Luke 10 Cross References - MSB

¹ After this, the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them two by two ahead of Him to every town and place He was about to visit. ² Therefore He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest. ³ Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. ⁴ Carry no purse or bag or sandals. Do not greet anyone along the road. ⁵ Whatever house you enter, begin by saying, ‘Peace to this house.’ ⁶ If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. ⁷ Stay at the same house, eating and drinking whatever you are offered. For the worker is worthy of his wages. Do not move around from house to house. ⁸ If you enter a town and they welcome you, eat whatever is set before you. ⁹ Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’ ¹⁰ But if you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go into the streets and declare, ¹¹ ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to us, we wipe off as a testimony against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near to you.’ ¹² I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. ¹³ Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. ¹⁴ But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. ¹⁵ And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven to heaven, will be brought down to Hades! ¹⁶ Whoever listens to you listens to Me; whoever rejects you rejects Me; and whoever rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.” ¹⁷ The seventy returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name.” ¹⁸ So He told them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. ¹⁹ Behold, I am giving you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you. ²⁰ Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” ²¹ At that time Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and 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. Yes, Father, for this was well-pleasing in Your sight.” ²² And turning to the disciples, He said, “All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.” ²³ Then Jesus turned to the disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. ²⁴ For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” ²⁵ One day an expert in the law stood up to test Him. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶ “What is written in the Law?” Jesus replied. “How do you read it?” ²⁷ He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” ²⁸ “You have answered correctly,” Jesus said. “Do this and you will live.” ²⁹ But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” ³⁰ Jesus took up this question and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. ³¹ Now by chance a priest was going down the same road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. ³² So too, when a Levite came to that spot and saw him, he passed by on the other side. ³³ But when a Samaritan on a journey came upon him, he looked at him and had compassion. ³⁴ He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. ³⁵ The next day when he departed he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Take care of him,’ he said, ‘and on my return I will repay you for any additional expense.’ ³⁶ So which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” ³⁷ “The one who showed him mercy,” replied the expert in the law. Then Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” ³⁸ As they traveled along, Jesus entered a village where a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. ³⁹ She had a sister named Mary, who sat at Jesus’ feet listening to His message. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted by all the preparations to be made. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me!” ⁴¹ “Martha, Martha,” Jesus replied, “you are worried and troubled about many things. ⁴² But only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, and it will not be taken away from her.”

¹⁶ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Bring Me seventy of the elders of Israel known to you as leaders and officers of the people. Bring them to the Tent of Meeting and have them stand there with you.

²⁴ So Moses went out and relayed to the people the words of the LORD, and he gathered seventy of the elders of the people and had them stand around the tent. 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. ²⁶ Two men, however, had remained in the camp—one named Eldad and the other Medad—and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those listed, but they had not gone out to the tent, and they prophesied in the camp.

¹ And calling His twelve disciples to Him, Jesus gave them authority over unclean spirits, so that they could drive them out and heal every disease and sickness. ² These are the names of the twelve apostles: first Simon, called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; ³ Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus called Thaddaeus. ⁴ Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus.

⁷ Then Jesus called the Twelve to Him and began to send them out two by two, giving them authority over unclean spirits. ⁸ He instructed them to take nothing but a staff for the journey—no bag, no bread, no money in their belts— ⁹ and to wear sandals, but not a second tunic. ¹⁰ And He told them, “When you enter a house, stay there until you leave that area. ¹¹ If anyone will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that place, as a testimony against them. Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.” ¹² So they set out and preached that the people should repent. ¹³ They also drove out many demons and healed many of the sick, anointing them with oil.

¹⁷ And he will go on before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

⁷⁶ And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the presence of the Lord to prepare the way for Him,

⁴ as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him. ⁵ Every valley shall be filled in, and every mountain and hill made low. The crooked ways shall be made straight, and the rough ways smooth. ⁶ And all humanity will see God’s salvation.’”

¹³ When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said, “Do not weep.”

¹ Then Jesus called the Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and power to cure diseases. ² And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

⁵² He sent messengers on ahead, who went into a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him.

² While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” ³ And after they had fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on them and sent them off. ⁴ So Barnabas and Saul, sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.

³ And I will empower my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” ⁴ These witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. ⁵ If anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouths and devours their enemies. In this way, anyone who wants to harm them must be killed. ⁶ These witnesses have power to shut the sky so that no rain will fall during the days of their prophecy, and power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they wish. ⁷ When the two witnesses have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will wage war with them, and will overpower and kill them. ⁸ Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city—figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where their Lord was also crucified. ⁹ For three and a half days all peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will view their bodies and will not permit them to be laid in a tomb. ¹⁰ And those who dwell on the earth will gloat over them, and will celebrate and give one another gifts, because these two prophets had tormented them.

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.

²⁹ But Moses replied, “Are you jealous on my account? I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would place His Spirit on them!”

²² Then Elijah said to the people, “I am the only remaining prophet of the LORD, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets.

