James Cross References - MSB

¹ James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes of the Dispersion: Greetings. ² Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. ⁴ Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ⁵ Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. ⁶ But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ That man should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸ He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. 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. ¹¹ For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its flower falls and its beauty is lost. So too, the rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits. ¹² Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him. ¹³ When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone. ¹⁴ But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is lured away and enticed. ¹⁵ Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. ¹⁶ Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. ¹⁷ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow. ¹⁸ He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creation. ¹⁹ So then, my beloved brothers, everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, ²⁰ for man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness that God desires. ²¹ Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and every expression of evil, and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save your souls. ²² Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves. ²³ For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror, ²⁴ and after observing himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵ But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom, and continues to do so—not being a forgetful hearer, but an effective doer—he will be blessed in what he does. ²⁶ If anyone among you considers himself religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his heart and his religion is worthless. ²⁷ Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

⁴ And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. Early the next morning he got up and built an altar at the base of the mountain, along with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.

²¹ The twelve stones are to correspond to the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.

¹⁴ The twelve stones corresponded to the names of the sons of Israel. Each stone was engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.

³³ But I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out a sword after you as your land becomes desolate and your cities are laid waste.

²⁷ Then the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you.

⁶⁴ Then the LORD will scatter you among all the nations, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known.

³ then He will restore you from captivity and have compassion on you and gather you from all the nations to which the LORD your God has scattered you.

²⁶ I would have said that I would cut them to pieces and blot out their memory from mankind,

³¹ And Elijah took twelve stones, one for each tribe of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come and said, “Israel shall be your name.”

¹⁷ For the dedication of the house of God they offered a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and a sin offering for all Israel of twelve male goats, one for each tribe of Israel.

⁸ Then Haman informed King Xerxes, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples of every province of your kingdom. Their laws are different from everyone else’s, and they do not obey the king’s laws. So it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them.

¹⁵ And they will know that I am the LORD, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them throughout the countries.

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

⁵⁵ “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t His mother’s name Mary, and aren’t His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?

²⁸ Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, in the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

¹⁸ Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot,

¹⁵ Matthew and Thomas; James son of Alphaeus and Simon called the Zealot;

³⁰ so that you may eat and drink at My table and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

³⁵ At this, the Jews said to one another, “Where does He intend to go that we will not find Him? Will He go where the Jews are dispersed among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks?

²⁶ If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, My servant will be as well. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.

¹³ When they arrived, they went to the upper room where they were staying: Peter and James, John and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.

⁵ Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.

¹ And Saul was there, giving approval to Stephen’s death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.

¹⁷ Peter motioned with his hand for silence, and he described how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. “Send word to James and to the brothers,” he said, and he left for another place.

¹³ When they had finished speaking, James declared, “Brothers, listen to me!

²¹ For Moses has been proclaimed in every city from ancient times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”

²³ and sent them with this letter: The apostles and the elders, your brothers, To the brothers among the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings.

¹⁸ The next day Paul went in with us to see James, and all the elders were present.

²⁶ Claudius Lysias, To His Excellency, Governor Felix: Greetings.

⁷ the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to realize as they earnestly serve God day and night. It is because of this hope, O king Agrippa, that I am accused by the Jews.

¹ Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, and set apart for the gospel of God—

¹⁹ But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother.

⁹ And recognizing the grace that I had been given, James, Cephas, and John—those reputed to be pillars—gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised.

¹² For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself, for fear of those in the circumcision group.

¹ Paul and Timothy, servants of Jesus Christ, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:

²¹ Make every effort to come to me before winter. Eubulus sends you greetings, as do Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers.

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,

¹ Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the elect who are exiles of the Dispersion throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, chosen

¹ Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:

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:

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

¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ¹¹ Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say every evil thing against you because of Me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.

²² Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil because of the Son of Man. ²³ Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For their fathers treated the prophets in the same way.

⁴¹ The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the name of Jesus.

¹⁷ And if we are children, then we are heirs: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him. ¹⁸ I consider that our present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us.

³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written: “For Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” ³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

⁹ But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

²⁹ For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him,

¹⁷ But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.

²⁴ Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, which is the church.

³⁴ You sympathized with me in my chains and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, knowing that you yourselves had a better and permanent possession in heaven.

³⁶ Still others endured mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. ³⁷ They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were put to the test, they were put to death by the sword. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, oppressed, and mistreated. ³⁸ The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and hid in caves and holes in the ground.

¹² Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

⁶ In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in various trials 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. ⁸ Though you have not known Him, you love Him; and though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy,

¹³ But rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed at the revelation of His glory. ¹⁴ If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. Indeed, on their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. ¹⁵ Indeed, none of you should suffer as a murderer or thief or wrongdoer, or even as a meddler. ¹⁶ But if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but glorify God in this matter.

⁹ if all this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. ¹⁰ Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer tribulation for ten days. Be faithful even unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

⁷ To those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life.

³ Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope.

²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not yet see, we wait for it patiently.

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

⁴ For what was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope.

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

¹¹ being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have full endurance and patience, and joyfully

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.

⁵ May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.

³⁶ You need to persevere, so that after you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.

¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us.

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.

⁶ and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;

⁹ Yet a righteous one holds to his way, and the one with clean hands grows stronger.

⁷ Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men prosper in their ways, when they carry out wicked schemes.

¹ For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; He inclined to me and heard my cry.

⁸ Prize her, and she will exalt you; if you embrace her, she will honor you.

³ For the vision awaits an appointed time; it testifies of the end and does not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it, since it will surely come and will not delay.

⁴⁸ Be perfect, therefore, as your Father in heaven is perfect.

²² You will be hated by everyone because of My name, but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.

²⁰ “All these I have kept from my youth,” said the young man. “What do I still lack?”

²¹ Jesus looked at him, loved him, and said to him, “There is one thing you lack: Go, sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”

¹⁵ But the seeds on good soil are those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, cling to it, and by persevering produce a crop.

