Job 22 Cross References - MSB

¹ Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied: ² “Can a man be of use to God? Can even a wise man benefit Him? ³ Does it delight the Almighty that you are righteous? Does He profit if your ways are blameless? ⁴ Is it for your reverence that He rebukes you and enters into judgment against you? ⁵ Is not your wickedness great? Are not your iniquities endless? ⁶ For you needlessly demanded security from your brothers and deprived the naked of their clothing. ⁷ You gave no water to the weary and withheld food from the famished, ⁸ while the land belonged to a mighty man, and a man of honor lived on it. ⁹ You sent widows away empty-handed, and the strength of the fatherless was crushed. ¹⁰ Therefore snares surround you, and sudden peril terrifies you; ¹¹ it is so dark you cannot see, and a flood of water covers you. ¹² Is not God as high as the heavens? Look at the highest stars, how lofty they are! ¹³ Yet you say: ‘What does God know? Does He judge through thick darkness? ¹⁴ Thick clouds veil Him so He does not see us as He traverses the vault of heaven.’ ¹⁵ Will you stay on the ancient path that wicked men have trod? ¹⁶ They were snatched away before their time, and their foundations were swept away by a flood. ¹⁷ They said to God, ‘Depart from us. What can the Almighty do to us?’ ¹⁸ But it was He who filled their houses with good things; so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked. ¹⁹ The righteous see it and are glad; the innocent mock them: ²⁰ ‘Surely our foes are destroyed, and fire has consumed their excess.’ ²¹ Reconcile now and be at peace with Him; thereby good will come to you. ²² Receive instruction from His mouth, and lay up His words in your heart. ²³ If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored. If you remove injustice from your tents ²⁴ and consign your gold to the dust and the gold of Ophir to the stones of the ravines, ²⁵ then the Almighty will be your gold and the finest silver for you. ²⁶ Surely then you will delight in the Almighty and lift up your face to God. ²⁷ You will pray to Him, and He will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows. ²⁸ Your decisions will be carried out, and light will shine on your ways. ²⁹ When men are brought low and you say, ‘Lift them up!’ then He will save the lowly. ³⁰ He will deliver even one who is not innocent, rescuing him through the cleanness of your hands.”

¹³ and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD that I am giving you this day for your own good?

¹⁵ Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, and what would we gain if we pray to Him?’

⁶ If you sin, what do you accomplish against Him? If you multiply your transgressions, what do you do to Him? ⁷ If you are righteous, what do you give Him, or what does He receive from your hand? ⁸ Your wickedness affects only a man like yourself, and your righteousness only a son of man.

² I said to the LORD, “You are my Lord; apart from You I have no good thing.”

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

⁷ Wisdom is supreme; so acquire wisdom. And whatever you may acquire, gain understanding. ⁸ Prize her, and she will exalt you; if you embrace her, she will honor you. ⁹ She will set a garland of grace on your head; she will present you with a crown of beauty.”

¹² If you are wise, you are wise to your own advantage; but if you scoff, you alone will bear the consequences.

¹¹ Wisdom, like an inheritance, is good, and it benefits those who see the sun. ¹² For wisdom, like money, is a shelter, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.

²⁹ If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

¹⁰ So you also, when you have done everything commanded of you, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

⁷ Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return. ⁸ The one who sows to please his flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; but the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

¹⁷ I know, my God, that You test the heart and delight in uprightness. All these things I have given willingly and with an upright heart, and now I have seen Your people who are present here giving joyfully and willingly to You.

¹⁰ Yet He knows the way I have taken; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold. ¹¹ My feet have followed in His tracks; I have kept His way without turning aside. ¹² I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread.

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.”

³ They do no iniquity; they walk in His ways. ⁴ You have ordained Your precepts, that we should keep them diligently. ⁵ Oh, that my ways were committed to keeping Your statutes! ⁶ Then I would not be ashamed when I consider all Your commandments.

⁵⁹ I considered my ways and turned my steps to Your testimonies.

¹⁰ He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legpower of the man. ¹¹ The LORD is pleased with those who fear Him, who hope in His loving devotion.

¹ Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, but an accurate weight is His delight.