⁶ So the king of Israel assembled the prophets, about four hundred men, and asked them, “Should I go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I refrain?” “Go up,” they replied, “and the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.” ⁷ But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not still a prophet of the LORD here of whom we can inquire?” ⁸ The king of Israel answered, “There is still one man who can ask the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good for me, but only bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.” “The king should not say that!” Jehoshaphat replied.

¹¹ The Lord gives the command; a great company of women proclaim it:

⁹ Come, all you beasts of the field; eat greedily, all you beasts of the forest. ¹⁰ Israel’s watchmen are blind, they are all oblivious; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they are dreamers lying around, loving to slumber. ¹¹ Like ravenous dogs, they are never satisfied. They are shepherds with no discernment; they all turn to their own way, each one seeking his own gain: ¹² “Come, let me get the wine, let us imbibe the strong drink, and tomorrow will be like today, only far better!”

¹⁵ Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.”

² “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed their flock? ³ You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened sheep, but you do not feed the flock. ⁴ You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bound up the injured, brought back the strays, or searched for the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty. ⁵ They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild beasts. ⁶ My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill. They were scattered over the face of all the earth, with no one to search for them or seek them out.’

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

¹⁷ Woe to the worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May a sword strike his arm and his right eye! May his arm be completely withered and his right eye utterly blinded!”

³⁶ When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷ Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. ³⁸ Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest.”

¹ “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.

³⁴ It is like a man going on a journey who left his house, put each servant in charge of his own task, and instructed the doorkeeper to keep watch.

¹⁵ And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

²⁰ And they went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked through them, confirming His word by the signs that accompanied it. Amen.

¹ Then Jesus called the Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and power to cure diseases.

³⁵ Do you not say, ‘There are still four months until the harvest’? I tell you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ripe for harvest. ³⁶ Already the reaper draws his wages and gathers a crop for eternal life, so that both the sower and the reaper may rejoice together. ³⁷ For in this case the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. ³⁸ I sent you to reap what you have not worked for; others have done the hard work, and now you have taken up their labor.”

⁴ Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.

¹⁹ Meanwhile those scattered by the persecution that began with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the message only to Jews.

² While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

⁴ So Barnabas and Saul, sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.

⁹ During the night, Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” ¹⁰ As soon as Paul had seen the vision, we got ready to leave for Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.

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

²¹ Then He said to me, ‘Go! I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”

¹⁵ ‘Who are You, Lord?’ I asked. ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ He replied. ¹⁶ ‘But get up and stand on your feet. For I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen from Me and what I will show you. ¹⁷ I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them ¹⁸ to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in Me.’

⁶ I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. ⁷ So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. ⁸ He who plants and he who waters are one in purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. ⁹ For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

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

¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

¹ As God’s fellow workers, then, we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.

⁷ Now to each one of us grace has been given according to the measure of the gift of Christ. 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, ¹² to equip the saints for works of ministry and to build up the body of Christ,

²¹ For all the others look after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus.

²⁵ But I thought it necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my needs.

³⁰ because he nearly died for the work of Christ, disregarding his life to make up for your deficit of service to me.

²⁹ To this end I also labor, striving with all His energy working powerfully within me.

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.

⁹ Surely you recall, brothers, our labor and toil. We worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to anyone while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.

¹² But we ask you, brothers, to acknowledge those who work diligently among you, who preside over you in the Lord and give you instruction.

¹ Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may spread quickly and be held in honor, just as it was with you.

¹² And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, that He considered me faithful and appointed me to service. ¹³ I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man; yet because I had acted in ignorance and unbelief, I was shown mercy. ¹⁴ And the grace of our Lord overflowed to me, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

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

¹⁵ Be diligent in these matters and absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. ¹⁶ Pay close attention to your life and to your teaching. Persevere in these things, for by so doing you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

¹⁷ Elders who lead effectively are worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. ¹⁸ For the Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and, “The worker is worthy of his wages.”

³ Endure hardship, therefore, like a good soldier of Jesus Christ. ⁴ A soldier refrains from entangling himself in civilian affairs, in order to please the one who enlisted him. ⁵ Likewise, a competitor does not receive the crown unless he competes according to the rules. ⁶ The hardworking farmer should be the first to partake of the crops.

⁵ But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

¹ Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved fellow worker,

⁶ But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are His house, if we hold firmly to the end our confidence and the hope of which we boast.

¹ “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of Him who holds the seven stars in His right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.

² But exclude the courtyard outside the temple. Do not measure it, because it has been given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for 42 months. ³ And I will empower my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”

¹² Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. ¹³ They open their jaws against me like lions that roar and maul. ¹⁴ I am poured out like water, and all my bones are disjointed. My heart is like wax; it melts away within me. ¹⁵ My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You lay me in the dust of death. ¹⁶ For dogs surround me; a band of evil men encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet.

²¹ Save me from the mouth of the lion; at the horns of the wild oxen You have answered me!

³ “Son of man,” He said to me, “I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me. To this very day they and their fathers have rebelled against Me. ⁴ They are obstinate and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you are to say to them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says.’ ⁵ And whether they listen or refuse to listen—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them. ⁶ But you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns surround you, and you dwell among scorpions. Do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their presence, though they are a rebellious house.