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.”

¹⁹ By your patient endurance you will gain your souls.

²³ I in them and You in Me—that they may be perfectly united, so that the world may know that You sent Me and have loved them just as You have loved Me.

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.

⁹ Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

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 All of us who are mature should embrace this point of view. And if you think differently about some issue, God will reveal this to you as well.

¹² Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ, sends you greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, so that you may stand mature and complete in the full will of God.

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

²¹ equip you with every good work to do His will. And may He accomplish in you what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

⁵ Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

² We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to control his whole body.

⁷ Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer awaits the precious fruit of the soil—how patient he is for the fall and spring rains. ⁸ You, too, be patient and strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near. ⁹ Do not complain about one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged. Look, the Judge is standing at the door! ¹⁰ My brothers, as an example of patience in affliction, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹ See how blessed we consider those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen the outcome from the Lord. He is full of compassion and mercy.

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.

⁹ But whoever lacks these traits is nearsighted to the point of blindness, having forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

¹⁷ In this way, love has been perfected among us, so that we may have confidence on the day of judgment; for in this world we are just like Him. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. The one who fears has not been perfected in love.

³ And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability, and knowledge in all kinds of craftsmanship,

⁶ Moreover, I have selected Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, as his assistant. I have also given skill to all the craftsmen, that they may fashion all that I have commanded you:

¹ “So Bezalel, Oholiab, and every skilled person are to carry out everything commanded by the LORD, who has given them skill and ability to know how to perform all the work of constructing the sanctuary.” ² Then Moses summoned Bezalel, Oholiab, and every skilled person whom the LORD had gifted—everyone whose heart stirred him to come and do the work. ³ They received from Moses all the contributions that the Israelites had brought to carry out the service of constructing the sanctuary. Meanwhile, the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning, ⁴ so that all the skilled craftsmen who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left their work

⁷ And now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king in my father David’s place. But I am only a little child, not knowing how to go out or come in. ⁸ Your servant is here among the people You have chosen, a people too numerous to count or number. ⁹ Therefore give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to govern this great people of Yours?” ¹⁰ Now it pleased the Lord that Solomon had made this request. ¹¹ So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this instead of requesting long life or wealth for yourself or death for your enemies—but you have asked for discernment to administer justice— ¹² behold, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has never been nor will ever be another like you.

¹² Above all, may the LORD give you insight and understanding when He puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the Law of the LORD your God.

¹⁰ Now grant me wisdom and knowledge, so that I may lead this people. For who is able to govern this great people of Yours?”

¹² But where can wisdom be found, and where does understanding dwell? ¹³ No man can know its value, nor is it found in the land of the living. ¹⁴ The ocean depths say, ‘It is not in me,’ while the sea declares, ‘It is not with me.’ ¹⁵ It cannot be bought with gold, nor can its price be weighed out in silver. ¹⁶ It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire. ¹⁷ Neither gold nor crystal can compare to it, nor jewels of fine gold be exchanged for it. ¹⁸ Coral and quartz are unworthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies. ¹⁹ Topaz from Cush cannot compare to it, nor can it be valued in pure gold. ²⁰ From where then does wisdom come, and where does understanding dwell? ²¹ It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing and concealed from the birds of the air. ²² Abaddon and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor about it.’ ²³ But God understands its way, and He knows its place. ²⁴ For He looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. ²⁵ When God fixed the weight of the wind and measured out the waters, ²⁶ when He set a limit for the rain and a path for the thunderbolt, ²⁷ then He looked at wisdom and appraised it; He established it and searched it out. ²⁸ And He said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

³ if you truly call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding, ⁴ if you seek it like silver and search it out like hidden treasure, ⁵ then you will discern the fear of the LORD and discover the knowledge of God. ⁶ For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. ⁷ Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil.

⁴ “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” she says to him who lacks judgment. ⁵ “Come, eat my bread and drink the wine I have mixed. ⁶ Leave your folly behind, and you will live; walk in the way of understanding.”

⁶ Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near. ⁷ Let the wicked man forsake his own way and the unrighteous man his own thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion, and to our God, for He will freely pardon.

⁶ “Ah, Lord GOD,” I said, “I surely do not know how to speak, for I am only a child!” ⁷ But the LORD told me: “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ For to everyone I send you, you must go, and all that I command you, you must speak.

¹² Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

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.

⁷ Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. ⁹ Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ And if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ¹¹ So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

²⁰ Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles had been performed, because they did not repent.

¹⁴ Later, as they were eating, Jesus appeared to the Eleven and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.

⁹ So I tell you: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. ¹¹ What father among you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? ¹² Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³ So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

²⁰ So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still in the distance, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. ²¹ The son declared, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ ²² But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.

¹⁰ Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

¹³ And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

⁷ If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, then you will ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

²³ In that day you will no longer ask Me anything. Truly, truly, I tell you, whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you. ²⁴ Until now you have not asked for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

¹⁶ To the one, we are an odor of death and demise; to the other, a fragrance that brings life. And who is qualified for such a task?

¹⁷ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.

¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere.

¹⁶ Confess your trespasses to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.

²² and we will receive from Him whatever we ask, because we keep His commandments and do what is pleasing in His sight.

¹⁴ And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we already possess what we have asked of Him.

⁴ Uncontrolled as the waters, you will no longer excel, because you went up to your father’s bed, onto my couch, and defiled it.

²¹ “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. ²² If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

²² “Have faith in God,” Jesus said to them. ²³ “For truly I tell you that if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and has no doubt in his heart but believes that it will happen, whatever he says will be done for him. ²⁴ Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

¹⁴ Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming.

⁸ Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or dissension.

²³ Let us hold resolutely to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.

⁶ And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

⁹ Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace and not by foods of no value to those devoted to them.

¹⁷ These men are springs without water and clouds driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is forever reserved for them.