²⁰ The perverse in heart are an abomination to the LORD, but the blameless in their walk are His delight.

²² Lying lips are detestable to the LORD, but those who deal faithfully are His delight.

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

¹⁷ You have wearied the LORD with your words; yet you ask, “How have we wearied Him?” By saying, “All who do evil are good in the sight of the LORD, and in them He delights,” or, “Where is the God of justice?”

¹⁶ In this hope, I strive always to maintain a clear conscience before God and man.

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.

¹⁸ I have all I need and more, now that I have received your gifts from Epaphroditus. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.

¹² Am I the sea, or the monster of the deep, that You must keep me under guard?

¹⁹ If it is a matter of strength, He is indeed mighty! If it is a matter of justice, who can summon Him?

³² For He is not a man like me, that I can answer Him, that we can take each other to court.

³ Do You open Your eyes to one like this? Will You bring him into judgment before You?

²¹ Oh, that a man might plead with God as he pleads with his neighbor!

²⁹ then you should fear the sword yourselves, because wrath brings punishment by the sword, so that you may know there is a judgment.”

⁶ Would He contend with me in His great power? No, He would certainly take note of me. ⁷ Then an upright man could reason with Him, and I would be delivered forever from my Judge.

²³ For God need not examine a man further or have him approach for judgment.

¹¹ You discipline and correct a man for his iniquity, consuming like a moth what he holds dear; surely each man is but a vapor. Selah

⁶ At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both horse and rider lie stunned.

¹⁶ Your vine has been cut down and burned; they perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.

³ If You, O LORD, kept track of iniquities, then who, O Lord, could stand? ⁴ But with You there is forgiveness, so that You may be feared.

² Do not bring Your servant into judgment, for no one alive is righteous before You.

¹⁴ For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.

¹⁴ The LORD brings this charge against the elders and leaders of His people: “You have devoured the vineyard; the plunder of the poor is in your houses. ¹⁵ Why do you crush My people and grind the faces of the poor?” declares the Lord GOD of Hosts.

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

⁷ Consider now, I plead: Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Or where have the upright been destroyed? ⁸ As I have observed, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble reap the same. ⁹ By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of His anger they are consumed. ¹⁰ The lion may roar, and the fierce lion may growl, yet the teeth of the young lions are broken. ¹¹ The old lion perishes for lack of prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

⁶ and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know then that God exacts from you less than your iniquity deserves.

¹⁴ if you put away the iniquity in your hand, and allow no injustice to dwell in your tents,

⁵ For your iniquity instructs your mouth, and you choose the language of the crafty. ⁶ Your own mouth, not mine, condemns you; your own lips testify against you.

³¹ Let him not deceive himself with trust in emptiness, for emptiness will be his reward. ³² It will be paid in full before his time, and his branch will not flourish. ³³ He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes, like an olive tree that sheds its blossoms. ³⁴ For the company of the godless will be barren, and fire will consume the tents of bribery.

²⁷ Behold, I know your thoughts full well, the schemes by which you would wrong me.

³ and he burned with anger against Job’s three friends because they had failed to refute Job, and yet had condemned him.

¹² Who can discern his own errors? Cleanse me from my hidden faults.

¹² For evils without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, so that I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart has failed within me.

²⁶ If you take your neighbor’s cloak as collateral, return it to him by sunset,

⁶ Do not take a pair of millstones or even an upper millstone as security for a debt, because that would be taking one’s livelihood as security.

¹⁰ When you lend anything to your neighbor, do not enter his house to collect security. ¹¹ You are to stand outside while the man to whom you are lending brings the security out to you. ¹² If he is a poor man, you must not go to sleep with the security in your possession; ¹³ be sure to return it to him by sunset, so that he may sleep in his own cloak and bless you, and this will be credited to you as righteousness before the LORD your God. ¹⁴ Do not oppress a hired hand who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother or a foreigner residing in one of your towns. ¹⁵ You are to pay his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and depends on them. Otherwise he may cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin. ¹⁶ Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin. ¹⁷ Do not deny justice to the foreigner or the fatherless, and do not take a widow’s cloak as security. ¹⁸ Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you from that place. Therefore I am commanding you to do this.