³ Her princes are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves, leaving nothing for the morning.

¹⁵ Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

¹⁶ Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

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

¹² The hired hand is not the shepherd, and the sheep are not his own. When he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf pounces on them and scatters the flock.

²⁰ Remember the word that I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well; if they kept My word, they will keep yours as well.

² They will put you out of the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.

² and requested letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women belonging to the Way, he could bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

¹⁶ I will show him how much he must suffer for My name.”

²⁹ For I know this, that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.

³³ Then a meal was set before the man, but he said, “I will not eat until I have told you what I came to say.” So Laban said, “Please speak.”

⁵⁶ But he replied, “Do not delay me, since the LORD has made my journey a success. Send me on my way so that I may go to my master.”

⁸ Then David asked Ahimelech, “Is there not a spear or sword on hand here? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business was urgent.”

²⁴ Then she saddled the donkey and told her servant, “Drive onward; do not slow the pace for me unless I tell you.”

²⁹ So Elisha said to Gehazi, “Tie up your garment, take my staff in your hand, and go! If you meet anyone, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not answer him. Then lay my staff on the boy’s face.”

²⁵ Let your eyes look forward; fix your gaze straight ahead.

⁹ Do not carry any gold or silver or copper in your belts. ¹⁰ Take no bag for the road, or second tunic, or sandals, or staffs; for the worker is worthy of his provisions. ¹¹ Whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy there and stay at his house until you move on. ¹² As you enter the home, greet its occupants. ¹³ If the home is worthy, let your peace rest on it; but if it is not, let your peace return to you. ¹⁴ And if anyone will not welcome you or heed your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.

⁸ He instructed them to take nothing but a staff for the journey—no bag, no bread, no money in their belts— ⁹ and to wear sandals, but not a second tunic. ¹⁰ And He told them, “When you enter a house, stay there until you leave that area. ¹¹ If anyone will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that place, as a testimony against them. Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.”

³ “Take nothing for the journey,” He told them, “no staffs, no bag, no bread, no money, no second tunic. ⁴ Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that area. ⁵ If anyone does not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that town, as a testimony against them.” ⁶ So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.

⁵⁹ Then He said to another man, “Follow Me.” The man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰ But Jesus told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead. You, however, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

⁴ Carry no purse or bag or sandals. Do not greet anyone along the road. ⁵ Whatever house you enter, begin by saying, ‘Peace to this house.’ ⁶ If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. ⁷ Stay at the same house, eating and drinking whatever you are offered. For the worker is worthy of his wages. Do not move around from house to house. ⁸ If you enter a town and they welcome you, eat whatever is set before you. ⁹ Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’ ¹⁰ But if you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go into the streets and declare, ¹¹ ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to us, we wipe off as a testimony against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near to you.’ ¹² I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

³⁵ Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you out without purse or bag or sandals, did you lack anything?” “Nothing,” they answered.

⁶ and say to him, ‘Long life to you, and peace to you and your house and to all that belongs to you.

¹⁹ bringing praise to their lips. Peace, peace to those far and near,” says the LORD, “and I will heal them.”

¹² As you enter the home, greet its occupants. ¹³ If the home is worthy, let your peace rest on it; but if it is not, let your peace return to you.

⁹ Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham.

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

¹⁸ All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹ that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s trespasses against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 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.

¹⁷ He came and preached peace to you who were far away and to those who were near.

¹⁷ Now consider carefully what you must do, because disaster looms over our master and all his household. For he is such a scoundrel that nobody can speak to him!”

¹³ Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting, but my prayers returned unanswered.

⁶ For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

¹⁵ For we are to God the sweet aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 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?

² in which you used to walk when you conformed to the ways of this world and of the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit who is now at work in the sons of disobedience. 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.

⁶ Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience.

¹⁶ Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.

¹⁸ Peacemakers who sow in peace reap the fruit of righteousness.

¹⁴ As obedient children, do not conform to the passions of your former ignorance.

¹² And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you.

¹⁸ Instead, you must eat them in the presence of the LORD your God at the place the LORD your God will choose—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite within your gates. Rejoice before the LORD your God in all you do, ¹⁹ and be careful not to neglect the Levites as long as you live in your land.

¹⁰ Take no bag for the road, or second tunic, or sandals, or staffs; for the worker is worthy of his provisions. ¹¹ Whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy there and stay at his house until you move on.

¹⁰ And He told them, “When you enter a house, stay there until you leave that area.

⁴ Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that area.

¹⁵ And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

³⁴ Then he brought them into his home and set a meal before them. So he and all his household rejoiced that they had come to believe in God.

⁴⁰ After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house to see the brothers and encourage them. Then they left the city.

