Genesis 28 Cross References - MSB

¹ So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. “Do not take a wife from the Canaanite women,” he commanded. ² “Go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of your mother’s father Bethuel, and take a wife from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. ³ May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, so that you may become a company of peoples. ⁴ And may He give the blessing of Abraham to you and your descendants, so that you may possess the land where you dwell as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.” ⁵ So Isaac sent Jacob to Paddan-aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, who was the mother of Jacob and Esau. ⁶ Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to take a wife there, commanding him, “Do not marry a Canaanite woman,” ⁷ and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and gone to Paddan-aram. ⁸ And seeing that his father Isaac disapproved of the Canaanite women, ⁹ Esau went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael, in addition to the wives he already had. ¹⁰ Meanwhile Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. ¹¹ On reaching a certain place, he spent the night there because the sun had set. And taking one of the stones from that place, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. ¹² And Jacob had a dream about a ladder that rested on the earth with its top reaching up to heaven, and God’s angels were going up and down the ladder. ¹³ And there at the top the LORD was standing and saying, “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you now lie. ¹⁴ Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and east and north and south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. ¹⁵ Look, I am with you, and I will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” ¹⁶ When Jacob woke up, he thought, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was unaware of it.” ¹⁷ And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven!” ¹⁸ Early the next morning, Jacob took the stone that he had placed under his head, and he set it up as a pillar. He poured oil on top of it, ¹⁹ and he called that place Bethel, though previously the city had been named Luz. 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, ²¹ so that I may return safely to my father’s house, then the LORD will be my God. ²² And this stone I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give You a tenth.”

² the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they took as wives whomever they chose.

³ and I will have you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I am dwelling,

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,

³⁴ When Esau was forty years old, he took as his wives Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. ³⁵ And they brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah.

⁴ Then prepare a tasty dish that I love and bring it to me to eat, so that I may bless you before I die.”

²⁷ So he came near and kissed him. When Isaac smelled his clothing, he blessed him and said: “Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed. ²⁸ May God give to you the dew of heaven and the richness of the earth—an abundance of grain and new wine. ²⁹ May peoples serve you and nations bow down to you. May you be the master of your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed, and those who bless you be blessed.” ³⁰ As soon as Isaac had finished blessing him and Jacob had left his father’s presence, his brother Esau returned from the hunt. ³¹ He too made some tasty food, brought it to his father, and said to him, “My father, sit up and eat of your son’s game, so that you may bless me.” ³² But his father Isaac replied, “Who are you?” “I am Esau, your firstborn son,” he answered. ³³ Isaac began to tremble violently and said, “Who was it, then, who hunted the game and brought it to me? Before you came in, I ate it all and blessed him—and indeed, he will be blessed!”

⁴⁶ Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a Hittite wife from among them, what good is my life?”

³ May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, so that you may become a company of peoples. ⁴ And may He give the blessing of Abraham to you and your descendants, so that you may possess the land where you dwell as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.”

⁹ Intermarry with us; give us your daughters, and take our daughters for yourselves.

¹⁶ Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters for ourselves. We will dwell among you and become one people.

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,

²⁸ These are the tribes of Israel, twelve in all, and this was what their father said to them. He blessed them, and he blessed each one with a suitable blessing.

¹⁵ Do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you, and you will eat their sacrifices. ¹⁶ And when you take some of their daughters as brides for your sons, their daughters will prostitute themselves to their gods and cause your sons to do the same.

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

⁷ (To the half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given land in Bashan, and to the other half Joshua gave land on the west side of the Jordan among their brothers.) When Joshua sent them to their homes he blessed them,

¹⁴ Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? ¹⁵ What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? ¹⁶ What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.”

²⁰ Some time later, Abraham was told, “Milcah has also borne sons to your brother Nahor: ²¹ Uz the firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel (the father of Aram), ²² Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” ²³ And Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. Milcah bore these eight sons to Abraham’s brother Nahor.

¹⁰ Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed with all manner of good things from his master in hand. And he set out for Nahor’s hometown in Aram-naharaim.

¹⁵ Before the servant had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor. ¹⁶ Now the girl was very beautiful, a virgin who had not had relations with any man. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up again. ¹⁷ So the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me have a little water from your jar.” ¹⁸ “Drink, my lord,” she replied, and she quickly lowered her jar to her hands and gave him a drink. ¹⁹ After she had given him a drink, she said, “I will also draw water for your camels, until they have had enough to drink.” ²⁰ And she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran back to the well to draw water, until she had drawn water for all his camels. ²¹ Meanwhile, the man watched her silently to see whether or not the LORD had made his journey a success. ²² And after the camels had finished drinking, he took out a gold ring weighing a beka, and two gold bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels. ²³ “Whose daughter are you?” he asked. “Please tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” ²⁴ She replied, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milcah bore to Nahor.”

²⁹ Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and he rushed out to the man at the spring.

⁵⁰ Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the LORD; we have no choice in the matter.

²⁰ and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram and the sister of Laban the Aramean.

⁵ So Isaac sent Jacob to Paddan-aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, who was the mother of Jacob and Esau.

¹ Jacob resumed his journey and came to the land of the people of the east.

¹⁸ and he drove all his livestock before him, along with all the possessions he had acquired in Paddan-aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land in Canaan.

¹⁰ I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness You have shown Your servant. Indeed, with only my staff I came across the Jordan, but now I have become two camps.

⁹ After Jacob had returned from Paddan-aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him.