¹² These men are hidden reefs in your love feasts, shamelessly feasting with you but shepherding only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried along by the wind; fruitless trees in autumn, twice dead after being uprooted. ¹³ They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.

⁸ The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.

²⁷ The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable—how much more so when brought with ill intent!

¹⁵ When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.

³ “Why have we fasted, and You have not seen? Why have we humbled ourselves, and You have not noticed?” “Behold, on the day of your fast, you do as you please, and you oppress all your workers. ⁴ You fast with contention and strife to strike viciously with your fist. You cannot fast as you do today and have your voice be heard on high.

³ And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures.

²¹ Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him. But if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people did not answer a word.

³³ They worshiped the LORD, but they also served their own gods according to the customs of the nations from which they had been carried away.

⁴¹ So these nations worshiped the LORD but also served their idols, and to this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their fathers did.

¹³ Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught by men.

⁸ Ephraim mixes with the nations; Ephraim is an unturned cake. ⁹ Foreigners consume his strength, but he does not notice. Even his hair is streaked with gray, but he does not know. ¹⁰ Israel’s arrogance testifies against them, yet they do not return to the LORD their God; despite all this, they do not seek Him. ¹¹ So Ephraim has become like a silly, senseless dove—calling out to Egypt, then turning to Assyria.

² Their hearts are devious; now they must bear their guilt. The LORD will break down their altars and demolish their sacred pillars.

²² The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.

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 Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

¹⁴ Their eyes are full of adultery; their desire for sin is never satisfied; they seduce the unstable. They are accursed children with hearts trained in greed.

¹⁶ He writes this way in all his letters, speaking in them about such matters. Some parts of his letters are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.

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.

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.

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.

⁸ He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap. He seats them among princes and bestows on them a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s, and upon them He has set the world.

⁹ Lowborn men are but a vapor, the exalted but a lie. Weighed on the scale, they go up; together they are but a vapor.

⁷ He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the dump ⁸ to seat them with nobles, with the princes of His people.

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

¹ Better a poor man who walks with integrity than a fool whose lips are perverse.

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.

⁵² He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has exalted the humble.

⁴⁸ And He said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in My name welcomes Me, and whoever welcomes Me welcomes the One who sent Me. For whoever is the least among all of you, he will be the greatest.”

²⁰ Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;

¹⁷ And if we are children, then we are heirs: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him.

¹⁰ sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

³ For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—

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

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

⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

¹ Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. 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. ³ And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as Christ is pure.

⁹ I know your works and your affliction and your poverty—though you are rich! And I am aware of the slander of those who falsely claim to be Jews, but are in fact a synagogue of Satan.

⁹ And they sang a new song: “Worthy are You to take the scroll and open its seals, because You were slain, and by Your blood You purchased us for God from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. ¹⁰ You have made them to be kings and priests to serve our God, and they will reign upon the earth.”

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. ¹⁰ And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

² Like a flower, he comes forth, then withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.

² For they wither quickly like grass and wilt like tender plants.

³⁵ I have seen a wicked, ruthless man flourishing like a well-rooted native tree, ³⁶ yet he passed away and was no more; though I searched, he could not be found.

⁵ You whisk them away in their sleep; they are like the new grass of the morning— ⁶ in the morning it springs up new, but by evening it fades and withers.

¹¹ My days are like lengthening shadows, and I wither away like grass.

¹⁵ As for man, his days are like grass—he blooms like a flower of the field;

⁶ A voice says, “Cry out!” And I asked, “What should I cry out?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field.

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.

² Has not My hand made all these things? And so they came into being,” declares the LORD. “This is the one I will esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, who trembles at My word.

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

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 and those who use the things of this world, as if not dependent on them. For this world in its present form is passing away.

⁸ More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ

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.

¹⁴ You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

²⁴ For, “All flesh is like grass, and all the glory of man like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,

¹⁷ The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.

²⁴ His body is well nourished, and his bones are rich with marrow. ²⁵ Yet another man dies in the bitterness of his soul, having never tasted prosperity. ²⁶ But together they lie down in the dust, and worms cover them both. ²⁷ Behold, I know your thoughts full well, the schemes by which you would wrong me. ²⁸ For you say, ‘Where now is the nobleman’s house, and where are the tents in which the wicked dwell?’ ²⁹ Have you never asked those who travel the roads? Do you not accept their reports? ³⁰ Indeed, the evil man is spared from the day of calamity, delivered from the day of wrath.

⁶ They trust in their wealth and boast in their great riches. ⁷ No man can possibly redeem his brother or pay his ransom to God. ⁸ For the redemption of his soul is costly, and never can payment suffice, ⁹ that he should live on forever and not see decay. ¹⁰ For it is clear that wise men die, and the foolish and the senseless both perish and leave their wealth to others. ¹¹ Their graves are their eternal homes—their dwellings for endless generations—even though their lands were their namesakes. ¹² But a man, despite his wealth, cannot endure; he is like the beasts that perish. ¹³ This is the fate of the self-confident and their followers who endorse their sayings. Selah ¹⁴ Like sheep they are destined for Sheol. Death will be their shepherd. The upright will rule them in the morning, and their form will decay in Sheol, far from their lofty abode.

¹⁸ Surely You set them on slick ground; You cast them down into ruin. ¹⁹ How suddenly they are laid waste, completely swept away by terrors! ²⁰ Like one waking from a dream, so You, O Lord, awaken and despise their form.

⁴ My heart is afflicted, and withered like grass; I even forget to eat my bread.

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.

¹ Woe to the majestic crown of Ephraim’s drunkards, to the fading flower of his glorious splendor, set on the summit above the fertile valley, the pride of those overcome by wine.

⁴ The fading flower of his beautiful splendor, set on the summit above the fertile valley, will be like a ripe fig before the summer harvest: Whoever sees it will take it in his hand and swallow it.

⁷ The grass withers and the flowers fall when the breath of the LORD blows on them; indeed, the people are grass. ⁸ The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”

¹⁰ They will not hunger or thirst, nor will scorching heat or sun beat down on them. For He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.