⁴ Have we no right to food and to drink? ⁵ Have we no right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas? ⁶ Or are Barnabas and I the only apostles who must work for a living? ⁷ Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Who tends a flock and does not drink of its milk? ⁸ Do I say this from a human perspective? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? ⁹ For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it about oxen that God is concerned? ¹⁰ Isn’t He actually speaking on our behalf? Indeed, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they should also expect to share in the harvest. ¹¹ If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much for us to reap a material harvest from you? ¹² If others have this right to your support, shouldn’t we have it all the more? But we did not exercise this right. Instead, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ. ¹³ Do you not know that those who work in the temple eat of its food, and those who serve at the altar partake of its offerings? ¹⁴ In the same way, the Lord has prescribed that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. ¹⁵ But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this to suggest that something be done for me. Indeed, I would rather die than let anyone nullify my boast.

⁶ Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word must share in all good things with his instructor.

¹⁷ Not that I am seeking a gift, but I am looking for the fruit that may be credited to your account. 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.

¹³ At the same time they will also learn to be idle, going from house to house and being not only idle, but also gossips and busybodies, discussing things they should not mention.

⁶ The hardworking farmer should be the first to partake of the crops.

⁵ Beloved, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, and especially since they are strangers to you. ⁶ They have testified to the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. ⁷ For they went out on behalf of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. ⁸ Therefore we ought to receive such men, so that we may be fellow workers for the truth.

⁴⁰ He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives the One who sent Me.

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.”

¹⁰ But if you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go into the streets and declare,

²⁰ Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever receives the one I send receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives the One who sent Me.”

²⁷ If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat anything set before you without raising questions of conscience.

⁴⁴ In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself stand forever.

² and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

¹⁷ From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

⁷ As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ ⁸ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

³⁰ Then He asked, “To what can we compare the kingdom of God? With what parable shall we illustrate it?

¹³ They also drove out many demons and healed many of the sick, anointing them with oil.

² And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

¹¹ ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to us, we wipe off as a testimony against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near to you.’

²⁰ When asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God will not come with observable signs. ²¹ Nor will people say, ‘Look, here it is,’ or ‘There it is.’ For you see, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”

³ Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

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.

⁷ Nearby stood an estate belonging to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us and entertained us hospitably for three days. ⁸ The father of Publius was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him, and after praying and placing his hands on him, he healed the man. ⁹ After this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured as well. ¹⁰ The islanders honored us in many ways and supplied our needs when we were ready to sail.

²⁸ Be advised, therefore, that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”

³¹ Boldly and freely he proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁴ And if anyone will not welcome you or heed your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.

⁵ If anyone does not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that town, as a testimony against them.”

⁵¹ So they shook the dust off their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium.

⁶ But when they opposed and insulted him, he shook out his garments and told them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

¹¹ For this commandment I give you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. ¹² It is not in heaven, that you should need to ask, ‘Who will ascend into heaven to get it for us and proclaim it, that we may obey it?’ ¹³ And it is not beyond the sea, that you should need to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to get it for us and proclaim it, that we may obey it?’ ¹⁴ But the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may obey it.

¹¹ If anyone will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that place, as a testimony against them. Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.”

⁹ Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’

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

⁴⁰ Watch out, then, that what was spoken by the prophets does not happen to you:

⁴⁶ Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “It was necessary to speak the word of God to you first. But since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.

⁸ But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming:

²¹ But as for Israel he says: “All day long I have held out My hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.”

³ The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature, upholding all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for our sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

⁶ The punishment of the daughter of my people is greater than that of Sodom, which was overthrown in an instant without a hand turned to help her.

⁴⁸ As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, your sister Sodom and her daughters never did as you and your daughters have done. ⁴⁹ Now this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed, and complacent; they did not help the poor and needy. ⁵⁰ Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them, as you have seen.

¹⁵ Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

²⁴ But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

⁶ Therefore I retract my words, and I repent in dust and ashes.”

¹ This is the burden against Tyre: Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for Tyre is laid waste, without house or harbor. Word has reached them from the land of Cyprus. ² Be silent, O dwellers of the coastland, you merchants of Sidon, whose traders have crossed the sea. ³ On the great waters came the grain of Shihor; the harvest of the Nile was the revenue of Tyre; she was the merchant of the nations. ⁴ Be ashamed, O Sidon, the stronghold of the sea, for the sea has spoken: “I have not been in labor or given birth. I have not raised young men or brought up young women.” ⁵ When the report reaches Egypt, they will writhe in agony over the news of Tyre. ⁶ Cross over to Tarshish; wail, O inhabitants of the coastland! ⁷ Is this your jubilant city, whose origin is from antiquity, whose feet have taken her to settle far away? ⁸ Who planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose traders are princes, whose merchants are renowned on the earth? ⁹ The LORD of Hosts planned it, to defile all its glorious beauty, to disgrace all the renowned of the earth. ¹⁰ Cultivate your land like the Nile, O Daughter of Tarshish; there is no longer a harbor. ¹¹ The LORD has stretched out His hand over the sea; He has made kingdoms tremble. He has given a command that the strongholds of Canaan be destroyed. ¹² He said, “You shall rejoice no more, O oppressed Virgin Daughter of Sidon. Get up and cross over to Cyprus—even there you will find no rest.” ¹³ Look at the land of the Chaldeans—a people now of no account. The Assyrians destined it for the desert creatures; they set up their siege towers and stripped its palaces. They brought it to ruin. ¹⁴ Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for your harbor has been destroyed! ¹⁵ At that time Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years—the span of a king’s life. But at the end of seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the harlot: ¹⁶ “Take up your harp, stroll through the city, O forgotten harlot. Make sweet melody, sing many a song, so you will be remembered.” ¹⁷ And at the end of seventy years, the LORD will restore Tyre. Then she will return to hire as a prostitute and sell herself to all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. ¹⁸ Yet her profits and wages will be set apart to the LORD; they will not be stored or saved, for her profit will go to those who live before the LORD, for abundant food and fine clothing.