¹⁵ These are the sons of Leah born to Jacob in Paddan-aram, in addition to his daughter Dinah. The total number of sons and daughters was thirty-three.

¹² Jacob fled to the land of Aram and Israel worked for a wife—for a wife he tended sheep.

²⁸ God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth.”

¹ And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

¹⁶ I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if one could count the dust of the earth, then your offspring could be counted.

¹ When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Walk before Me and be blameless. ² I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly.” ³ Then Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, ⁴ “As for Me, this is My covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. ⁵ No longer will you be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. ⁶ I will make you exceedingly fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you.

¹⁷ I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies. ¹⁸ And through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

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.”

¹¹ And God told him, “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation—even a company of nations—shall come from you, and kings shall descend from you.

⁵² And the second son he named Ephraim, saying, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

¹⁴ May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother along with Benjamin. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.”

³ Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there He blessed me

³ I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by My name the LORD I did not make Myself known to them.

¹ A song of ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the LORD protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain.

³ Children are indeed a heritage from the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is His reward. ⁴ Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are children born in one’s youth. ⁵ Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. He will not be put to shame when he confronts the enemies at the gate.

³ Your wife will be like a fruitful vine flourishing within your house, your sons like olive shoots sitting around your table. ⁴ In this way indeed shall blessing come to the man who fears the LORD. ⁵ May the LORD bless you from Zion, that you may see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life, ⁶ that you may see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel!

¹⁸ And: “I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

²² But I saw no temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

¹ Then the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you. ² I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”

⁷ Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

¹⁴ After Lot had departed, the LORD said to Abram, “Now lift up your eyes from the place where you are, and look to the north and south and east and west, ¹⁵ for all the land that you see, I will give to you and your offspring forever. ¹⁶ I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if one could count the dust of the earth, then your offspring could be counted. ¹⁷ Get up and walk around the land, through its length and breadth, for I will give it to you.”

⁵ And the LORD took him outside and said, “Now look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.” Then He told him, “So shall your offspring be.” ⁶ Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness. ⁷ The LORD also told him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”

¹⁸ On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates— ¹⁹ the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, ²⁰ Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, ²¹ Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”

⁶ I will make you exceedingly fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you. ⁷ I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. ⁸ And to you and your descendants I will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Canaan—as an eternal possession; and I will be their God.”

¹² Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. For I am a foreigner dwelling with You, a stranger like all my fathers.

¹⁷ May his name endure forever; may his name continue as long as the sun shines. In him may all nations be blessed; may they call him blessed.

⁶ O offspring of His servant Abraham, O sons of Jacob, His chosen ones. ⁷ He is the LORD our God; His judgments carry throughout the earth. ⁸ He remembers His covenant forever, the word He ordained for a thousand generations— ⁹ the covenant He made with Abraham, and the oath He swore to Isaac. ¹⁰ He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant: ¹¹ “I will give you the land of Canaan as the portion of your inheritance.” ¹² When they were few in number, few indeed, and strangers in the land,

⁷ “Blessed are they whose lawless acts are forgiven, whose sins are covered. ⁸ Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.”

⁸ The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and foretold the gospel to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”

¹⁴ He redeemed us in order that the blessing promised to Abraham would come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.

⁹ By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. ¹⁰ For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. ¹¹ By faith Sarah, even though she was beyond the proper age, received power and was enabled to conceive a child, because she considered Him faithful who had promised. ¹² And so from one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. ¹³ All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

³³ Isaac began to tremble violently and said, “Who was it, then, who hunted the game and brought it to me? Before you came in, I ate it all and blessed him—and indeed, he will be blessed!”

¹ So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. “Do not take a wife from the Canaanite women,” he commanded.

⁴³ So now, my son, obey my voice and flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran.

¹² Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

³ Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must keep My Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God.

⁸ Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, and do not forsake the teaching of your mother.

¹⁷ As for the eye that mocks a father and scorns obedience to a mother, may the ravens of the valley pluck it out and young vultures devour it.

¹ Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

³ “that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life on the earth.”

²⁰ Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord.

⁶ But when they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” their demand was displeasing in the sight of Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD.

¹³ These are the names of the sons of Ishmael in the order of their birth: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, ¹⁴ Mishma, Dumah, Massa, ¹⁵ Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. ¹⁶ These were the sons of Ishmael, and these were their names by their villages and encampments—twelve princes of their tribes. ¹⁷ Ishmael lived a total of 137 years. Then he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.

³⁴ When Esau was forty years old, he took as his wives Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite.

³ and Basemath daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.

¹³ These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. They are the grandsons of Esau’s wife Basemath.

¹⁸ These are the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah: Chiefs Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. They are the chiefs descended from Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.

³¹ And Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai the wife of Abram, and they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan. But when they arrived in Haran, they settled there.

² And Stephen declared: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,

¹³ After several days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice came down to Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus.

¹⁸ Early the next morning, Jacob took the stone that he had placed under his head, and he set it up as a pillar. He poured oil on top of it,

⁴⁶ and he said to his relatives, “Gather some stones.” So they took stones and made a mound, and there by the mound they ate.

²⁰ Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”

⁵ For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

¹ After these events, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”

¹² As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and suddenly great terror and darkness overwhelmed him.

³ One night, however, God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.”

⁶ Then God said to Abimelech in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against Me. That is why I did not let you touch her. ⁷ Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet; he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, be aware that you will surely die—you and all who belong to you.”

¹ Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him. ² When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God.” So he named that place Mahanaim.