⁷ When dawn came the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant so that it withered. ⁸ As the sun was rising, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint and wished to die, saying, “It is better for me to die than to live.”

⁶ But when the sun rose, the seedlings were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.

⁶ But when the sun rose, the seedlings were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.

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!”’ 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.”

¹⁹ Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, who lived each day in joyous splendor. ²⁰ And a beggar named Lazarus lay at his gate, covered with sores ²¹ and longing to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. 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. ²⁴ So he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. For I am in agony in this fire.’ 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.

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. ⁵ You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts as in the day of slaughter. ⁶ You have condemned and murdered the righteous, who did not resist you. ⁷ Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer awaits the precious fruit of the soil—how patient he is for the fall and spring rains.

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

⁴ And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

⁶ but showing loving devotion to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.

⁹ Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps His covenant of loving devotion for a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.

² Remember that these forty years the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness, so that He might humble you and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commandments.

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

⁵ Then I said: “O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps His covenant of loving devotion with those who love Him and keep His commandments,

¹⁷ Blessed indeed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.

¹¹ But let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them ever shout for joy. May You shelter them, that those who love Your name may rejoice in You.

¹² Blessed is the man You discipline, O LORD, and teach from Your law,

⁶⁷ Before I was afflicted, I went astray; but now I keep Your word.

⁷¹ It was good for me to be afflicted, that I might learn Your statutes.

⁷⁵ I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are righteous, and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.

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

³ A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, but the LORD is the tester of hearts.

⁴ From ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides You, who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him.

⁹ This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’”

² But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap. ³ And He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the LORD in righteousness.

²⁸ Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, in the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹ And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for the sake of My name will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.

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.

²⁸ You are the ones who have stood by Me in My trials. ²⁹ And I bestow on you a kingdom, just as My Father has bestowed one on Me, ³⁰ so that you may eat and drink at My table and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

⁷ To those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life. ⁸ But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow wickedness, there will be anger and wrath. ⁹ There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil, first for the Jew, then for the Greek; ¹⁰ but glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does good, first for the Jew, then for the Greek.

⁹ Rather, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.”

³ But the one who loves God is known by God.

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.

⁸ From now on there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but to all who crave His appearing.

¹⁵ And so Abraham, after waiting patiently, obtained the promise.

³² Remember the early days that you were in the light. In those days, you endured a great conflict in the face of suffering.

¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac on the altar. He who had received the promises was ready to offer his one and only son,

⁵ And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you.

² Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. ⁴ Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

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?

¹¹ See how blessed we consider those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen the outcome from the Lord. He is full of compassion and mercy.

¹⁴ But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be shaken.”

¹³ But rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed at the revelation of His glory.

¹⁹ We love Him because He first loved us.

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

²¹ To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

¹² And the man answered, “The woman whom You gave me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

¹⁷ Why, O LORD, do You make us stray from Your ways and harden our hearts from fearing You? Return, for the sake of Your servants, the tribes of Your heritage.

¹² Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and establishes a town by iniquity! ¹³ Is it not indeed from the LORD of Hosts that the labor of the people only feeds the fire, and the nations weary themselves in vain?

¹⁹ One of you will say to me, “Why does God still find fault? For who can resist His will?” ²⁰ But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, “Why did You make me like this?”

² Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds,

⁵ Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time.

²¹ When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, He said in His heart, “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from his youth. And never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done.

²¹ When I saw among the spoils a beautiful cloak from Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.” ²² So Joshua sent messengers who ran to the tent, and there it all was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. ²³ They took the things from inside the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites, and spread them out before the LORD. 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.

² One evening David got up from his bed and strolled around on the roof of the palace. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing—a very beautiful woman. ³ So David sent and inquired about the woman, and he was told, “This is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.”

² So Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard to use as a vegetable garden, since it is next to my palace. I will give you a better vineyard in its place—or if you prefer, I will give you its value in silver.” ³ But Naboth replied, “The LORD forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.” ⁴ So Ahab went to his palace, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had told him, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” He lay down on his bed, turned his face away, and refused to eat.

⁹ If my heart has been enticed by my neighbor’s wife, or I have lurked at his door,

²⁷ so that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand threw a kiss from my mouth,

²³ Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life.

²⁰ He feeds on ashes. His deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?”

⁹ You are destroyed, O Israel, because you are against Me—against your helper.

²⁸ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

¹⁸ But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man.

²⁰ These are what defile a man, but eating with unwashed hands does not defile him.”

²¹ For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, adultery, sexual immorality, murder, theft, ²² greed, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness.

¹¹ For sin, seizing its opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through the commandment put me to death.

¹³ Has that which is good, then, become death to me? Certainly not! But in order that sin might be exposed as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.

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

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.

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.

¹⁷ but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.”

⁶ When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.

¹⁷ And to Adam He said: “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat, cursed is the ground because of you; through toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. ¹⁸ Both thorns and thistles it will yield for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. ¹⁹ By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread, until you return to the ground—because out of it were you taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”

⁵ but He had no regard for Cain and his offering. So Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell. ⁶ “Why are you angry,” said the LORD to Cain, “and why has your countenance fallen? ⁷ If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you refuse to do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires you, but you must master it.” ⁸ Then Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.

³⁵ They conceive trouble and give birth to evil; their womb is pregnant with deceit.”

¹⁴ Behold, the wicked man travails with evil; he conceives trouble and births falsehood.

¹⁷ The wicked will return to Sheol—all the nations who forget God.

⁴ No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case honestly. They rely on empty pleas; they tell lies; they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.

¹ Woe to those who devise iniquity and plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they accomplish it because the power is in their hands. ² They covet fields and seize them; they take away houses. They deprive a man of his home, a fellow man of his inheritance. ³ Therefore this is what the LORD says: “I am planning against this nation a disaster from which you cannot free your necks. Then you will not walk so proudly, for it will be a time of calamity.

