1 Corinthians 11 Cross References - MSB

¹ You are to imitate me, just as I imitate Christ. ² Now I commend you, brothers, for remembering me in everything and for maintaining the traditions, just as I passed them on to you. ³ But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. ⁴ Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. ⁵ And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for it is just as if her head were shaved. ⁶ If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off. And if it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head. ⁷ A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. ⁸ For man did not come from woman, but woman from man. ⁹ Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. ¹⁰ For this reason a woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head, because of the angels. ¹¹ In the Lord, however, man is not independent of woman, nor is woman independent of man. ¹² For just as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God. ¹³ Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? ¹⁴ Doesn’t nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, ¹⁵ but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given as a covering. ¹⁶ If anyone is inclined to dispute this, we have no other practice, nor do the churches of God. ¹⁷ In the following instructions I have no praise to offer, because your gatherings do more harm than good. ¹⁸ First of all, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. ¹⁹ And indeed, there must be differences among you to show which of you are approved. ²⁰ Now then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat. ²¹ For as you eat, each of you goes ahead without sharing his meal. While one remains hungry, another gets drunk. ²² Don’t you have your own homes in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What can I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? No, I will not! ²³ For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, ²⁴ and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take and eat. This is My body, which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” ²⁵ In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” ²⁶ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. ²⁷ Therefore, whoever eats this bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸ Each one must examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. ²⁹ For anyone who eats and drinks unworthily, without recognizing the body of the Lord, eats and drinks judgment on himself. ³⁰ That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. ³¹ Now if we judged ourselves properly, we would not come under judgment. ³² But when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world. ³³ So, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. ³⁴ If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you come together it will not result in judgment. And when I come, I will give instructions about the remaining matters.

² Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. ³ For even Christ did not please Himself, but as it is written: “The insults of those who insult You have fallen on Me.”

¹⁶ Therefore I urge you to imitate me.

³³ as I also try to please everyone in all I do. For I am not seeking my own good, but the good of many, that they may be saved.

¹ Be imitators of God, therefore, as beloved children, ² and walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant sacrificial offering to God.

⁴ Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. ⁵ Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus:

¹⁷ Join one another in following my example, brothers, and carefully observe those who walk according to the pattern we set for you.

⁶ And you became imitators of us and of the Lord when you welcomed the message with the joy of the Holy Spirit, in spite of your great suffering.

⁹ Not that we lack this right, but we wanted to offer ourselves as an example for you to imitate.

¹² Then you will not be sluggish, but will imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

²⁸ Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband praises her as well: ²⁹ “Many daughters have done noble things, but you surpass them all!” ³⁰ Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. ³¹ Give her the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her at the gates.

⁶ Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and decrees of the Lord.

¹⁷ That is why I have sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ, which is exactly what I teach everywhere in every church.

¹⁷ Regardless, each one should lead the life that God has assigned to him and to which the Lord has called him. This is what I prescribe in all the churches.

¹⁷ In the following instructions I have no praise to offer, because your gatherings do more harm than good.

²² Don’t you have your own homes in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What can I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? No, I will not!

² By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

⁶ But just now, Timothy has returned from his visit with the good news about your faith, your love, and the fond memories you have preserved, longing to see us just as we long to see you.

¹ Finally, brothers, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to live in a way that is pleasing to God, just as you have received from us. So you should do so all the more. ² For you know the instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

¹⁵ Therefore, brothers, stand firm and cling to the traditions we taught you, whether by speech or by letter.

⁶ Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who leads an undisciplined life that is not in keeping with the tradition you received from us.

¹⁶ To the woman He said: “I will sharply increase your pain in childbirth; in pain you will bring forth children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

³ He said to Me, “You are My Servant, Israel, in whom I will display My glory.” ⁴ But I said, “I have labored in vain, I have spent My strength in futility and vanity; yet My vindication is with the LORD, and My reward is with My God.” ⁵ And now says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Jacob back to Him, that Israel might be gathered to Him—for I am honored in the sight of the LORD, and My God is My strength— ⁶ He says: “It is not enough for You to be My Servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the protected ones of Israel. I will also make You a light for the nations, to bring My salvation to the ends of the earth.”

