1 Timothy 6 Cross References - MSB

¹ All who are under the yoke of slavery should regard their masters as fully worthy of honor, so that God’s name and our teaching will not be discredited. ² Those who have believing masters should not show disrespect because they are brothers, but should serve them all the more, since those receiving their good service are beloved believers. Teach and encourage these principles. 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, ⁵ and constant friction between men of depraved mind who are devoid of the truth. These men regard godliness as a means of gain. Withdraw yourself from such. ⁶ Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain. ⁷ For we brought nothing into the world, so certainly we cannot carry anything out of it. ⁸ But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. ⁹ Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. ¹¹ But you, O man of God, flee from these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. ¹² Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made the good confession before many witnesses. ¹³ I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who made the good confession in His testimony before Pontius Pilate: ¹⁴ Keep this commandment without stain or reproach until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵ which the blessed and only Sovereign One—the King of kings and Lord of lords—will bring about in His own time. ¹⁶ He alone is immortal and dwells in unapproachable light. No one has ever seen Him, nor can anyone see Him. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen. ¹⁷ Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in the living God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy. ¹⁸ Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, and to be generous and ready to share, ¹⁹ treasuring up for themselves a firm foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of eternal life. ²⁰ O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Avoid irreverent, empty chatter and the opposing arguments of so-called “knowledge,” ²¹ which some have professed and thus swerved away from the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen.

⁷ And there was discord between the herdsmen of Abram and the herdsmen of Lot. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were also living in the land. ⁸ So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no contention between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen. After all, we are brothers.

⁹ So the angel of the LORD told her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her authority.”

² So Abraham instructed the chief servant of his household, who managed all he owned, “Place your hand under my thigh,

¹² “O LORD, God of my master Abraham,” he prayed, “please grant me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.

²⁷ saying, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not withheld His kindness and faithfulness from my master. As for me, the LORD has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.”

³⁵ “The LORD has greatly blessed my master, and he has become rich. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, menservants and maidservants, camels and donkeys. ³⁶ My master’s wife Sarah has borne him a son in her old age, and my master has given him everything he owns. ³⁷ My master made me swear an oath and said, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I dwell, ³⁸ but you shall go to my father’s house and to my kindred to take a wife for my son.’ ³⁹ Then I asked my master, ‘What if the woman will not come back with me?’ ⁴⁰ And he told me, ‘The LORD, before whom I have walked, will send His angel with you and make your journey a success, so that you may take a wife for my son from my kindred and from my father’s house. ⁴¹ And when you go to my kindred, if they refuse to give her to you, then you will be released from my oath.’ ⁴² So when I came to the spring today, I prayed: O LORD, God of my master Abraham, if only You would make my journey a success! ⁴³ Here I am, standing beside this spring. Now if a maiden comes out to draw water and I say to her, ‘Please let me drink a little water from your jar,’ ⁴⁴ and she replies, ‘Drink, and I will draw water for your camels as well,’ may she be the woman the LORD has appointed for my master’s son. ⁴⁵ And before I had finished praying in my heart, there was Rebekah coming out with her jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ ⁴⁶ She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels as well.’ So I drank, and she also watered the camels. ⁴⁷ Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She replied, ‘The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. ⁴⁸ Then I bowed down and worshiped the LORD; and I blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who led me on the right road to take the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son. ⁴⁹ Now if you will show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me; but if not, let me know, so that I may go elsewhere.” ⁵⁰ Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the LORD; we have no choice in the matter. ⁵¹ Rebekah is here before you. Take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master’s son, just as the LORD has decreed.” ⁵² When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed down to the ground before the LORD. ⁵³ Then he brought out jewels of silver and gold, and articles of clothing, and he gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious gifts to her brother and her mother. ⁵⁴ Then he and the men with him ate and drank and spent the night there. When they got up the next morning, he said, “Send me on my way to my master.” ⁵⁵ But her brother and mother said, “Let the girl remain with us ten days or so. After that, she may go.” ⁵⁶ But he replied, “Do not delay me, since the LORD has made my journey a success. Send me on my way so that I may go to my master.” ⁵⁷ So they said, “We will call the girl and ask her opinion.” ⁵⁸ They called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?” “I will go,” she replied. ⁵⁹ So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, along with her nurse and Abraham’s servant and his men. ⁶⁰ And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, “Our sister, may you become the mother of thousands upon thousands. May your offspring possess the gates of their enemies.” ⁶¹ Then Rebekah and her servant girls got ready, mounted the camels, and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left. ⁶² Now Isaac had just returned from Beer-lahai-roi, for he was living in the Negev. ⁶³ Early in the evening, Isaac went out to the field to meditate, and looking up, he saw the camels approaching. 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. ⁶⁶ Then the servant told Isaac all that he had done. ⁶⁷ And Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah and took Rebekah as his wife. And Isaac loved her and was comforted after his mother’s death.

⁴⁸ you will serve your enemies the LORD will send against you in famine, thirst, nakedness, and destitution. He will place an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.

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.”

² At this time the Arameans had gone out in bands and had taken a young girl from the land of Israel, and she was serving Naaman’s wife. ³ She said to her mistress, “If only my master would go to the prophet who is in Samaria, he would cure him of his leprosy.”

¹³ Naaman’s servants, however, approached him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’?”

⁵ Then the Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah—said, “Stand up and bless the LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting: Blessed be Your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise.

⁶ I was angry with My people; I profaned My heritage, and I placed them under your control. You showed them no mercy; even on the elderly you laid a most heavy yoke.

⁵ And now what have I here? declares the LORD. For My people have been taken without cause; those who rule them taunt, declares the LORD, and My name is blasphemed continually all day long.

⁶ Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: to break the chains of wickedness, to untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and tear off every yoke?

²⁰ And wherever they went among the nations, they profaned My holy name, because it was said of them, ‘These are the people of the LORD, yet they had to leave His land.’

²³ I will show the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations—the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when I show My holiness in you before their eyes.

⁶ “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is your fear of Me?” says the LORD of Hosts to you priests who despise My name. “But you ask, ‘How have we despised Your name?’

⁹ What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.

³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

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

⁷ When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among his attendants.

²² “Cornelius the centurion has sent us,” they said. “He is a righteous and God-fearing man with a good reputation among the whole Jewish nation. A holy angel instructed him to request your presence in his home so he could hear a message from you.”

¹⁰ Now then, why do you test God by placing on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?

²⁴ As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

²¹ Were you a slave when you were called? Do not let it concern you—but if you can gain your freedom, take the opportunity. ²² For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord’s freedman. Conversely, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ’s slave.

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

¹ In the freedom with which Christ has set us free, stand firm, then, and do not be encumbered once more by a yoke of slavery.

⁵ Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear and sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. ⁶ And do this not only to please them while they are watching, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. ⁷ Serve with good will, as to the Lord and not to men, ⁸ because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.

²² Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything, not only to please them while they are watching, but with sincerity of heart and fear of God. ²³ And whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, for the Lord and not for men, ²⁴ because you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as your reward. For it is the Lord Christ you are serving. ²⁵ But whoever does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.

¹⁴ So I advise the younger widows to marry, have children, and manage their households, denying the adversary occasion for slander.

