suffered.

⁶ but Christ's faithfulness was that of a son set over the house of God. And we are that house, if we keep up our courage and our triumphant hope to the very end.

¹² See to it, my brothers, that no one of you has a wicked, unbelieving heart, that turns away from the ever-living God,

¹⁴ For we are true partners with Christ if we really keep the conviction that we had at first unshaken to the very end.

¹⁹ So we see that it was their unbelief that kept them from being admitted to it.

⁶ Since then it is still true that somebody will be admitted to it, and those who had a gospel preached to them before were not admitted because of their disobedience,

¹¹ Let us, therefore, make every effort to be admitted to that Rest, so that none of us may fail through such disobedience as theirs.

²¹ for God took no oath in appointing the old priests, but he made oath to his appointment, when he said to him, "The Lord has sworn it and he will not change; You are a priest forever!"

⁸ But in his dissatisfaction with them he says, " 'See! the time is coming,' says the Lord, 'When I will conclude a new agreement with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, ⁹ Not like the one that I made with their forefathers, On the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out from the land of Egypt, For they would not abide by their agreement with me, So I paid no attention to them,' says the Lord. ¹⁰ 'For this is the agreement that I will make with the house of Israel, In those later days,' says the Lord; 'I will put my laws into their minds, And write them on their hearts, And they will have me for their God, And I will have them for my people. ¹¹ And they will not have to teach their townsmen and their brothers to know the Lord, For they will all know me, From the lowest to the highest. ¹² For I will be merciful to their misdeeds, And I will no longer remember their sins.' "

¹⁶ " 'This is the agreement that I will make with them In those later days,' says the Lord, 'I will put my laws into their minds, And write them upon their hearts,' " he goes on,

²³ Let us hold unwaveringly to the hope that we profess, for he who has given us his promise may be trusted.

³⁵ You must not lose your courage, for it will be richly rewarded, ³⁶ but you will need endurance if you are to carry out God's will and receive the blessing he has promised. ³⁷ For "In a very little while He who is to come will come and not delay, ³⁸ And he whom I accept as righteous will find life through his faith. But if a man draws back, my heart can take no pleasure in him." ³⁹ But we will not draw back and perish, but we will have faith and save our souls.

¹⁷ For you know how, when he afterward wished to claim the blessing, he was refused it, although he begged for it with tears, for he had no opportunity to repent of what he had done.

²¹ fit you by every blessing to do his will, and through Jesus Christ carry out in us what will please him. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.

¹⁸ Of his own accord he brought us into being through the message of truth, so that we might be a kind of first-fruits among his creatures.

¹⁹ Do you believe in one God? Very well! So do the demons, and they shudder.

⁶ But he gives all the greater blessing. As the Scripture says, "God opposes haughty persons, but he blesses humble-minded ones."

²⁰ you may be sure that whoever brings a sinner back from his misguided way will save the man's soul from death, and cover up a host of sins.

² whom God the Father has chosen and predestined by the consecration of the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ, and to be sprinkled with his blood; God bless you and give you perfect peace.

¹⁷ And if you address him as Father who judges everyone impartially by what he does, you must live reverently all the time you stay here,

¹⁰ you who were once "no people" but are now "God's people"; once "unpitied" but now "pitied indeed."

¹¹ If one preaches, let him do it like one who utters the words of God; if one does some service, let him do it as with strength which God supplies, so that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

⁵ You younger men must show deference to the elders. And you must all clothe yourselves in humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud, but shows mercy to the humble. ⁶ Submit humbly, therefore, to God's mighty hand, so that he may in due time raise you up.

⁹ Resist him and be strong in the faith, for you know that your brotherhood all over the world is having the same experience of suffering.

¹¹ His be the dominion forever. Amen. ¹² By Silvanus, our faithful brother, as I think him, I have written you this short letter to encourage you and bear my testimony that this is what the true mercy of God means. Stand fast in it.

⁴ For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but plunged them into Tartarus, and committed them to dark dungeons to await their doom,

⁴ For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but plunged them into Tartarus, and committed them to dark dungeons to await their doom, ⁵ and if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others, when he brought the flood upon the godless world; ⁶ and if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and overwhelmed them with ashes, as a warning to ungodly men of what was to come, ⁷ and saved the upright Lot who was so distressed by the immoral conduct of unprincipled men— ⁸ for as long as that upright man lived among them, day after day his upright soul was tormented by what he saw and heard of their lawless actions— ⁹ then the Lord knows how to rescue God-fearing people from trial and to punish wrongdoers while they are being kept for the Day of Judgment,

¹⁷ Such men are dried-up springs, clouds driven before the storm, and they are doomed to utter darkness.

⁸ But do not overlook this one fact, dear friends, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like one day.