³ They drive away the donkey of the fatherless and take the widow’s ox in pledge.

⁹ The fatherless infant is snatched from the breast; the nursing child of the poor is seized for a debt. ¹⁰ Without clothing, they wander about naked. They carry the sheaves, but still go hungry.

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,

⁷ He does not oppress another, but restores the pledge to the debtor. He does not commit robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing.

¹² He oppresses the poor and needy; he commits robbery and does not restore a pledge. He lifts his eyes to idols; he commits abominations.

¹⁶ He does not oppress another, or retain a pledge, or commit robbery. He gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing.

⁸ They lie down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge. And in the house of their God, they drink wine obtained through fines.

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

¹⁷ if I have eaten my morsel alone, not sharing it with the fatherless—

³¹ if the men of my house have not said, ‘Who is there who has not had his fill?’—

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

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

¹⁷ Kindness to the poor is a loan to the LORD, and He will repay the lender.

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?

¹⁰ and if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light will go forth in the darkness, and your night will be like noonday.

⁴² For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink,

²⁰ Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. For in so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

¹¹ So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city did as Jezebel had instructed in the letters she had written to them. ¹² They proclaimed a fast and gave Naboth a seat of honor among the people. ¹³ And the two scoundrels came in and sat opposite Naboth, and these men testified against him before the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed both God and the king!” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death. ¹⁴ Then they sent word to Jezebel: “Naboth has been stoned to death.” ¹⁵ When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, “Get up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, who refused to give it to you for silver. For Naboth is no longer alive, but dead.”

⁸ Would you show Him partiality or argue in His defense?

⁷ When I went out to the city gate and took my seat in the public square, ⁸ the young men saw me and withdrew, and the old men rose to their feet. ⁹ The princes refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands. ¹⁰ The voices of the nobles were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roofs of their mouths. ¹¹ For those who heard me called me blessed, and those who saw me commended me, 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. ¹⁴ I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; justice was my robe and my turban. ¹⁵ I served as eyes to the blind and as feet to the lame. ¹⁶ I was a father to the needy, and I took up the case of the stranger. ¹⁷ I shattered the fangs of the unjust and snatched the prey from his teeth.

³⁴ because I greatly feared the crowds and the contempt of the clans terrified me, so that I kept silent and would not go outside—

⁸ The wicked wander freely, and vileness is exalted among men.

³ the commander of fifty and the dignitary, the counselor, the cunning magician, and the clever enchanter.

¹⁵ The head is the elder and honorable man, and the tail is the prophet who teaches lies.

³ Both hands are skilled at evil; the prince and the judge demand a bribe. When the powerful utters his evil desire, they all conspire together.

²¹ You must not exploit or oppress a foreign resident, for you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt. ²² You must not mistreat any widow or orphan. ²³ If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to Me in distress, I will surely hear their cry. ²⁴ My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword; then your wives will become widows and your children will be fatherless.

¹⁹ ‘Cursed is he who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

²¹ They prey on the barren and childless, and show no kindness to the widow.

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.

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—

²¹ if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless because I saw that I had support in the gate,

¹⁵ Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call him to account for his wickedness until none is left to be found.

¹⁷ For the arms of the wicked will be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous.

⁶ They kill the widow and the foreigner; they murder the fatherless.

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.

² to deprive the poor of fair treatment and withhold justice from the oppressed of My people, to make widows their prey and orphans their plunder.

⁷ Father and mother are treated with contempt. Within your walls the foreign resident is exploited, the fatherless and the widow are oppressed.

²² Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt. I will break his arms, both the strong one and the one already broken, and will make the sword fall from his hand.

⁵ “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.

³ And there was a widow in that town who kept appealing to him, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ ⁴ For a while he refused, but later he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect men, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps pestering me, I will give her justice. Then she will stop wearing me out with her perpetual requests.’”

⁴ For the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me; my spirit drinks in their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me.

²¹ Withdraw Your hand from me, and do not let Your terror frighten me.