¹³ Behold, My Servant will prosper; He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.

⁴ Behold, I have made him a witness to the nations, a leader and commander of the peoples.

¹ The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners, ² to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of our God’s vengeance, to comfort all who mourn, ³ to console the mourners in Zion—to give them a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for a spirit of despair. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified. ⁴ They will rebuild the ancient ruins; they will restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations.

¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.

³⁴ For the One whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. ³⁵ The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in His hands. ³⁶ Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”

²⁰ The Father loves the Son and shows Him all He does. And to your amazement, He will show Him even greater works than these. ²¹ For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He wishes. ²² Furthermore, the Father judges no one, but has assigned all judgment to the Son, ²³ so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. ²⁴ Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment. Indeed, he has crossed over from death to life. ²⁵ Truly, truly, I tell you, the hour is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. ²⁶ For as the Father has life in Himself, so also He has granted the Son to have life in Himself. ²⁷ And He has given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. ²⁸ Do not be amazed at this, for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice ²⁹ and come out—those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. ³⁰ I can do nothing by Myself; I judge only as I hear. And My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of the Father who sent Me.

²⁸ You heard Me say, ‘I am going away, and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because My Father is greater than I.

² For You granted Him authority over all people, so that He may give eternal life to all those You have given Him. ³ Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent. ⁴ I have glorified You on earth. I have accomplished the work You gave Me to do. ⁵ And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world existed.

²³ and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

²⁷ For “God has put everything under His feet.” Now when it says that everything has been put under Him, this clearly does not include the One who put everything under Him. ²⁸ And when all things have been subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will be made subject to Him who put all things under Him, so that God may be all in all.

²⁰ which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, ²¹ far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. ²² And God put everything under His feet and made Him head over everything for the church, ²³ which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

¹⁵ Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ Himself, who is the head.

²² Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. ²³ For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, His body, of which He is the Savior. ²⁴ Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

⁷ but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness. ⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross. ⁹ Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

¹⁸ And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and firstborn from among the dead, so that in all things He may have preeminence.

¹⁰ And you have been made complete in Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.

¹⁹ He has lost connection to the head, from whom the whole body, supported and knit together by its joints and ligaments, grows as God causes it to grow.

¹⁸ Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

¹¹ A woman must learn in quietness and full submissiveness. ¹² I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; she is to remain quiet.

¹ Wives, in the same way, submit yourselves to your husbands, so that even if they refuse to believe the word, they will be won over without words by the behavior of their wives

⁵ For this is how the holy women of the past adorned themselves. They put their hope in God and were submissive to their husbands, ⁶ just as Sarah obeyed Abraham and called him lord. And you are her children if you do what is right and refuse to give way to fear.

³⁰ But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went up. His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. And all the people with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they went.

⁴ But the king covered his face and cried out at the top of his voice, “O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!”

¹⁴ Doesn’t nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him,

¹⁰ to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in various tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.

²⁸ And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, and those with gifts of healing, helping, administration, and various tongues.

¹ Earnestly pursue love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. ² For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men, but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries in the Spirit. ³ But he who prophesies speaks to men for their edification, encouragement, and comfort. ⁴ The one who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but the one who prophesies edifies the church. ⁵ I wish that all of you could speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. For he who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets so that the church may be edified. ⁶ Now, brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? ⁷ Even in the case of lifeless instruments, such as the flute or harp, how will anyone recognize the tune they are playing unless the notes are distinct? ⁸ Again, if the trumpet sounds a muffled call, who will prepare for battle? ⁹ So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. ¹⁰ Assuredly, there are many different languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. ¹¹ If, then, I do not know the meaning of someone’s language, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and he is a foreigner to me. ¹² It is the same with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, strive to excel in gifts that build up the church. ¹³ Therefore, the one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret. ¹⁴ For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. ¹⁵ What then shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind. I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind. ¹⁶ Otherwise, if you speak a blessing in spirit, how can someone who is uninstructed say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying? ¹⁷ You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other one is not edified. ¹⁸ I thank my God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. ¹⁹ But in the church, I would rather speak five coherent words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue. ²⁰ Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature. ²¹ It is written in the Law: “By strange tongues and foreign lips I will speak to this people, but even then they will not listen to Me, says the Lord.” ²² Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers, but for unbelievers. Prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers. ²³ So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who are uninstructed or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your minds? ²⁴ But if an unbeliever or uninstructed person comes in while everyone is prophesying, he will be convicted and called to account by all, ²⁵ and so the secrets of his heart will be made known. So he will fall facedown and worship God, proclaiming, “God is truly among you!”

¹² then you shall bring her into your house. She must shave her head, trim her nails,

³⁶ There was also a prophetess named Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, who was well along in years. She had been married for seven years,

¹⁷ ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.

⁹ He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.

³⁴ Your women are to be silent in the churches. They are not permitted to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says.

¹⁸ After the priest has the woman stand before the LORD, he is to let down her hair and place in her hands the grain offering of memorial, which is the grain offering for jealousy. The priest is to hold the bitter water that brings a curse.

⁵ A woman must not wear men’s clothing, and a man must not wear women’s clothing, for whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD your God.

²⁶ Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the earth itself and every creature that crawls upon it.” ²⁷ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

¹ This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in His own likeness.

⁶ Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man his blood will be shed; for in His own image God has made mankind.

⁶ You made him ruler of the works of Your hands; You have placed everything under his feet:

³ But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.

⁹ With the tongue we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness.

²¹ So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he slept, He took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the area with flesh. ²² And from the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man, He made a woman and brought her to him. ²³ And the man said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for out of man she was taken.”

¹³ For Adam was formed first, and then Eve.

¹⁸ The LORD God also said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make for him a suitable helper.”

²⁰ The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.

²³ And the man said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for out of man she was taken.” ²⁴ For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

¹⁶ And he said to Sarah, “See, I am giving your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is your vindication before all who are with you; you are completely cleared.”

⁶⁴ And when Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac, she got down from her camel ⁶⁵ and asked the servant, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?” “It is my master,” the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself.

⁶ Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, and do not tell the messenger that your vow was a mistake. Why should God be angry with your words and destroy the work of your hands?

¹⁰ See that you do not look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven.

¹⁴ Are not the angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

¹⁰ To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. ¹¹ But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife. ¹² To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If a brother has an unbelieving wife and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. ¹³ And if a woman has an unbelieving husband and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. ¹⁴ For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his believing wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.

¹² The body is a unit, though it is composed of many parts. And although its parts are many, they all form one body. So it is with Christ. ¹³ For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free, and we were all given into one Spirit to drink. ¹⁴ For the body does not consist of one part, but of many. ¹⁵ If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸ But in fact, God has arranged the members of the body, every one of them, according to His design. ¹⁹ If they were all one part, where would the body be? ²⁰ As it is, there are many parts, but one body. ²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you.” Nor can the head say to the feet, “I do not need you.” ²² On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,

²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

⁴ The LORD has made everything for His purpose—even the wicked for the day of disaster.

³⁶ For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen.

⁶ yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we exist. And there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we exist.

² But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe. ³ The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature, upholding all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for our sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

⁵⁷ And why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right?

²⁴ Stop judging by outward appearances, and start judging justly.”

¹⁵ I speak to reasonable people; judge for yourselves what I say.

²⁶ And when he cut the hair of his head—he shaved it every year because his hair got so heavy—he would weigh it out to be two hundred shekels, according to the royal standard.

³⁵ If they wish to inquire about something, they are to ask their own husbands at home; for it is dishonorable for a woman to speak in the church.

²¹ But they are under the impression that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or observe our customs.

²⁴ Take these men, purify yourself along with them, and pay their expenses so they can have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know that there is no truth to these rumors about you, but that you also live in obedience to the law.

³³ For God is not a God of disorder, but of peace—as in all the churches of the saints. ³⁴ Your women are to be silent in the churches. They are not permitted to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says.

¹ Now about the collection for the saints, you are to do as I directed the churches of Galatia:

¹⁴ For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Judea that are in Christ Jesus. You suffered from your own countrymen the very things they suffered from the Jews,

³ If anyone teaches another doctrine and disagrees with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and with godly teaching, ⁴ he is conceited and understands nothing. Instead, he has an unhealthy interest in controversies and semantics, out of which come envy, strife, abusive talk, evil suspicions,

¹⁷ You must not harbor hatred against your brother in your heart. Directly rebuke your neighbor, so that you will not incur guilt on account of him.

⁵ Better an open rebuke than love that is concealed.

¹³ Bring your worthless offerings no more; your incense is detestable to Me—your New Moons, Sabbaths, and convocations. I cannot endure iniquity in a solemn assembly. ¹⁴ I hate your New Moons and your appointed feasts. They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them.

¹ “Cry aloud, do not hold back! Raise your voice like a ram’s horn. Declare to My people their transgression and to the house of Jacob their sins. ² For day after day they seek Me and delight to know My ways, like a nation that does what is right and does not forsake the justice of their God. They ask Me for righteous judgments; they delight in the nearness of God.” ³ “Why have we fasted, and You have not seen? Why have we humbled ourselves, and You have not noticed?” “Behold, on the day of your fast, you do as you please, and you oppress all your workers. ⁴ You fast with contention and strife to strike viciously with your fist. You cannot fast as you do today and have your voice be heard on high.

⁹ Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal, and follow other gods that you have not known, ¹⁰ and then come and stand before Me in this house, which bears My Name, and say, ‘We are delivered, so we can continue with all these abominations’?

³ For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Then do what is right, and you will have his approval.

² Now I commend you, brothers, for remembering me in everything and for maintaining the traditions, just as I passed them on to you.

²⁰ Now then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat.

³⁴ If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you come together it will not result in judgment. And when I come, I will give instructions about the remaining matters.

²³ So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who are uninstructed or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your minds?

²⁶ What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, each one of you has a psalm or a teaching, a tongue, a revelation, or an interpretation. All of these must be done to build up the church.

²⁵ Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

¹⁴ or to governors as those sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right.

¹⁰ I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree together, so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be united in mind and conviction. ¹¹ My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. ¹² What I mean is this: Individuals among you are saying, “I follow Paul,” “I follow Apollos,” “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.”

³ for you are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and dissension and division among you, are you not worldly? Are you not walking in the way of man?

¹ It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not even named among pagans: A man has his father’s wife.

¹ If any of you has a grievance against another, how dare he go to law before the unrighteous instead of before the saints!

³ you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. For the LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love Him with all your heart and with all your soul.

⁷ Woe to the world for the causes of sin. These stumbling blocks must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!

³⁵ so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your soul as well.”

¹ Jesus said to His disciples, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks will come, but woe to the one through whom they come!

¹⁷ Then the high priest and all his associates, who belonged to the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They went out

⁵ But some believers from the party of the Pharisees stood up and declared, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.”

³⁰ Even from your own number, men will rise up and distort the truth to draw away disciples after them.

⁵ We have found this man to be a pestilence, stirring up dissension among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes,

¹⁴ I do confess to you, however, that I worship the God of our fathers according to the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that is laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets,

⁵ They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I lived as a Pharisee, adhering to the strictest sect of our religion.

²² But we consider your views worth hearing, because we know that people everywhere are speaking against this sect.”

⁵ Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Can’t you see for yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you—unless you actually fail the test? ⁶ And I hope you will realize that we have not failed the test. ⁷ Now I pray to God that you will not do anything wrong—not that we will appear to have stood the test, but that you will do what is right, even if we appear to have failed.

²⁰ idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions,

¹ Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, ² influenced by the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences are seared with a hot iron.

¹⁰ Reject a divisive man after a first and second admonition,

¹ Now there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. ² Many will follow in their depravity, and because of them the way of truth will be defamed.

¹⁹ They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of them belonged to us.

¹⁶ Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? ¹⁷ Because there is one loaf, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one loaf. ¹⁸ Consider the people of Israel: Are not those who eat the sacrifices fellow partakers in the altar?

²³ For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, ²⁴ and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take and eat. This is My body, which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” ²⁵ In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

¹³ They will receive the wages is the wages of their wickedness. They consider it a pleasure to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deception as they feast with you.

¹² These men are hidden reefs in your love feasts, shamelessly feasting with you but shepherding only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried along by the wind; fruitless trees in autumn, twice dead after being uprooted.

⁵ He who mocks the poor insults their Maker; whoever gloats over calamity will not go unpunished.

²⁸ Therefore keep watch over yourselves and the entire flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of the Lord and of God, which He purchased with His own blood.

³² Do not become a stumbling block, whether to Jews or Greeks or the church of God—

⁹ For I am the least of the apostles and am unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

⁵ For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how can he care for the church of God?

¹⁵ in case I am delayed, so that you will know how each one must conduct himself in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

⁵ Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him? ⁶ But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?

⁵ See, I have taught you statutes and ordinances just as the LORD my God has commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land that you are about to enter and possess.

² “You know that the Passover is two days away, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”

¹⁷ On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?”

²⁶ While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is My body.” ²⁷ Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. ²⁸ This is My blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

³⁴ “Truly I tell you,” Jesus declared, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”

²⁰ and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.”

²² While they were eating, Jesus took bread, spoke a blessing and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is My body.” ²³ Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. ²⁴ He said to them, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many.

¹⁹ And He took the bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body, given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” ²⁰ In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.

⁷ On the first day of the week, the disciples came together to break bread. Since Paul was ready to leave the next day, he talked to them and kept on speaking until midnight.

³ For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

¹ Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead—

¹¹ But I certify to you, brothers, that the gospel I preached was not devised by man. ¹² I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

² For you know the instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

¹⁴ And this day will be a memorial for you, and you are to celebrate it as a feast to the LORD, as a permanent statute for the generations to come.

⁷ you are to tell them, ‘The waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters were cut off.’ Therefore these stones will be a memorial to the Israelites forever.”

²⁶ The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the LORD will praise Him. May your hearts live forever!

²⁹ All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before Him—even those unable to preserve their lives.

⁴ He has caused His wonders to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and compassionate.

⁵ “Come, eat my bread and drink the wine I have mixed.

⁴ Take me away with you—let us hurry! May the king bring me to his chambers. We will rejoice and delight in you; we will praise your love more than wine. It is only right that they adore you.

¹ I have come to my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice. I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends, and drink; drink freely, O beloved.

⁶ On this mountain the LORD of Hosts will prepare a banquet for all the peoples, a feast of aged wine, of choice meat, of finely aged wine.

⁸ Yes, we wait for You, O LORD; we walk in the path of Your judgments. Your name and renown are the desire of our souls.

¹ “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost! ² Why spend money on that which is not bread, and your labor on that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of foods. ³ Incline your ear and come to Me; listen, so that your soul may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant—My loving devotion promised to David.

¹³ Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached in all the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

⁵³ So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴ Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁵⁵ For My flesh is truly food, and My blood is truly drink. ⁵⁶ Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him. ⁵⁷ Just as the living Father sent Me and I live because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on Me will live because of Me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your fathers, who ate the manna and died, the one who eats this bread will live forever.”

⁷ Get rid of the old leaven, that you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed for us. ⁸ Therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old bread, leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and of truth.

³ They all ate the same spiritual food ⁴ and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.

¹⁶ Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? ¹⁷ Because there is one loaf, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one loaf.

²⁷ Therefore, whoever eats this bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸ Each one must examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.

²⁰ In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.

¹⁶ Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?

⁶ And He has qualified us as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

¹⁴ But their minds were closed. For to this day the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant. It has not been lifted, because only in Christ can it be removed.

¹⁵ Therefore Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, now that He has died to redeem them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. ¹⁶ In the case of a will, it is necessary to establish the death of the one who made it, ¹⁷ because a will does not take effect until the one who made it has died; it cannot be executed while he is still alive. ¹⁸ That is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. ¹⁹ For when Moses had proclaimed every commandment of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, along with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people, ²⁰ saying, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.”

²⁰ Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,

³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and welcome you into My presence, so that you also may be where I am.

²² Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain until I return, what is that to you? You follow Me!”