¹⁸ You must grow in the blessing and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Glory to him now and forever.

¹⁹ They have gone out from our number, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had, they would have stayed with us. It was to make it clear that none of them really belonged to us that they withdrew.

⁵ Now I want to remind you, though you know it all already, that he who brought the people safely out of the land of Egypt afterward destroyed the ones who did not believe, ⁶ and the angels who neglected their responsibilities and abandoned their homes he has put in everlasting chains to be kept in darkness for the judgment of the great Day,

¹³ wild sea waves foaming up their own shame; wandering stars doomed forever to utter darkness.

²⁰ But you, dear friends, must build yourselves up on the foundation of your most holy faith and pray in the holy Spirit, ²¹ and keep in the love of God, and wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, to bring you to eternal life.

²⁵ to the one God our Savior be glory, majesty, power, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord now and forever and ever. Amen.

⁵ and from Jesus Christ the trustworthy witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the sovereign of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has released us from our sins by his blood ⁶ he has made us a kingdom of priests for his God and Father—to him be glory and power forever. Amen.

⁵ So remember how far you have fallen, and repent and do as you did at first, or else I will come to you and take your lampstand from its place, if you do not repent.

¹⁷ Because you say, "I am rich, I have become wealthy, I need nothing," and you do not know that it is you that are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked,

¹⁰ the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne, and worship him who lives forever and ever, and they throw down their crowns before the throne, and say, ¹¹ "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory, honor, and power, for you created all things; by your will they existed and were created."

¹² saying in a loud voice, "The Lamb that was slaughtered deserves to receive power, wealth, wisdom, might, honor, glory, and blessing." ¹³ Then I heard every creature in heaven, on earth, underneath the earth, and on the sea, and all that they contain, say, "Blessing, honor, glory, and power to him who is seated on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever!" ¹⁴ The four animals said, "Amen!" And the elders fell down and worshiped.

⁹ After that I saw a great crowd which no one could count from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes, with palm branches in their hands, ¹⁰ and they cried in a loud voice, "Our deliverance is the work of our God who is seated on the throne, and of the Lamb!"

⁷ but at the time when the seventh angel spoke, when he should blow his trumpet, then God's mysterious purpose, the good news of which he gave to his slaves the prophets, would be accomplished.

⁴ They are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.

¹¹ After three days and a half, the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror seized those who saw them.

¹⁵ Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and loud voices were heard in heaven, saying, "The sovereignty of the world has passed into the possession of our Lord and his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever."

¹⁵ Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and loud voices were heard in heaven, saying, "The sovereignty of the world has passed into the possession of our Lord and his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever." ¹⁶ Then the twenty-four elders who were seated on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, ¹⁷ saying, "We give you thanks, Lord God Almighty, who are and were, because you have assumed your great power and begun to reign. ¹⁸ The heathen were enraged, but now your anger has come, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your slaves the prophets and your people high and low who revere your name, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth!" ¹⁹ Then the temple of God in heaven was thrown open, and the chest containing his agreement was seen inside the temple, and there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a great storm of hail.

⁴ They are the men who have not been defiled by relations with women; they are celibates. It is they who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been ransomed from among men as the first-fruits for God and the Lamb,

⁷ The more she has given herself to pride and luxury the more you must give her torture and grief. Because she says to herself, 'I sit on a throne; I am not a widow, I shall never have any sorrow,'

¹ After that I heard what sounded like the loud shout of a great multitude in heaven saying, "Praise the Lord! Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God,

⁶ Then I heard what sounded like the shout of a great multitude and the noise of many waters and the sound of mighty thunders, saying, "Praise the Lord; for the Lord our God, the Almighty now reigns! ⁷ Let us be glad and triumphant and give him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.

² He seized the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, ³ and hurled him into the abyss and he closed it and sealed it over him, to keep him from leading the heathen astray any longer, until the thousand years are over; after that he has to be released for a little while. ⁴ Then I saw thrones with beings seated on them, who were empowered to act as judges. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded on account of the testimony of Jesus and the message of God, who refused to worship the animal and its statue, and would not have its mark put on their foreheads or on their hands. They were restored to life and reigned with the Christ a thousand years.

⁴ Then I saw thrones with beings seated on them, who were empowered to act as judges. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded on account of the testimony of Jesus and the message of God, who refused to worship the animal and its statue, and would not have its mark put on their foreheads or on their hands. They were restored to life and reigned with the Christ a thousand years. ⁵ The rest of the dead were not restored to life until the thousand years were over. This is the first resurrection. ⁶ Blessed and holy is the man who experiences the first resurrection! The second death has no power over them; they will be priests of God and the Christ, and reign with him for the thousand years.

⁶ It is all over!" he told me, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end I will give anyone who is thirsty water without cost from the spring of the water of life.