⁵ Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. ⁶ He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: ⁷ We were binding sheaves of grain in the field, and suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to mine.” ⁸ “Do you intend to reign over us?” his brothers asked. “Will you actually rule us?” So they hated him even more because of his dream and his statements. ⁹ Then Joseph had another dream and told it to his brothers. “Look,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” ¹⁰ He told his father and brothers, but his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream that you have had? Will your mother and brothers and I actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” ¹¹ And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept in mind what he had said.

¹ Some time later, the king’s cupbearer and baker offended their master, the king of Egypt. ² Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, ³ and imprisoned them in the house of the captain of the guard, the same prison where Joseph was confined. ⁴ The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he became their personal attendant. After they had been in custody for some time, ⁵ both of these men—the Egyptian king’s cupbearer and baker, who were being held in the prison—had a dream on the same night, and each dream had its own meaning. ⁶ When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were distraught. ⁷ So he asked the officials of Pharaoh who were in custody with him in his master’s house, “Why are your faces so downcast today?” ⁸ “We both had dreams,” they replied, “but there is no one to interpret them.” Then Joseph said to them, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.” ⁹ So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream: “In my dream there was a vine before me, ¹⁰ and on the vine were three branches. As it budded, its blossoms opened and its clusters ripened into grapes. ¹¹ Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into his cup, and placed the cup in his hand.” ¹² Joseph replied, “This is the interpretation: The three branches are three days. ¹³ Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore your position. You will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you did when you were his cupbearer. ¹⁴ But when it goes well for you, please remember me and show me kindness by mentioning me to Pharaoh, that he might bring me out of this prison. ¹⁵ For I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing for which they should have put me in this dungeon.” ¹⁶ When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, “I too had a dream: There were three baskets of white bread on my head. ¹⁷ In the top basket were all sorts of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.” ¹⁸ Joseph replied, “This is the interpretation: The three baskets are three days. ¹⁹ Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and hang you on a tree. Then the birds will eat the flesh of your body.” ²⁰ On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he held a feast for all his officials, and in their presence he lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker. ²¹ Pharaoh restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. ²² But Pharaoh hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had described to them in his interpretation. ²³ The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot all about him.

⁶ He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, will reveal Myself to him in a vision; I will speak to him in a dream.

⁹ For the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are fully devoted to Him. You have acted foolishly in this matter. From now on, therefore, you will be at war.”

¹² Now a word came to me secretly; my ears caught a whisper of it. ¹³ In disquieting visions in the night, when deep sleep falls on men, ¹⁴ fear and trembling came over me and made all my bones shudder. ¹⁵ Then a spirit glided past my face, and the hair on my body bristled. ¹⁶ It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance; a form loomed before my eyes, and I heard a whispering voice: ¹⁷ ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God, or a man more pure than his Maker? ¹⁸ If God puts no trust in His servants, and He charges His angels with error, ¹⁹ how much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who can be crushed like a moth! ²⁰ They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk; unnoticed, they perish forever. ²¹ Are not their tent cords pulled up, so that they die without wisdom?’

¹⁵ In a dream, in a vision in the night, when deep sleep falls upon men as they slumber on their beds, ¹⁶ He opens their ears and terrifies them with warnings

¹⁰ Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand of righteousness.

¹ In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled his spirit, and sleep escaped him. ² So the king gave orders to summon the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers to explain his dreams. When they came and stood before the king, ³ he said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to understand it.” ⁴ Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “O king, may you live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.” ⁵ The king replied to the astrologers, “My word is final: If you do not tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will be cut into pieces and your houses will be reduced to rubble. ⁶ But if you tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and its interpretation.” ⁷ They answered a second time, “Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will give the interpretation.” ⁸ The king replied, “I know for sure that you are stalling for time, because you see that my word is final. ⁹ If you do not tell me the dream, there is only one decree for you. You have conspired to speak before me false and fraudulent words, hoping the situation will change. Therefore tell me the dream, and I will know that you can give me its interpretation.” ¹⁰ The astrologers answered the king, “No one on earth can do what the king requests! No king, however great and powerful, has ever asked anything like this of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer. ¹¹ What the king requests is so difficult that no one can tell it to him except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.” ¹² This response made the king so furious with anger that he gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. ¹³ So the decree went out that the wise men were to be executed, and men went to look for Daniel and his friends to execute them. ¹⁴ When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon, Daniel replied with discretion and tact. ¹⁵ “Why is the decree from the king so harsh?” he asked. At this time Arioch explained the situation to Daniel. ¹⁶ So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him some time, so that he could give him the interpretation. ¹⁷ Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, ¹⁸ urging them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be killed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁹ During the night, the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision, and he blessed the God of heaven ²⁰ and declared: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. ²¹ He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. ²² He reveals the deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him. ²³ To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, because You have given me wisdom and power. And now You have made known to me what we have requested, for You have made known to us the dream of the king.” ²⁴ Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not execute the wise men of Babylon! Bring me before the king, and I will give him the interpretation.” ²⁵ Arioch hastily brought Daniel before the king and said to him, “I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who will tell the king the interpretation.” ²⁶ The king responded to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to tell me what I saw in the dream, as well as its interpretation?” ²⁷ Daniel answered the king, “No wise man, enchanter, medium, or magician can explain to the king the mystery of which he inquires. ²⁸ But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the latter days. Your dream and the visions that came into your mind as you lay on your bed were these: ²⁹ As you lay on your bed, O king, your thoughts turned to the future, and the Revealer of Mysteries made known to you what will happen. ³⁰ And to me this mystery has been revealed, not because I have more wisdom than any man alive, but in order that the interpretation might be made known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind. ³¹ As you, O king, were watching, a great statue appeared. A great and dazzling statue stood before you, and its form was awesome. ³² The head of the statue was pure gold, its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were bronze, ³³ its legs were iron, and its feet were part iron and part clay. ³⁴ As you watched, a stone was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed them. ³⁵ Then the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold were shattered and became like chaff on the threshing floor in summer. The wind carried them away, and not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that had struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. ³⁶ This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation. ³⁷ You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given sovereignty, power, strength, and glory. ³⁸ Wherever the sons of men or beasts of the field or birds of the air dwell, He has given them into your hand and has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold. ³⁹ But after you, there will arise another kingdom, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule the whole earth. ⁴⁰ Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; for iron shatters and crushes all things, and like iron that crushes all things, it will shatter and crush all the others. ⁴¹ And just as you saw that the feet and toes were made partly of fired clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom, yet some of the strength of iron will be in it—just as you saw the iron mixed with clay. ⁴² And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. ⁴³ As you saw the iron mixed with clay, so the peoples will mix with one another, but will not hold together any more than iron mixes with clay. 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.” ⁴⁸ Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many generous gifts. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. ⁴⁹ And at Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to manage the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court.