¹¹ “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven.”

⁵ Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.

²³ But each in his own turn: Christ the firstfruits; then at His coming, those who belong to Him.

¹⁶ For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise.

¹⁰ on the day He comes to be glorified in His saints and regarded with wonder by all who have believed, including you who have believed our testimony.

² not to be easily disconcerted or alarmed by any spirit or message or letter seeming to be from us, alleging that the Day of Christ has already come. ³ Let no one deceive you in any way, for it will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of sin—the son of destruction—is revealed.

²⁸ so also Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await Him.

¹⁰ But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be burned up.

²⁸ And now, little children, remain in Christ, so that when He appears, we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming.

¹⁴ Enoch, the seventh from Adam, also prophesied about them: “Behold, the Lord is coming with myriads of His holy ones

⁷ Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him—even those who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen.

¹¹ Then I saw a great white throne and the One seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them. ¹² And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And there were open books, and one of them was the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their deeds, as recorded in the books.

²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Yes, come, Lord Jesus!

¹ Now Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense, and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to His command. ² So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died in the presence of the LORD. ³ Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD meant when He said: ‘To those who come near Me I will show My holiness, and in the sight of all the people I will reveal My glory.’” But Aaron remained silent.

¹⁰ “Tell the Israelites: ‘When any one of you or your descendants is unclean because of a dead body, or is away on a journey, he may still observe the Passover to the LORD.

¹³ But if a man who is ceremonially clean and is not on a journey still fails to observe the Passover, he must be cut off from his people, because he did not present the LORD’s offering at its appointed time. That man will bear the consequences of his sin.

¹⁸ A large number of the people—many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun—had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah interceded for them, saying, “May the LORD, who is good, provide atonement for everyone ¹⁹ who sets his heart on seeking God—the LORD, the God of his fathers—even if he is not cleansed according to the purification rules of the sanctuary.” ²⁰ And the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people.

¹¹ But when the king came in to see the guests, he spotted a man who was not dressed in wedding clothes.

⁵¹ I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And this bread, which I will give for the life of the world, is My flesh.”

⁶³ The Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I speak to you are spirit and they are life. ⁶⁴ However, there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray Him.)

¹⁸ I am not speaking about all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the Scripture: ‘The one who shares bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me.’ ¹⁹ I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it comes to pass, you will believe that I am He. ²⁰ Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever receives the one I send receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives the One who sent Me.” ²¹ After Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit and testified, “Truly, truly, I tell you, one of you will betray Me.” ²² The disciples looked at one another, perplexed as to which of them He meant. ²³ One of His disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, was reclining at His side. ²⁴ So Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus which one He was talking about. ²⁵ Leaning back against Jesus, he asked, “Lord, who is it?” ²⁶ Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I give this morsel after I have dipped it.” Then He dipped the morsel and gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. ²⁷ And when Judas had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus said to Judas, “What you are about to do, do quickly.”

²¹ You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot partake in the table of the Lord and the table of demons too.

²⁹ How much more severely do you think one deserves to be punished who has trampled on the Son of God, profaned the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and insulted the Spirit of grace?

¹⁰ “Tell the Israelites: ‘When any one of you or your descendants is unclean because of a dead body, or is away on a journey, he may still observe the Passover to the LORD. ¹¹ Such people are to observe it at twilight on the fourteenth day of the second month. They are to eat the lamb, together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs; ¹² they may not leave any of it until morning or break any of its bones. They must observe the Passover according to all its statutes. ¹³ But if a man who is ceremonially clean and is not on a journey still fails to observe the Passover, he must be cut off from his people, because he did not present the LORD’s offering at its appointed time. That man will bear the consequences of his sin.

² Test me, O LORD, and try me; examine my heart and mind. ³ For Your loving devotion is before my eyes, and I have walked in Your truth. ⁴ I do not sit with deceitful men, nor keep company with hypocrites. ⁵ I hate the mob of evildoers, and refuse to sit with the wicked. ⁶ I wash my hands in innocence that I may go about Your altar, O LORD, ⁷ to raise my voice in thanksgiving and declare all Your wonderful works.

⁴⁰ Let us examine and test our ways, and turn back to the LORD.

⁵ Now this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Consider carefully your ways.

⁷ This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Consider carefully your ways.

⁵ “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for these seventy years, was it really for Me that you fasted? ⁶ And when you were eating and drinking, were you not doing so simply for yourselves? ⁷ Are these not the words that the LORD proclaimed through the earlier prophets, when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were populous and prosperous, and the Negev and the foothills were inhabited?’”

²³ So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there before the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

³¹ Now if we judged ourselves properly, we would not come under judgment.

⁵ Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Can’t you see for yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you—unless you actually fail the test?

⁴ Each one should test his own work. Then he will have reason to boast in himself alone, and not in someone else.

²⁰ Even if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts, and He knows all things. ²¹ Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God,

⁵ Whoever keeps his command will come to no harm, and a wise heart knows the right time and procedure.

² Consequently, whoever resists authority is opposing what God has set in place, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

²⁴ and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take and eat. This is My body, which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

²⁷ Therefore, whoever eats this bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.

³⁰ That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.

³² But when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world. ³³ So, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. ³⁴ If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you come together it will not result in judgment. And when I come, I will give instructions about the remaining matters.

¹⁴ But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained their senses to distinguish good from evil.

¹ Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.

¹² Above all, my brothers, do not swear, not by heaven or earth or by any other oath. Simply let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, so that you will not fall into hypocrisy.

²⁶ saying, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His eyes, and pay attention to His commands, and keep all His statutes, then I will not bring on you any of the diseases I inflicted on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.”

¹² But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust Me to show My holiness in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.”

²⁴ “Aaron will be gathered to his people; he will not enter the land that I have given the Israelites, because both of you rebelled against My command at the waters of Meribah.

⁶ So the LORD sent venomous snakes among the people, and many of the Israelites were bitten and died. ⁷ Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the LORD and against you. Intercede with the LORD so He will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses interceded for the people. ⁸ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will live.” ⁹ So Moses made a bronze snake and mounted it on a pole. If anyone who was bitten looked at the bronze snake, he would live.

¹⁴ Nevertheless, because by this deed you have shown utter contempt for the word of the LORD, the son born to you will surely die.” ¹⁵ After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill. ¹⁶ David pleaded with God for the boy. He fasted and went into his house and spent the night lying in sackcloth on the ground. ¹⁷ The elders of his household stood beside him to help him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat anything with them. ¹⁸ On the seventh day the child died. But David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Look, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not listen to us. So how can we tell him the child is dead? He may even harm himself.”

²¹ and the prophet cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because you have defied the word of the LORD and have not kept the commandment that the LORD your God gave you, ²² but you went back and ate bread and drank water in the place where He told you not to do so, your body shall never reach the tomb of your fathers.’” ²³ And after the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the old prophet who had brought him back saddled the donkey for him. ²⁴ As he went on his way, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was left lying in the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it.

¹ A Psalm of David, for remembrance. O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger or discipline me in Your wrath. ² For Your arrows have pierced me deeply, and Your hand has pressed down on me. ³ There is no soundness in my body because of Your anger; there is no rest in my bones because of my sin. ⁴ For my iniquities have overwhelmed me; they are a burden too heavy to bear. ⁵ My wounds are foul and festering because of my sinful folly. ⁶ I am bent and brought low; all day long I go about mourning. ⁷ For my loins are full of burning pain, and no soundness remains in my body. ⁸ I am numb and badly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart.

³⁰ Yet before they had filled their desire, with the food still in their mouths, ³¹ God’s anger flared against them, and He put to death their strongest and subdued the young men of Israel.

³¹ if they violate My statutes and fail to keep My commandments, ³² I will attend to their transgression with the rod, and to their iniquity with stripes. ³³ But I will not withdraw My loving devotion from him, nor ever betray My faithfulness. ³⁴ I will not violate My covenant or alter the utterance of My lips.

² “Only you have I known from all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”

³⁶ For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep. His body was buried with his fathers and saw decay.

³² But when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.

⁵¹ Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—

¹⁴ For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.

⁵ And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you. ⁶ For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises every son He receives.” ⁷ Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? ⁸ If you do not experience discipline like everyone else, then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. ⁹ Furthermore, we have all had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them. Should we not much more submit to the Father of our spirits and live? ¹⁰ Our fathers disciplined us for a short time as they thought best, but God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness. ¹¹ No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who have been trained by it.

¹⁹ Those I love, I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent.

³ When I kept silent, my bones became brittle from my groaning all day long. ⁴ For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was drained as in the summer heat. Selah ⁵ Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not hide my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah

¹⁸ I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning: ‘You disciplined me severely, like an untrained calf. Restore me, that I may return, for You are the LORD my God. ¹⁹ After I returned, I repented; and after I was instructed, I struck my thigh in grief. I was ashamed and humiliated because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’ ²⁰ Is not Ephraim a precious son to Me, a delightful child? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore My heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him,” declares the LORD.

¹⁸ I will get up and go back to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’ ²⁰ So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still in the distance, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.

²⁸ Each one must examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.

⁹ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

⁵ Therefore, keep in mind how far you have fallen. Repent and perform the deeds you did at first. But if you do not repent, I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place.

² Wake up and strengthen what remains, which was about to die; for I have found your deeds incomplete in the sight of My God. ³ Remember, then, what you have received and heard. Keep it and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come upon you like a thief, and you will not know the hour when I will come upon you.

⁵ So know in your heart that just as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.

¹⁷ Blessed indeed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. ¹⁸ For He wounds, but He also binds; He strikes, but His hands also heal.

¹⁸ to preserve his soul from the Pit and his life from perishing by the sword. ¹⁹ A man is also chastened on his bed with pain and constant distress in his bones, ²⁰ so that he detests his bread, and his soul loathes his favorite food. ²¹ His flesh wastes away from sight, and his hidden bones protrude. ²² He draws near to the Pit, and his life to the messengers of death. ²³ Yet if there is a messenger on his side, one mediator in a thousand, to tell a man what is right for him, ²⁴ to be gracious to him and say, ‘Spare him from going down to the Pit; I have found his ransom,’ ²⁵ then his flesh is refreshed like a child’s; he returns to the days of his youth. ²⁶ He prays to God and finds favor; he sees God’s face and shouts for joy, and God restores His righteousness to that man. ²⁷ Then he sings before men with these words: ‘I have sinned and perverted what was right; yet I did not get what I deserved. ²⁸ He redeemed my soul from going down to the Pit, and I will live to see the light.’ ²⁹ Behold, all these things God does to a man, two or even three times, ³⁰ to bring back his soul from the Pit, that he may be enlightened with the light of life.

³¹ Suppose someone says to God, ‘I have endured my punishment; I will offend no more. ³² Teach me what I cannot see; if I have done wrong, I will not do it again.’

¹² Blessed is the man You discipline, O LORD, and teach from Your law, ¹³ to grant him relief from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked.

¹⁸ The LORD disciplined me severely, but He has not given me over to death.

¹¹ My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD, and do not loathe His rebuke; ¹² for the LORD disciplines the one He loves, as does a father the son in whom he delights.

⁵ Why do you want more beatings? Why do you keep rebelling? Your head has a massive wound, and your whole heart is afflicted.

²⁸ Therefore you must say to them, ‘This is the nation that would not listen to the voice of the LORD their God and would not receive correction. Truth has perished; it has disappeared from their lips.

² She heeded no voice; she accepted no correction. She does not trust in the LORD; she has not drawn near to her God.

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.

¹⁹ We know that we are of God, and that the whole world is under the power of the evil one.

¹⁹ But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only what these arrogant people are saying, but what power they have.

²¹ For as you eat, each of you goes ahead without sharing his meal. While one remains hungry, another gets drunk. ²² Don’t you have your own homes in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What can I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? No, I will not!

² On the first day of every week, each of you should set aside a portion of his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will be needed.

⁵ After I go through Macedonia, however, I will come to you; for I will be going through Macedonia.

⁵ The reason I left you in Crete was that you would set in order what was unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.