³ to console the mourners in Zion—to give them a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for a spirit of despair. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.

⁶ not to the many peoples of unfamiliar speech and difficult language whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you. ⁷ But the house of Israel will be unwilling to listen to you, since they are unwilling to listen to Me. For the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted.

¹ In the eleventh month of the twelfth year, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, because Tyre has said of Jerusalem, ‘Aha! The gate to the nations is broken; it has swung open to me; now that she lies in ruins I will be filled,’ ³ therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, O Tyre, I am against you, and I will raise up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. ⁴ They will destroy the walls of Tyre and demolish her towers. I will scrape the soil from her and make her a bare rock. ⁵ She will become a place to spread nets in the sea, for I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD. She will become plunder for the nations, ⁶ and the villages on her mainland will be slain by the sword. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’ ⁷ For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, with cavalry and a great company of troops. ⁸ He will slaughter the villages of your mainland with the sword; he will set up siege works against you, build a ramp to your walls, and raise his shields against you. ⁹ He will direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and tear down your towers with his axes. ¹⁰ His multitude of horses will cover you in their dust. When he enters your gates as an army entering a breached city, your walls will shake from the noise of cavalry, wagons, and chariots. ¹¹ The hooves of his horses will trample all your streets. He will slaughter your people with the sword, and your mighty pillars will fall to the ground. ¹² They will plunder your wealth and pillage your merchandise. They will demolish your walls, tear down your beautiful homes, and throw your stones and timber and soil into the water. ¹³ So I will silence the sound of your songs, and the music of your lyres will no longer be heard. ¹⁴ I will make you a bare rock, and you will become a place to spread the fishing nets. You will never be rebuilt, for I, the LORD, have spoken, declares the Lord GOD.’ ¹⁵ This is what the Lord GOD says to Tyre: ‘Will not the coastlands quake at the sound of your downfall, when the wounded groan at the slaughter in your midst? ¹⁶ All the princes of the sea will descend from their thrones, remove their robes, and strip off their embroidered garments. Clothed with terror, they will sit on the ground, trembling every moment, appalled over you. ¹⁷ Then they will lament for you, saying, “How you have perished, O city of renown inhabited by seafaring men—she who was powerful on the sea, along with her people, who imposed terror on all peoples! ¹⁸ Now the coastlands tremble on the day of your downfall; the islands in the sea are dismayed by your demise.”’ ¹⁹ For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘When I make you a desolate city like other deserted cities, and when I raise up the deep against you so that the mighty waters cover you, ²⁰ then I will bring you down with those who descend to the Pit, to the people of antiquity. I will make you dwell in the earth below like the ancient ruins, with those who descend to the Pit, so that you will no longer be inhabited or set in splendor in the land of the living. ²¹ I will make you an object of horror, and you will be no more. You will be sought, but will never be found,’ declares the Lord GOD.”

¹ Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ² “Now you, son of man, take up a lament for Tyre. ³ Tell Tyre, who dwells at the gateway to the sea, merchant of the peoples on many coasts, that this is what the Lord GOD says: You have said, O Tyre, ‘I am perfect in beauty.’ ⁴ Your borders are in the heart of the seas; your builders perfected your beauty. ⁵ They constructed all your planking with cypress from Senir. They took a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you. ⁶ Of oaks from Bashan they made your oars; of wood from the coasts of Cyprus they made your deck, inlaid with ivory. ⁷ Of embroidered fine linen from Egypt they made your sail, which served as your banner. Of blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah they made your awning. ⁸ The men of Sidon and Arvad were your oarsmen. Your men of skill, O Tyre, were there as your captains. ⁹ The elders of Gebal were aboard as shipwrights, repairing your leaks. All the ships of the sea and their sailors came alongside to barter for your merchandise. ¹⁰ Men of Persia, Lydia, and Put served as warriors in your army. They hung their shields and helmets on your walls; they gave you splendor. ¹¹ Men of Arvad and Helech manned your walls all around, and the men of Gammad were in your towers. They hung their shields around your walls; they perfected your beauty. ¹² Tarshish was your merchant because of your great wealth of goods; they exchanged silver, iron, tin, and lead for your wares. ¹³ Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your merchants. They exchanged slaves and bronze utensils for your merchandise. ¹⁴ The men of Beth-togarmah exchanged horses, war horses, and mules for your wares. ¹⁵ The men of Dedan were your clients; many coastlands were your market; they paid you with ivory tusks and ebony. ¹⁶ Aram was your customer because of your many products; they exchanged turquoise, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral, and rubies for your wares. ¹⁷ Judah and the land of Israel traded with you; they exchanged wheat from Minnith, cakes and honey, oil and balm for your merchandise. ¹⁸ Because of your many products and your great wealth of goods, Damascus traded with you wine from Helbon, wool from Zahar, ¹⁹ and casks of wine from Izal for your wares. Wrought iron, cassia, and sweet cane were exchanged for your merchandise. ²⁰ Dedan was your merchant in saddlecloths for riding. ²¹ Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your customers, trading in lambs, rams, and goats. ²² The merchants of Sheba and Raamah traded with you; for your wares they exchanged gold, the finest of all spices, and precious stones. ²³ Haran, Canneh, and Eden traded with you, and so did the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad. ²⁴ In your marketplace they traded with you fine garments of blue, embroidered work, and multicolored rugs with cords tightly twisted and knotted. ²⁵ The ships of Tarshish carried your merchandise. And you were filled with heavy cargo in the heart of the sea. ²⁶ Your oarsmen have brought you onto the high seas, but the east wind will shatter you in the heart of the sea.