⁵ to be self-controlled, pure, managers of their households, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be discredited.

⁸ and wholesome speech that is above reproach, so that anyone who opposes us will be ashamed, having nothing bad to say about us. ⁹ Slaves are to submit to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, ¹⁰ not stealing from them, but showing all good faith, so that in every respect they will adorn the teaching about God our Savior.

¹² Conduct yourselves with such honor among the Gentiles that, though they slander you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.

¹⁷ Treat everyone with high regard: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king. ¹⁸ Servants, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but even to those who are unreasonable. ¹⁹ For if anyone endures the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God, this is to be commended. ²⁰ How is it to your credit if you are beaten for doing wrong and you endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.

¹⁶ keeping a clear conscience, so that those who slander you as evildoers may be put to shame by your good behavior in Christ.

⁴ And he slept with Hagar, and she conceived. But when Hagar realized that she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. ⁵ Then Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be upon you! I delivered my servant into your arms, and ever since she saw that she was pregnant, she has treated me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me.”

³ They came together against Moses and Aaron and told them, “You have taken too much upon yourselves! For everyone in the entire congregation is holy, and the LORD is in their midst. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?”

²⁸ And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.

²⁴ No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

⁸ But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brothers.

⁴⁰ And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’

²⁹ For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers.

¹⁷ Now if some branches have been broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others to share in the nourishment of the olive root,

²⁶ You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁷ For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. ²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.

⁶ For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. All that matters is faith, expressed through love.

¹ Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:

¹⁵ For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,

⁶ This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of His promise in Christ.

² To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴ because we have heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all the saints—

¹¹ Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and is in all. ¹² Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

¹ Masters, supply your slaves with what is right and fair, since you know that you also have a Master in heaven.

³ We are obligated to thank God for you all the time, brothers, as is fitting, because your faith is growing more and more, and your love for one another is increasing.

¹¹ Command and teach these things.

¹ Do not rebuke an older man, but appeal to him as to a father. Treat younger men as brothers,

¹ But as for you, speak the things that are consistent with sound doctrine.

¹⁵ Speak these things as you encourage and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.

⁸ This saying is trustworthy. And I want you to emphasize these things, so that those who have believed God will take care to devote themselves to good deeds. These things are excellent and profitable for the people.

⁵ because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. ⁶ I pray that your partnership in the faith may become effective as you fully acknowledge every good thing that is ours in Christ Jesus. ⁷ We take great joy and encouragement in your love, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.

¹⁰ I appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whose father I became while I was in my chains. ¹¹ Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me. ¹² I am (him) sending back for you to receive him who is my very heart. ¹³ I would have liked to keep him with me, so that on your behalf he could minister to me in my chains for the gospel. ¹⁴ But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that your goodness will not be out of compulsion, but by your own free will. ¹⁵ For perhaps this is why he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back for good— ¹⁶ no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a beloved brother. He is especially beloved to me, but even more so to you, both in person and in the Lord.

¹ Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, set your focus on Jesus Christ, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.

¹⁴ We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly to the end the assurance we had at first.

¹ As a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings, and a partaker of the glory to be revealed, I appeal to the elders among you:

¹⁰ Such punishment is specially reserved for those who indulge the corrupt desires of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and self-willed, they are unafraid to slander glorious beings.

⁸ Yet in the same way these dreamers defile their bodies, reject authority, and slander glorious beings.

⁴ A soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.

²¹ “Caesar’s,” they answered. So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

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.”

¹⁷ Now I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Turn away from them.

⁶ I am amazed how quickly you are deserting the One who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— ⁷ which is not even a gospel. Evidently some people are troubling you and trying to distort the gospel of Christ.

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.

⁸ Anyone, then, who rejects this command does not reject man but God, the very One who has given you His Holy Spirit.

³ As I urged you on my departure to Macedonia, you should stay on at Ephesus to instruct certain men not to teach false doctrines

⁶ Some have strayed from these ways and turned aside to empty talk.

¹⁰ for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave traders and liars and perjurers, and for anyone else who is averse to sound teaching

⁷ But reject irreverent, silly myths. Instead, train yourself for godliness. ⁸ For physical exercise is of limited value, but godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for the present life and for the one to come.

¹³ Hold on to the pattern of sound teaching you have heard from me, with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

³ For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires.

¹ Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness,

⁹ He must hold firmly to the faithful word as it was taught, so that he can encourage others by sound teaching and refute those who contradict it.

¹ But as for you, speak the things that are consistent with sound doctrine. ² Older men are to be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, and sound in faith, love, and perseverance.

¹¹ For the saving grace of God has appeared to everyone. ¹² It instructs us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live sensible, upright, and godly lives in the present age, ¹³ as we await the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. ¹⁴ He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.

³ His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. ⁴ Through these He has given us His precious and magnificent promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, now that you have escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. ⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; ⁶ and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷ and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.

⁷ One pretends to be rich, but has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.

¹⁴ Like clouds and wind without rain is the man who boasts of gifts never given.

¹² Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

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 Prior to that time, a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and astounded the people of Samaria. He claimed to be someone great,

²¹ You have no part or share in our ministry, because your heart is not right before God. ²² Repent, therefore, of your wickedness, and pray to God. Perhaps He will forgive you for the intent of your heart. ²³ For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and captive to iniquity.”

² Therefore after engaging these men in sharp debate, Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.

¹⁵ But since it is a dispute about words and names and your own law, settle it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of such things.”

⁸ But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow wickedness, there will be anger and wrath.

¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but enjoy the company of the lowly. Do not be conceited.

¹³ Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.

¹ Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on his opinions.

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?

¹⁸ Let no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks he is wise in this age, he should become a fool, so that he may become wise.

¹ Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. ² The one who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.

¹⁶ If anyone is inclined to dispute this, we have no other practice, nor do the churches of God.

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.

²⁰ In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or exalts himself or strikes you in the face.

¹⁵ But if you keep on biting and devouring one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another.

²⁰ idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions, ²¹ envy, and murder; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying one another.

³ If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

¹⁵ It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill.

³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves.

¹⁴ Do everything without complaining or arguing,

¹⁸ Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you with speculation about what he has not seen. Such a person is puffed up without basis by his unspiritual mind.

⁴ He will oppose and exalt himself above every so-called god or object of worship. So he will seat himself as God in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.

⁴ or devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculation rather than the stewardship of God’s work, which is by faith.

⁷ They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not understand what they are saying or that which they so confidently assert.

⁶ He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same condemnation as the devil.

¹⁴ Remind the believers of these things, charging them before the Lord to avoid quarreling over words, which succeeds only in leading the listeners to ruin.

²³ But reject foolish and ignorant speculation, for you know that it breeds quarreling.

⁴ traitorous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

⁹ But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, arguments, and quarrels about the law, because these things are pointless and worthless.

¹⁹ So then, my beloved brothers, everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,

¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith, but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? ¹⁵ Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶ If one of you tells him, “Go in peace; stay warm and well fed,” but does not provide for his physical needs, what good is that? ¹⁷ So too, faith by itself, if it does not result in action, is dead. ¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith and I have deeds.” Show me your faith apart from your deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.

¹ What causes conflicts and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from the passions at war within you? ² You crave what you do not have; you kill and covet, but are unable to obtain it. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask.

⁵ Or do you think the Scripture says without reason that the Spirit who dwells in us yearns with envy? ⁶ But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

¹ Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander. ² Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow,

¹² These men are like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be captured and destroyed. They blaspheme in matters they do not understand, and like such creatures, they will be destroyed.

¹⁸ With lofty but empty words, they appeal to the sensual passions of the flesh and entice those who are just escaping from others who live in error.

¹⁰ These men, however, slander what they do not understand, and like irrational animals, they will be destroyed by the things they do instinctively.

¹⁶ These men are discontented grumblers, following after their own lusts; their mouths spew arrogance; they flatter others for their own advantage.

¹⁷ You say, ‘I am rich; I have grown wealthy and need nothing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.

²⁰ Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “Look, my master has spared this Aramean, Naaman, while not accepting what he brought. As surely as the LORD lives, I will run after him and get something from him.” ²¹ So Gehazi pursued Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running toward him, he got down from the chariot to meet him and asked, “Is everything all right?” ²² “Everything is all right,” Gehazi replied. “My master has sent me to say, ‘I have just now discovered that two young men from the sons of the prophets have come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two sets of clothing.’” ²³ But Naaman insisted, “Please, take two talents.” And he urged Gehazi to accept them. Then he tied up two talents of silver in two bags along with two sets of clothing and gave them to two of his servants, who carried them ahead of Gehazi. ²⁴ When Gehazi came to the hill, he took the gifts from the servants and stored them in the house. Then he dismissed the men, and they departed. ²⁵ When Gehazi went in and stood before his master, Elisha asked him, “Gehazi, where have you been?” “Your servant did not go anywhere,” he replied. ²⁶ But Elisha questioned him, “Did not my spirit go with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to accept money and clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and oxen, menservants and maidservants? ²⁷ Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman will cling to you and your descendants forever!” And as Gehazi left his presence, he was leprous—as white as snow.

¹¹ Like ravenous dogs, they are never satisfied. They are shepherds with no discernment; they all turn to their own way, each one seeking his own gain:

¹³ “For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all practice deceit.

¹⁰ Therefore I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all practice deceit.

³¹ So My people come to you as usual, sit before you, and hear your words; but they do not put them into practice. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest gain.

¹⁷ Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ So then, by their fruit you will recognize them.

³³ Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.

¹³ And He declared to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer.’ But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”

¹³ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You defraud widows of their houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.

¹⁹ And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. ²¹ But whoever practices the truth comes into the Light, so that it may be seen clearly that what he has done has been accomplished in God.”

¹⁸ When Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money. ¹⁹ “Give me this power as well,” he said, “so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” ²⁰ But Peter replied, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!

²⁴ It began with a silversmith named Demetrius who made silver shrines of Artemis, bringing much business to the craftsmen. ²⁵ Demetrius assembled the craftsmen, along with the workmen in related trades. “Men,” he said, “you know that this business is our source of prosperity. ²⁶ And you can see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in nearly the whole province of Asia, Paul has persuaded a great number of people to turn away. He says that man-made gods are no gods at all. ²⁷ There is danger not only that our business will fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited and her majesty deposed—she who is worshiped by all the province of Asia and the whole world.” ²⁸ When the men heard this, they were enraged and began shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

¹⁷ Now I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Turn away from them. ¹⁸ For such people are not serving our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.

¹⁷ So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the other Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. ¹⁸ They are darkened in their understanding and alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts. ¹⁹ Having lost all sense of shame, they have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity, with a craving for more.

⁸ And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will consume with the breath of His mouth and annihilate by the majesty of His arrival. ⁹ The coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the working of Satan, with every kind of power, sign, and false wonder, ¹⁰ and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them. ¹¹ For this reason God will send them a powerful delusion so that they believe the lie,

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.

³ not dependent on wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, peaceable, and free of the love of money.

⁸ Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued or given to much wine or greedy for money.

⁶ Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain.

⁵ having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these!

⁸ Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth. They are depraved in mind and disqualified from the faith.

¹¹ who must be silenced. For the sake of dishonorable gain, they undermine entire households and teach things they should not.

¹⁵ To the pure, all things are pure; but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. Indeed, both their minds and their consciences are defiled. ¹⁶ They profess to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.

¹² See to it, brothers, that none of you has a wicked heart of unbelief that turns away from the living God. ¹³ But exhort one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

³ In their greed, these false teachers will exploit you with deceptive words. The longstanding verdict against them remains in force, and their destruction will not sleep.

¹⁵ They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bosor, who loved the wages of wickedness.

⁸ Watch yourselves, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be fully rewarded. ⁹ Anyone who transgresses without remaining in the teaching of Christ does not have God. Whoever remains in the teaching of Christ has both the Father and the Son. ¹⁰ If anyone comes to you but does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your home or even greet him. ¹¹ Woe to them! They have traveled the path of Cain; they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam; they have perished in Korah’s rebellion.

³ All the nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her immorality. The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy from the extravagance of her luxury.”

¹³ of cinnamon, incense, myrrh, and frankincense; of wine, olive oil, fine flour, and wheat; of cattle, sheep, horses, and chariots; of slaves and souls of men.

²¹ Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage.

¹⁶ Better is the little of the righteous than the abundance of many who are wicked.

¹¹ For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity.

¹³ Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who acquires understanding, ¹⁴ for she is more profitable than silver, and her gain is better than fine gold. ¹⁵ She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire compares with her. ¹⁶ Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. ¹⁷ All her ways are pleasant, and all her paths are peaceful. ¹⁸ She is a tree of life to those who embrace her, and those who lay hold of her are blessed.

¹⁸ With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and righteousness. ¹⁹ My fruit is better than gold, pure gold, and my harvest surpasses choice silver. ²⁰ I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice, ²¹ bestowing wealth on those who love me and making their treasuries full.

¹⁶ Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure with turmoil.

⁸ Better a little with righteousness than great gain with injustice.

³² For the Gentiles strive after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.

¹⁴ Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” “Do not take money by force or false accusation,” he said. “Be content with your wages.”

³¹ But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added unto you. ³² Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.

³ Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.

²⁸ And we know that all things work together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.

¹⁷ For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.

²¹ For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

¹¹ I am not saying this out of need, for I have learned to be content regardless of my circumstances. ¹² I know how to live humbly, and I know how to abound. I am accustomed to any and every situation—to being filled and being hungry, to having plenty and having need. ¹³ I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

⁸ For physical exercise is of limited value, but godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for the present life and for the one to come.

⁸ But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.

⁵ Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”

²¹ saying: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.”

¹⁷ For when he dies, he will carry nothing away; his abundance will not follow him down.

²⁴ for riches are not forever, nor does a crown endure to every generation.

¹⁵ As a man came from his mother’s womb, so he will depart again, naked as he arrived. He takes nothing for his labor to carry in his hands. ¹⁶ This too is a grievous evil: Exactly as a man is born, so he will depart. What does he gain as he toils for the wind?

²⁰ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’ ²¹ This is how it will be for anyone who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich toward God.”

²² One day the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. And the rich man also died and was buried. ²³ In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side.

²⁰ Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey, and if He will provide me with food to eat and clothes to wear,

¹⁵ Then he blessed Joseph and said: “May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day,

⁷ Indeed, the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. The LORD your God has been with you these forty years, and you have lacked nothing.

³ He humbled you, and in your hunger He gave you manna to eat, which neither you nor your fathers had known, so that you might understand that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. ⁴ Your clothing did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.

²³ Be sure to know the state of your flocks, and pay close attention to your herds; ²⁴ for riches are not forever, nor does a crown endure to every generation. ²⁵ When hay is removed and new growth appears and the grain from the hills is gathered, ²⁶ the lambs will provide you with clothing, and the goats with the price of a field. ²⁷ You will have plenty of goats’ milk to feed you—food for your household and nourishment for your maidservants.

⁸ Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the bread that is my portion. ⁹ Otherwise, I may have too much and deny You, saying, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, profaning the name of my God.

²⁴ Nothing is better for a man than to eat and drink and enjoy his work. I have also seen that this is from the hand of God. ²⁵ For apart from Him, who can eat and who can find enjoyment? ²⁶ To the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner He assigns the task of gathering and accumulating that which he will hand over to one who pleases God. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

¹² I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and do good while they live, ¹³ and also that every man should eat and drink and find satisfaction in all his labor—this is the gift of God.

¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread.

²⁵ Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns—and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? ²⁸ And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the lilies of the field grow: They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹ Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

⁵ Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.” ⁶ So we say with confidence: “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

¹⁰ And Lot looked out and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan, all the way to Zoar, was well watered like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) ¹¹ So Lot chose the whole plain of the Jordan for himself and set out toward the east. And Abram and Lot parted company. ¹² Abram lived in the land of Canaan, but Lot settled in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent toward Sodom. ¹³ But the men of Sodom were wicked, sinning greatly against the LORD.

¹⁷ for I will honor you richly and do whatever you say. So please come and put a curse on this people for me!’” ¹⁸ But Balaam replied to the servants of Balak, “If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything small or great to go beyond the command of the LORD my God. ¹⁹ So now, please stay here overnight as the others did, that I may find out what else the LORD has to tell me.”

⁸ Among the slain were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba—the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.

²⁵ You must burn up the images of their gods; do not covet the silver and gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it; for it is detestable to the LORD your God.

¹¹ Israel has sinned; they have transgressed My covenant that I commanded them, and they have taken some of what was devoted to destruction. Indeed, they have stolen and lied, and they have put these things with their own possessions.

²⁴ Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the cloak, the bar of gold, his sons and daughters, his oxen and donkeys and sheep, his tent, and everything else he owned, and brought them to the Valley of Achor. ²⁵ “Why have you brought this trouble upon us?” said Joshua. “Today the LORD will bring trouble upon you!” And all Israel stoned him to death. Then they stoned the others and burned their bodies. ²⁶ And they heaped over Achan a large pile of rocks that remains to this day. So the LORD turned from His burning anger. Therefore that place is called the Valley of Achor to this day.

⁶ On the wicked He will rain down fiery coals and sulfur; a scorching wind will be their portion.

¹⁷ How futile it is to spread the net where any bird can see it! ¹⁸ But they lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush their own lives. ¹⁹ Such is the fate of all who are greedy, whose unjust gain takes the lives of its possessors.

²⁷ He who is greedy for unjust gain brings trouble on his household, but he who hates bribes will live.

²¹ An inheritance gained quickly will not be blessed in the end.

⁶ Making a fortune by a lying tongue is a vanishing mist, a deadly pursuit.

¹⁶ Oppressing the poor to enrich oneself or giving gifts to the rich will surely lead to poverty.

⁴ Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself.

²⁰ A faithful man will abound with blessings, but one eager to be rich will not go unpunished. ²¹ To show partiality is not good, yet a man will do wrong for a piece of bread. ²² A stingy man hastens after wealth and does not know that poverty awaits him.

⁸ Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field until no place is left and you live alone in the land.

⁷ A merchant loves to defraud with dishonest scales in his hands. ⁸ And Ephraim boasts: “How rich I have become! I have found wealth for myself. In all my labors, they can find in me no iniquity that is sinful.”

⁴ Hear this, you who trample the needy, who do away with the poor of the land, ⁵ asking, “When will the New Moon be over, that we may sell grain? When will the Sabbath end, that we may market wheat? Let us reduce the ephah and increase the shekel; let us cheat with dishonest scales. ⁶ Let us buy the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the chaff with the wheat!”

⁵ whose buyers slaughter them without remorse. Those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, for I am rich!’ Even their own shepherds have no compassion on them.

²² The seed sown among the thorns is the one who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

²² When the young man heard this, he went away in sorrow, because he had great wealth.

¹⁵ and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?” And they set out for him thirty pieces of silver.

³ When Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was filled with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders. ⁴ “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood,” he said. “What is that to us?” they replied. “You bear the responsibility.” ⁵ So Judas threw the silver into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

¹⁹ but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

³⁵ For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of all the earth.

⁴ Did it not belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? How could you conceive such a deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God!” ⁵ On hearing these words, Ananias fell down and died. And great fear came over all who heard what had happened.

²⁰ But Peter replied, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!

²² to put off your former way of life, your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;

⁹ We realize that law is not enacted for the righteous, but for the lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for killers of father or mother, for murderers,

⁷ Furthermore, he must have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the snare of the devil.

²⁶ Then they will come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, who has taken them captive to his will.

¹ Come now, you who are rich, weep and wail over the misery to come upon you. ² Your riches have rotted and moths have eaten your clothes. ³ Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and consume your flesh like fire. You have hoarded treasure in the last days. ⁴ Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.

¹⁵ They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bosor, who loved the wages of wickedness. ¹⁶ But he was rebuked for his transgression by a donkey, otherwise without speech, that spoke with a man’s voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.

¹⁵ Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world. ¹⁷ The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.

¹⁴ Then Laban declared, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” After Jacob had stayed with him a month,

²⁶ Laban replied, “It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older.

³¹ When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. ³² And Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she named him Reuben, for she said, “The LORD has seen my affliction. Surely my husband will love me now.” ³³ Again she conceived and gave birth to a son, and she said, “Because the LORD has heard that I am unloved, He has given me this son as well.” So she named him Simeon. ³⁴ Once again Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she said, “Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” So he was named Levi. ³⁵ And once more she conceived and gave birth to a son and said, “This time I will praise the LORD.” So she named him Judah. Then Leah stopped having children.

²³ Will not their livestock, their possessions, and all their animals become ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will dwell among us.” ²⁴ All the men who went out of the city gate listened to Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male of the city was circumcised.

¹⁶ Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he went over to her and said, “Come now, let me sleep with you.” “What will you give me for sleeping with you?” she inquired.

⁷ Stay far away from a false accusation. Do not kill the innocent or the just, for I will not acquit the guilty. ⁸ Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.

¹⁹ Do not deny justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.

⁴ For they did not meet you with food and water on your way out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram-naharaim to curse you. ⁵ Yet the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam, and the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loves you.

¹⁸ You must not bring the wages of a prostitute, whether female or male, into the house of the LORD your God to fulfill any vow, because both are detestable to the LORD your God.

¹⁰ “Stay with me,” Micah said to him, “and be my father and priest, and I will give you ten shekels of silver per year, a suit of clothes, and your provisions.” So the Levite went in ¹¹ and agreed to stay with him, and the young man became like a son to Micah.

¹⁹ “Be quiet,” they told him. “Put your hand over your mouth and come with us and be a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be a priest for the house of one person or a priest for a tribe and family in Israel?” ²⁰ So the priest was glad and took the ephod, the household idols, and the graven image, and went with the people.

²⁹ They named it Dan, after their forefather Dan, who was born to Israel—though the city was formerly named Laish. ³⁰ The Danites set up idols for themselves, and Jonathan son of Gershom, the son of Moses, and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land. ³¹ So they set up for themselves Micah’s graven image, and it was there the whole time the house of God was in Shiloh.

¹⁰ when someone told me, ‘Look, Saul is dead,’ and thought he was a bearer of good news, I seized him and put him to death at Ziklag. That was his reward for his news! ¹¹ How much more, when wicked men kill a righteous man in his own house and on his own bed, shall I not now require his blood from your hands and remove you from the earth!”

²⁷ Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman will cling to you and your descendants forever!” And as Gehazi left his presence, he was leprous—as white as snow.

¹⁰ Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but loving devotion surrounds him who trusts in the LORD.

¹⁹ Such is the fate of all who are greedy, whose unjust gain takes the lives of its possessors.

³¹ So they will eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.

²³ Your rulers are rebels, friends of thieves. They all love bribes and chasing after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, and the plea of the widow never comes before them.

²⁷ Like cages full of birds, so their houses are full of deceit. Therefore they have become powerful and rich. ²⁸ They have grown fat and sleek, and have excelled in the deeds of the wicked. They have not taken up the cause of the fatherless, that they might prosper; nor have they defended the rights of the needy.

¹⁹ You have profaned Me among My people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. By lying to My people who would listen, you have killed those who should not have died and spared those who should not have lived.

³³ Men give gifts to all their prostitutes, but you gave gifts to all your lovers. You bribed them to come to you from everywhere for your illicit favors.

¹² In you they take bribes to shed blood. You engage in usury, take excess interest, and extort your neighbors. But Me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD.

¹¹ Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets practice divination for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD, saying, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster can come upon us.”

³ Both hands are skilled at evil; the prince and the judge demand a bribe. When the powerful utters his evil desire, they all conspire together. ⁴ The best of them is like a brier; the most upright is sharper than a hedge of thorns. The day for your watchmen has come, the day of your visitation. Now is the time of their confusion.

¹⁰ “Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would no longer kindle useless fires on My altar! I take no pleasure in you,” says the LORD of Hosts, “and I will accept no offering from your hands.

¹⁶ “Brothers, this Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit foretold through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus. ¹⁷ He was one of our number and shared in this ministry.” ¹⁸ (Now with the reward for his wickedness Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong and burst open in the middle, and all his intestines spilled out. ¹⁹ This became known to all who lived in Jerusalem, so they called that field in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

⁹ Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.

²¹ which some have professed and thus swerved away from the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen.

¹⁰ because Demas, in his love of this world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.

¹⁹ Brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back,

⁷ and if He rescued Lot, a righteous man distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless ⁸ (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)—

¹⁴ But I have a few things against you, because some of you hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality. ¹⁵ In the same way, some of you also hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

²⁰ Pursue justice, and justice alone, so that you may live, and you may possess the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

¹ This is the blessing that Moses the man of God pronounced upon the Israelites before his death.

²⁷ Then a man of God came to Eli and told him, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Did I not clearly reveal Myself to your father’s house when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh’s house?

⁶ “Look,” said the servant, “in this city there is a man of God who is highly respected; everything he says surely comes to pass. Let us go there now. Perhaps he will tell us which way to go.”

¹ Suddenly, as Jeroboam was standing beside the altar to burn incense, there came a man of God from Judah to Bethel by the word of the LORD.

²⁶ When the prophet who had brought him back from his journey heard this, he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the command of the LORD. Therefore the LORD has delivered him to the lion, and it has mauled him and killed him, according to the word that the LORD had spoken to him.”

¹⁸ “O man of God,” said the woman to Elijah, “what have you done to me? Have you come to remind me of my iniquity and cause the death of my son?”

²⁴ Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is truth.”

²⁸ Then the man of God approached the king of Israel and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because the Arameans think the LORD is a god of the hills and not of the valleys, I will deliver all this great army into your hand. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”

⁹ Then King Ahaziah sent to Elijah a captain with his company of fifty men. So the captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on top of a hill, and said to him, “Man of God, the king declares, ‘Come down!’”

¹³ So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. And the third captain went up, fell on his knees before Elijah, and begged him, “Man of God, may my life and the lives of these fifty servants please be precious in your sight.

²⁰ Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “Look, my master has spared this Aramean, Naaman, while not accepting what he brought. As surely as the LORD lives, I will run after him and get something from him.”

¹⁷ Then the king asked, “What is this monument I see?” And the men of the city replied, “It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and pronounced these things that you have done to the altar of Bethel.”

¹⁴ As for Moses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi.

¹⁴ In keeping with the ordinances of his father David, Solomon appointed the divisions of the priests over their service, and the Levites for their duties to offer praise and to minister before the priests according to the daily requirement. He also appointed gatekeepers by their divisions at each gate, for this had been the command of David, the man of God.

²⁴ The leaders of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua son of Kadmiel, along with their associates, who stood across from them to give praise and thanksgiving as one section alternated with the other, as prescribed by David the man of God.

³⁶ and his associates—Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani—with the musical instruments prescribed by David the man of God. Ezra the scribe led the procession.

¹⁴ Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

²⁰ Those who repay my good with evil attack me for pursuing the good.

¹ “Listen to Me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut, and to the quarry from which you were hewn.

⁴ and I brought them into the house of the LORD, to a chamber occupied by the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, a man of God. This room was near the chamber of the officials, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah son of Shallum the doorkeeper.

¹⁹ So then, let us pursue what leads to peace and to mutual edification.

¹⁸ Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a man can commit is outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.

¹⁴ Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.

¹ Earnestly pursue love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

⁸ Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think on these things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me, put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

¹² Let no one despise your youth, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

¹⁰ and well known for good deeds such as bringing up children, entertaining strangers, washing the feet of the saints, imparting relief to the afflicted, and devoting herself to every good work.

²⁰ O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Avoid irreverent, empty chatter and the opposing arguments of so-called “knowledge,”

²² Flee from youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, together with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

¹⁷ so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.

¹¹ For the saving grace of God has appeared to everyone. ¹² It instructs us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live sensible, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

¹⁴ Pursue peace with everyone, as well as holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.

¹¹ He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.

³ to the priest who is serving at that time, and say to him, “I declare today to the LORD your God that I have entered the land that the LORD swore to our fathers to give us.”

¹⁷ Today you have proclaimed that the LORD is your God and that you will walk in His ways, keep His statutes and commandments and ordinances, and listen to His voice. ¹⁸ And today the LORD has proclaimed that you are His people and treasured possession as He promised, that you are to keep all His commandments, ¹⁹ that He will set you high in praise and name and honor above all the nations He has made, and that you will be a holy people to the LORD your God, as He has promised.

⁸ My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.

¹⁸ She is a tree of life to those who embrace her, and those who lay hold of her are blessed.

⁴ I had just passed them when I found the one I love. I held him and would not let go until I had brought him to my mother’s house, to the chamber of the one who conceived me.

⁵ One will say, ‘I belong to the LORD,’ another will call himself by the name of Jacob, and still another will write on his hand, ‘The LORD’s,’ and will take the name of Israel.”

⁵ They will be like mighty men in battle, trampling the enemy in the mire of the streets. They will fight because the LORD is with them, and they will put the horsemen to shame.

⁸ I tell you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God. ⁹ But whoever denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.

²⁸ And we know that all things work together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose. ²⁹ For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰ And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.

²³ What if He did this to make the riches of His glory known to the vessels of His mercy, whom He prepared in advance for glory— ²⁴ including us, whom He has called not only from the Jews, but also from the Gentiles?

⁹ that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.

²⁵ Everyone who competes in the games trains with strict discipline. They do it for a crown that is perishable, but we do it for a crown that is imperishable. ²⁶ Therefore I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight like I am beating the air.

⁷ in truthful speech and in the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left;

¹³ Because of the proof this ministry provides, the saints will glorify God for your obedient confession of the gospel of Christ, and for the generosity of your contribution to them and to all the others.

³ For though we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh. ⁴ The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the world. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. ⁵ We tear down arguments and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God; and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

¹⁰ Finally, my brothers, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ¹⁸ Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.

¹² Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³ Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ Let the peace of God rule in your hearts, for to this you were called as members of one body. And be thankful.

¹² encouraging you, comforting you, and urging you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.

⁸ But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and the helmet of our hope of salvation. ⁹ For God has not appointed us to suffer wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁴ To this He called you through our gospel, so that you may share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁸ Timothy, my child, I entrust you with this command in keeping with the previous prophecies about you, so that by them you may fight the good fight,

¹³ I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who made the good confession in His testimony before Pontius Pilate:

¹⁹ treasuring up for themselves a firm foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of eternal life.

⁹ He has saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but by His own purpose and by the grace He granted us in Christ Jesus before time began.

⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

¹⁸ Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.

²³ Be aware that our brother Timothy has been released. If he arrives soon, I will come with him to see you.

⁹ Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, knowing that to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

¹⁰ And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will Himself restore you, secure you, strengthen you, and establish you.

²⁵ And this is the promise that He Himself made to us: eternal life.

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.

³⁹ See now that I am He; there is no God besides Me. I bring death and I give life; I wound and I heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My hand.

⁶ The LORD brings death and gives life; He brings down to Sheol and raises up.

¹¹ Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, who questioned Him: “Are You the King of the Jews?” “You have said so,” Jesus replied.

²¹ For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He wishes.

²⁶ For as the Father has life in Himself, so also He has granted the Son to have life in Himself.

⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

²⁵ All this I have spoken to you while I am still with you. ²⁶ But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.

³⁶ Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world; if it were, My servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jews. But now My kingdom is not of this realm.” ³⁷ “Then You are a king!” Pilate said. “You say that I am a king,” Jesus answered. “For this reason I was born and have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to My voice.”

¹¹ Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of greater sin.”

²⁵ Nor is He served by the hands of men, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.

⁵ For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

²¹ I solemnly charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels to maintain these principles without bias, and to do nothing out of partiality.

¹² Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made the good confession before many witnesses.

⁵ and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has washed us from our sins by His blood,

¹⁴ To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Originator of God’s creation.

⁶ And He told me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give freely from the spring of the water of life.

¹ Then the angel showed me a pure river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb

⁹ As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve Him wholeheartedly and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands the intent of every thought. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever. ¹⁰ Consider now that the LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary. Be strong and do it.”

²⁰ David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do it. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will neither fail you nor forsake you before all the work for the service of the house of the LORD is finished.

⁷ You are altogether beautiful, my darling; in you there is no flaw.

⁸ He will sustain you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁷ and to present her to Himself as a glorious church, without stain or wrinkle or any such blemish, but holy and blameless.

⁶ being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

¹⁰ so that you may be able to test and prove what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,

¹⁵ so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world

²² But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence—

¹⁷ Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”

¹³ so that He may establish your hearts in blamelessness and holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.

²³ Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your entire spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹ Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to Him, we ask you, brothers,

⁸ And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will consume with the breath of His mouth and annihilate by the majesty of His arrival.

¹¹ Command and teach these things. ¹² Let no one despise your youth, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. ¹³ Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, and to teaching. ¹⁴ Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given you through the prophecy spoken over you at the laying on of the hands of the elders. ¹⁵ Be diligent in these matters and absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. ¹⁶ Pay close attention to your life and to your teaching. Persevere in these things, for by so doing you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

¹ I charge you, therefore, in the presence of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of His appearing and His kingdom:

¹³ as we await the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

¹⁴ how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, purify your consciences from works of death, so that we may serve the living God!

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.

⁷ so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, honor, and glory, at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.

¹⁴ Therefore, beloved, as you anticipate these things, make every effort to be found at peace—spotless and blameless in His sight.

² Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is.

²⁴ Now to Him who is able to keep them from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy—

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.

¹² Artaxerxes, king of kings. To Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven: Greetings.

² How awesome is the LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth!

¹⁸ May they know that You alone, whose name is the LORD, are Most High over all the earth.

¹⁵ By me kings reign, and rulers enact just laws;

¹⁰ But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and eternal King. The earth quakes at His wrath, and the nations cannot endure His indignation.

¹⁸ As surely as I live, declares the King, whose name is the LORD of Hosts, there will come one who is like Tabor among the mountains and like Carmel by the sea.

⁴⁴ In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself stand forever. ⁴⁵ And just as you saw a stone being cut out of the mountain without human hands, and it shattered the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold, so the great God has told the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy.” ⁴⁶ At this, King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, paid homage to Daniel, and ordered that an offering of incense be presented to him. ⁴⁷ The king said to Daniel, “Your God is truly the God of gods and Lord of kings, the Revealer of Mysteries, since you were able to reveal this mystery.”

³⁴ But at the end of those days I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven, and my sanity was restored to me. Then I praised the Most High, and I honored and glorified Him who lives forever: “For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation.

¹³ And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’

¹¹ that agrees with the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.

¹⁷ Now to the King eternal, immortal, and invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

⁶ who gave Himself as a ransom for all—the testimony that was given at just the right time.

¹⁴ They will make war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and He will be accompanied by His called and chosen and faithful ones.”

¹⁶ And He has a name written on His robe and on His thigh: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

¹⁴ God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

²⁰ But He added, “You cannot see My face, for no one can see Me and live.”

⁴⁰ For I lift up My hand to heaven and declare: As surely as I live forever,

² Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God.

² He wraps Himself in light as with a garment; He stretches out the heavens like a tent,

¹⁵ For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in a high and holy place, and with the oppressed and humble in spirit, to restore the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the contrite.

⁴ His radiance was like the sunlight; rays flashed from His hand, where His power is hidden.

¹⁸ No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.

⁴⁶ not that anyone has seen the Father except the One who is from God; only He has seen the Father.

⁵⁸ “Truly, truly, I tell you,” Jesus declared, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

⁹ Jesus replied, “Philip, I have been with you all this time, and still you do not know Me? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

²⁵ Now to Him who is able to strengthen you by my gospel and by the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery concealed for ages past ²⁶ but now revealed and made known through the writings of the prophets by the command of the eternal God, in order to lead all nations to the obedience that comes from faith— ²⁷ to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.

²¹ to Him be the glory in the church in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

²⁰ To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

¹⁵ The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

⁵ And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.

²⁵ to the only wise God our Savior be glory, majesty, dominion and authority both now and for all eternity. Amen.

⁶ who has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and power forever and ever! Amen.

⁸ “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and was and is to come—the Almighty.

¹⁶ He held in His right hand seven stars, and a sharp double-edged sword came from His mouth. His face was like the sun shining at its brightest. ¹⁷ When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. But He placed His right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last, ¹⁸ the Living One. I was dead, and behold, now I am alive forever and ever. Amen. And I hold the keys of Death and of Hades.

¹¹ “Worthy are You, our Lord and God, the Holy One, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things; by Your will they exist and came to be.”

¹² saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

³ And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them.

⁵ There will be no more night in the city, and they will have no need for the light of a lamp or of the sun. For the Lord God will shine on them, and they will reign forever and ever.

² And Abram had become extremely wealthy in livestock and silver and gold.

¹⁰ And when the LORD your God brings you into the land He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that He would give you—a land with great and splendid cities that you did not build, ¹¹ with houses full of every good thing with which you did not fill them, with wells that you did not dig, and with vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant—and when you eat and are satisfied, ¹² be careful not to forget the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

¹⁷ You might say in your heart, “The power and strength of my hands have made this wealth for me.”

¹⁵ with the best of the ancient mountains and the bounty of the everlasting hills,

¹⁶ But when Uzziah grew powerful, his arrogance led to his own destruction. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God, for he entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense.

²⁵ But because his heart was proud, Hezekiah did not repay the favor shown to him. Therefore wrath came upon him and upon Judah and Jerusalem. ²⁶ Then Hezekiah humbled the pride of his heart—he and the people of Jerusalem—so that the wrath of the LORD did not come upon them during the days of Hezekiah.

¹ There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. And this man was blameless and upright, fearing God and shunning evil. ² He had seven sons and three daughters, ³ and he owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man of all the people of the East.

²⁴ If I have put my trust in gold or called pure gold my security, ²⁵ if I have rejoiced in my great wealth because my hand had gained so much,

³ For the wicked man boasts in the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD. ⁴ In his pride the wicked man does not seek Him; in all his schemes there is no God.

⁷ “Look at the man who did not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his wealth and strengthened himself by destruction.”

⁸ Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge. Selah

¹⁰ Place no trust in extortion, or false hope in stolen goods. If your riches increase, do not set your heart upon them.

⁵ They are free of the burdens others carry; they are not afflicted like other men. ⁶ Therefore pride is their necklace; a garment of violence covers them. ⁷ From their prosperity proceeds iniquity; the imaginations of their hearts run wild. ⁸ They mock and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression. ⁹ They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongues strut across the earth.

¹¹ For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity. ¹² O LORD of Hosts, how blessed is the man who trusts in You!

²⁸ When You give it to them, they gather it up; when You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good things.

⁸ It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. ⁹ It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.

²⁸ He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like foliage.

⁵ When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.

⁹ Otherwise, I may have too much and deny You, saying, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, profaning the name of my God.

¹³ There is a grievous evil I have seen under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner, ¹⁴ or wealth lost in a failed venture, so when that man has a son there is nothing to pass on.

¹⁸ Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of life that God has given him—for this is his lot. ¹⁹ Furthermore, God has given riches and wealth to every man, and He has enabled him to enjoy them, to accept his lot, and to rejoice in his labor. This is a gift from God.

³¹ You people of this generation, consider the word of the LORD: “Have I been a wilderness to Israel or a land of dense darkness? Why do My people say, ‘We are free to roam; we will come to You no more’?

²³ This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches. ²⁴ But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, who exercises loving devotion, justice and righteousness on the earth—for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.

⁷ But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. ⁸ He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor does it cease to produce fruit.

⁴⁹ Now this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed, and complacent; they did not help the poor and needy. ⁵⁰ Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them, as you have seen.

⁵⁶ Did you not treat your sister Sodom as an object of scorn in the day of your pride,

³⁰ the king exclaimed, “Is this not Babylon the Great, which I myself have built by the might of my power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?”

¹⁹ Because of the greatness that He bestowed on him, the people of every nation and language trembled in fear before him. He killed whom he wished and kept alive whom he wished; he exalted whom he wished and humbled whom he wished. ²⁰ But when his heart became arrogant and his spirit was hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne, and his glory was taken from him. ²¹ He was driven away from mankind, and his mind was like that of a beast. He lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like an ox, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until he acknowledged that the Most High God rules over the kingdom of mankind, setting over it whom He wishes. ²² But you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this. ²³ Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. The vessels from His house were brought to you, and as you drank wine from them with your nobles, wives, and concubines, you praised your gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you have failed to glorify the God who holds in His hand your very breath and all your ways.

⁶ When they had pasture, they became satisfied; when they were satisfied, their hearts became proud, and as a result they forgot Me.

¹⁵ The foe pulls all of them up with a hook; he catches them in his dragnet, and gathers them in his fishing net; so he rejoices gladly. ¹⁶ Therefore he sacrifices to his dragnet and burns incense to his fishing net, for by these things his portion is sumptuous and his food is rich.

³² For the Gentiles strive after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

²³ Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

⁵⁷ When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who himself was a disciple of Jesus.

²⁴ And the disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!

¹⁵ And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” ¹⁶ Then He told them a parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced an abundance. ¹⁷ So he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, since I have nowhere to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and will build bigger ones, and there I will store up all my crops and my goods. ¹⁹ Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’

² And there was a man named Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector, who was very wealthy.

⁹ Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰ For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

¹⁷ Yet He has not left Himself without testimony to His goodness: He gives you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.”

²⁷ When they arrived, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them, and how He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.

²⁰ That is correct: They were broken off because of unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid.

⁵ For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure, or greedy person (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

¹⁶ Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to the Lord.

⁹ For they themselves report what kind of welcome you gave us, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true 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.

¹⁰ To this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of everyone, and especially of those who believe.

¹² It instructs us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live sensible, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

⁶ This is the Spirit He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,

⁹ The brother in humble circumstances should exult in his high position. ¹⁰ But the one who is rich should exult in his low position, because he will pass away like a flower of the field.

⁶ Give back to her as she has done to others; pay her back double for what she has done; mix her a double portion in her own cup. ⁷ As much as she has glorified herself and lived in luxury, give her the same measure of torment and grief. In her heart she says, ‘I sit as queen; I am not a widow and will never see grief.’

⁷ If there is a poor man among your brothers within any of the gates in the land that the LORD your God is giving you, then you are not to harden your heart or shut your hand from your poor brother. ⁸ Instead, you are to open your hand to him and freely loan him whatever he needs. ⁹ Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought in your heart: “The seventh year, the year of release, is near,” so that you look upon your poor brother begrudgingly and give him nothing. He will cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin. ¹⁰ Give generously to him, and do not let your heart be grieved when you do so. And because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything to which you put your hand. ¹¹ For there will never cease to be poor in the land; that is why I am commanding you to open wide your hand to your brother and to the poor and needy in your land.

¹⁶ And Jehoiada was buried with the kings in the City of David, because he had done what was good in Israel for God and His temple.

³ Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

⁹ He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor.

²⁴ One gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor. ²⁵ A generous soul will prosper, and he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.

¹² I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and do good while they live,

¹ Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again. ² Divide your portion among seven, or even eight, for you do not know what disaster may befall the land.

⁶ Sow your seed in the morning, and do not rest your hands in the evening, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or if both will equally prosper.

⁸ But a noble man makes honorable plans; he stands up for worthy causes.

⁷ Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your home, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

³³ If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. ³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. ³⁵ But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

²¹ This is how it will be for anyone who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich toward God.”

¹² Then Jesus said to the man who had invited Him, “When you host a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or brothers or relatives or rich neighbors. Otherwise, they may invite you in return, and you will be repaid. ¹³ But when you host a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind, ¹⁴ and you will be blessed. Since they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

⁴⁴ All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵ Selling their possessions and goods, they shared with anyone who was in need.

³⁴ There were no needy ones among them, because those who owned lands or houses would sell their property, bring the proceeds from the sales, ³⁵ and lay them at the apostles’ feet for distribution to anyone as he had need. ³⁶ Joses, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (meaning Son of Encouragement), ³⁷ sold a field he owned, brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

³⁶ In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which is translated as Dorcas), who was always occupied with works of kindness and charity.

³⁸ how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.

²⁹ So the disciples, each according to his ability, decided to send relief to the brothers living in Judea.

⁸ if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is giving, let him give generously; if it is leading, let him lead with diligence; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

¹³ Share with the saints who are in need. Practice hospitality.

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.

¹ Now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the churches of Macedonia. ² In the terrible ordeal they suffered, their abundant joy and deep poverty overflowed into rich generosity.

⁹ For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.

¹² For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.

⁶ Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. ⁷ Each one should give what he decides in his heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸ And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. ⁹ As it is written: “He has scattered abroad His gifts to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.” ¹⁰ Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your store of seed and will increase the harvest of your righteousness. ¹¹ You will be enriched in every way to be generous on every occasion, so that through us your giving will produce thanksgiving to God. ¹² For this ministry of service is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanksgiving to God. ¹³ Because of the proof this ministry provides, the saints will glorify God for your obedient confession of the gospel of Christ, and for the generosity of your contribution to them and to all the others. ¹⁴ And their prayers for you will express their affection for you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. ¹⁵ Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

¹⁰ Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to the family of faith.

¹⁸ I have all I need and more, now that I have received your gifts from Epaphroditus. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. ¹⁹ And my God will supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

¹⁴ He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.

¹⁶ And do not neglect to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

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?

¹⁷ If anyone with earthly possessions sees his brother in need, but withholds his compassion from him, how can the love of God abide in him?

¹¹ Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.

¹⁴ from such men, O LORD, by Your hand—from men of the world whose portion is in this life. May You fill the bellies of Your treasured ones and satisfy their sons, so they leave their abundance to their children.

²⁵ When the whirlwind passes, the wicked are no more, but the righteous are secure forever.

²⁵ Strength and honor are her clothing, and she can laugh at the days to come.

¹⁹ Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

⁴¹ Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. ⁴² And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is My disciple, truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward.”

²¹ Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”

³⁴ Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in, ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me.’ ³⁷ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? ³⁹ When did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’ ⁴⁰ And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’

⁴⁸ He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid his foundation on the rock. When the flood came, the torrent crashed against that house but could not shake it, because its foundation was on the rock. ⁴⁹ But the one who hears My words and does not act on them is like a man who built his house on ground without a foundation. The torrent crashed against that house, and immediately it fell—and great was its destruction!”

³³ Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves with purses that will not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.

⁹ I tell you, use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves, so that when you fail, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings.

²⁵ But Abraham answered, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things. But now he is comforted here, while you are in agony.

² “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected men.

²² On hearing this, Jesus told him, “You still lack one thing: Sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”

⁸ The one who sows to please his flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; but the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. ⁹ Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Then you, being rooted and grounded in love,

¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.

¹⁹ Nevertheless, God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord must turn away from iniquity.”

⁴ and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you,

¹⁸ Some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others said, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was proclaiming the good news of Jesus and the resurrection.

²¹ Now all the Athenians and foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing more than hearing and articulating new ideas.

²² Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools,

² Much in every way. First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God.

¹⁹ For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” ²⁰ Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? ²¹ For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. ²² Jews demand a sign and Greeks search for wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Greeks,

⁶ Among the mature, however, we speak a message of wisdom—but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.

¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.”

⁸ See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ.

⁴ That is why we boast among God’s churches about your perseverance and faith in the face of all the persecution and affliction you are enduring.

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

⁷ But reject irreverent, silly myths. Instead, train yourself for godliness.

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, ⁵ and constant friction between men of depraved mind who are devoid of the truth. These men regard godliness as a means of gain. Withdraw yourself from such.

¹¹ But you, O man of God, flee from these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.

¹⁴ Keep this commandment without stain or reproach until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ,

¹² For this reason, even though I suffer as I do, I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day. ¹³ Hold on to the pattern of sound teaching you have heard from me, with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴ Guard the treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.

¹ You therefore, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

¹⁶ But avoid irreverent, empty chatter, which will only lead to more ungodliness,

¹⁴ But as for you, continue in the things you have learned and firmly believed, since you know from whom you have learned them. ¹⁵ From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

⁴ To Titus, my true child in our common faith: Grace, mercy, (and) peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.

¹⁴ and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of men who have rejected the truth.

⁷ To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁰ The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

²³ Gaius, who has hosted me and all the church, sends you greetings. Erastus, the city treasurer, sends you greetings, as does our brother Quartus.

¹⁸ This greeting is in my own hand—Paul. Remember my chains. Grace be with you. Amen.

¹⁹ holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and thereby shipwrecked their faith.

¹⁰ For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

¹⁸ who have deviated from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already occurred, and they undermine the faith of some.

²² The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace be with you all. Amen.

¹⁵ All who are with me send you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with all of you. Amen.

¹ For the law is only a shadow of the good things to come, not the realities themselves. It can never, by the same sacrifices offered year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. ² If it could, would not the offerings have ceased? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt the guilt of their sins. ³ Instead, those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, ⁴ because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. ⁵ Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You prepared for Me. ⁶ In burnt offerings and sin offerings You took no delight. ⁷ Then I said, ‘Here I am, it is written about Me in the scroll: I have come to do Your will, O God.’” ⁸ In the passage above He says, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings and sin offerings You did not desire, nor did You delight in them” (although they are offered according to the law). ⁹ Then He adds, “Here I am, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first to establish the second. ¹⁰ And by that will, we have been sanctified through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. ¹¹ Day after day every priest stands to minister and to offer again and again the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ¹² But when this Priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God.

²⁵ Grace be with all of you. Amen.