¹ King Nebuchadnezzar, To the people of every nation and language who dwell in all the earth: May your prosperity be multiplied. ² I am pleased to declare the signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me. ³ How great are His signs, how mighty His wonders! His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; His dominion endures from generation to generation. ⁴ I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and flourishing in my palace. ⁵ I had a dream, and it frightened me; while in my bed, the images and visions in my mind alarmed me. ⁶ So I issued a decree that all the wise men of Babylon be brought before me to interpret the dream for me. ⁷ When the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and diviners came in, I told them the dream, and they could not interpret it for me. ⁸ But at last, into my presence came Daniel (whose name is Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods). And I told him the dream: ⁹ “O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery baffles you. So explain to me the visions I saw in my dream, and their interpretation. ¹⁰ In these visions of my mind as I was lying in bed, I saw this come to pass: There was a tree in the midst of the land, and its height was great. ¹¹ The tree grew large and strong; its top reached the sky, and it was visible to the ends of the earth. ¹² Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit was abundant, and upon it was food for all. Under it the beasts of the field found shelter, in its branches the birds of the air nested, and from it every creature was fed. ¹³ As I lay on my bed, I also saw in the visions of my mind a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven. ¹⁴ He called out in a loud voice: ‘Cut down the tree and chop off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it, and the birds from its branches. ¹⁵ But leave the stump with its roots in the ground, and a band of iron and bronze around it, in the tender grass of the field. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven and graze with the beasts on the grass of the earth. ¹⁶ Let his mind be changed from that of a man, and let him be given the mind of a beast till seven times pass him by. ¹⁷ This decision is the decree of the watchers, the verdict declared by the holy ones, so that the living will know that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes, setting over it the lowliest of men.’ ¹⁸ This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. Now, Belteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because none of the wise men of my kingdom can interpret it for me. But you are able, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.” ¹⁹ For a time, Daniel, who was also known as Belteshazzar, was perplexed, and his thoughts alarmed him. So the king said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation alarm you.” “My lord,” replied Belteshazzar, “may the dream apply to those who hate you, and its interpretation to your enemies! ²⁰ The tree you saw that grew large and strong, whose top reached the sky and was visible to all the earth, ²¹ whose foliage was beautiful and whose fruit was abundant, providing food for all, under which the beasts of the field lived, and in whose branches the birds of the air nested— ²² you, O king, are that tree! For you have become great and strong; your greatness has grown to reach the sky, and your dominion extends to the ends of the earth. ²³ And you, O king, saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying: ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump with its roots in the ground, and a band of iron and bronze around it, in the tender grass of the field. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and graze with the beasts of the field till seven times pass him by.’ ²⁴ This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree that the Most High has issued against my lord the king: ²⁵ You will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling will be with the beasts of the field. You will feed on grass like an ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass you by, until you acknowledge that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes. ²⁶ As for the command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots, your kingdom will be restored to you as soon as you acknowledge that Heaven rules. ²⁷ Therefore, may my advice be pleasing to you, O king. Break away from your sins by doing what is right, and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed. Perhaps there will be an extension of your prosperity.” ²⁸ All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. ²⁹ Twelve months later, as he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 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?” ³¹ While the words were still in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven: “It is decreed to you, King Nebuchadnezzar, that the kingdom has departed from you. ³² You will be driven away from mankind to live with the beasts of the field, and you will feed on grass like an ox. And seven times will pass you by, until you acknowledge that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes.” ³³ At that moment the sentence against Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from mankind. He ate grass like an ox, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird. 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. ³⁵ All the peoples of the earth are counted as nothing, and He does as He pleases with the army of heaven and the peoples of the earth. There is no one who can restrain His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’” ³⁶ At the same time my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne, and surpassing greatness was added to me. ³⁷ Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, for all His works are true and all His ways are just. And He is able to humble those who walk in pride.

¹ In the first year of the reign of Belshazzar over Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he lay on his bed. He wrote down the dream, and this is the summary of his account.

²⁰ But after he had pondered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife, for the One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

¹² And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they withdrew to their country by another route. ¹³ When the Magi had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up!” he said. “Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.”