¹ And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, tell the ruler of Tyre that this is what the Lord GOD says: Your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods in the heart of the sea.’ Yet you are a man and not a god, though you have regarded your heart as that of a god. ³ Behold, you are wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you! ⁴ By your wisdom and understanding you have gained your wealth and amassed gold and silver for your treasuries. ⁵ By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, but your heart has grown proud because of it. ⁶ Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Because you regard your heart as the heart of a god, ⁷ behold, I will bring foreigners against you, the most ruthless of nations. They will draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom and will defile your splendor. ⁸ They will bring you down to the Pit, and you will die a violent death in the heart of the seas. ⁹ Will you still say, ‘I am a god,’ in the presence of those who slay you? You will be only a man, not a god, in the hands of those who wound you. ¹⁰ You will die the death of the uncircumcised at the hands of foreigners. For I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD.” ¹¹ Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ¹² “Son of man, take up a lament for the king of Tyre and tell him that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. ¹³ You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every kind of precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald. Your mountings and settings were crafted in gold, prepared on the day of your creation. ¹⁴ You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for I had ordained you. You were on the holy mountain of God; you walked among the fiery stones. ¹⁵ From the day you were created you were blameless in your ways—until wickedness was found in you. ¹⁶ By the vastness of your trade, you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mountain of God, and I banished you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. ¹⁷ Your heart grew proud of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor; so I cast you to the earth; I made you a spectacle before kings. ¹⁸ By the multitude of your iniquities and the dishonesty of your trading you have profaned your sanctuaries. So I made fire come from within you, and it consumed you. I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the eyes of all who saw you. ¹⁹ All the nations who know you are appalled over you. You have come to a horrible end and will be no more.’” ²⁰ Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ²¹ “Son of man, set your face against Sidon and prophesy against her. ²² And you are to declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I am against you, O Sidon, and I will be glorified within you. They will know that I am the LORD when I execute judgments against her and demonstrate My holiness through her. ²³ I will send a plague against her and shed blood in her streets; the slain will fall within her, while the sword is against her on every side. Then they will know that I am the LORD. ²⁴ For the people of Israel will no longer face a pricking brier or a painful thorn from all around them who treat them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.’ ²⁵ This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they have been scattered, I will show Myself holy among them in the sight of the nations. Then they will dwell in their own land, which I have given to My servant Jacob. ²⁶ And there they will dwell securely, build houses, and plant vineyards. They will dwell securely when I execute judgments against all those around them who treat them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God.’”

³ So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.

⁴ Now what do you have against Me, O Tyre, Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Are you rendering against Me a recompense? If you retaliate against Me, I will swiftly and speedily return your recompense upon your heads. ⁵ For you took My silver and gold and carried off My finest treasures to your temples. ⁶ You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, to send them far from their homeland. ⁷ Behold, I will rouse them from the places to which you sold them; I will return your recompense upon your heads. ⁸ I will sell your sons and daughters into the hands of the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans—to a distant nation.” Indeed, the LORD has spoken.

²⁰ Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. ²¹ “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. ²² But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. ²³ And you, Capernaum, which is lifted up to heaven, will be brought down to Hades! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day.

²² When they arrived at Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. ²³ So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then He spit on the man’s eyes and placed His hands on him, asking if he could see anything. ²⁴ The man looked up and said, “I can see the people, but they look like trees walking around.” ²⁵ Once again Jesus placed His hands on the man’s eyes and made him look up, and his sight was restored, and he could see everything clearly. ²⁶ Jesus sent him home and said, “Do not go back or tell anyone in the village.”