⁸ For his own feet lead him into a net, and he wanders into its mesh. ⁹ A trap seizes his heel; a snare grips him. ¹⁰ A noose is hidden in the ground, and a trap lies in his path.

⁶ then understand that it is God who has wronged me and drawn His net around me.

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

²⁷ when your dread comes like a storm, and your destruction like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish overwhelm you.

²⁵ Do not fear sudden danger or the ruin that overtakes the wicked, ²⁶ for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from the snare.

³ For while people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

¹⁴ They encounter darkness by day and grope at noon as in the night.

⁶ The light in his tent grows dark, and the lamp beside him goes out.

¹⁸ He is driven from light into darkness and is chased from the inhabited world.

⁸ He has blocked my way so I cannot pass; He has veiled my paths with darkness.

³⁴ Can you command the clouds so that a flood of water covers you?

⁷ Deep calls to deep in the roar of Your waterfalls; all Your breakers and waves have rolled over me.

¹ For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of David. Save me, O God, for the waters are up to my neck. ² I have sunk into the miry depths, where there is no footing; I have drifted into deep waters, where the flood engulfs me.

⁴ then the floods would have engulfed us, then the torrent would have overwhelmed us, ⁵ then the raging waters would have swept us away.

¹⁹ But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom; they do not know what makes them stumble.

²² Then they will look to the earth and see only distress and darkness and the gloom of anguish. And they will be driven into utter darkness.

² He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness instead of light.

⁵⁴ The waters flowed over my head, and I thought I was going to die.

² a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like the dawn overspreading the mountains a great and strong army appears, such as never was of old, nor will ever be in ages to come. ³ Before them a fire devours, and behind them a flame scorches. The land before them is like the Garden of Eden, but behind them, it is like a desert wasteland—surely nothing will escape them.

³ For You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the current swirled about me; all Your breakers and waves swept over me.

¹² But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

⁸ They are higher than the heavens—what can you do? They are deeper than Sheol—what can you know?

³ When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place— ⁴ what is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You care for him?

³ Our God is in heaven; He does as He pleases.

¹⁶ The highest heavens belong to the LORD, but the earth He has given to mankind.

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.

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.

¹ This is what the LORD says: “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. What kind of house will you build for Me? Or where will My place of repose be?

¹¹ He says to himself, “God has forgotten; He hides His face and never sees.”

⁷ See what they spew from their mouths—sharp words from their lips: “For who can hear us?”

⁵ They hold fast to their evil purpose; they speak of hiding their snares. “Who will see them?” they say.

¹¹ The wicked say, “How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge?”

⁷ They say, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob pays no heed.” ⁸ Take notice, O senseless among the people! O fools, when will you be wise? ⁹ He who affixed the ear, can He not hear? He who formed the eye, can He not see?

¹⁵ Woe to those who dig deep to hide their plans from the LORD. In darkness they do their works and say, “Who sees us, and who will know?”

¹² “Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? For they are saying, ‘The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land.’”

⁹ He replied, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. The land is full of bloodshed, and the city is full of perversity. For they say, ‘The LORD has forsaken the land; the LORD does not see.’

¹² And at that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish the men settled in complacency, who say to themselves, ‘The LORD will do nothing, either good or bad.’

⁹ He covers the face of the full moon, spreading over it His cloud.

²² There is no darkness or deep shadow where the workers of iniquity can hide.

¹⁴ From His dwelling place He gazes on all who inhabit the earth.

² Clouds and darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are His throne’s foundation.

¹ For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O LORD, You have searched me and known me. ² You know when I sit and when I rise; You understand my thoughts from afar.

¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light become night around me”— ¹² even the darkness is not dark to You, but the night shines like the day, for darkness is as light to You.

²⁴ “Can a man hide in secret places where I cannot see him?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the LORD.

² There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, and nothing hidden that will not be made known. ³ What you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the housetops.

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.

¹¹ Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and full of violence. ¹² And God looked upon the earth and saw that it was corrupt; for all living creatures on the earth had corrupted their ways. ¹³ Then God said to Noah, “The end of all living creatures has come before Me, because through them the earth is full of violence. Now behold, I will destroy both them and the earth.

²⁶ Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man: ²⁷ People were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

¹¹ In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month, all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.

¹⁷ For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and the waters rose and lifted the ark high above the earth. ¹⁸ So the waters continued to surge and rise greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the waters. ¹⁹ Finally, the waters completely inundated the earth, so that all the high mountains under all the heavens were covered. ²⁰ The waters rose and covered the mountaintops to a depth of fifteen cubits. ²¹ And every living thing that moved upon the earth perished—birds, livestock, animals, every creature that swarms upon the earth, and all mankind. ²² Of all that was on dry land, everything that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. ²³ And every living thing on the face of the earth was destroyed—man and livestock, crawling creatures and birds of the air; they were blotted out from the earth, and only Noah and those with him in the ark remained. ²⁴ And the waters prevailed upon the earth for 150 days.

¹⁹ as water wears away the stones and torrents wash away the soil, so You destroy a man’s hope.

³² It will be paid in full before his time, and his branch will not flourish.

²³ But You, O God, will bring them down to the Pit of destruction; men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days. But I will trust in You.

²⁴ I say: “O my God, do not take me in the midst of my days! Your years go on through all generations.

¹⁷ Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time?

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!”

³⁷ As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸ For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark. ³⁹ And they were oblivious, until the flood came and swept them all away. So will it be at the coming of the Son of Man.

¹⁹ in whom He also went and preached to the spirits in prison ²⁰ who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In the ark a few people, only eight souls, were saved through water.

⁵ if He did not spare the ancient world when He brought the flood on its ungodly people, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, among the eight;

¹⁰ Their bulls breed without fail; their cows bear calves and do not miscarry.

¹⁴ Yet they say to God: ‘Leave us alone! For we have no desire to know Your ways. ¹⁵ Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, and what would we gain if we pray to Him?’

⁶ Many ask, “Who can show us the good?” Shine the light of Your face upon us, O LORD.

¹¹ Get out of the way; turn off the road. Rid us of the Holy One of Israel!”

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?

²⁹ “What do You want with us, Jesus, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have You come here to torture us before the appointed time?”

³⁴ Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to leave their region.

²⁸ Furthermore, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.

⁷ The LORD sends poverty and wealth; He humbles and He exalts.

⁶ The tents of robbers are safe, and those who provoke God are secure—those who carry their god in their hands.

¹⁶ Still, their prosperity is not in their own hands, so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked.

¹ Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers.

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

² You planted them, and they have taken root. They have grown and produced fruit. You are ever on their lips, but far from their hearts.

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

¹⁶ ‘After this I will return and rebuild the fallen tent of David. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it,

²³ When the scourge brings sudden death, He mocks the despair of the innocent.

¹¹ Mount Zion is glad, the daughters of Judah rejoice, on account of Your judgments.

⁶ The righteous will see and fear; they will mock the evildoer, saying,

¹⁰ The righteous will rejoice when they see they are avenged; they will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked.

⁸ Zion hears and rejoices, and the towns of Judah exult because of Your judgments, O LORD.

⁴² The upright see and rejoice, and all iniquity shuts its mouth.

¹⁰ When the righteous thrive, the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.

²⁰ Rejoice over her, O heaven, O saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced for you His judgment against her.

¹ After this I heard a sound like the roar of a great multitude in heaven, shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God! ² For His judgments are true and just. He has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality. He has avenged the blood of His servants that was poured out by her hand.” ³ And a second time they called out: “Hallelujah! Her smoke rises forever and ever.”

²⁴ Then the LORD rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens.

¹⁶ While he was still speaking, another messenger came and reported: “The fire of God fell from heaven. It burned and consumed the sheep and the servants, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

⁷ Consider now, I plead: Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Or where have the upright been destroyed?

³ Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right? ⁴ When your children sinned against Him, He gave them over to their rebellion.

³⁰ He will not escape from the darkness; the flame will wither his shoots, and the breath of God’s mouth will carry him away.

¹⁸ He must return the fruit of his labor without consuming it; he cannot enjoy the profits of his trading. ¹⁹ For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor; he has seized houses he did not build.

²⁶ Total darkness is reserved for his treasures. A fire unfanned will consume him and devour what is left in his tent.

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?’

¹ At that time some of those present told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. ² To this Jesus replied, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered this fate? ³ No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish. ⁴ Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam collapsed on them: Do you think that they were more sinful than all the others living in Jerusalem? ⁵ No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

²⁹ But on the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. ³⁰ It will be just like that on the day the Son of Man is revealed.

⁶ if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction, reducing them to ashes as an example of what is coming on the ungodly; ⁷ and if He rescued Lot, a righteous man distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless

⁹ As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve Him wholeheartedly and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands the intent of every thought. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.

¹⁰ Young lions go lacking and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

⁵ Or let them lay claim to My protection; let them make peace with Me—yes, let them make peace with Me.”

¹⁹ bringing praise to their lips. Peace, peace to those far and near,” says the LORD, “and I will heal them.” ²⁰ But the wicked are like the storm-tossed sea, for it cannot be still, and its waves churn up mire and muck. ²¹ “There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

²⁵ Reconcile quickly with your adversary, while you are still on the way to court. Otherwise, he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison.

³ Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.

³⁶ He has sent this message to the people of Israel, proclaiming the gospel of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.

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.

²⁰ Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God.

¹⁴ For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has torn down the dividing wall of hostility ¹⁵ by abolishing in His flesh the law of commandments and decrees. He did this to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace ¹⁶ and reconciling both of them to God in one body through the cross, by which He extinguished their hostility. ¹⁷ He came and preached peace to you who were far away and to those who were near.

⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

¹ Hear now, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances I am teaching you to follow, so that you may live and may enter and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. ² You must not add to or subtract from what I command you, so that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I am giving you.

⁶ These words I am commanding you today are to be upon your hearts. ⁷ And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.

¹² I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread.

¹¹ I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You.

¹ My son, if you accept my words and hide my commandments within you, ² if you incline your ear to wisdom and direct your heart to 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. ⁷ He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk with integrity, ⁸ to guard the paths of justice and protect the way of His saints. ⁹ Then you will discern righteousness and justice and equity—every good path.

⁴ he taught me and said, “Let your heart lay hold of my words; keep my commands and you will live.

²¹ Do not lose sight of them; keep them within your heart.

¹⁶ Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words became my joy and my heart’s delight. For I bear Your name, O LORD God of Hosts.

³⁵ The good man brings good things out of his good store of treasure, and the evil man brings evil things out of his evil store of treasure.

⁵² Then He told them, “For this reason, every scribe who has been discipled in the kingdom of heaven is like a homeowner who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”

¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

⁵¹ Then He went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But His mother treasured up all these things in her heart.

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

¹³ Get up and consecrate the people, saying, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Among you, O Israel, there are things devoted to destruction. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them. ¹⁴ In the morning you must present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe that the LORD selects shall come forward clan by clan, and the clan that the LORD selects shall come forward family by family, and the family that the LORD selects shall come forward man by man. ¹⁵ The one who is caught with the things devoted to destruction must be burned, along with all that belongs to him, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD and committed an outrage in Israel.’” ¹⁶ So Joshua arose early the next morning and had Israel come forward tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was selected.

⁵ But if you would earnestly seek God and ask the Almighty for mercy, ⁶ if you are pure and upright, even now He will rouse Himself on your behalf and restore your righteous estate.

¹³ As for you, if you direct your heart and lift up your hands to Him, ¹⁴ if you put away the iniquity in your hand, and allow no injustice to dwell in your tents,

¹⁴ What He tears down cannot be rebuilt; the man He imprisons cannot be released.

¹⁵ Fire resides in his tent; burning sulfur rains down on his dwelling.

²² And the LORD will strike Egypt with a plague; He will strike them but heal them. They will turn to the LORD, and He will hear their prayers and heal them.

⁶ Return to the One against whom you have so blatantly rebelled, O children of Israel.

¹⁵ He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, who refuses gain from extortion, whose hand never takes a bribe, who stops his ears against murderous plots and shuts his eyes tightly against evil—

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.

⁴ Again I will build you, and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out in joyful dancing.

¹ Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled by your iniquity. ² Bring your confessions and return to the LORD. Say to Him: “Take away all our iniquity and receive us graciously, that we may present the fruit of our lips.

³ So tell the people that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Return to Me, declares the LORD of Hosts, and I will return to you, says the LORD of Hosts.’

³ Then he told me, “This is the curse that is going out over the face of all the land, for according to one side of the scroll, every thief will be removed; and according to the other side, every perjurer will be removed. ⁴ I will send it out, declares the LORD of Hosts, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of him who swears falsely by My name. It will remain inside his house and destroy it, down to its timbers and stones.”

²⁰ First to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, then to everyone throughout the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I declared that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds worthy of their repentance.

⁷ rooted and built up in Him, established in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

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

²⁰ But you, beloved, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,

²⁹ Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan.

²⁸ They sailed to Ophir and imported gold from there—420 talents—and delivered it to Solomon.

²¹ All King Solomon’s drinking cups were gold, and all the utensils of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver, because it was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon.

⁴⁸ Jehoshaphat built ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they never set sail, because they were wrecked at Ezion-geber.

⁵ But the bronze altar made by Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, was in Gibeon before the tabernacle of the LORD. So Solomon and the assembly inquired of Him there.

¹⁰ (The servants of Hiram and of Solomon who brought gold from Ophir also brought algum wood and precious stones.

²⁷ The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as abundant as sycamore in the foothills.

²⁵ if I have rejoiced in my great wealth because my hand had gained so much,

⁹ The daughters of kings are among your honored women; the queen stands at your right hand, adorned with the gold of Ophir.

¹² I will make man scarcer than pure gold, and mankind rarer than the gold of Ophir.

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

⁵ The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; You have made my lot secure. ⁶ The lines of my boundary have fallen in pleasant places; surely my inheritance is delightful.

² The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

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 He will be the sure foundation for your times, a storehouse of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the LORD is Zion’s treasure.

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

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

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

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?

¹⁵ then indeed you will lift up your face without shame; you will stand firm and unafraid.

¹⁰ Will he delight in the Almighty? Will he call upon God at all times?

⁹ For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing that he should delight in God.’

¹ Of David. To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul;

⁴ Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.

⁴ Bring joy to Your servant, for to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

⁸ Let me hear Your loving devotion in the morning, for I have put my trust in You. Teach me the way I should walk, for to You I lift up my soul.

³ Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my beloved among the young men. I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste.

¹⁴ then you will delight yourself in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the land and feed you with the heritage of your father Jacob.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

²² For in my inner being I delight in God’s law.

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

²⁶ He prays to God and finds favor; he sees God’s face and shouts for joy, and God restores His righteousness to that man.

²⁸ They caused the cry of the poor to come before Him, and He heard the outcry of the afflicted.

¹⁴ Sacrifice a thank offering to God, and fulfill your vows to the Most High. ¹⁵ Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”

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

¹³ I will enter Your house with burnt offerings; I will fulfill my vows to You— ¹⁴ the vows that my lips promised and my mouth spoke in my distress.

¹⁷ I cried out to Him with my mouth and praised Him with my tongue. ¹⁸ If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. ¹⁹ But God has surely heard; He has attended to the sound of my prayer. ²⁰ Blessed be God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld from me His loving devotion!

¹⁵ When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him.

¹ I love the LORD, for He has heard my voice—my appeal for mercy.

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

⁴ When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, because He takes no pleasure in fools. Fulfill your vow.

⁹ Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry out, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and malicious talk,

⁹ But I, with the voice of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to You. I will fulfill what I have vowed. Salvation is from the LORD!”

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.

³ when His lamp shone above my head, and by His light I walked through the darkness,

⁴ May He give you the desires of your heart and make all your plans succeed.

¹⁷ May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish for us the work of our hands—yes, establish the work of our hands!

¹¹ Light shines on the righteous, gladness on the upright in heart.

⁴ Light dawns in the darkness for the upright—for the gracious, compassionate, and righteous.

¹⁸ The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.

²¹ And whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: “This is the way. Walk in it.”

³⁷ Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has ordained it?

² “But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and leap like calves from the stall.

²² If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

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.”

¹⁵ Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord is willing, let us live and do this or that.”

¹⁹ He will rescue you from six calamities; no harm will touch you in seven. ²⁰ In famine He will redeem you from death, and in battle from the stroke of the sword. ²¹ You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and will not fear havoc when it comes. ²² You will laugh at destruction and famine, and need not fear the beasts of the earth. ²³ For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field, and the wild animals will be at peace with you. ²⁴ You will know that your tent is secure, and find nothing amiss when inspecting your home. ²⁵ You will know that your offspring will be many, your descendants like the grass of the earth. ²⁶ You will come to the grave in full vigor, like a sheaf of grain gathered in season. ²⁷ Indeed, we have investigated, and it is true! So hear it and know for yourself.”

² I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High. ³ When my enemies retreat, they stumble and perish before You.

¹⁴ “Because he loves Me, I will deliver him; because he knows My name, I will protect him. ¹⁵ When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him. ¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him and show him My salvation.”

⁹ For surely Your enemies, O LORD, surely Your enemies will perish; all evildoers will be scattered. ¹⁰ But You have exalted my horn like that of a wild ox; with fine oil I have been anointed. ¹¹ My eyes see the downfall of my enemies; my ears hear the wailing of my wicked foes.

⁶ Though the LORD is on high, He attends to the lowly; but the proud He knows from afar.

²³ A man’s pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor.

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.

²⁶ This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Remove the turban, and take off the crown. Things will not remain as they are: Exalt the lowly and bring low the exalted. ²⁷ A ruin, a ruin, I will make it a ruin! And it will not be restored until the arrival of Him to whom it belongs, to whom I have assigned the right of judgment.’

¹² For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

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

¹¹ For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

⁹ To some who trusted in their own righteousness and viewed others with contempt, He also told this parable: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like the other men—swindlers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week and pay tithes of all that I acquire.’ ¹³ But the tax collector stood at a distance, unwilling even to lift up his eyes to heaven. Instead, he beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this man, rather than the Pharisee, went home justified. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

⁶ But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

⁵ Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility, being subject to one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

²⁶ So the LORD replied, “If I find fifty righteous ones within the city of Sodom, on their account I will spare the whole place.” ²⁷ Then Abraham answered, “Now that I have ventured to speak to the Lord—though I am but dust and ashes— ²⁸ suppose the fifty righteous ones lack five. Will You destroy the whole city for the lack of five?” He replied, “If I find forty-five there, I will not destroy it.” ²⁹ Once again Abraham spoke to the LORD, “Suppose forty are found there?” He answered, “On account of the forty, I will not do it.” ³⁰ Then Abraham said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak further. Suppose thirty are found there?” He replied, “If I find thirty there, I will not do it.” ³¹ And Abraham said, “Now that I have ventured to speak to the Lord, suppose twenty are found there?” He answered, “On account of the twenty, I will not destroy it.” ³² Finally, Abraham said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak once more. Suppose ten are found there?” And He answered, “On account of the ten, I will not destroy it.”

⁷ After the LORD had spoken these words to Job, He said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and your two friends. For you have not spoken about Me accurately, as My servant Job has. ⁸ So now, take seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. Then My servant Job will pray for you, for I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken accurately about Me, as My servant Job has.”

²⁰ The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness; He has repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands.

⁴ He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear deceitfully.

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.

¹² Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will restore the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of the Breach, Restorer of the Streets of Dwelling.

¹ “Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem. Look now and take note; search her squares. If you can find a single person, anyone who acts justly, anyone who seeks the truth, then I will forgive the city.

⁹ “But ask now for God’s favor. Will He be gracious? Since this has come from your hands, will He show you favor?” asks the LORD of Hosts.

¹⁹ Afterward the disciples came to Jesus privately and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” ²⁰ “Because of your unbelief,” Jesus answered. “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.

¹⁵ Eventually, one of the evil spirits answered them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” ¹⁶ Then the man with the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them. The attack was so violent that they ran out of the house naked and wounded.

²⁴ and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And look, God has granted you the lives of all who sail with you.’

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

¹⁵ And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 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.