¹⁹ After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt.

⁵¹ Then He declared, “Truly, truly, I tell you, from now on you will all see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

¹⁶ At my first defense, no one stood with me, but everyone deserted me. May it not be charged against them. ¹⁷ But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message would be fully proclaimed, and all the Gentiles would hear it. So I was delivered from the mouth of the lion.

¹ On many past occasions and in many different ways, God spoke to our fathers through the prophets.

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

¹⁵ for all the land that you see, I will give to you and your offspring forever.

⁶ I will make you exceedingly fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you. ⁷ I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.

³ Stay in this land as a foreigner, and I will be with you and bless you. For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring, and I will confirm the oath that I swore to your father Abraham.

²⁴ and that night the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of My servant Abraham.”

⁴ And may He give the blessing of Abraham to you and your descendants, so that you may possess the land where you dwell as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.”

⁴² If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, surely by now you would have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my affliction and the toil of my hands, and last night He rendered judgment.”

⁹ Then Jacob declared, “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, the LORD who told me, ‘Go back to your country and to your kindred, and I will make you prosper,’

¹ Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”

⁶ So Jacob and everyone with him arrived in Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. ⁷ There Jacob built an altar, and he called that place El-bethel, because it was there that God had revealed Himself to Jacob as he fled from his brother.

¹² The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.”

¹⁵ Jacob called the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.

¹⁷ During her severe labor, the midwife said to her, “Do not be afraid, for you are having another son.”

³ “I am God,” He said, “the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.

⁶ Then He said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

¹⁵ God also told Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered in every generation. ¹⁶ Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—has appeared to me and said: I have surely attended to you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt.

¹¹ “I will give you the land of Canaan as the portion of your inheritance.”

²⁴ My servant David will be king over them, and there will be one shepherd for all of them. They will follow My ordinances and keep and observe My statutes. ²⁵ They will live in the land that I gave to My servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They will live there forever with their children and grandchildren, and My servant David will be their prince forever.

³² ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”

⁵ He gave him no inheritance here, not even a foot of ground. But God promised to give possession of the land to Abraham and his descendants, even though he did not yet have a child.

¹⁶ Instead, they were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

³ I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”

¹⁴ After Lot had departed, the LORD said to Abram, “Now lift up your eyes from the place where you are, and look to the north and south and east and west,

¹⁸ Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed.

¹⁸ And through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

⁴ I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed,

¹² But You have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper, and I will make your offspring like the sand of the sea, too numerous to count.’”

¹¹ And God told him, “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation—even a company of nations—shall come from you, and kings shall descend from you. ¹² The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.”

¹⁰ Who can count the dust of Jacob or number even a fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous; let my end be like theirs!”

²⁰ When the LORD your God expands your territory as He has promised, and you crave meat and say, “I want to eat meat,” you may eat it whenever you want.

¹¹ I say to you that many will come from the east and the west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

²⁵ And you are sons of the prophets and of the covenant God made with our fathers when He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all the families of the earth will be blessed.’

¹⁶ The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say, “and to seeds,” meaning many, but “and to your seed,” meaning One, who is Christ.

⁴ And I heard the number of those who were sealed, 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel:

⁹ After this I looked and saw a multitude too large to count, from every nation and tribe and people and tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.

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, ²¹ so that I may return safely to my father’s house, then the LORD will be my God.

³ Then the LORD said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.”

² And the LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, serving in the household of his Egyptian master.

²¹ the LORD was with him and extended kindness to him, granting him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.

⁴ I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will surely bring you back. And Joseph’s own hands will close your eyes.”

¹⁶ the angel who has redeemed me from all harm—may He bless these boys. And may they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they grow into a multitude upon the earth.”

²¹ Then Israel said to Joseph, “Look, I am about to die, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers.

¹² “I will surely be with you,” God said, “and this will be the sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, all of you will worship God on this mountain.”

¹⁹ God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?

⁶ Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or terrified of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”

⁵ No one shall stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.

¹⁴ Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know with all your heart and soul that not one of the good promises the LORD your God made to you has failed. Everything was fulfilled for you; not one promise has failed. ¹⁵ But just as every good thing the LORD your God promised you has come to pass, likewise the LORD will bring upon you the calamity He has threatened, until He has destroyed you from this good land He has given you. ¹⁶ If you transgress the covenant of the LORD your God, which He commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from this good land He has given you.”

¹⁶ “Surely I will be with you,” the LORD replied, “and you will strike down all the Midianites as one man.”

⁵⁷ May the LORD our God be with us, as He was with our fathers. May He never leave us nor forsake us.

⁷ The LORD of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

¹¹ The LORD of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

⁵ The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is the shade on your right hand. ⁶ The sun will not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. ⁷ The LORD will guard you from all evil; He will preserve your soul. ⁸ The LORD will watch over your coming and going, both now and forevermore.

¹⁴ Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.

¹⁰ Devise a plan, but it will be thwarted; state a proposal, but it will not happen. For God is with us.”

² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched; the flames will not set you ablaze.

¹⁹ They will fight against you but will never overcome you, since I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.

²⁰ For where two or three gather together in My name, there am I with them.”

³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.

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.”

²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand. ²⁹ My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand.

³¹ What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things?

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.

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?”

¹ Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and kept in Jesus Christ:

⁵ “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”

¹¹ Who among the gods is like You, O LORD? Who is like You—majestic in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders?

¹⁵ The Commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

⁴ Then the LORD called to Samuel, and he answered, “Here I am.” ⁵ He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you have called me.” “I did not call,” Eli replied. “Go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down. ⁶ Once again the LORD called, “Samuel!” So Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you have called me.” “My son, I did not call,” Eli replied. “Go back and lie down.” ⁷ Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, because the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.

¹¹ Were He to pass by me, I would not see Him; were He to move, I would not recognize Him.

¹⁴ For God speaks in one way and in another, yet no one notices.

³⁵ O God, You are awesome in Your sanctuary; the God of Israel Himself gives strength and power to His people. Blessed be God!

¹³ The LORD of Hosts is the One you shall regard as holy. Only He should be feared; only He should be dreaded.

²² And this stone I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give You a tenth.”

¹ Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” ² So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you. Purify yourselves and change your garments. ³ Then let us arise and go to Bethel. I will build an altar there to God, who answered me in my day of distress. He has been with me wherever I have gone.” ⁴ So they gave Jacob all their foreign gods and all their earrings, and Jacob buried them under the oak near Shechem. ⁵ As they set out, a terror from God fell over the surrounding cities, so that they did not pursue Jacob’s sons. ⁶ So Jacob and everyone with him arrived in Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. ⁷ There Jacob built an altar, and he called that place El-bethel, because it was there that God had revealed Himself to Jacob as he fled from his brother. ⁸ Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel. So Jacob named it Allon-bachuth. ⁹ After Jacob had returned from Paddan-aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him. ¹⁰ And God said to him, “Though your name is Jacob, you will no longer be called Jacob. Instead, your name will be Israel.” So God named him Israel. ¹¹ And God told him, “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation—even a company of nations—shall come from you, and kings shall descend from you. ¹² The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.” ¹³ Then God went up from the place where He had spoken with him.

²² “We are going to die,” he said to his wife, “for we have seen God!”

¹⁴ so that the priests could not stand there to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.

¹ Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.

⁶ When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown in terror.

⁹ Just then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

³⁵ So the people went out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and found the man whom the demons had left, sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.

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.

²¹ and since we have a great priest over the house of God,

¹⁷ For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?

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,

³ So Abraham got up early the next morning, saddled his donkey, and took along two of his servants and his son Isaac. He split the wood for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had designated.

¹³ I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and made a solemn vow to Me. Now get up and leave this land at once, and return to your native land.’”

⁴⁵ So Jacob picked out a stone and set it up as a pillar,

¹⁴ So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where God had spoken with him—a stone marker—and he poured out a drink offering on it and anointed it with oil.

²⁰ Jacob set up a pillar on her grave; it marks Rachel’s tomb to this day.

¹⁰ Next, Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and everything in it; and so he consecrated them. ¹¹ He sprinkled some of the oil on the altar seven times, anointing the altar and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand, to consecrate them. ¹² He also poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him to consecrate him.

¹ On the day Moses finished setting up the tabernacle, he anointed and consecrated it and all its furnishings, along with the altar and all its utensils.

²⁶ Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was near the sanctuary of the LORD. ²⁷ And Joshua said to all the people, “You see this stone. It will be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words the LORD has spoken to us, and it will be a witness against you if you ever deny your God.”

¹² Afterward, Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.”

¹⁸ During his lifetime, Absalom had set up for himself a pillar in the King’s Valley, for he had said, “I have no son to preserve the memory of my name.” So he gave the pillar his name, and to this day it is called Absalom’s Monument.

⁶⁰ I hurried without hesitating to keep Your commandments.

¹⁰ Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

¹⁹ In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the center of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD near her border.

⁸ From there Abram moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an altar to the LORD, and he called on the name of the LORD.

²² The house of Joseph also attacked Bethel, and the LORD was with them. ²³ They sent spies to Bethel (formerly known as Luz), ²⁴ and when the spies saw a man coming out of the city, they said to him, “Please show us how to get into the city, and we will treat you kindly.” ²⁵ So the man showed them the entrance to the city, and they put the city to the sword but released that man and all his family. ²⁶ And the man went to the land of the Hittites, built a city, and called it Luz, which is its name to this day.

²⁹ One calf he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan.

¹⁵ Though you prostitute yourself, O Israel, may Judah avoid such guilt! Do not journey to Gilgal, do not go up to Beth-aven, and do not swear on oath, ‘As surely as the LORD lives!’

⁴ Yes, he struggled with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought His favor; he found Him at Bethel and spoke with Him there— ⁵ the LORD is the God of Hosts—the LORD is His name of renown.

¹⁵ Look, I am with you, and I will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

¹ Then the LORD said to Moses, ² “Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘When someone makes a special vow to the LORD involving the value of persons, ³ if the valuation concerns a male from twenty to sixty years of age, then your valuation shall be fifty shekels of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel. ⁴ Or if it is a female, then your valuation shall be thirty shekels. ⁵ And if the person is from five to twenty years of age, then your valuation for the male shall be twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels. ⁶ Now if the person is from one month to five years of age, then your valuation for the male shall be five shekels of silver, and for the female three shekels of silver. ⁷ And if the person is sixty years of age or older, then your valuation shall be fifteen shekels for the male and ten shekels for the female. ⁸ But if the one making the vow is too poor to pay the valuation, he is to present the person before the priest, who shall set the value according to what the one making the vow can afford. ⁹ If he vows an animal that may be brought as an offering to the LORD, any such animal given to the LORD shall be holy. ¹⁰ He must not replace it or exchange it, either good for bad or bad for good. But if he does substitute one animal for another, both that animal and its substitute will be holy. ¹¹ But if the vow involves any of the unclean animals that may not be brought as an offering to the LORD, the animal must be presented before the priest. ¹² The priest shall set its value, whether high or low; as the priest values it, the price will be set. ¹³ If, however, the owner decides to redeem the animal, he must add a fifth to its value. ¹⁴ Now if a man consecrates his house as holy to the LORD, then the priest shall value it either as good or bad. The price will stand just as the priest values it. ¹⁵ But if he who consecrated his house redeems it, he must add a fifth to the assessed value, and it will belong to him. ¹⁶ If a man consecrates to the LORD a parcel of his land, then your valuation shall be proportional to the seed required for it—fifty shekels of silver for every homer of barley seed. ¹⁷ If he consecrates his field during the Year of Jubilee, the price will stand according to your valuation. ¹⁸ But if he consecrates his field after the Jubilee, the priest is to calculate the price in proportion to the years left until the next Year of Jubilee, so that your valuation will be reduced. ¹⁹ And if the one who consecrated the field decides to redeem it, he must add a fifth to the assessed value, and it shall belong to him. ²⁰ If, however, he does not redeem the field, or if he has sold it to another man, it may no longer be redeemed. ²¹ When the field is released in the Jubilee, it will become holy, like a field devoted to the LORD; it becomes the property of the priests. ²² Now if a man consecrates to the LORD a field he has purchased, which is not a part of his own property, ²³ then the priest shall calculate for him the value up to the Year of Jubilee, and the man shall pay the assessed value on that day as a sacred offering to the LORD. ²⁴ In the Year of Jubilee the field shall return to the one from whom it was bought—the original owner of the land. ²⁵ Every valuation will be according to the sanctuary shekel, twenty gerahs to the shekel. ²⁶ But no one may consecrate a firstborn of the livestock, because a firstborn belongs to the LORD. Whether it is an ox or a sheep, it is the LORD’s. ²⁷ But if it is among the unclean animals, then he may redeem it according to your valuation and add a fifth of its value. If it is not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to your valuation. ²⁸ Nothing that a man sets apart to the LORD from all he owns—whether a man, an animal, or his inherited land—can be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy to the LORD. ²⁹ No person set apart for destruction may be ransomed; he must surely be put to death. ³⁰ Thus any tithe from the land, whether from the seed of the land or the fruit of the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD. ³¹ If a man wishes to redeem part of his tithe, he must add a fifth to its value. ³² Every tenth animal from the herd or flock that passes under the shepherd’s rod will be holy to the LORD. ³³ He must not inspect whether it is good or bad, and he shall not make any substitution. But if he does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute shall become holy; they cannot be redeemed.’” ³⁴ These are the commandments that the LORD gave to Moses for the Israelites on Mount Sinai.

¹ And the LORD said to Moses, ² “Speak to the Israelites and tell them that if a man or woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the LORD, ³ he is to abstain from wine and strong drink. He must not drink vinegar made from wine or strong drink, and he must not drink any grape juice or eat fresh grapes or raisins. ⁴ All the days of his separation, he is not to eat anything that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins. ⁵ For the entire period of his vow of separation, no razor shall pass over his head. He must be holy until the time of his separation to the LORD is complete; he must let the hair of his head grow long. ⁶ Throughout the days of his separation to the LORD, he must not go near a dead body. ⁷ Even if his father or mother or brother or sister should die, he is not to defile himself, because the crown of consecration to his God is upon his head. ⁸ Throughout the time of his separation, he is holy to the LORD. ⁹ If someone suddenly dies in his presence and defiles his consecrated head of hair, he must shave his head on the day of his cleansing—the seventh day. ¹⁰ On the eighth day he must bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. ¹¹ And the priest is to offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to make atonement for him, because he has sinned by being in the presence of the dead body. On that day he must consecrate his head again. ¹² He must rededicate his time of separation to the LORD and bring a year-old male lamb as a guilt offering. But the preceding days shall not be counted, because his separation was defiled. ¹³ Now this is the law of the Nazirite when his time of separation is complete: He must be brought to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, ¹⁴ and he is to present an offering to the LORD of an unblemished year-old male lamb as a burnt offering, an unblemished year-old female lamb as a sin offering, and an unblemished ram as a peace offering— ¹⁵ together with their grain offerings and drink offerings—and a basket of unleavened cakes made from fine flour mixed with oil and unleavened wafers coated with oil. ¹⁶ The priest is to present all these before the LORD and make the sin offering and the burnt offering. ¹⁷ He shall also offer the ram as a peace offering to the LORD, along with the basket of unleavened bread. And the priest is to offer the accompanying grain offering and drink offering. ¹⁸ Then at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the Nazirite is to shave his consecrated head, take the hair, and put it on the fire under the peace offering. ¹⁹ And the priest is to take the boiled shoulder from the ram, one unleavened cake from the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and put them into the hands of the Nazirite who has just shaved the hair of his consecration. ²⁰ The priest shall then wave them as a wave offering before the LORD. This is a holy portion for the priest, in addition to the breast of the wave offering and the thigh that was presented. After that, the Nazirite may drink wine.

² So Israel made a vow to the LORD: “If You will deliver this people into our hands, we will devote their cities to destruction.” ³ And the LORD heard Israel’s plea and delivered up the Canaanites. Israel devoted them and their cities to destruction; so they named the place Hormah.

³⁰ Jephthah made this vow to the LORD: “If indeed You will deliver the Ammonites into my hand, ³¹ then whatever comes out the door of my house to greet me on my triumphant return from the Ammonites will belong to the LORD, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”

¹¹ And she made a vow, pleading, “O LORD of Hosts, if only You will look upon the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, not forgetting Your maidservant but giving her a son, then I will dedicate him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall ever come over his head.”

²⁸ I now dedicate the boy to the LORD. For as long as he lives, he is dedicated to the LORD.” So they worshiped the LORD there.

²⁴ Now the men of Israel were in distress that day, for Saul had placed the troops under an oath, saying, “Cursed is the man who eats any food before evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies.” So none of the troops tasted any food.

⁸ For your servant made a vow while dwelling in Geshur of Aram, saying: ‘If indeed the LORD brings me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the LORD in Hebron.’”

¹ On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth, with dust on their heads. ² Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all the foreigners, and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. ³ While they stood in their places, they read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a quarter of the day, and they spent another quarter of the day in confession and worship of the LORD their God. ⁴ And the Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani—stood on the raised platform and cried out in a loud voice to the LORD their God. 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 You alone are the LORD. You created the heavens, the highest heavens with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to all things, and the host of heaven worships You. ⁷ You are the LORD, the God who chose Abram, who brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham. ⁸ You found his heart faithful before You, and made a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites and Hittites, of the Amorites and Perizzites, of the Jebusites and Girgashites—to give it to his descendants. You have kept Your promise, because You are righteous. ⁹ You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt; You heard their cry at the Red Sea. ¹⁰ You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, all his officials, and all the people of his land, for You knew they had acted with arrogance against our fathers. You made a name for Yourself that endures to this day.

²⁵ My praise for You resounds in the great assembly; I will fulfill my vows before those who fear You.

¹² Your vows are upon me, O God; I will render thank offerings to You.

⁵ For You have heard my vows, O God; You have given me the inheritance reserved for those who fear Your name.

⁸ Then I will ever sing praise to Your name and fulfill my vows day by day.

¹³ I will enter Your house with burnt offerings; I will fulfill my vows to You—

¹¹ Make and fulfill your vows to the LORD your God; let all the neighboring lands bring tribute to Him who is to be feared.

¹⁴ I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all His people.

¹⁸ I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all His people,

¹⁰⁶ I have sworn and confirmed that I will keep Your righteous judgments.

² how he swore an oath to the LORD, and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:

¹ Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. ² Do not be quick to speak, and do not be hasty in your heart to utter a word before God. After all, God is in heaven and you are on earth. So let your words be few. ³ As a dream comes through many cares, so the speech of a fool comes with many words. ⁴ When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, because He takes no pleasure in fools. Fulfill your vow. ⁵ It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. ⁶ Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, and do not tell the messenger that your vow was a mistake. Why should God be angry with your words and destroy the work of your hands? ⁷ For as many dreams bring futility, so do many words. Therefore, fear God.

²¹ The LORD will make Himself known to Egypt, and on that day Egypt will acknowledge the LORD. They will worship with sacrifices and offerings; they will make vows to the LORD and fulfill them.

¹⁶ From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace.

¹⁸ Paul remained in Corinth for quite some time before saying goodbye to the brothers. He had his head shaved in Cenchrea to keep a vow he had made, and then he sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila.

¹² When daylight came, some of the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. ¹³ More than forty of them were involved in this plot. ¹⁴ They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have bound ourselves with a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul. ¹⁵ Now then, you and the Sanhedrin petition the commander to bring him down to you tomorrow on the pretext of examining his case more carefully. We are ready to kill him on the way.”

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

² The LORD is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise Him, my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.

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.

³¹ then whatever comes out the door of my house to greet me on my triumphant return from the Ammonites will belong to the LORD, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”

²⁴ Then Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson, went down to meet the king. He had not cared for his feet or trimmed his mustache or washed his clothes from the day the king had left until the day he returned safely.

³⁰ And Mephibosheth said to the king, “Instead, since my lord the king has safely come to his own house, let Ziba take it all!”

¹⁷ “If you will not,” said Naaman, “please let me, your servant, be given as much soil as a pair of mules can carry. For your servant will never again make a burnt offering or a sacrifice to any other god but the LORD.

²⁰ and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything.

³³ And Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the LORD, the Eternal God.

¹⁷ And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven!”

²⁰ There he set up an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.

⁷ There Jacob built an altar, and he called that place El-bethel, because it was there that God had revealed Himself to Jacob as he fled from his brother.

¹⁴ So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where God had spoken with him—a stone marker—and he poured out a drink offering on it and anointed it with oil. ¹⁵ Jacob called the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.

³⁰ Thus any tithe from the land, whether from the seed of the land or the fruit of the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD. ³¹ If a man wishes to redeem part of his tithe, he must add a fifth to its value. ³² Every tenth animal from the herd or flock that passes under the shepherd’s rod will be holy to the LORD. ³³ He must not inspect whether it is good or bad, and he shall not make any substitution. But if he does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute shall become holy; they cannot be redeemed.’”

²² You must be sure to set aside a tenth of all the produce brought forth each year from your fields. ²³ And you are to eat a tenth of your grain, new wine, and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks, in the presence of the LORD your God at the place He will choose as a dwelling for His Name, so that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always.