¹⁴ Then one of the Twelve, the one called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests

⁴⁸ Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The One I kiss is the man; arrest Him.” ⁴⁹ Going directly to Jesus, he said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him. ⁵⁰ “Friend,” Jesus replied, “why have you come?” Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus, and arrested Him. ⁵¹ At this, one of Jesus’ companions drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. ⁵² “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him. “For all who draw the sword will perish by the sword. ⁵³ Are you not aware that I can call on My Father right now, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? ⁵⁴ But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?” ⁵⁵ At that time Jesus said to the crowd, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would an outlaw? Every day I sat with you teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest Me. ⁵⁶ But this has all happened so that the writings of the prophets would be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted Him and fled. ⁵⁷ Those who had arrested Jesus led Him away to the house of Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and elders had gathered. ⁵⁸ But Peter followed Him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. And he went in and sat down with the guards to see the outcome. ⁵⁹ Now the chief priests, the elders, and the whole Sanhedrin were seeking false testimony against Jesus in order to put Him to death.

¹ Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. ² With his wife’s full knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds for himself, but brought a portion and laid it at the apostles’ feet. ³ Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and withhold some of the proceeds from the land?

¹² Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned. ¹³ For sin was in the world before the law was given; but sin is not taken into account when there is no law. ¹⁴ Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who did not sin in the way that Adam transgressed. He is a pattern of the One to come. ¹⁵ But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many! ¹⁶ Again, the gift is not like the result of the one man’s sin: The judgment that followed one sin brought condemnation, but the gift that followed many trespasses brought justification. ¹⁷ For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive an abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ! ¹⁸ So then, just as one trespass brought condemnation for all men, so also one act of righteousness brought justification and life for all men. ¹⁹ For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. ²⁰ The law came in so that the trespass would increase; but where sin increased, grace increased all the more, ²¹ so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

²¹ What fruit did you reap at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? The outcome of those things is death. ²² But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the fruit you reap leads to holiness, and the outcome is eternal life. ²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

¹⁴ Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire. ¹⁵ And if anyone was found whose name was not written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

²⁹ Jesus answered, “You are mistaken because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.

²⁴ Jesus said to them, “Aren’t you mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?

²⁷ He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. Therefore you are badly mistaken!”

⁹ Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts,

⁷ Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return.

¹² Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

¹ Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you must stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.

⁴ I say this so that no one will deceive you by smooth rhetoric.

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.

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

¹ Continue in brotherly love.

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

² Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. ³ And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴ And God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

¹⁴ And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to distinguish between the day and the night, and let them be signs to mark the seasons and days and years. ¹⁵ And let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth.” And it was so.

¹⁶ “I myself cannot do it,” Joseph replied, “but God will give Pharaoh a sound answer.”

³⁸ So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, in whom the Spirit of God abides?” ³⁹ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one as discerning and wise as you.

¹¹ And the LORD said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Or who makes the mute or the deaf, the sighted or the blind? Is it not I, the LORD? ¹² Now go! I will help you as you speak, and I will teach you what to say.”

³ And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability, and knowledge in all kinds of craftsmanship, ⁴ to design artistic works in gold, silver, and bronze, ⁵ to cut gemstones for settings, and to carve wood, so that he may be a master of every craft. ⁶ Moreover, I have selected Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, as his assistant. I have also given skill to all the craftsmen, that they may fashion all that I have commanded you:

¹ “So Bezalel, Oholiab, and every skilled person are to carry out everything commanded by the LORD, who has given them skill and ability to know how to perform all the work of constructing the sanctuary.” ² Then Moses summoned Bezalel, Oholiab, and every skilled person whom the LORD had gifted—everyone whose heart stirred him to come and do the work.

¹⁷ And I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put that Spirit on them. They will help you bear the burden of the people, so that you do not have to bear it by yourself.

²⁵ Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and He took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and placed that Spirit on the seventy elders. As the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but they never did so again.

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?

¹⁹ When you look to the heavens and see the sun and moon and stars—all the host of heaven—do not be enticed to bow down and worship what the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.

²⁹ Moreover, the Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind, for He is not a man, that He should change His mind.”

¹⁹ And give my son Solomon a whole heart to keep and carry out all Your commandments, decrees, and statutes, and to build Your palace for which I have made provision.”

¹¹ God said to Solomon, “Since this was in your heart instead of requesting riches or wealth or glory for yourself or death for your enemies—and since you have not even requested long life but have asked for wisdom and knowledge to govern My people over whom I have made you king— ¹² therefore wisdom and knowledge have been granted to you. And I will also give you riches and wealth and honor unlike anything given to the kings before you or after you.”

¹ For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. ² Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. ³ Without speech or language, without a sound to be heard, ⁴ their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens He has pitched a tent for the sun. ⁵ Like a bridegroom emerging from his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course, ⁶ it rises at one end of the heavens and runs its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth. ⁷ The Law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy, making wise the simple. ⁸ The precepts of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart; the commandments of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.

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.

⁶ Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you prosper.

⁶ For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

²⁶ For his God instructs and teaches him properly.

⁷ I form the light and create the darkness; I bring prosperity and create calamity. I, the LORD, do all these things.

¹⁰ I declare the end from the beginning, and ancient times from what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’

¹⁹ No longer will the sun be your light by day, nor the brightness of the moon shine on your night; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your splendor.

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.

⁶ “Because I, the LORD, do not change, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.

¹¹ So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

²⁵ At that time Jesus declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. ²⁶ Yes, Father, for this was well-pleasing in Your sight.

¹¹ He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. ¹² Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.

¹³ So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

⁹ The true Light who gives light to every man was coming into the world.

²⁷ John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven.

¹² Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”

³¹ God exalted Him to His right hand as Prince and Savior, in order to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.