¹⁰ Then the apostles returned and reported to Jesus all that they had done. Taking them away privately, He withdrew to a deserted place of the city called Bethsaida. ¹¹ But the crowds found out and followed Him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and He healed those who needed healing. ¹² As the day neared its end, the Twelve came to Jesus and said, “Dismiss the crowd so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside for lodging and provisions. For we are in a desolate place here.” ¹³ But Jesus told them, “You give them something to eat.” “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered, “unless we go and buy food for all these people.” ¹⁴ (There were about five thousand men.) He told His disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of fifty each.” ¹⁵ They did so, and everyone was seated. ¹⁶ Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, Jesus spoke a blessing and broke them. Then He gave them to the disciples to set before the people. ¹⁷ They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

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. ⁶ Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit.

²⁵ They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: “The Holy Spirit was right when He spoke to our fathers through Isaiah the prophet: ²⁶ ‘Go to this people and say, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.” ²⁷ For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.’ ²⁸ Be advised, therefore, that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”

²⁹ It is just as Isaiah foretold: “Unless the Lord of Hosts had left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom, we would have resembled Gomorrah.” ³⁰ What then will we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; ³¹ but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. ³² Why not? Because their pursuit was not by faith, but as if it were by works of the law. For they stumbled over the stumbling stone, ³³ as it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense; and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”

⁸ as it is written: “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see, and ears that could not hear, to this very day.” ⁹ And David says: “May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution to them. ¹⁰ May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever.” ¹¹ I ask then, did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Certainly not! However, because of their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous.

² influenced by the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences are seared with a hot iron.

³ And I will empower my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”

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

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.

¹⁹ And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil.

²² If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. ²³ Whoever hates Me hates My Father as well. ²⁴ If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have seen and hated both Me and My Father. ²⁵ But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated Me without reason.’

¹ You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on another. For on whatever grounds you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.

²⁷ The one who is physically uncircumcised yet keeps the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.

⁴ “Come,” they said, “let us build for ourselves a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens, that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of all the earth.”

²⁸ Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying: ‘The people are larger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the heavens. We even saw the descendants of the Anakim there.’”

¹⁴ Therefore Sheol enlarges its throat and opens wide its enormous jaws, and down go Zion’s nobles and masses, her revelers and carousers!

¹³ You said in your heart: “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the far reaches of the north. ¹⁴ I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” ¹⁵ But you will be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit.

⁵³ Even if Babylon ascends to the heavens and fortifies her lofty stronghold, the destroyers I send will come against her,” declares the LORD.

²⁰ then I will bring you down with those who descend to the Pit, to the people of antiquity. I will make you dwell in the earth below like the ancient ruins, with those who descend to the Pit, so that you will no longer be inhabited or set in splendor in the land of the living.

¹² “Son of man, take up a lament for the king of Tyre and tell him that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. ¹³ You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every kind of precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald. Your mountings and settings were crafted in gold, prepared on the day of your creation. ¹⁴ You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for I had ordained you. You were on the holy mountain of God; you walked among the fiery stones.

¹⁸ Who then is like you in glory and greatness among the trees of Eden? You also will be brought down to the depths of the earth to be with the trees of Eden. You will lie among the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord GOD.’”

¹⁸ “Son of man, wail for the multitudes of Egypt, and consign her and the daughters of the mighty nations to the depths of the earth with those who descend to the Pit:

²⁰ They will fall among those slain by the sword. The sword is appointed! Let them drag her away along with all her multitudes.

²⁷ They do not lie down with the fallen warriors of old, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, whose swords were placed under their heads, whose shields rested on their bones, although the terror of the mighty was once in the land of the living.

² Though they dig down to Sheol, from there My hand will take them; and though they climb up to heaven, from there I will pull them down. ³ Though they hide themselves atop Carmel, there I will track them and seize them; and though they hide from Me at the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent to bite them.

⁴ Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, even from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD.

¹³ Leaving Nazareth, He went and lived in Capernaum, which is by the sea in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,

²⁸ Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

²³ And you, Capernaum, which is lifted up to heaven, will be brought down to Hades! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day.

¹ When Jesus had concluded His discourse in the hearing of the people, He went to Capernaum. ² There a highly valued servant of a centurion was sick and about to die.

²⁸ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves are thrown out.

²³ In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side.

⁴ For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them deep into hell, placing them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment;

⁷ and in the morning you will see the LORD’s glory, because He has heard your grumbling against Him. For who are we that you should grumble against us?”

² All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness!

¹¹ And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will this people treat Me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in Me, despite all the signs I have performed among them?

¹¹ Therefore, it is you and all your followers who have conspired against the LORD! As for Aaron, who is he that you should grumble against him?”

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

⁵ And whoever welcomes a little child like this in My name welcomes Me.

³⁷ “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in My name welcomes Me, and whoever welcomes Me welcomes not only Me, but the One who sent Me.”

²² Furthermore, the Father judges no one, but has assigned all judgment to the Son, ²³ so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

⁴⁴ Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in Me does not believe in Me alone, but in the One who sent Me.

⁴⁸ There is a judge for the one who rejects Me and does not receive My words: The word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.

⁴ Did it not belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? How could you conceive such a deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God!”

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

¹⁷ And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;

¹ After this, the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them two by two ahead of Him to every town and place He was about to visit.

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

¹² How you have fallen from heaven, O day star, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the ground, O destroyer of nations.

¹⁰ “Get behind Me, Satan!” Jesus declared. “For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”

³¹ Now judgment is upon this world; now the prince of this world will be cast out.

¹¹ and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world has been condemned.

¹⁴ Now since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity, so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil,

⁸ The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil.

¹ Then the fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth, and it was given the key to the pit of the Abyss.

⁷ Then a war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. ⁸ But the dragon was not strong enough, and no longer was any place found in heaven for him and his angels. 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.

² He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, he who deceives the whole world, and bound him for a thousand years.

¹³ You will tread on the lion and cobra; you will trample the young lion and serpent.

⁸ The infant will play by the cobra’s den, and the toddler will reach into the viper’s nest.

⁶ But you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns surround you, and you dwell among scorpions. Do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their presence, though they are a rebellious house.

¹⁸ they will pick up snakes, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be made well.”

¹⁷ And you will be hated by everyone because of My name. ¹⁸ Yet not even a hair of your head will perish.

⁵ But Paul shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.

³¹ What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things? ³³ Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is there to condemn us? For Christ, who died, and more than that was raised to life, is at the right hand of God—and He is interceding for 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. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities nor powers, neither the present nor the future, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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

⁵ If anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouths and devours their enemies. In this way, anyone who wants to harm them must be killed.

³² Yet now, if You would only forgive their sin.... But if not, please blot me out of the book that You have written.”

²⁸ May they be blotted out of the Book of Life and not listed with the righteous.

³ Whoever remains in Zion and whoever is left in Jerusalem will be called holy—all in Jerusalem who are recorded among the living—

⁹ My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and speak lying divinations. They will not belong to the council of My people or be recorded in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.

¹ “At that time Michael, the great prince who stands watch over your people, will rise up. There will be a time of distress, the likes of which will not have occurred from the beginning of nations until that time. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered.

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!’

¹ And calling His twelve disciples to Him, Jesus gave them authority over unclean spirits, so that they could drive them out and heal every disease and sickness.

²⁴ The Son of Man will go just as it is written about Him, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed. It would be better for him if he had not been born.”

⁵ So Judas threw the silver into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have absolute faith so as to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

³ Yes, and I ask you, my true yokefellow, to help these women who have labored with me for the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.

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,

⁵ Like them, he who overcomes will be dressed in white. And I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and His angels.

⁸ And all who dwell on the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written from the foundation of the world in the Book of Life belonging to the Lamb who was slain.

¹² And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And there were open books, and one of them was the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their deeds, as recorded in the books.

¹⁵ And if anyone was found whose name was not written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

²⁷ But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who practices an abomination or a lie, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

¹² He thwarts the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands find no success. ¹³ He catches the wise in their craftiness, and sweeps away the plans of the cunning. ¹⁴ They encounter darkness by day and grope at noon as in the night.

² From the mouths of children and infants You have ordained praise on account of Your adversaries, to silence the enemy and avenger.

¹ A Psalm of David. The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof, the world and all who dwell therein.

¹⁴ The LORD confides in those who fear Him, and reveals His covenant to them.

¹⁴ Therefore I will again confound these people with wonder upon wonder. The wisdom of the wise will vanish, and the intelligence of the intelligent will be hidden.”

¹⁸ On that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of the deep darkness the eyes of the blind will see. ¹⁹ The humble will increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among men will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

⁸ And there will be a highway called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not travel it—only those who walk in the Way—and fools will not stray onto it.

¹¹ After the anguish of His soul, He will see the light of life and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities.

⁵ For as a young man marries a young woman, so your sons will marry you; and as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so your God will rejoice over you.

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?

¹⁷ The LORD your God is among you; He is mighty to save. He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you with His love; He will rejoice over you with singing.”

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. ²⁷ All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.

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 This is why I speak to them in parables: ‘Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.’ ¹⁴ In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled: ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. ¹⁵ For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.’ ¹⁶ But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.

¹⁷ Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven.

¹⁶ “Do You hear what these children are saying?” they asked. “Yes,” Jesus answered. “Have you never read: ‘From the mouths of children and infants You have ordained praise’?”

¹⁵ Truly I tell you, anyone who does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

⁵ And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders,

⁹ And when she finds it, she calls together her friends and neighbors to say, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost coin.’

⁴¹ So they took away the stone from where the dead man was lying. Then Jesus lifted His eyes upward and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.

²⁴ Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, that they may see the glory You gave Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world. ²⁵ Righteous Father, although the world has not known You, I know You, and they know that You sent Me. ²⁶ And I have made Your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love You have for Me may be in them, and I in them.”

⁹ God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful. ¹⁰ I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree together, so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be united in mind and conviction. ¹¹ My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. ¹² What I mean is this: Individuals among you are saying, “I follow Paul,” “I follow Apollos,” “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” ¹³ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? ¹⁴ I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, ¹⁵ so no one can say that I baptized into my name. ¹⁶ Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that I do not remember if I baptized anyone else. ