Jude Cross References - ISV

¹ GreetingsFrom: Jude, a servant of Jesus the Messiah, and yet a brother of James.
To: Those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept safe by Jesus, the Messiah.
² May mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance!
³ Warning about False TeachersDear friends, although I was eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I found it necessary to write to you and urge you to continue your vigorous defense of the faith that was passed down to the saints once and for all. ⁴ For some people have slipped in among you unnoticed. They were written about long ago as being deserving of this condemnation because they are ungodly. They turn the grace of our God into uncontrollable lust and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus the Messiah.
⁵ Now I want to remind you, even though you are fully aware of these things, that the Lord who once saved his people from the land of Egypt later destroyed those who did not believe. ⁶ He has also held in eternal chains those angels who did not keep their own position but abandoned their assigned place. They are held in deepest darkness for judgment on the great day. ⁷ Likewise, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities near them, which like them committed sexual sins and pursued homosexual activities, serve as an example of the punishment of eternal fire.
⁸ In a similar way, these dreamers also defile their flesh, reject the Lord’s authority, and slander his glorious beings. ⁹ Even the archangel Michael, when he argued with the devil and fought over the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him. Instead, he said, “May the Lord rebuke you!” ¹⁰ Whatever these people do not understand, they slander. Like irrational animals, they are destroyed by the very things they know by instinct. ¹¹ How terrible it will be for them! For they lived like Cain did, rushed headlong into Balaam’s error to make a profit, and destroyed themselves, as happened in Korah’s rebellion. ¹² These people are stains on your love feasts. They feast with you without any sense of awe. They are shepherds who care only for themselves. They are waterless clouds blown about by the winds. They are autumn trees that are fruitless, totally dead, and uprooted. ¹³ They are wild waves of the sea, churning up the foam of their own shame. They are wandering stars for whom the deepest darkness has been reserved forever.
¹⁴ Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied about these people when he said, “Look! The Lord has come with countless thousands of his holy ones. ¹⁵ He will judge all people and convict everyone of all the ungodly things that they have done in such an ungodly way, including all the harsh things that these ungodly sinners have said about him.” ¹⁶ These people are complainers and faultfinders, following their own desires. They say arrogant things and flatter people in order to take advantage of them.
¹⁷ Advice to the ReadersBut you, dear friends, must remember the statements and predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah. ¹⁸ They kept telling you, “In the last times there will be mockers, following their own ungodly desires.” ¹⁹ These are the people who cause divisions. They are worldly, devoid of the Spirit.
²⁰ But you, dear friends, must continue to build your most holy faith for your own benefit. Furthermore, continue to pray in the Holy Spirit. ²¹ Remain in God’s love as you look for the mercy of our Lord Jesus the Messiah, which brings eternal life. ²² Show mercy to those who have doubts. ²³ Save others by snatching them from the fire. To others, show mercy with fear, hating even the clothes stained by their sinful lives.
²⁴ Final PrayerNow to the one who is able to keep you from falling and to make you stand joyful and faultless in his glorious presence, ²⁵ to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus the Messiah, our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time and for all eternity! Amen.

³ Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;

¹⁸ Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddeus, Simon the Cananaean,

¹⁶ Judas (the son of James), and Judas Iscariot (who became a traitor).

³⁹ And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything that he has given me, but should raise it to life on the last day.

²⁸ I give them eternal life, they’ll never be lost, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ What my Father has given me is more important than anything, and no one can snatch it from the Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.”

²⁶ If anyone serves me, he must follow me. And where I am, there my servant will also be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.”

²² Judas (not Iscariot) asked him, “Lord, how is it that you are going to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?”

¹⁶ “You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. I have appointed you to go and produce fruit that will last, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you.

¹¹ I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by your Name, the Name that you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one. ¹² While I was with them, I protected them by the authority that you gave me. I guarded them, and not one of them became lost except the one who was destined for destruction, so that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

¹⁵ I’m not asking you to take them out of the world but to protect them from the evil one.

¹⁷ “Sanctify them by the truth. Your word is truth.

¹⁹ It is for their sakes that I sanctify myself, so that they, too, may be sanctified by the truth.

¹³ When they came into the city, these men went to the upstairs room where they had been staying: Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.

³² “I’m now entrusting you to God and to the message of his grace, which is able to build you up and secure for you an inheritance among all who are sanctified.

²³ For just last night an angel of God, to whom I belong and whom I serve, stood by me

¹ Greetings from PaulFrom: Paul, a servant of Jesus the Messiah, called to be an apostle and set apart for God’s gospel,

²² But now that you have been freed from sin and have become God’s slaves, the benefit you reap is sanctification, and the result is eternal life.

³⁰ And those whom he predestined, he also called; and those whom he called, he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.

²⁴ including us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but from the gentiles as well?

¹⁸ because such people are not serving the Messiah our Lord, but their own desires. By their smooth talk and flattering words they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.

² To: God’s church in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified by the Messiah Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah—their Lord and ours.

¹¹ That is what some of you were! But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus the Messiah and by the Spirit of our God.

²⁶ so that he might make it holy by cleansing it, washing it with water and the word,

¹² We comforted and encouraged you, urging you to live in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

²³ Final GreetingMay the God of peace himself make you holy in every way. And may your whole being—spirit, soul, and body—remain blameless when our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, appears.

¹³ At all times we are obligated to thank God for you, brothers who are loved by the Lord, because God chose you to be the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through faith in the truth. ¹⁴ With this purpose in mind, he called you through our proclamation of the gospel so that you would obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah.

⁹ He saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our own accomplishments, but according to his own purpose and the grace that was given to us in the Messiah Jesus before time began.

¹⁸ The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will take me safely to his heavenly kingdom. Glory belongs to him forever and ever! Amen.

¹ The Messiah is Superior to MosesTherefore, holy brothers, partners in a heavenly calling, keep your focus on Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession.

¹ GreetingsFrom: James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah.
To: The twelve tribes in the Dispersion.
Greetings.
² the people chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father through the sanctifying action of the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus, the Messiah, and to be sprinkled with his blood.
May grace and peace be yours in abundance!

⁵ Through faith you are being protected by God’s power for a salvation that is ready to be revealed at the end of this era.

⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people to be his very own and to proclaim the wonderful deeds of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

¹⁰ After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you by the Messiah Jesus to his eternal glory, will restore you, establish you, strengthen you, and support you.

¹ GreetingsFrom: Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus, the Messiah.
To: Those who have received faith that is as valuable as ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus the Messiah.

⁷ To: Everyone in Rome, loved by God and called to be holy.
May grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, be yours!

² May grace and peace be yours in abundance through full knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord!

⁴ From John to the seven churches in Asia. May grace and peace be yours from the one who is, who was, and who is coming, from the seven spirits who are in front of his throne, ⁵ and from Jesus the Messiah, the witness, the faithful one, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To the one who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood ⁶ and has made us a kingdom, priests for his God and Father, be glory and power forever and ever! Amen.

¹⁰ Then the LORD gave me the two stone tablets on which God inscribed with his own finger all the words that the LORD spoke to you on the mountain from the middle of the fire that day when you were all assembled together.

⁹ This is how you will remove the guilt of innocent blood from among you, for you must do what is right in the sight of the LORD.”

²⁵ So I rebuked them, cursed them, struck some of their men, tore out their hair, and made them take this oath in the name of God: “You are not to give your daughters to their sons nor take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.

¹⁷ But Israel will be saved by the LORD with everlasting salvation; you won’t be put to shame or disgraced ever again.”

²² Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth. For I am God, and there is no other.

³ They use their tongues like a bow. Lies rather than truth fly throughout the land. They progress from one evil to another, and they don’t know me,” declares the LORD.

¹² There is no salvation by anyone else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved.”

⁸ Stephen is ArrestedNow Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people. ⁹ But some men who belonged to the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), as well as some Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and men from Cilicia and Asia, stood up and began to debate with Stephen. ¹⁰ But they could neither refute the wisdom nor withstand the Spirit by which he kept speaking.

²² But Saul grew more and more persuasive, and continued to confound the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that this man was the Messiah.

⁴⁶ Then Paul and Barnabas boldly declared, “We had to speak God’s word to you first, but since you reject it and consider yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we are now going to turn to the gentiles. ⁴⁷ For that is what the Lord ordered us to do: ‘I have made you a light to the gentiles to be the means of salvation to the very ends of the earth.’”

³ He explained and showed them that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead: “This very Jesus whom I proclaim to you is the Messiah.”

⁴ Every Sabbath, he would speak in the synagogue, trying to persuade both Jews and Greeks. ⁵ But when Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself entirely to the word as he emphatically assured the Jews that Jesus is the Messiah. ⁶ But when they began to oppose him and insult him, he shook out his clothes in protest and told them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the gentiles.”

²⁸ He successfully refuted the Jews in public and proved by the Scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah.

²⁷ because I never shrank from telling you the whole plan of God.

²⁸ You must understand that this message about God’s salvation has been sent to the gentiles, and they will listen.”

¹⁵ However, on some points I have written to you rather boldly, both as a reminder to you and because of the grace given me by God ¹⁶ to be a minister of the Messiah Jesus to the gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering brought by gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

³ For I passed on to you the most important points that I received: The Messiah died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

⁵ But we did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might always remain with you.

²⁸ Because all of you are one in the Messiah Jesus, a person is no longer a Jew or a Greek, a slave or a free person, a male or a female.

¹¹ A Final Warning against CircumcisionLook at how large these letters are because I am writing with my own hand!

¹ Greetings from PaulFrom: Paul, an apostle of the Messiah Jesus by God’s will.
To: His holy and faithful people in Ephesus who are in union with the Messiah Jesus.

¹ Greetings from Paul and TimothyFrom: Paul and Timothy, servants of the Messiah Jesus.
To: All the holy ones in Philippi, along with their overseers and ministers, who are in union with the Messiah Jesus.

²⁷ Standing Firm in One SpiritThe only thing that matters is that you continue to live as good citizens in a manner worthy of the gospel of the Messiah. Then, whether I come to see you or whether I stay away, I may hear all about you—that you are standing firm in one spirit, struggling with one mind for the faith of the gospel,

² To: The holy and faithful brothers in Colossae who are in union with the Messiah.
May grace and peace from God our Father be yours!

² As you know, we suffered persecution and were mistreated in Philippi. Yet we were encouraged by our God to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition.

¹⁸ Guidelines for Behavior in the ChurchTimothy, my child, I am instructing you in keeping with the prophecies made earlier about you, so that by following them you may continue to fight the good fight

¹² Fight the good fight for the faith. Keep holding on to eternal life, to which you were called and about which you gave a good testimony in front of many witnesses.

¹³ Hold on to the pattern of healthy teachings that you have heard from me, along with the faith and love that are in the Messiah Jesus.

⁷ I have fought the good fight. I have completed the race. I have kept the faith. ⁸ The victor’s crown of righteousness is now waiting for me, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on the day that he comes, and not only to me but also to all who eagerly wait for his appearing.

⁴ To: Titus, a genuine child in the faith that we share.
May grace and peace from God the Father and the Messiah, Jesus our Savior, be yours!

²² Final GreetingI urge you, brothers, to listen patiently to my encouraging message, for I have written you a short letter.