¹⁸ When they heard this, their objections were put to rest, and they glorified God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.”

²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

²⁹ For God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable. ³⁰ For just as you who formerly disobeyed God have now received mercy through their disobedience,

⁶ We have different gifts according to the grace given us. If one’s gift is prophecy, let him use it in proportion to his faith; ⁷ if it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 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.

⁷ For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?

⁴ There are different gifts, but the same Spirit. ⁵ There are different ministries, but the same Lord. ⁶ There are different ways of working, but the same God works all things in all people. ⁷ Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. ⁸ To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by the same Spirit, ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that same Spirit, ¹⁰ to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in various tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹ All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, who apportions them to each one as He determines. ¹² The body is a unit, though it is composed of many parts. And although its parts are many, they all form one body. So it is with Christ.

⁶ For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

¹⁸ I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints,

³ All of us also lived among them at one time, fulfilling the cravings of our flesh and indulging its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature children of wrath. ⁴ But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved!

⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God,

⁸ This is why it says: “When He ascended on high, He led captives away, and gave gifts to men.” ⁹ What does “He ascended” mean, except that He also descended first to the lower parts of the earth? ¹⁰ He who descended is the very One who ascended above all the heavens, in order to fill all things. ¹¹ And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,

³ For at one time we too were foolish, disobedient, misled, and enslaved to all sorts of desires and pleasures—living in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. ⁴ But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, ⁵ He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

¹¹ They will perish, but You remain; they will all wear out like a garment. ¹² You will roll them up like a robe; they will be changed; but You remain the same, and Your years will never end.”

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

¹⁵ Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.

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.

¹⁰ And love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

¹¹ And this is that testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. ¹² Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

²³ And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its lamp.

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.

¹⁰ “Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘When you enter the land that I am giving you and you reap its harvest, you are to bring to the priest a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest.

³ Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of His harvest. All who devoured her found themselves guilty; disaster came upon them,’” declares the LORD.

¹ Woe to those at ease in Zion and those secure on Mount Samaria, the distinguished ones of the foremost nation, to whom the house of Israel comes.

¹³ children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God.

³ Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” ⁴ “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time to be born?” ⁵ Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.

¹⁷ As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the presence of God, in whom he believed, the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being what does not yet exist.

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. ³¹ What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

¹⁵ For He says to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” ¹⁶ So then, it does not depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. ¹⁷ For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” ¹⁸ Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.

¹⁵ Even if you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.

¹² in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, would be for the praise of His glory.

²⁰ and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross. ²¹ Once you were alienated from God and were hostile in your minds, engaging in evil deeds.

¹³ But we should always thank God for you, brothers who are loved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning to be saved by the sanctification of the Spirit and by faith in the truth. ¹⁴ To this He called you through our gospel, so that you may share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

²³ in joyful assembly, to the congregation of the firstborn, enrolled in heaven. You have come to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,

²¹ Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and every expression of evil, and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save your souls.

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

²³ For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and forever enduring word of God.

⁹ Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin, because God’s seed abides in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.

⁴ These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they are virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They have been redeemed by Jesus from among men as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.

² On the first day of the seventh month, Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could listen and understand. ³ So Ezra read it aloud from daybreak until noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate, in front of the men and women and those who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.

¹² Then all the people began to eat and drink, to send out portions, and to rejoice greatly, because they understood the words that had been made known to them. ¹³ On the second day of the month, the heads of all the families, along with the priests and Levites, gathered around Ezra the scribe to study the words of the Law. ¹⁴ And they found written in the Law, which the LORD had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month.

¹⁸ Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God. The Israelites kept the feast for seven days, and on the eighth day they held an assembly, according to the ordinance.

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.

¹⁷ They refused to listen and failed to remember the wonders You performed among them. They stiffened their necks and appointed a leader to return them to their bondage in Egypt. But You are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in loving devotion, and You did not forsake them.

³² Now therefore, my sons, listen to me, for blessed are those who keep my ways. ³³ Listen to instruction and be wise; do not ignore it. ³⁴ Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at the posts of my doorway. ³⁵ For whoever finds me finds life and obtains the favor of the LORD.

¹⁹ When words are many, sin is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise.

³ He who guards his mouth protects his life, but the one who opens his lips invites his own ruin.

¹⁷ A quick-tempered man acts foolishly, and a devious man is hated.

²⁹ A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man promotes folly.

² The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool spouts folly.

¹⁸ A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger calms dispute.

³² He who is slow to anger is better than a warrior, and he who controls his temper is greater than one who captures a city.

¹⁴ To start a quarrel is to release a flood; so abandon the dispute before it breaks out.

²⁷ A man of knowledge restrains his words, and a man of understanding maintains a calm spirit.

¹³ He who answers a matter before he hears it—this is folly and disgrace to him.

²¹ Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

¹¹ A man’s insight gives him patience, and his virtue is to overlook an offense.

¹⁹ A man of great anger must pay the penalty; if you rescue him, you will have to do so again.

²³ He who guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from distress.

²⁸ Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who does not control his temper.

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.

⁸ The end of a matter is better than the beginning, and a patient spirit is better than a proud one. ⁹ Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger settles in the lap of a fool.

²² But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother without cause will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to the fire of hell.

² immediately they gathered in such large numbers that there was no more room, not even outside the door, as Jesus spoke the word to them.

³⁷ Therefore David himself calls Him ‘Lord.’ So how can He be David’s son?” And the large crowd listened to Him with delight.

¹ Now all the tax collectors and sinners were gathering around to listen to Jesus.

⁴⁸ Yet they could not find a way to do so, because all the people hung on His words.

⁴² They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

³³ So I sent for you immediately, and you were kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything God has instructed you to tell us.”

⁴² As the Jews were leaving the synagogue, the Gentiles urged Paul and Barnabas to continue this message on the next Sabbath. ⁴³ After the synagogue was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God. ⁴⁴ On the following Sabbath, nearly the whole city gathered to hear the word of God.

⁴⁸ When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and glorified the word of the Lord, and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.

¹¹ Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true.

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 “Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set upon your anger,

³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice.

⁸ But now you must put aside all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.

¹⁵ Let the peace of God rule in your hearts, for to this you were called as members of one body. And be thankful.

¹³ And we continually thank God because, when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as the true word of God—the word which is now at work in you who believe.

²⁶ If anyone among you considers himself religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his heart and his religion is worthless.

¹ Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. ² We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to control his whole body.

²¹ I have not written to you because you lack knowledge of the truth, but because you have it, and because no lie comes from the truth.

¹¹ Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff, so that a great amount of water gushed out, and the congregation and their livestock were able to drink. ¹² But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust Me to show My holiness in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.”

²⁴ And a servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, and forbearing. ²⁵ He must gently reprove those who oppose him, in the hope that God may grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.

¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere. ¹⁸ Peacemakers who sow in peace reap the fruit of righteousness.

⁹ He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way.

²⁰ In that day men will cast away to the moles and bats their idols of silver and gold—the idols they made to worship.

¹⁹ The humble will increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among men will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

²² So you will desecrate your silver-plated idols and your gold-plated images. You will throw them away like menstrual cloths, saying to them, “Be gone!”

¹ The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners,

³¹ Cast away from yourselves all the transgressions you have committed, and fashion for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, O house of Israel?

²⁵ I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.

³ Seek the LORD, all you humble of the earth who carry out His justice. Seek righteousness; seek humility. Perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD’s anger.

⁵ Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

⁶³ The Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I speak to you are spirit and they are life.

⁶⁸ Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life.

²⁶ Brothers, children of Abraham, and you Gentiles who fear God, it is to you that this message of salvation has been sent.

¹⁶ I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, then to the Greek.

¹⁷ But thanks be to God that, though you once were slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were committed.

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,

¹² The night is nearly over; the day has drawn near. So let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 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.

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

¹ Therefore, beloved, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that defiles body and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

¹³ And in Him, having heard and believed the word of truth—the gospel of your salvation—you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

⁴ Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or crude joking, which are out of character, but rather thanksgiving.

⁵ Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry. ⁶ Because of these, the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience. ⁷ When you lived among them, you also used to walk in these ways. ⁸ But now you must put aside all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.

⁵ because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with great conviction—just as you know we lived among you for your sake.

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, 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.

³ how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,

² For we also received the good news just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, since they did not share the faith of those who comprehended it.

⁹ now that you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

¹ Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander.

¹¹ Beloved, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from the desires of the flesh, which war against your soul.

³ The pride of your heart has deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks whose habitation is the heights, who say in your heart, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’

²¹ Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’ ²⁴ Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them I will liken to a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because its foundation was on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its collapse!”

⁵⁰ For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

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.”

⁴⁶ Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I say? ⁴⁷ I will show you what he is like who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them: 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.

²⁸ But He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

⁴⁷ That servant who knows his master’s will but does not get ready or follow his instructions will be beaten with many blows. ⁴⁸ But the one who unknowingly does things worthy of punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and from him who has been entrusted with much, even more will be demanded.

¹⁷ If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

¹³ For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but it is the doers of the law who will be declared righteous.

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.

³³ Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

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

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.

¹⁷ And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

¹³ while evil men and imposters go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

³ For at one time we too were foolish, disobedient, misled, and enslaved to all sorts of desires and pleasures—living in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.

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. ¹⁹ You believe that God is one. Good for you! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. ²⁰ O foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is dead?

¹⁷ Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do, yet fails to do it, is guilty of sin.

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

⁸ If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

³ By this we can be sure that we have come to know Him: if we keep His commandments.

⁷ Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Christ is righteous.

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.

⁹ And the great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

⁷ “Behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of prophecy in this book.”

¹⁶ “As for the word you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you!

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. ³² Indeed, you are to them like a singer of love songs with a beautiful voice, who skillfully plays an instrument. They hear your words but do not put them into practice.

⁷ Looking for an accusation against Jesus, the scribes and Pharisees were watching Him closely to see if He would heal on the Sabbath.

⁴⁷ I will show you what he is like who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them:

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. ¹⁹ You believe that God is one. Good for you! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. ²⁰ O foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is dead? ²¹ Was not our father Abraham justified by what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see that his faith was working with his actions, and his faith was perfected by what he did. ²³ And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a friend of God. ²⁴ As you can see, then, a man is justified by his deeds and not by faith alone. ²⁵ In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute justified by her actions when she welcomed the spies and sent them off on another route? ²⁶ As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

¹⁸ Next, Gideon asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?” “Men like you,” they answered, “each one resembling the son of a king.”

²⁷ The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey Him!”

⁶⁶ And all who heard this wondered in their hearts and asked, “What then will this child become?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.

³⁹ When the Pharisee who had invited Jesus saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, He would know who this is and what kind of woman is touching Him—for she is a sinner!”

¹¹ Since everything will be destroyed, then, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to conduct yourselves in holiness and godliness

¹⁴ If you fear the LORD and serve Him and obey His voice, and if you do not rebel against the command of the LORD, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the LORD your God, then all will be well.

⁷ The Law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy, making wise the simple. ⁸ The precepts of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart; the commandments of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. ⁹ The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are true, being altogether righteous. ¹⁰ They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. ¹¹ By them indeed Your servant is warned; in keeping them is great reward.

³ Blessed are those who uphold justice, who practice righteousness at all times.

² Blessed are those who keep His testimonies and seek Him with all their heart. ³ They do no iniquity; they walk in His ways.

³² I run in the path of Your commandments, for You will enlarge my heart.

⁴⁵ And I will walk in freedom, for I have sought Your precepts.

⁹⁶ I have seen a limit to all perfection, but Your commandment is without limit. ⁹⁷ Oh, how I love Your law! All day long it is my meditation. ⁹⁸ Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, for they are always with me. ⁹⁹ I have more insight than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditation. ¹⁰⁰ I discern more than the elders, for I obey Your precepts. ¹⁰¹ I have kept my feet from every evil path, that I may keep Your word. ¹⁰² I have not departed from Your ordinances, for You Yourself have taught me. ¹⁰³ How sweet are Your words to my taste—sweeter than honey in my mouth! ¹⁰⁴ I gain understanding from Your precepts; therefore I hate every false way. ¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

¹⁵ The simple man believes every word, but the prudent man watches his steps.

²⁰ To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.

⁴⁷ I will show you what he is like who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them: 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!”

³¹ So He said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples. ³² Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

⁹ As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Remain in My love. ¹⁰ If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.

⁴³ After the synagogue was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.

²² But I have had God’s help to this day, and I stand here to testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen:

⁷ To those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life. ⁸ But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow wickedness, there will be anger and wrath.

¹² So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good.

²² For in my inner being I delight in God’s law. ²³ But I see another law at work in my body, warring against the law of my mind and holding me captive to the law of sin that dwells within me.

¹⁵ For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

²² Take notice, therefore, of the kindness and severity of God: severity to those who fell, but kindness to you, if you continue in His kindness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.

⁵⁸ Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and immovable. Always excel in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

¹⁷ Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. ¹⁸ And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

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

⁴ This issue arose because some false brothers had come in under false pretenses to spy on our freedom in Christ Jesus, in order to enslave us.

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.

²³ if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope of the gospel you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

¹⁵ Women, however, will be saved through childbearing, if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control.

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.

¹⁵ See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God, and that no root of bitterness springs up to cause trouble and defile many.

²³ For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror, ²⁴ and after observing himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.

¹² Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom.

¹⁶ Live in freedom, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.

²⁴ As for you, then, let what you have heard from the beginning remain in you. If it does, you will also remain in the Son and in the Father.

¹³ And I heard a voice from heaven telling me to write, “Blessed are the dead—those who die in the Lord from this moment on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors, and their deeds will follow them.”

¹⁴ Blessed are those who do His commandments, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by its gates.

¹⁶ But be careful that you are not enticed to turn aside to worship and bow down to other gods,

⁹ Do not be like the horse or mule, which have no understanding; they must be controlled with bit and bridle to make them come to you.

¹³ Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from deceitful speech.

¹ For the choirmaster. For Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. I said, “I will watch my ways so that I will not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle as long as the wicked are present.” ² I was speechless and still; I remained silent, even from speaking good, and my sorrow was stirred.

³ Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips.

³¹ The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but a perverse tongue will be cut out.

² From the fruit of his lips a man enjoys good things, but the desire of the faithless is violence. ³ He who guards his mouth protects his life, but the one who opens his lips invites his own ruin.

¹² There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.

¹⁰ A divine verdict is on the lips of a king; his mouth must not betray justice.

²⁵ There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.

²⁶ All day long he covets more, but the righteous give without restraint.

¹³ Bring your worthless offerings no more; your incense is detestable to Me—your New Moons, Sabbaths, and convocations. I cannot endure iniquity in a solemn assembly.

¹⁴ You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What have we gained by keeping His requirements and walking mournfully before the LORD of Hosts?

⁹ They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’”

⁷ They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’

¹⁸ Pay attention, therefore, to how you listen. Whoever has will be given more, but whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken away from him.”

¹⁵ In that case, we are also exposed as false witnesses about God. For we have testified about God that He raised Christ from the dead, but He did not raise Him if in fact the dead are not raised.

⁶ But as for the highly esteemed—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism—those leaders added nothing to me.

⁴ Have you suffered so much for nothing, if it really was for nothing?

²⁹ Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen.

⁶ Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

²² Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves.

²⁰ O foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is dead?

² We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to control his whole body. ³ When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can guide the whole animal. ⁴ Consider ships as well. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot is inclined. ⁵ In the same way, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it boasts of great things. Consider how small a spark sets a great forest ablaze. ⁶ The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

¹⁰ For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.

¹² because I rescued the poor who cried out and the fatherless who had no helper. ¹³ The dying man blessed me, and I made the widow’s heart sing for joy.

¹⁵ Did not He who made me in the womb also make them? Did not the same One form us in the womb? ¹⁶ If I have denied the desires of the poor or allowed the widow’s eyes to fail, ¹⁷ if I have eaten my morsel alone, not sharing it with the fatherless— ¹⁸ though from my youth I reared him as would a father, and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow— ¹⁹ if I have seen one perish for lack of clothing, or a needy man without a cloak, ²⁰ if his heart has not blessed me for warming him with the fleece of my sheep,

⁵ A father of the fatherless, and a defender of the widows, is God in His holy habitation.

¹ Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the Law of the LORD.

¹⁶ Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil! ¹⁷ Learn to do right; seek justice and correct the oppressor. Defend the fatherless and plead the case of the widow.”

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.

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? 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?

⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

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.’ ⁴¹ Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ ⁴⁴ And they too will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ ⁴⁵ Then the King will answer, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’ ⁴⁶ And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

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

¹⁴ I have given them Your word and the world has hated them; for they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁵ I am not asking that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one.

² Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

⁴ who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

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

⁹ Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. ¹⁰ Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to the family of faith.

¹⁴ But as for me, may I never boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

¹ Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ³ For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

⁵ The goal of our instruction is the love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith.

⁴ But if a widow has children or grandchildren, they must first learn to show godliness to their own family and repay their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God.

⁴ You adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God.

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.

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? ¹⁸ My little children, let us love not in word and speech, but in action and truth. ¹⁹ And by this we will know that we belong to the truth, and will assure our hearts in His presence:

⁴ because everyone born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith. ⁵ Who then overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

¹⁸ We know that anyone born of God does not keep on sinning; the One who was born of God protects Himself, and the evil one cannot touch him.