¹² Final GreetingThrough Silvanus, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written this short letter to encourage you and to testify that this is to be the true grace of God in which you are to stand firm!

¹² Therefore, I intend to keep on reminding you about these things, even though you already know them and are firmly established in the truth that you now have. ¹³ Yet I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I am living in this bodily tent, ¹⁴ because I know that the removal of my bodily tent will come soon, as indeed our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, has shown me. ¹⁵ And I will make every effort to see that you will always remember these things after I am gone.

¹ Be Ready for the Day of the LordDear friends, this is now the second of two letters I am writing to you, in which I have been trying to stimulate your pure minds by reminding you ² to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the commandment of our Lord and Savior spoken through your apostles.

¹⁷ Advice to the ReadersBut you, dear friends, must remember the statements and predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah.

²⁰ But you, dear friends, must continue to build your most holy faith for your own benefit. Furthermore, continue to pray in the Holy Spirit.

¹⁰ Don’t be afraid of what you are going to suffer. Look! The devil is going to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested. For ten days you will undergo suffering. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the victor’s crown of life.

¹¹ Our brothers conquered him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they did not cling to their lives even in the face of death.

⁵ Because deadly breakers engulfed me, while torrents of abuse from the ungodly overwhelmed me.

¹ BOOK I (Psalms 1-41)
The Righteous and the Wicked How blessed is the person, who does not take the advice of the wicked, who does not stand on the path with sinners, and who does not sit in the seat of mockers.

² He alone is my rock, my deliverance, and my high tower; nothing will shake me.

²⁵ While people were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.

³ And this is eternal life: to know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent—Jesus the Messiah.

²³ When he arrived, he rejoiced to see what the grace of God had done, and with hearty determination he kept encouraging all of them to remain faithful to the Lord,

²⁴ We have heard that some men, coming from us without instructions from us, have said things to trouble you and have unsettled you.

¹ No Longer Sin’s Slaves, but God’s SlavesWhat should we say, then? Should we go on sinning so that grace may increase? ² Of course not! How can we who died as far as sin is concerned go on living in it?

²¹ A potter has the right to do what he wants to with his clay, doesn’t he? He can make something for a special occasion or something for ordinary use from the same lump of clay.
²² Now if God wants to demonstrate his wrath and reveal his power, can’t he be extremely patient with the objects of his wrath that are made for destruction?

⁴ However, false brothers were secretly brought in. They slipped in to spy on the freedom we have in the Messiah Jesus so that they might enslave us.

¹³ For you, brothers, were called to freedom. Only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity to gratify your flesh, but through love make it your habit to serve one another.

¹⁴ Then we will no longer be little children, tossed like waves and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, or by clever strategies that would lead us astray.

¹⁵ At the right time, he will make him known. God is the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords. ¹⁶ He alone has endless life and lives in inaccessible light. No one has ever seen him, nor can anyone see him. Honor and eternal power belong to him! Amen.

⁶ For some of these men go into homes and deceive foolish women who are burdened with sins and swayed by all kinds of desires.

¹⁵ Everything is clean to those who are clean, but nothing is clean to those who are corrupt and unbelieving. Indeed, their very way of thinking and their consciences have been corrupted. ¹⁶ They claim to know God, but they deny him by their actions. They are detestable, disobedient, and disqualified to do anything good.

¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. ¹² It trains us to renounce ungodly living and worldly passions so that we might live sensible, honest, and godly lives in the present age

¹⁵ See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up and causes you trouble, or many of you will become defiled. ¹⁶ No one should be immoral or godless like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal.

⁸ a stone they stumble over and a rock they trip on.”They keep on stumbling because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

¹⁶ Live like free people, and do not use your freedom as an excuse for doing evil. Instead, be God’s servants.

¹⁸ “If it is hard for the righteous person to be saved, what will happen to the ungodly and sinful person?”

¹ Warning against False TeachersNow there were false prophets among the people, just as there also will be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves. ² Many people will follow their immoral ways, and because of them the way of truth will be maligned. ³ In their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. The ancient verdict against them is still in force, and their destruction is not delayed.

⁵ and if he did not spare the ancient world but protected Noah, a righteous preacher, along with seven others when he brought the flood on the world of ungodly people; ⁶ and if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and destroyed them by burning them to ashes, making them an example to ungodly people of what is going to happen to them;

¹⁰ especially those who satisfy their flesh by indulging in its passions and who despise authority.
Being bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to slander glorious beings.

¹⁸ By talking high-sounding nonsense and using sinful cravings of the flesh, they entice people who have just escaped from those who live in error. ¹⁹ Promising them freedom, they themselves are slaves to depravity, for a person is a slave to whatever conquers him.
²⁰ For if, after escaping the world’s corruptions through a full knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus, the Messiah, they are again entangled and conquered by those corruptions, then their last condition is worse than their former one. ²¹ It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to know it and turn their backs on the holy commandment that was committed to them. ²² The proverb is true that describes what has happened to them: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and “A pig that is washed goes back to wallow in the mud.”

⁷ Now by that same word, the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire and are being kept for the day when ungodly people will be judged and destroyed.

²² Who is a liar but the person who denies that Jesus is the Messiah? The person who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist.

¹⁵ He will judge all people and convict everyone of all the ungodly things that they have done in such an ungodly way, including all the harsh things that these ungodly sinners have said about him.”

⁴ Lord, who won’t fear and praise your name? For you alone are holy, and all the nations will come and worship you because your judgments have been revealed.”

²² none of those men who saw my glory and watched my miracles that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness—even though they’ve tested me these ten times and never listened to my voice— ²³ will ever see the land that I promised to their ancestors. Those who spurned me won’t see it. ²⁴ Now as to my servant Caleb, because a different spirit is within him and he has remained true to me, I’m going to bring him into the land that he explored, and his descendants are to inherit it. ²⁵ Now the Amalekite and the Canaanite live in the valley. Tomorrow, turn and then travel to the wilderness in the direction of the Reed Sea.”
²⁶ Then the LORD told Moses and Aaron, ²⁷ “How long will this wicked assembly keep complaining about me? I’ve heard the complaints of the Israelis that they’ve been murmuring against me. ²⁸ So tell them that as long as I live—consider this to be an oracle from the LORD—as certainly as you’ve spoken right into my ears, that’s how I’m going to treat you. ²⁹ Your corpses will fall in this wilderness—every single one of you who has been counted among you, according to your number from 20 years and above, who complained against me. ³⁰ You will certainly never enter the land about which I made an oath with my uplifted hand to settle you in it, except for Jephunneh’s son Caleb and Nun’s son Joshua. ³¹ However, I’ll bring your little ones—the ones whom you claimed would become war victims—into the land so that they’ll know by experience the land that you’ve rejected.
³² “Now as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness ³³ and your children will wander throughout the wilderness for 40 years. They’ll bear the consequences of your idolatries until your bodies are entirely consumed in the wilderness. ³⁴ Just as you explored the land for 40 days, you’ll bear the consequences of your iniquities for 40 years—one year for each day—as you experience my hostility. ³⁵ I, the LORD, have spoken. I will indeed do this to this evil congregation, who gathered together against me. They’ll be eliminated in this wilderness and will surely die.”
³⁶ God Kills the Unbelieving ExplorersAfter this, the men whom Moses sent out to explore the land, who returned and made the whole congregation complain against him by bringing an evil report concerning the land, ³⁷ and who produced an evil report about the land, died of pestilence in the LORD’s presence.

⁶⁴ But none of these men among these numbered by Moses and by Aaron the priest (that is, when they numbered the Israelis in the wilderness of Sinai) survived to enter the land, ⁶⁵ because the LORD had said about them, “They’ll certainly die in the wilderness. No man will survive from them except Jephunneh’s son Caleb and Nun’s son Joshua.”

¹⁵ Indeed, the hand of the LORD was against them to root them out from the camp until they were utterly destroyed.”
¹⁶ Israel Passes through Ammonite Territory“And so all the soldiers among the people died.

²⁶ So he swore an oath concerning them— that he would cause them to die in the wilderness,

¹⁵ However, on some points I have written to you rather boldly, both as a reminder to you and because of the grace given me by God

¹ Warnings about IdolatryNow I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the fact that all of our ancestors who left Egypt were under the cloud. They all went through the sea, ² and they all were immersed into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. ³ They all ate the same spiritual food ⁴ and drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from the spiritual rock that went with them. That rock was the Messiah. ⁵ But God wasn’t pleased with most of those people, and so they were struck down in the wilderness.
⁶ Now their experiences serve as examples for us so that we won’t set our hearts on evil as they did. ⁷ Let’s stop being idolaters, as some of them were. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to play.” ⁸ Let’s stop sinning sexually, as some of them were doing, and on a single day 23,000 fell dead. ⁹ Let’s stop putting the Lord to the test, as some of them were doing, and were destroyed by snakes. ¹⁰ You must stop complaining, as some of them were doing, and were annihilated by the destroyer. ¹¹ These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down as a warning for us in whom the culmination of the ages has been attained. ¹² Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing securely should watch out so he doesn’t fall.

¹⁶ Now who heard him and provoked him? Was it not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses?

¹² Therefore, I intend to keep on reminding you about these things, even though you already know them and are firmly established in the truth that you now have. ¹³ Yet I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I am living in this bodily tent,

¹ Be Ready for the Day of the LordDear friends, this is now the second of two letters I am writing to you, in which I have been trying to stimulate your pure minds by reminding you

²⁹ Suddenly, they screamed, “What do you want with us, Son of God? Did you come here to torture us before the proper time?”

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Get away from me, you who are accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels!

⁴⁴ You belong to your father the devil, and you want to carry out the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and has never stood for truth, since there is no truth in him. Whenever he tells a lie, he speaks in character, because he is a liar and the father of lies.

¹² For our struggle is not against human opponents, but against rulers, authorities, cosmic powers in the darkness around us, and evil spiritual forces in the heavenly realm.

²⁷ but only a terrifying prospect of judgment and a raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.

⁴ For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but threw them into the lowest hell and imprisoned them in chains of deepest darkness, holding them for judgment;

⁹ then the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials and to hold unrighteous people for punishment on the day of judgment,

¹⁰ and the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet were. They will be tortured day and night forever and ever.

¹³ Now the men of Sodom were particularly evil and sinful in their defiance of the LORD.

²⁰ The LORD also said, “How great is the disapproval of Sodom and Gomorrah! Their sin is so very serious!

⁵ They called out to Lot and asked, “Where are the men who came to visit you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!”

²⁴ Then the LORD rained sulfur and fire out of the sky from the LORD on Sodom and Gomorrah, ²⁵ overthrowing those cities, all of the plain, and everyone who lived in the cities. He also destroyed the plants that grew out of the ground. ²⁶ But Lot’s wife looked back as she lingered behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

²³ The whole land will be covered with salt pits and burning sulfur, with nothing planted, nothing sprouting, and producing no vegetation—overthrown like Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, when the LORD overthrew them in his raging fury.

⁹ If the Lord of the Heavenly Armies hadn’t left us a few survivors, we would be like Sodom; we would be like Gomorrah.

¹⁹ Babylon, that jewel of kingdoms, the splendor and pride of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah, when God overthrew them—

¹⁴ The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the godless: “Who among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with everlasting flames?”

¹⁶ May that man be like the cities that the LORD overthrew without compassion. Let him hear a cry in the morning, and a battle cry at noon,

⁴⁰ Just as when God overthrew Sodom, Gomorrah, and their neighbors,” declares the LORD, “so also no one will live there. No human being will reside in it.

⁶ The guilt of my cherished people surpasses the sin of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment, without a hand to help her.

⁴⁹ Look! This was the sin of your sister Sodom and her daughters: Pride, too much food, undisturbed peace, and failure to help the poor and needy. ⁵⁰ In their arrogance, they committed detestable practices in my presence, so when I saw it, I removed them.

⁸ “How can I give up on you, Ephraim? I will deliver you, will I not, Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? I can’t make you like Zeboim, can I? My heart stirs within me; my compassion also fans into flame!

¹¹ “I overthrew your cities, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. You’ve become like a burning ember, snatched from the fire, but you have not returned to me,” declares the LORD.

²⁴ Indeed I tell you, it will be more bearable for the land of Sodom on Judgment Day than for you!”

⁴³ So if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better for you to enter life injured than to have two hands and go to hell, to the fire that cannot be put out. ⁴⁴ In that place, worms never die, and the fire is never put out.
⁴⁵ And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. ⁴⁶ In that place, worms never die, and the fire is never put out.
⁴⁷ And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It’s better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell. ⁴⁸ In that place, worms never die, and the fire is never put out.
⁴⁹ Because everyone will be salted with fire, and every sacrifice will be salted with salt.

²⁹ But on the day when Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed all of them.

²⁶ For this reason, God delivered them to degrading passions as their females exchanged their natural sexual function for one that is unnatural. ²⁷ In the same way, their males also abandoned their natural sexual function toward females and burned with lust toward one another. Males committed indecent acts with males, and received within themselves the appropriate penalty for their perversion.

⁹ You know that wicked people will not inherit the kingdom of God, don’t you? Stop deceiving yourselves! Sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals,

⁶ and if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and destroyed them by burning them to ashes, making them an example to ungodly people of what is going to happen to them;

⁵ “Even God knows that on the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened and you’ll become like God, knowing good and evil.”

²⁸ “You are not to blaspheme God or curse a ruler of your people.

³ They gathered together against Moses and Aaron and told them, “You have appropriated too much for yourselves from the entire congregation, since all of them are holy, and the LORD is among them, too. Why do you exalt yourselves over the LORD’s assembly?”

¹² So Moses sent for Eliab’s sons Dathan and Abiram, but they responded, “We’re not coming. ¹³ Is it such an insignificant thing that you brought us out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness? Now you’re trying to make yourself be a prince and rule over us, aren’t you?

¹ The Nations and God’s Anointed Why are the nations in an uproar, and their people involved in a vain plot? ² As the kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers conspire together against the LORD and his anointed one, they say, ³ “Let us tear off their shackles from us, and cast off their chains.” ⁴ He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. ⁵ In his anger he rebukes them, and in his wrath he terrifies them: ⁶ “I have set my king on Zion, my holy mountain.”

³ The LORD will cut off all slippery lips, and the tongue that boasts great things, ⁴ those who say, “By our tongues we will prevail; our lips belong to us. Who is master over us?”

¹¹ Some people curse their fathers and won’t bless their mothers.

¹⁷ The eye that mocks a father and looks with a disobedient attitude at a mother— the valley ravens will pluck it out; and vultures will eat it.

²⁰ Do not curse the king, even in your thoughts. Do not curse the rich, even in your bedroom. For a bird will fly by and tell what you say, or something with wings may talk about it.

²⁵ If the officials hear that I’ve spoken with you, and they come to you and say, ‘Tell us what you told the king, and what the king told you; don’t hide it from us, and we won’t put you to death,’ ²⁶ then you are to say to them, ‘I was presenting my request to the king that I not be taken back to the house of Jonathan to die there.’”
²⁷ When all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him, he replied to them exactly as the king had ordered him. So they stopped speaking with him because the conversation had not been overheard. ²⁸ Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard until the day Jerusalem was captured.

¹⁴ But the citizens of his country hated him and sent a delegation to follow him and to announce, ‘We don’t want this man to rule over us!’

²⁷ “But the man who was harming his neighbor pushed Moses away and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us?

³⁹ but our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and wished to return to Egypt.

⁵ Paul answered, “I didn’t realize, brothers, that he is the high priest. After all, it is written, ‘You must not speak evil about a ruler of your people.’”

¹⁷ If anyone destroys God’s sanctuary, God will destroy him, for God’s sanctuary is holy. And you are that sanctuary!

⁸ Therefore, whoever rejects this instruction is not rejecting human authority but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.

¹⁰ for those involved in sexual immorality, for homosexuals, for kidnappers, for liars, for false witnesses, and for whatever else goes against the healthy teaching

¹⁷ Continue to follow and be submissive to your leaders, since they are watching over your souls as those who will have to give a word of explanation. By doing this, you will be letting them carry out their duties joyfully, and not with grief, for that would be harmful for you.

¹⁷ Honor everyone. Keep on loving the community of believers, fearing God, and honoring the king.

¹⁰ especially those who satisfy their flesh by indulging in its passions and who despise authority.
Being bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to slander glorious beings. ¹¹ Yet even angels, although they are greater in strength and power, do not bring a slanderous accusation against them from the Lord. ¹² These people, like irrational animals, are mere creatures of instinct that are born to be caught and killed. They insult what they don’t understand, and like animals they, too, will be destroyed,

⁹ Even the archangel Michael, when he argued with the devil and fought over the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him. Instead, he said, “May the Lord rebuke you!” ¹⁰ Whatever these people do not understand, they slander. Like irrational animals, they are destroyed by the very things they know by instinct.

⁶ He was buried in the valley opposite Beth Peor, in the land of Moab, but no one knows to this day where his burial place is.

¹⁷ and David went out to meet them. He told them, “If you’ve come in peace to be of help to me, then you’ll have my commitment. But if you’ve come to betray me to my enemies, even though I’m innocent of wrongdoing, then may the God of our ancestors watch and judge.”

¹³ Then the commander stood up and shouted out loud in Hebrew: “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! ¹⁴ This is what the king of Assyria says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you—for he cannot save you! ¹⁵ Don’t let Hezekiah persuade you to rely on the LORD when he says, “The LORD will really deliver us!” and “This city will never be handed over to the king of Assyria!” ¹⁶ Don’t listen to Hezekiah, because this is what the king of Assyria says: ‘Make your peace with me and come out to me. Then everyone will eat from his own vine and from his own fig tree, and everyone will drink water from his own cistern, ¹⁷ until I come and take you away to a land like your own land—to a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.’ ¹⁸ Be careful not to let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, “The LORD will save us.” Has any god of any nation ever delivered his country from the king of Assyria? ¹⁹ Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sephar-vaim? Have they saved Samaria from me? ²⁰ Who among all the gods of these countries has delivered their land from me? How then can the LORD deliver Jerusalem from me?’”
²¹ But the people remained silent and didn’t respond to him with so much as a single word, because the king had commanded, “Don’t answer him.”

³ “Here is what Hezekiah says,” they told him. “This day is a day of trouble, rebuke, and disgrace, as when children come to the point of birth and there is no energy to deliver them. ⁴ Perhaps the LORD your God will hear the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, sent to mock the living God, and perhaps he will rebuke the words that the LORD your God has heard. So lift up a prayer for the remnant that still survives in this city.”

¹⁰ “Say this to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Don’t let your God on whom you depend deceive you when he says, “Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” ¹¹ Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all countries, dooming them to destruction. So do you think you will be saved? ¹² Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my ancestors save them—the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden, who were in Tel-assar? ¹³ Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sephar-vaim, or of Hena, or of Ivvah, or of Samaria?’”
¹⁴ Hezekiah PraysHezekiah received the letters from the messengers, and read them. Then he went up to the LORD’s Temple and spread the letters in front of the LORD. ¹⁵ Hezekiah prayed to the LORD: ¹⁶ “O LORD of the Heavenly Armies, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you alone are the God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made heaven and earth. ¹⁷ Extend your ear, LORD, and listen! Open your eyes, LORD, and look! Listen to all the words Sennacherib has sent to mock the living God. ¹⁸ It is true, LORD, that Assyrian kings have devastated all these countries, ¹⁹ and have thrown their gods into the fire—but they are not gods, but rather the products of human hands, mere wood and stone. So the Assyrians destroyed them. ²⁰ So now, LORD our God, save us from his oppressive hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God.”

¹³ However, the prince of the kingdom of Persia opposed me for 21 days. Then all of a sudden, Michael, one of the chief angels, came to assist me! I had been detained there near the kings of Persia.

²¹ I’ll inform you about what has been recorded in the Book of Truth. No one stands firmly with me against these opponents, except Michael your prince.

¹ The End Times“‘At that time, Michael will arise, the great prince who will stand up on behalf of your people, and a time of trouble will come like there has never been since nations began until that time. Also at that time, your people will be delivered—everyone who will have been written in the book.

² The LORD told Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan—in fact, may the LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! This man is a burning brand plucked from the fire, is he not?”

²⁹ Those who passed by kept insulting him, shaking their heads, and saying, “Ha! You who were going to destroy the sanctuary and rebuild it in three days—

³⁹ Now one of the criminals hanging there kept insulting him, “You are the Messiah, aren’t you? Save yourself…and us!”
⁴⁰ But the other criminal rebuked him, “Aren’t you afraid of God, since you are suffering the same penalty?

¹⁶ With a shout of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of God’s trumpet, the Lord himself will come down from heaven, and the dead who belong to the Messiah will rise first.

⁹ Do not pay others back evil for evil or insult for insult. Instead, keep blessing them, because you were called to inherit a blessing.

¹¹ Yet even angels, although they are greater in strength and power, do not bring a slanderous accusation against them from the Lord.

⁷ The Vision of War in HeavenThen a war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels fought back.

²¹ For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him. Instead, their thoughts turned to worthless things, and their senseless hearts were darkened. ²² Though claiming to be wise, they became fools

¹² These people, like irrational animals, are mere creatures of instinct that are born to be caught and killed. They insult what they don’t understand, and like animals they, too, will be destroyed,

³ Later, after a while, Cain brought an offering to the LORD from the fruit that he had harvested, ⁴ while Abel brought the best parts of some of the firstborn from his flock. The LORD looked favorably upon Abel and his offering, ⁵ but he did not look favorably upon Cain and his offering.
When Cain became very upset and depressed, ⁶ the LORD asked Cain, “Why are you so upset? Why are you depressed? ⁷ If you do what is appropriate, you’ll be accepted, won’t you? But if you don’t do what is appropriate, sin is crouching near your doorway, turning toward you. Now as for you, will you take dominion over it?”
⁸ Instead, Cain told his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the wilderness.” When they were outside in the fields, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
⁹ Later, the LORD asked Cain, “Where’s your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” he answered. “Am I my brother’s guardian?”
¹⁰ “What did you do?” God asked. “Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. ¹¹ Now you’re more cursed than the ground, which has opened to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. ¹² Whenever you work the ground, it will no longer yield its produce to you, and you’ll wander throughout the earth as a fugitive.”
¹³ “My punishment is too great to bear,” Cain told the LORD. ¹⁴ “You’re driving me from the soil today. I’ll be hidden from you, and I’ll wander throughout the earth as a fugitive. In the future, whoever finds me will kill me.”

¹ The Rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and AbiramNow Izhar’s son Korah, the grandson of Kohath, a descendant of Levi, along with Eliab’s sons Dathan and Abiram, and Peleth’s son On, a descendant of Reuben, took charge ² of a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 community leaders, Israelis who were famous men and representatives from the assembly. ³ They gathered together against Moses and Aaron and told them, “You have appropriated too much for yourselves from the entire congregation, since all of them are holy, and the LORD is among them, too. Why do you exalt yourselves over the LORD’s assembly?”
⁴ When Moses heard this, he fell on his face. ⁵ Then he addressed Korah and his entire company, “In the morning, may the LORD reveal who belongs to him and who is holy. May he cause that person to approach him. May he cause to approach him the one whom he has chosen. ⁶ Korah, you and your entire company are to bring censers ⁷ and put fire and incense in them in the LORD’s presence tomorrow. It will be that the man whom the LORD chooses will be holy. You’re taking too much for yourselves, you descendants of Levi.”
⁸ Moses also told Korah, “Listen now, you descendants of Levi! ⁹ Is it such an insignificant thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the Israelis to draw you to himself, appointing you to do the work of the tent of the LORD and to stand before the community to minister to them? ¹⁰ He brought you near, along with all of your relatives, the descendants of Levi. Are you also seeking the priesthood? ¹¹ Therefore you and your group have conspired against the LORD and Aaron. What is it that causes you to complain against him?”
¹² So Moses sent for Eliab’s sons Dathan and Abiram, but they responded, “We’re not coming. ¹³ Is it such an insignificant thing that you brought us out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness? Now you’re trying to make yourself be a prince and rule over us, aren’t you? ¹⁴ You still haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Do you really think that you can make these men look the other way? We won’t go up.”
¹⁵ Moses was very angry, so he told the LORD, “Please don’t accept their offering. I haven’t taken even one donkey from them nor have I hurt even one of them.”
¹⁶ Then Moses told Korah, “You and your entire company are to present yourselves in the LORD’s presence tomorrow—you, they, and Aaron. ¹⁷ Each man is to take a censer, put incense on it, and bring it into the LORD’s presence, each man with his censer, for a total of 250 censers. You and Aaron are each to bring his own censer.”
¹⁸ So each man took his censer, put fire coals inside of it, placed incense in it, and then stood at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, accompanied by Moses and Aaron. ¹⁹ When Korah had assembled the entire community in opposition to Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the glory of the LORD appeared to the entire community.
²⁰ God Vindicates Moses and AaronThen the LORD told Moses and Aaron, ²¹ “Separate yourselves from among this community, and I’ll destroy them in a moment.”
²² Then they fell on their faces and said, “God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, will you be angry at the entire congregation on account of one man’s sin?”
²³ Then the LORD instructed Moses, ²⁴ “Tell the community to move away from where Korah, Dathan, and Abiram are living.”
²⁵ So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. ²⁶ Then he told the community, “Move away from the camps of these wicked men and don’t touch anything that belongs to them. That way you won’t be destroyed along with all their sins.” ²⁷ So they all moved away from the entire area where Korah, Dathan, and Abiram were living.
Now Korah, Dathan, and Abiram stood at the entrance to their tents with their wives, sons, and little children. ²⁸ Then Moses said, “This is how you’ll know that the LORD has sent me to do all these awesome works—they’re not coming merely from me. ²⁹ If these people die a death similar to all other human beings, or if they are punished with a punishment common to other men, then the LORD didn’t send me. ³⁰ But if the LORD creates something new, so that the ground opens its mouth and swallows them and everything that belongs to them and they all descend directly to Sheol while still alive, then you’ll know that these men have spurned the LORD.”
³¹ God Executes Korah’s FamiliesJust as he finished saying all these things, the ground under them split open. ³² The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, all their households, everyone who was affiliated with Korah, and all of their property. ³³ So they and all that belonged to them descended alive to Sheol. Then the earth closed over them. That’s how they were annihilated from the assembly.
³⁴ Then all of the Israelis who were around them ran away when they heard them crying, “…so the ground won’t swallow us up, too.” ³⁵ After this, fire came from the LORD and incinerated the 250 men who offered the incense.

¹ Balak Summons BalaamThe Israelis continued their travels, eventually encamping on the plains of Moab beside the Jordan River opposite Jericho. ² Zippor’s son Balak saw everything that Israel had done to the Amorites. ³ As a result, Moab greatly feared the people, because they were so numerous. Because a sense of impending doom was afflicting the Moabites as they faced the Israelis, ⁴ the Moabites told the elders of Midian, “This horde of people is about to lick up everything around us, like an ox licks up the green ground.”
At that time, Zippor’s son Balak was the king of Moab. ⁵ He sent messengers to Beor’s son Balaam in Pethor, near the Euphrates River, the land where the descendants of his people originated, to summon his aid. He said, “Look! A group of people have escaped from Egypt. They cover the surface of the whole earth, and are sitting here right in front of me. ⁶ So come right now and curse this people for me, because there are too many of them for me to handle. Perhaps I’ll be able to strike them down and drive them out of the land, since I know that whomever you bless is blessed and whomever you curse is cursed.”
⁷ So the elders of Moab and Midian left to visit Balaam, bringing an honorarium with them, and communicated Balak’s concerns to him. ⁸ In answer, Balaam told them, “Stay here for the night and I’ll bring back a message to you, depending on what the LORD says to me.” So the officers of Moab stayed with Balaam overnight.
⁹ God Forbids Balaam to CooperateGod visited Balaam and asked him, “Who are these men with you?”
¹⁰ Then Balaam told God, “Zippor’s son Balak, king of Moab, sent them to me and said, ¹¹ ‘Look! A group of people have escaped from Egypt. They cover the surface of the whole earth! So come right now and curse them for me. Perhaps I’ll be able to fight against them and drive them out.’”
¹² But God told Balaam, “Don’t go with them. Don’t curse the people, because they’re blessed.”
¹³ So Balaam got up the next morning and told Balak’s officials, “Go back to your homeland, because the LORD has refused me permission to go with you.”
¹⁴ So Balak’s officials got up, returned to Balak and reported, “Balaam refused to come with us.”
¹⁵ In response, Balak sent more officers—higher ranking ones, at that!— ¹⁶ who approached Balaam with this message: “This is what Zippor’s son Balak says: ‘Don’t let anything get in the way of your coming to me. ¹⁷ I’m determined to reward you generously, and I’ll do everything you tell me to do. So come right away and curse this people for me.’”
¹⁸ Balaam responded to Balak’s entourage by saying, “Even if Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I won’t double-cross the command of the LORD my God in even the slightest way. ¹⁹ Meanwhile, stay here overnight so I may learn what the LORD might say to me.”
²⁰ God came to visit Balaam that same night and told him, “If the men come to call on you, get up and go with them, but be sure to do only what I tell you to do.” ²¹ The next morning, Balaam got up, saddled his donkey, and started to leave, accompanied by the Moabite officials.
²² Balaam’s Donkey Rebukes its OwnerAt this, the anger of the LORD flared up against Balaam, because he was leaving. So the angel of the LORD stood in the way to oppose him. As Balaam was riding his donkey, accompanied by two of his servants, ²³ all of a sudden the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, with an unsheathed sword in his hand! The donkey turned off the road and went into an open field. Balaam started beating the donkey in order to turn her back to the road, ²⁴ but the angel of the LORD stood on a narrow path that crossed the vineyards. It had walls on both sides of the path.

⁹ The descendants of Eliab were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram were removed from the community because they joined the rebellion against Moses and Aaron, as did Korah’s company when they rebelled against the LORD. ¹⁰ The ground had opened its mouth and swallowed them up, along with Korah. Also, that group died when the fire devoured 250 men as a warning sign,

¹⁶ “Look! These women were the same ones who were counseled by Balaam to cause the Israelis to commit a grievous sin against the LORD at Peor. As a result, that plague infected the LORD’s community.

⁴ because they didn’t come to meet you with food and water along the way as you were coming out of Egypt. Instead, they hired Beor’s son Balaam from Pethor in Aram-naharaim to curse you.

⁹ ‘Then Zippor’s son, King Balak of Moab, showed up and fought against Israel. He sent word to Balaam, summoning Beor’s son to put a curse on you. ¹⁰ But I wasn’t willing to listen to Balaam. So he had to bless you, and I delivered you from his control. ¹¹ ‘Next, you crossed the Jordan River and arrived at Jericho. But the citizens of Jericho fought you, as did the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and the Jebusites, so I gave them into your control.

⁹ “The expressions on their faces give them away. They parade their sin around like Sodom; they don’t even try to hide it. How horrible it will be for them, because they have brought disaster on themselves!”

¹¹ Warning to the Wicked“How terrible it will be for the wicked! Disaster is headed their way, because what they did with their hand will be repaid to them.

²⁷ I’ve seen your detestable behavior: your adulteries, your passionate neighing, your lewd immorality on the hills in the field. How terrible it will be for you, Jerusalem! You are unclean. How much longer will this go on?”

³ “This is what the Lord GOD says, ‘How terrible it will be for the false prophets who walk according to their own wrong inclinations and see nothing.

⁵ “My people, recall how king Balak of Moab deliberated, and how Beor’s son Balaam counseled him from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you may know the righteousness of the LORD.”

¹⁷ “Woe to the worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May the sword strike his arm and his right eye. May his arm wither and his right eye be completely blind.”

²¹ “How terrible it will be for you, Chorazin! How terrible it will be for you, Bethsaida! Because if the miracles that happened in you had taken place in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

¹³ “How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door to the kingdom from heaven in people’s faces. You don’t go in yourselves, and you don’t allow those who are trying to enter to go in.
¹⁴ “How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You devour widows’ houses and say long prayers to cover it up. Therefore, you will receive greater condemnation!
¹⁵ “How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to make a single convert, and when this happens you make him twice as fit for hell as you are.
¹⁶ “How terrible it will be for you, blind guides! You say, ‘Whoever swears an oath by the sanctuary is excused, but whoever swears an oath by the gold of the sanctuary must keep his oath.’

⁴² “How terrible it will be for you Pharisees! You give a tenth of your mint, spices, and every kind of herb, but you neglect justice and the love of God. These are the things you should have practiced, without neglecting the others.
⁴³ How terrible it will be for you Pharisees! You love to have the places of honor in the synagogues and to be greeted in the marketplaces.
⁴⁴ How terrible it will be for you! You are like unmarked graves—people walk on them without realizing it.”
⁴⁵ Then one of the experts in the Law told him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us, too.”
⁴⁶ Jesus said, “How terrible it will be for you experts in the Law, too! You load people with burdens that are hard to carry, yet you don’t even lift a finger to ease those burdens.
⁴⁷ How terrible it will be for you! You build monuments for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them!

⁴ By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did, and by faith he was declared to be righteous, since God himself accepted his offerings. And by faith he continues to speak, even though he is dead.

¹⁵ They have left the straight path and wandered off to follow the path of Bosor’s son Balaam, who loved the reward he got for doing wrong.

¹² Do not be like Cain, who was from the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because what he was doing was evil and his brother’s actions were righteous.

¹⁴ But I have a few things against you: You have there some who hold to the teaching of Balaam, the one who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the people of Israel so that they would eat food sacrificed to idols and practice immorality.

²⁰ then I will tear them up by the roots from the ground that I had given them! And as for this Temple that I have set apart for my name, I will throw it out of my sight and make it the butt of jokes and a means of ridicule among people worldwide!

³ He will be like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in its season, and whose leaf does not wither. He will prosper in everything he does.

² Indeed, they soon will wither like grass, and like green herbs they will fade away.

²⁹ So they ate and were very satisfied, because he granted their desire. ³⁰ However, before they had fulfilled their desire, while their food was still in their mouths, ³¹ the anger of God flared against them, and he killed the strongest men and humbled Israel’s young men.

¹⁴ Like clouds and winds without rain is the man who brags about gifts he never gave.

¹⁰ His watchmen are blind; they are all without knowledge. They are all dumb dogs— they cannot bark. They keep on dreaming and lying around, and they’re lovers of sleep! ¹¹ Meanwhile, the dogs have a mighty appetite— they can never get enough. And as for them, they are the shepherds who lack understanding; they have all turned to their own way, each one to his gain, each and every one. ¹² “‘Come!’ they say, ‘let’s have some wine, and let’s fill ourselves with strong drink! Then, tomorrow will be like today, or even much better!’”

⁹ “Tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says, “Will it prosper? Won’t he pull up its roots, and strip it bare so all its fresh foliage dries up? It won’t be by great strength or by a great army that it will be uprooted.

² “Son of Man, prophesy against Israel’s shepherds. Tell those shepherds, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says:
“Woe to you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves and not the sheep. Shouldn’t shepherds feed the sheep?

⁸ ‘As certainly as I’m alive and living, my sheep have truly become victims, food for all of the wild animals because there are no shepherds. My shepherds did not go searching for my flock. Instead, the shepherds fed themselves, and my flock they would not feed!’

¹⁰ ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “Watch out, I’m coming after you shepherds! I’m going to demand my sheep back from them and fire them as shepherds. The shepherds won’t be shepherds anymore when I snatch my flock right out of their mouths so they can’t be eaten by them anymore.”’”

¹⁸ Is it such an insignificant thing to you that you’re feeding in good pastures but trampling down the other pastures with your feet? Or that as you’re drinking from the clear streams you’re muddying the rest with your feet?

⁴ “What am I to do with you, Ephraim? What am I to do with you, Judah? Your love is like a morning rain cloud— it passes away like the morning dew.

⁶ But when the sun came up, they were scorched. Since they did not have any roots, they dried up.

¹³ He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be pulled up by the roots.

¹⁹ Seeing a fig tree by the roadside, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. He told it, “May fruit never come from you again!” And immediately the fig tree dried up.
²⁰ When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree dry up so quickly?” they asked.

⁶ But when the sun came up, they were scorched. Since they didn’t have any roots, they dried up.

²⁰ The Lesson from the Dried Fig Tree
While they were walking along early the next morning, they saw the fig tree dried up to its roots. ²¹ Remembering what Jesus had said, Peter pointed out to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has dried up!”

⁶ Others fell on stony ground, and as soon as they came up, they dried up because they had no moisture.

¹⁹ Then I’ll say to myself, “You’ve stored up plenty of good things for many years. Take it easy, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.”’ ²⁰ But God told him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded back from you. Now who will get the things you’ve accumulated?’

⁴⁵ But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time to come back,’ and begins to beat the other servants and to eat, drink, and get drunk,

¹⁹ The Rich Man and Lazarus“Once there was a rich man who used to dress in purple and fine linen and live in great luxury every day.

³⁴ Be Alert“Constantly be on your guard so that your hearts will not be loaded down with self-indulgence, drunkenness, and the worries of this life, or that day will take you by surprise

⁴ “Abide in me, and I will abide in you. Just as the branch cannot produce fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. ⁵ I am the vine, you are the branches. The one who abides in me while I abide in him produces much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ Unless a person abides in me, he is thrown away like a pruned branch and dries up. People gather such branches, throw them into a fire, and they are burned up.

²⁰ When you gather in the same place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. ²¹ For as you eat, each of you rushes to eat his own supper, and one person goes hungry while another gets drunk. ²² You have homes in which to eat and drink, don’t you? Or do you despise God’s church and humiliate those who have nothing? What should I say to you? Should I praise you? I will not praise you for this!

¹⁹ Their destiny is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on worldly things.

⁶ Therefore, let’s not fall asleep like others do, but let’s stay awake and be sober. ⁷ For people who go to sleep, go to sleep at night; and people who get drunk, get drunk at night.

⁶ But the self-indulgent widow is just as good as dead.

⁴ For it is impossible to keep on restoring to repentance time and again people who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have become partners with the Holy Spirit, ⁵ who have tasted the goodness of God’s word and the powers of the coming age, ⁶ and who have fallen away, as long as they continue to crucify the Son of God to their own detriment by exposing him to public ridicule. ⁷ For when the ground soaks up rain that often falls on it and continues producing vegetation useful to those for whom it is cultivated, it receives a blessing from God. ⁸ However, if it continues to produce thorns and thistles, it is worthless and in danger of being cursed, and in the end will be burned.

⁵ You have lived in luxury and pleasure on earth. You have fattened yourselves for the day of slaughter.

¹³ suffering harm as punishment for their wrongdoing. They take pleasure in wild parties in broad daylight. They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceitful pleasures while they eat with you. ¹⁴ With eyes full of adultery, they cannot get enough of sin. They seduce unsteady souls and have had their hearts expertly trained in greed. They are doomed to a curse.

¹⁷ These men are dried-up springs, mere clouds driven by a storm. Gloomy darkness is reserved for them. ¹⁸ By talking high-sounding nonsense and using sinful cravings of the flesh, they entice people who have just escaped from those who live in error. ¹⁹ Promising them freedom, they themselves are slaves to depravity, for a person is a slave to whatever conquers him.
²⁰ For if, after escaping the world’s corruptions through a full knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus, the Messiah, they are again entangled and conquered by those corruptions, then their last condition is worse than their former one.

⁷ He calmed the roar of seas, the roaring of the waves, and the turmoil of the peoples.

³ The rivers have flooded, LORD; the rivers have spoken aloud, the rivers have lifted up their crushing waves. ⁴ More than the sound of surging waters— the majestic waves of the sea— the LORD on high is majestic.

²⁰ But the wicked are tossed like the sea; for it is not able to keep still, and its waters toss up mire and mud.

²² ‘You don’t fear me, do you?’ declares the LORD. ‘You don’t tremble before me, do you? I’m the one who put the sand as a boundary for the sea, a perpetual barrier that it cannot cross. Though the waves toss, they cannot prevail against it, though they roar, they cannot cross it.’ ²³ But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts. They have turned aside and have gone away.

¹³ But evil people and impostors will go from bad to worse as they deceive others and are themselves deceived.

¹⁷ These men are dried-up springs, mere clouds driven by a storm. Gloomy darkness is reserved for them.

¹⁰ When the third angel blew his trumpet, a huge star blazing like a torch fell from heaven. It fell on one-third of the rivers and on the springs of water. ¹¹ The name of the star is Wormwood. One-third of the water turned into wormwood, and many people died from the water because it had turned bitter.

¹⁰ will drink the wine of God’s wrath, which has been poured undiluted into the cup of his anger. He will be tortured with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the lamb. ¹¹ The smoke from their torture goes up forever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”

⁸ But people who are cowardly, unfaithful, detestable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars will find themselves in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.”

¹⁸ When Jared had lived 162 years, he fathered Enoch.

²¹ When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. ²² After he fathered Methuselah, Enoch communed with God for 300 years and fathered other sons and daughters. ²³ Enoch lived a total of 365 years, ²⁴ communing with God—and then he was there no longer, because God had taken him.

² He said: “The LORD came from Sinai. Rising from Seir upon us, he shone forth from Mount Paran, accompanied by a myriad of his holy ones, with flaming fire from his right hand for them.

¹ Genealogies from Adam
Adam fathered Seth, who fathered Enosh, ² who fathered Kenan, who fathered Mahalalel, who fathered Jared, ³ who fathered Enoch, who fathered Methuselah, who fathered Lamech,

²⁵ “As for me, I know that my Vindicator is alive; And he, the Last One, will take his stand on the soil. ²⁶ Even after my skin has been destroyed, clothed in my flesh I will see God, ²⁷ whom I will see for myself. My own eyes will look at him— there won’t be anyone else for me!— He is the culmination of my innermost desire.”

³ Our God has appeared and he has not been silent; a devouring fire blazed before him, and a mighty storm swirled around him. ⁴ He summoned the heavens above and the earth below, to sit in judgment on his people. ⁵ “Assemble before me, my saints, who have entered into my covenant by sacrifice.”

⁹ The Vision of the Ancient of Days“I kept on watching until the Ancient of Days was seated. His clothes were white, like snow, and the hair on his head was like pure wool. His throne burned with flaming fire, and its wheels burned with fire. ¹⁰ A river of fire flowed out from before him. Thousands upon thousands were serving him, with millions upon millions waiting before him. The court sat in judgment, and record books were unsealed.

⁵ You will run away through my mountain valley, because the valley of the mountains will extend as far as Azal. You will flee, as you fled from the earthquake during the reign of King Uzziah of Judah. And so the LORD my God will come, and all his holy ones will be accompanying you.”

²⁷ The Son of Man is going to come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay everyone according to what he has done.

³⁰ Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all ‘the tribes of the land will mourn’ when they see ‘the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven’ with power and great glory. ³¹ He’ll send out his angels with a loud trumpet blast, and they’ll gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to another.”

³¹ The Judgment of the Nations“When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels are with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.

¹³ Then your hearts will be strong, blameless, and holy in the presence of God, who is our Father, when our Lord Jesus appears with all his saints.

⁷ and to give us who are afflicted relief when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels ⁸ in blazing fire. He will take revenge on those who do not know God and on those who refuse to obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

⁵ By faith Enoch was taken away without experiencing death. He could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he won approval as one who pleased God. ⁶ Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who diligently search for him.

⁷ Look! He is coming in the clouds. Every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of him.So be it! Amen.

⁸ Moses also said, “When the LORD gives you meat to eat in the evening, and bread in the morning to satisfy you, the LORD will hear your complaints directed against him. Who are we? Your complaints aren’t against us, but rather against the LORD.”

³ Don’t continue to talk proudly, and don’t speak arrogantly, for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.

⁷ But the LORD sits on his throne forever; his throne is established for judgment. ⁸ He will judge the world righteously and make just decisions for the people.

¹⁸ Let the lying lips be made still, especially those who speak arrogantly against the righteous with pride and contempt.

⁶ He will bring forth your righteousness as a light, and your justice as the noonday sun.

¹ A song of Asaph.
The Acceptable Sacrifice God, the LORD, has spoken. He has summoned the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting place. ² From Zion, the perfection of beauty, God has shined forth. ³ Our God has appeared and he has not been silent; a devouring fire blazed before him, and a mighty storm swirled around him. ⁴ He summoned the heavens above and the earth below, to sit in judgment on his people. ⁵ “Assemble before me, my saints, who have entered into my covenant by sacrifice.” ⁶ The heavens revealed his justice, for God is himself the judge. Interlude

⁹ They choose to speak against heaven; while they talk about things on earth.

⁴ When they speak, they spew arrogance. Everyone who practices iniquity brags about it.

⁹ in the LORD’s presence, who comes to judge the earth; He’ll judge the world righteously; and its people fairly.

⁹ and executing the judgment written against them. This is honor for all the ones he loves. Hallelujah!

⁹ So enjoy yourself in your youth, young man, and be encouraged during your younger days. Live as you like, consistent with your world view, but keep in mind that God will bring you to account for everything.

¹⁴ For God will judge every deed, along with every secret, whether good or evil.

²² This is the message that the LORD has spoken in opposition to him: “‘The Virgin Daughter of Zion despises and mocks you; the Daughter of Jerusalem— she tosses her head behind you as you flee. ²³ Whom have you insulted and reviled? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel! ²⁴ By your messengers you have insulted the LORD, and you have said, “With my many chariots I have climbed the heights of mountains, the utmost heights of Lebanon. I cut down its tallest cedars, the choicest of its pines; I reached its remotest heights, the most verdant of its forests. ²⁵ I myself dug wells and drank foreign waters; with the soles of my feet I dried up all the streams of Egypt.” ²⁶ “‘Didn’t you hear how in the distant past I decided to do it, how I planned from days of old? Now I’ve made it happen— that fortified cities become devastated, besieged heaps. ²⁷ Their inhabitants are devoid of power, and are terrified and put to shame. They’ve become like plants in the field, like green shoots, like grass on rooftops, scorched by the east wind. ²⁸ “‘I know when you rise up and when you sit down, your comings and goings— and how you’ve become enraged at me. ²⁹ Your insolence has reached my ears, so I’ll put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I’ll make you turn back on the road by which you came.
³⁰ “And this will be your sign, Hezekiah: Eat this year what grows on its own, and in the second year what springs from that. But in the third year sow, reap, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. ³¹ Then the ones belonging to the house of Judah who have escaped will gather, and those who are found will take root downward and bear fruit upward. ³² For a remnant will come out of Zion, and a band of survivors from Jerusalem. The zeal of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies will accomplish this.
³³ “Therefore this what the LORD says concerning the king of Assyria: ‘He won’t enter this city, build up a siege ramp against it, shoot an arrow here, or threaten it with a shield. ³⁴ By the same way that he came, he will return; he won’t enter this city,’ declares the LORD, ³⁵ ‘because I will defend this city and deliver it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David!’”
³⁶ Sennacherib is DefeatedAfter this, the angel of the LORD went out and put to death 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp. When Hezekiah’s army awakened in the morning—there were all the dead bodies!

²⁰ Also, I wanted to learn the significance of the ten horns on its head and the other horn that had arisen, before which three of them had fallen—that is, the horn with eyes and a mouth that uttered magnificent things and which was greater in appearance than its fellows.

³⁶ The King Who Calls Himself God“‘The king will do as he pleases. He’ll exalt and magnify himself above every god, speaking amazing things against the God of Gods. He’ll succeed until the indignation is completed, because what has been determined must be carried out.

¹³ God’s Seventh Complaint: Against His People—Slandering God“You have spoken arrogant words against me,” says the LORD. “Yet you ask, ‘What did we say against you?’ ¹⁴ You said, ‘It is futile to serve God,’ and, ‘What did we get out of it when we carried out his requirements and went about like mourners in the presence of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies?’ ¹⁵ and, ‘Now we call the arrogant one blessed. Those who do evil prosper and those who challenge God escape the consequences.’”

³¹ So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. ³² Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the one to come.”
³³ A Tree is Known by Its Fruit
“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree rotten and its fruit rotten, because a tree is known by its fruit. ³⁴ You children of serpents! How can you say anything good when you are evil? The mouth speaks about what overflows from the heart. ³⁵ A good person brings good things out of a good treasure house, and an evil person brings evil things out of an evil treasure house. ³⁶ I tell you, on Judgment Day people will give an account for every thoughtless word they have uttered, ³⁷ because by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

²² The Father judges no one, but has given all authority to judge to the Son, ²³ so that everyone may honor the Son as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

²⁷ and he has given him authority to judge, because he is the Son of Man.

³¹ because he has set a day when he is going to judge the world with justice through a man whom he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

⁵ But because of your stubborn and unrepentant heart you are reserving wrath for yourself on the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

¹⁶ on that day when God, through Jesus the Messiah, will judge people’s secrets according to my gospel.

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the Law says applies to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. ²⁰ Therefore, God will not justify any human being by means of the actions prescribed by the Law, for through the Law comes the full knowledge of sin.

¹⁰ Why, then, do you criticize your brother? Or why do you despise your brother? For all of us will stand before the judgment seat of God.

⁵ Therefore, stop judging prematurely, before the Lord comes, for he will bring to light what is now hidden in darkness and reveal the motives of our hearts. Then each person will receive his praise from God.

¹³ God will judge outsiders. “Expel that wicked man.”

⁹ that is, if he understands that the Law is not intended for righteous people but for lawbreakers and rebels, for ungodly people and sinners, for those who are unholy and irreverent, for those who kill their fathers, their mothers, or other people,

⁶ and if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and destroyed them by burning them to ashes, making them an example to ungodly people of what is going to happen to them; ⁷ and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man who was greatly distressed by the immoral conduct of lawless people— ⁸ for as long as that righteous man lived among them, day after day he was being tortured in his righteous soul by what he saw and heard in their lawless actions— ⁹ then the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials and to hold unrighteous people for punishment on the day of judgment,

¹⁶ These people are complainers and faultfinders, following their own desires. They say arrogant things and flatter people in order to take advantage of them.

⁵ The beast was allowed to speak arrogant and blasphemous things, and it was given authority for 42 months. ⁶ It uttered blasphemies against God, against his name, and against his residence, that is, against those who are living in heaven.

¹¹ I saw another beast coming up out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it talked like a dragon.

¹² Concluding Benediction“See! I am coming soon! My reward is with me to repay everyone according to his behavior. ¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.
¹⁴ “How blessed are those who wash their robes so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city! ¹⁵ Outside are dogs, sorcerers, immoral people, murderers, idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

²⁰ EpilogueThe one who is testifying to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!”
Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

¹⁵ “You are not to be unjust in deciding a case. You are not to show partiality to the poor or honor the great. Instead, decide the case of your neighbor with righteousness.”

³⁶ God Kills the Unbelieving ExplorersAfter this, the men whom Moses sent out to explore the land, who returned and made the whole congregation complain against him by bringing an evil report concerning the land,

¹¹ Therefore you and your group have conspired against the LORD and Aaron. What is it that causes you to complain against him?”

²⁷ You murmured in your tents, ‘The LORD hates us. He brought us out of the land of Egypt in order to deliver us to the Amorites so he could destroy us.

⁴ “Because you’re the one who closed their hearts to compassion; therefore, you won’t let them triumph. ⁵ Now as for the one who testifies against his friends to take their property, even the eyes of his children will fail.

²¹ I won’t discriminate against anyone, and I won’t flatter any person,

¹⁹ Who isn’t partial to princes? Who doesn’t give preference to the nobles over the poor? Nevertheless, all of them are his handiwork.

⁴ The one who despises those who are utterly wicked, but who honors the one who fears the LORD, who keeps his word even when it hurts and does not change,

¹⁰ They are imprisoned by their own prosperity, they have boasted proudly with their mouth.

⁹ They choose to speak against heaven; while they talk about things on earth. ¹⁰ Therefore God’s people return there and drink it all in like water until they’re satiated. ¹¹ Then they say, “How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge?”

²⁵ They murmured in their tents, and didn’t listen to the voice of the LORD.

²¹ To show partiality isn’t good, yet for a piece of bread the valiant will transgress.

²⁴ Moreover, those who go astray in spirit will gain understanding, and those who complain will accept instruction.’”

³⁰ The Pharisees and their scribes started complaining to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

² But the Pharisees and the scribes kept complaining, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

⁷ But all the people who saw this began to complain: “Jesus is going to be the guest of a notorious sinner!”

⁴¹ Then the Jewish leaders began grumbling about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”

⁶¹ But Jesus, knowing within himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, asked them, “Does this offend you?

¹⁰ You must stop complaining, as some of them were doing, and were annihilated by the destroyer.

¹⁶ So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will never fulfill the desires of the flesh.

²⁴ Now those who belong to the Messiah Jesus have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires.

¹⁴ Do everything without complaining or arguing

⁵ not with passion and lust like the gentiles who do not know God.

⁵ and incessant conflict between people who are depraved in mind and deprived of truth. They think that godliness is a way to make a profit.

³ For the time will come when people will not tolerate healthy doctrine, but with itching ears will surround themselves with teachers who cater to their people’s own desires.

¹⁴ Instead, each person is tempted by his own desire, being lured and trapped by it. ¹⁵ When that desire becomes pregnant, it gives birth to sin; and when that sin grows up, it gives birth to death.

¹ Do Not Show PartialityMy brothers, do not let your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus, the Messiah, be tainted by favoritism. ² Suppose a man wearing gold rings and fine clothes comes into your assembly, and a poor man in dirty clothes also comes in. ³ If you give special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Please take this seat,” but you say to the poor man, “Stand over there” or “Sit on the floor at my feet,” ⁴ then you will have made false distinctions among yourselves and will have judged from evil motives, will you not?
⁵ Listen, my dear brothers! God has chosen the poor in the world to become rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who keep on loving him, has he not? ⁶ But you have humiliated the man who is poor. Are not rich people the ones who oppress you and drag you into court? ⁷ Are not they the ones who blaspheme the noble Name by which you have been called?
⁸ Nevertheless, you are doing the right thing if you obey the royal Law in keeping with the Scripture, “You must love your neighbor as yourself.” ⁹ But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and will be convicted by the Law as violators.

¹⁴ As obedient children, do not be shaped by the desires that used to influence you when you were ignorant.

¹¹ Live as God’s ServantsDear friends, I urge you as aliens and exiles to keep on abstaining from the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul.

² so that he can live the rest of his mortal life guided, not by human desires, but by the will of God.

¹⁸ By talking high-sounding nonsense and using sinful cravings of the flesh, they entice people who have just escaped from those who live in error.

³ First of all you must understand this: In the last days mockers will come and, following their own desires, will ridicule us

¹⁸ They kept telling you, “In the last times there will be mockers, following their own ungodly desires.”

⁴ The Coming of Elijah the Prophet“Remember the Law of Moses my servant that I gave him at Horeb for all Israel—both the decrees and laws.

³⁵ In every way I showed you that by working hard like this we should help the weak and remember the words that the Lord Jesus himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

²⁰ having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, the Messiah Jesus himself being the cornerstone.

¹¹ And it is he who gifted some to be apostles, others to be prophets, others to be evangelists, and still others to be pastors and teachers,

² to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the commandment of our Lord and Savior spoken through your apostles.

⁶ We belong to God. The person who knows God listens to us. Whoever does not belong to God does not listen to us. This is how we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit.

¹ To the Director: A Davidic Psalm.
The Fool and God’s Response Fools say to themselves, “There is no God.” They are corrupt and commit evil deeds; not one of them practices what is good. ² The LORD looks down from the heavens upon humanity to see if anyone shows discernment as he searches for God.

²⁹ I know that when I’m gone, savage wolves will come among you and not spare the flock.

¹ A Prophecy about the FutureNow the Spirit says clearly that in the last times some people will abandon the faith by following deceitful spirits, the teachings of demons, ² and the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences have been burned by a hot iron.

¹ What People will be Like in the Last DaysYou must realize, however, that in the last days difficult times will come. ² People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³ unfeeling, uncooperative, slanderous, degenerate, brutal, hateful of what is good, ⁴ traitors, reckless, conceited, and lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. ⁵ They will hold to an outward form of godliness but deny its power. Stay away from such people.

¹ Warning against False TeachersNow there were false prophets among the people, just as there also will be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves.

¹ How Fools Talk Whoever isolates himself pursues selfish ends; he resists all sound advice.

⁵ who say, ‘Keep to yourself!’ ‘Don’t touch me!’ and ‘I am too holy for you!’ “Such people are smoke in my nostrils, a fire that keeps burning all day long.

⁷ For when a native Israeli or a resident alien abandons me to set up idols in his heart behind my back, and then places the stumbling block of his iniquity right in front of his own face, then approaches a prophet to inquire of me on behalf of his own self-interest, I, the LORD will answer him myself.

¹⁴ However, I’m not going to punish your daughters when they commit prostitution, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery, because their men are themselves immoral— they offer sacrifices with prostitutes. These people who aren’t discerning will stumble.

¹⁰ “I found Israel, as one finds grapes in the wilderness; Your ancestors seemed to me like the fruit gleaned from a fig tree’s first harvest. When they went to Baal-peor, they devoted themselves to that filth, and they became loathsome, like what they loved.

⁵ Jesus answered, “Truly, I tell you emphatically, unless a person is born of water and Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶ What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.

⁹ You, however, are not under the control of the human nature but under the control of the Spirit, since God’s Spirit lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of the Messiah, he does not belong to him.

¹⁴ A person who isn’t spiritual doesn’t accept the things of God’s Spirit, for they are nonsense to him. He can’t understand them because they are spiritually evaluated.

¹⁹ You know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God, don’t you? You do not belong to yourselves,

²⁵ not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another even more as you see the day of the Lord coming nearer.

¹⁵ That kind of wisdom does not come from above. No, it is worldly, self-centered, and demonic.

¹⁰ I will pour out on the house of David and on the residents of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and of supplications, and they will look to me—the one whom they pierced.’”
Mourning in JerusalemThen they will mourn for him, as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him, as for a firstborn son.

³¹ So the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed peace. As it continued to be built up and to live in the fear of the Lord, it kept increasing in numbers through the encouragement of the Holy Spirit.

⁹ He made no distinction between them and us, because of their faith-cleansed hearts.

¹⁸ You will help them understand and turn them from darkness to light and from Satan’s control to God, so that their sins will be forgiven and they will receive a share among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

¹⁵ For you have not received a spirit of slavery that leads you into fear again. Instead, you have received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba! Father!”

²⁶ In the same way, the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, since we do not know how to pray as we should. But the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words, ²⁷ and the one who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, for the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to God’s will.

² Each of us must please our neighbor for the good purpose of building him up.

⁸ He will keep you strong until the end, so that you will be blameless on the Day of our Lord Jesus the Messiah.

²³ All to the Glory of GodEverything is permissible, but not everything is helpful. Everything is permissible, but not everything builds up.

⁴ The person who speaks in a foreign language builds himself up, but the person who prophesies builds up the church. ⁵ Now I wish that all of you could speak in foreign languages, but especially that you could prophesy. The person who prophesies is more important than the person who speaks in a foreign language, unless he interprets it so that the church may be built up.

¹⁵ What does this mean? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind. I will sing psalms with my spirit, but I will also sing psalms with my mind.

²⁶ Maintain Order in the ChurchWhat, then, does this mean, brothers? When you gather, everyone has a psalm, teaching, revelation, foreign language, or interpretation. Everything must be done for upbuilding.

⁶ Now because you are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts to cry out, “Abba! Father!”

¹² to equip the saints, to do the work of ministry, and to build up the body of the Messiah

¹⁶ in whom the whole body is united and held together by every ligament with which it is supplied. As each individual part does its job, the body builds itself up in love.

²⁹ Let no filthy talk be heard from your mouths, but only what is good for building up people and meeting the need of the moment. This way you will administer grace to those who hear you.

¹⁸ Pray in the Spirit at all times with every kind of prayer and request. Likewise, be alert with your most diligent efforts and pray for all the saints.

⁷ For you have been rooted in him and are being built up and strengthened in the faith, just as you were taught, while you continue to be thankful.

¹¹ So then, encourage one another and build each other up, as you are doing.

⁴ and occupying themselves with myths and endless genealogies. These things promote controversies rather than God’s ongoing purpose, which involves faith. ⁵ I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first existed in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am convinced that this faith also exists in you.

¹ GreetingsFrom: Paul, a servant of God, and also an apostle of Jesus the Messiah, to bring the faith to those chosen by God, along with full knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness,

²² You see that his faith worked together with what he did, and by his actions his faith was made complete.

⁴ because everyone who is born from God has overcome the world. Our faith is the victory that overcomes the world.

³ Warning about False TeachersDear friends, although I was eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I found it necessary to write to you and urge you to continue your vigorous defense of the faith that was passed down to the saints once and for all.

¹⁰ If anyone is to be taken captive, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with a sword, with a sword he will be killed.
The Vision of the Beast from the EarthHere is a call for endurance and faith of the saints:

¹⁴ If a human being dies, will he live again? I will endure the entire time of my assigned service, until I am changed.

²⁵ The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the person who searches for him. ²⁶ It is good to hope and wait patiently for the LORD’s salvation.

⁴² “So keep on watching, because you don’t know on what day your Lord is coming. ⁴³ But be sure of this: if the owner of the house had known when during the night the thief would be coming, he would have stayed awake and not allowed his house to be broken into. ⁴⁴ So you, too, must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you are not expecting him.”
⁴⁵ The Faithful or the Wicked Servant
“Who, then, is the faithful and wise servant whom his master has put in charge of his household to give the others their food at the right time? ⁴⁶ How blessed is that servant whom his master finds doing this when he comes! ⁴⁷ I tell all of you with certainty, he will put him in charge of all his property.
⁴⁸ “But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master has been delayed,’ ⁴⁹ and begins to beat his fellow servants and eat and drink with the drunks, ⁵⁰ that servant’s master will come on a day when he doesn’t expect him and at an hour that he doesn’t know. ⁵¹ Then his master will punish him severely and assign him a place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

³⁶ Be like people who are waiting for their master to return from a wedding. As soon as he arrives and knocks, they will open the door for him. ³⁷ How blessed are those servants whom the master finds watching for him when he comes! I tell all of you with certainty, he himself will put on an apron, make them sit down at the table, and go around and serve them. ³⁸ How blessed they will be if their master comes in the middle of the night or near dawn and finds them awake! ³⁹ But be sure of this: if the homeowner had known at what time the thief were coming, he would have watched and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁰ So be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at a time when you don’t expect him.”

¹⁷ because while the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus the Messiah.

²¹ The person who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I, too, will love him and reveal myself to him.”

⁹ Just as the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. So abide in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commandments, you’ll abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.

⁵ Now this hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

²¹ so that, just as sin ruled by bringing death, so also grace might rule by bringing justification that results in eternal life through Jesus the Messiah, our Lord.

²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in union with the Messiah Jesus our Lord.

³⁹ nor anything above, nor anything below, nor anything else in all creation can separate us from the love of God that is ours in union with the Messiah Jesus, our Lord.

⁵ May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the endurance of the Messiah.

² To: Timothy, my genuine child in the faith.
May grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Messiah Jesus, our Lord, be yours!

² To: Timothy, my dear child.
May grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Messiah Jesus our Lord be yours!

¹⁶ May the Lord grant mercy to the family of Onesiphorus, for he often took care of me and was not ashamed that I was a prisoner.

¹⁸ May the Lord grant that he finds mercy on the day he comes again. You know very well how much he assisted me in Ephesus.

⁸ The victor’s crown of righteousness is now waiting for me, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on the day that he comes, and not only to me but also to all who eagerly wait for his appearing.

¹³ as we wait for the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Savior, Jesus the Messiah. ¹⁴ He gave himself for us to set us free from every wrong and to cleanse us so that we could be his special people who are enthusiastic about doing good deeds.

²⁸ so the Messiah was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people. And he will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to bring salvation to those who eagerly wait for him.

¹² as you look forward to and hasten the coming of the day of God, when the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved and the elements will melt with fire.

¹⁶ This is how we have come to know love: the Messiah gave his life for us. We, too, ought to give our lives for our brothers. ¹⁷ Whoever has earthly possessions and notices a brother in need and yet withholds his compassion from him, how can the love of God be present in him?

¹⁶ We have come to know and rely on the love that God has for us. God is love, and the person who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

¹⁰ The person who believes in the Son of God believes this testimony personally. The person who does not believe God has made him a liar by not believing the testimony that he has given about his Son.
¹¹ This is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is found in his Son.

¹⁸ We know that the person who has been born from God does not go on sinning. Rather, the Son of God protects them, and the evil one cannot harm them.

²¹ Little children, keep yourselves away from idols.

²⁴ Final PrayerNow to the one who is able to keep you from falling and to make you stand joyful and faultless in his glorious presence,

¹⁷ God’s Message to His Sheep“Now as for you, my flock, this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Watch out! I’m going to judge between one sheep and another, and between the rams and the goats.

²⁰ Indeed, I wish I were with you right now so that I could change the tone of my voice, because I am completely baffled by you!

¹ Help Each OtherBrothers, if a person is caught doing something wrong, those of you who are spiritual should restore that person gently. Watch out for yourself so that you are not tempted as well.

¹⁹ My brothers, if one of you wanders away from the truth and somebody brings him back, ²⁰ you may be sure that whoever brings a sinner back from his wrong path will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

¹⁶ If anyone sees his brother committing a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray that God would give him life. This applies to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not telling you to pray about that. ¹⁷ Every kind of wrongdoing is sin, yet there are sins that do not lead to death.
¹⁸ We know that the person who has been born from God does not go on sinning. Rather, the Son of God protects them, and the evil one cannot harm them.

⁴ For some people have slipped in among you unnoticed. They were written about long ago as being deserving of this condemnation because they are ungodly. They turn the grace of our God into uncontrollable lust and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus the Messiah.
⁵ Now I want to remind you, even though you are fully aware of these things, that the Lord who once saved his people from the land of Egypt later destroyed those who did not believe. ⁶ He has also held in eternal chains those angels who did not keep their own position but abandoned their assigned place. They are held in deepest darkness for judgment on the great day. ⁷ Likewise, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities near them, which like them committed sexual sins and pursued homosexual activities, serve as an example of the punishment of eternal fire.
⁸ In a similar way, these dreamers also defile their flesh, reject the Lord’s authority, and slander his glorious beings. ⁹ Even the archangel Michael, when he argued with the devil and fought over the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him. Instead, he said, “May the Lord rebuke you!” ¹⁰ Whatever these people do not understand, they slander. Like irrational animals, they are destroyed by the very things they know by instinct. ¹¹ How terrible it will be for them! For they lived like Cain did, rushed headlong into Balaam’s error to make a profit, and destroyed themselves, as happened in Korah’s rebellion. ¹² These people are stains on your love feasts. They feast with you without any sense of awe. They are shepherds who care only for themselves. They are waterless clouds blown about by the winds. They are autumn trees that are fruitless, totally dead, and uprooted. ¹³ They are wild waves of the sea, churning up the foam of their own shame. They are wandering stars for whom the deepest darkness has been reserved forever.

⁴⁷ Infected Clothing“When clothing becomes infected with a contagion—whether the clothing is wool or linen— ⁴⁸ in woven or knitted material, in leather, or with any article containing leather, ⁴⁹ if the contagion is greenish or reddish in the clothing, leather, woven material, knitted material, or with any article containing leather, it’s a fungal infection and is to be shown to the priest.
⁵⁰ “The priest is to examine the contagion and isolate the clothing for seven days. ⁵¹ The priest is to examine the contagion on the seventh day. If the infection has spread on the clothing, in the woven material, the knitted material, or in the leather, no matter the purpose for which the leather material had been manufactured, the contagion is a chronic fungal infection. It’s unclean.
⁵² “Incinerate the clothing, the woven material, the knitted material (whether wool or linen), or any of the leather articles on which the contagion is found, because it’s a chronic fungal infection. It is to be incinerated.
⁵³ “But if the priest examines it and the infection did not spread on the clothing, either in the woven or knitted material or on anything made of leather, ⁵⁴ then the priest is to command that they wash whatever has the contagion and then isolate it for seven days a second time. ⁵⁵ Then the priest is to examine it after the contagion has been washed. If the contagion hasn’t changed in appearance, even though the contagion hasn’t spread, it’s unclean. Incinerate it. It’s a fungal infection, especially if the infection is on its exposed side.
⁵⁶ “If the priest examines the item and determines that the contagion has become dull after it has been washed, tear it away from the garment, leather, woven material, or knitted material. ⁵⁷ But if it recurs on the clothing (whether woven or knitted material) or on any article made of leather, it’s a breakout, so incinerate it with fire wherever the contagion is found. ⁵⁸ Then the clothing (whether it is woven or knitted material) or any article made of leather that you’ve washed, if the contagion has been removed from it and it’s washed a second time, then it’s clean.
⁵⁹ “This is the law concerning fungal contagions on clothing of wool or linen (whether woven or knitted material) or in any of the articles made of leather, for determining whether it is clean or unclean.”

⁴⁷ Whoever has slept in the house is to wash his clothes, along with whoever has eaten in the house.

¹⁷ Every garment (including leather) on which the semen is found is to be washed with water, and it will remain unclean until evening.

⁶ All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a filthy rag; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind, our iniquities sweep us away.

¹⁴ people stagger around in the streets like the blind, defiled by blood unclean so that no one is able to touch their clothing.

² The LORD told Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan—in fact, may the LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! This man is a burning brand plucked from the fire, is he not?”
³ Now Joshua was wearing filthy clothes as he stood in the presence of the angel.
⁴ So the angel continued to tell those who were standing in his presence, “Remove his filthy clothes.”
And he told Joshua, “Look how I’ve removed your iniquity. Now I’m clothing you with fine garments.”
⁵ Then I said, “Let them place a pure diadem on his head.”
So they placed the pure diadem on his head and clothed him with fine garments while the angel of the LORD was standing beside them.

¹⁴ in the hope that I can make my people jealous and save some of them.

¹⁵ If his work is burned up, he will suffer loss. However, he himself will be saved, but it will be like going through fire.

³ Even though I am away from you physically, I am with you in spirit. I have already passed judgment on the man who did this, as though I were present with you. ⁴ In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are gathered together (and I am there in spirit), and the power of our Lord Jesus is there, too, ⁵ turn this man over to Satan for the destruction of his body, so that his spirit may be saved on the Day of the Lord.

⁹ I wrote to you in my letter to stop associating with people who are sexually immoral— ¹⁰ not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, greedy, robbers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. ¹¹ But now I am writing to you to stop associating with any so-called brother if he is sexually immoral, greedy, an idolater, a slanderer, a drunk, or a robber. You must even stop eating with someone like that.

³³ Stop being deceived: “Wicked friends lead to evil ends.”

¹⁰ For having sorrow in a godly way results in repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regrets. But the sorrow of the world produces death.
¹¹ See what great earnestness godly sorrow has produced in you! How ready you are to clear yourselves, how indignant, how alarmed, how full of longing and enthusiasm, how eager to seek justice! In every way you have demonstrated that you are innocent in this matter. ¹² So, even though I wrote to you, it wasn’t because of the man who did the wrong or because of the man who was hurt. Instead, I wrote to you so that your devotion to us might be made perfectly clear to you before God.

¹⁴ If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of him. Have nothing to do with him so that he will feel ashamed.

¹⁶ Pay close attention to your life and your teaching. Persevere in these things, because if you do so, you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.

⁴ But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me in white clothes because they are worthy.

¹⁸ Therefore, I advise you to buy from me gold purified in fire so you may be rich, white clothes to wear so your shameful nakedness won’t show, and ointment to put on your eyes so you may see.

⁶ Indeed, you have given him eternal blessings; you will make him glad with the joy of your presence.

⁴ Then I will approach the altar of God, even to God in whom my joy finds its source. Then I will praise you with the lyre, God, my God,

¹² Rejoice and be extremely glad, because your reward in heaven is great! That’s how they persecuted the prophets who came before you.”

²⁸ Jesus told them, “I tell all of you with certainty, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne in the renewed creation, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, governing the twelve tribes of Israel.

²⁶ If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and the holy angels.

³¹ Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s LoveWhat, then, can we say about all of this? If God is for us, who can be against us?

⁴ Who are you to criticize someone else’s servant? He stands or falls before his own Lord—and stand he will, because the Lord makes him stand.

²⁵ Final DoxologyNow to the one who is able to strengthen you with my gospel and the message that I preach about Jesus, the Messiah, by revealing the secret that was kept hidden from long ago ²⁶ but now has been made known through the prophets to all the gentiles, in keeping with the decree of the eternal God to bring them to the obedience that springs from faith— ²⁷ to the only wise God, through Jesus the Messiah, be glory forever! Amen.

¹⁴ We know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us to God together with you.

¹⁷ This light, temporary nature of our suffering is producing for us an everlasting weight of glory, far beyond any comparison,

² I am jealous of you with God’s own jealousy, because I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to the Messiah.

²⁰ Now to the one who can do infinitely more than all we can ask or imagine according to the power that is working among us—

²⁷ and might present the church to himself in all its glory, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind, but holy and without fault.

²² he has now reconciled by the death of his physical body, so that he may present you holy, blameless, and without fault before him.

²⁸ It is he whom we proclaim as we admonish and wisely teach everyone, so that we may present everyone mature in the Messiah.

⁴ When the Messiah, who is your life, is revealed, then you, too, will be revealed with him in glory.

¹⁶ With a shout of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of God’s trumpet, the Lord himself will come down from heaven, and the dead who belong to the Messiah will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

²⁰ Now may the God of peace, who by the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, the Great Shepherd of the sheep, ²¹ equip you with everything good to do his will, accomplishing in us what pleases him through Jesus, the Messiah. To him be glory forever and ever! Amen.

¹³ Instead, because you are participating in the sufferings of the Messiah, keep on rejoicing, so that you may be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed.

²¹ Remain in God’s love as you look for the mercy of our Lord Jesus the Messiah, which brings eternal life.

⁵ In their mouth no lie was found. They are blameless.

¹¹ To you, LORD, belongs the greatness, and the valor, and the splendor, and the endurance, and the majesty because all that is in heaven and on earth is yours. To you belongs the kingdom, LORD, and you are exalted as head over all.

¹⁸ Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does awesome deeds. ¹⁹ And blessed be his glorious name forever, and may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and amen!

²⁰ It’s true that Moses struck the rock so that water flowed forth and torrents of water gushed out, but is he also able to give bread or to supply meat for his people?”

²⁴ How numerous are your works, LORD! You have made them all wisely; the earth is filled with your creations.

⁵ Our Lord is great, and rich in power; his understanding has no limitation.

² “Look! God—yes God—is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid. For the LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”

²¹ Explain and present a case! Yes, let them take counsel together. Who announced this long ago, who declared it from the distant past? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides me, a righteous God and Savior; and there is none besides me.

³⁷ In conclusion, I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and give glory to the King of heaven: For everything he does is true, his ways are just, and he is able to humble those who walk in pride.”

¹³ And never bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

²² You don’t know what you’re worshiping. We Jews know what we’re worshiping, because salvation comes from the Jews.

⁴⁴ How can you believe when you accept each other’s praise and do not look for the praise that comes from the only God?

³³ In Praise of God’s WaysO how deep are God’s riches, and wisdom, and knowledge! How unfathomable are his decisions and unexplainable are his ways!

³⁶ For all things are from him, by him, and for him. Glory belongs to him forever! Amen.

²⁷ to the only wise God, through Jesus the Messiah, be glory forever! Amen.

⁸ that he lavished on us, along with all wisdom and understanding,

¹⁰ He did this so that now, through the church, the wisdom of God in all its variety might be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realm

²¹ to him be glory in the church and in the Messiah Jesus to all generations, forever and ever! Amen.

¹⁷ Now to the King Eternal—the immortal, invisible, and only God—be honor and glory forever and ever! Amen.

³ This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,

³ At the right time he revealed his message through the proclamation that was entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior.
⁴ To: Titus, a genuine child in the faith that we share.
May grace and peace from God the Father and the Messiah, Jesus our Savior, be yours!

¹⁰ or steal from them. Instead, they are to show complete and perfect loyalty, so that in every way they may make the teaching about God our Savior more attractive.

¹³ as we wait for the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Savior, Jesus the Messiah.

⁴ In grace our Savior God appeared, to make his love for mankind clear.

⁸ Jesus, the Messiah, is the same yesterday and today—and forever!

¹¹ Whoever speaks must speak God’s words. Whoever serves must serve with the strength that God supplies, so that in every way God may be glorified through Jesus, the Messiah. Glory and power belong to him forever and ever! Amen.

¹⁰ After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you by the Messiah Jesus to his eternal glory, will restore you, establish you, strengthen you, and support you. ¹¹ Power belongs to him forever and ever! Amen.

¹⁸ Instead, continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus, the Messiah. Glory belongs to him both now and on that eternal day! Amen.

⁶ and has made us a kingdom, priests for his God and Father, be glory and power forever and ever! Amen.

⁹ Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the one who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰ the 24 elders bow down and worship in front of the one who sits on the throne, the one who lives forever and ever. They throw their victor’s crowns in front of the throne and say, ¹¹ “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory, honor, and power, because you created all things; they came into existence and were created because of your will.”

¹³ I heard every creature in heaven, on earth, under the earth, and on the sea, and everything that is in them, saying, “To the one who sits on the throne and to the lamb be praise, honor, glory, and power forever and ever!” ¹⁴ Then the four living creatures said, “Amen!”, and the elders bowed down and worshipped.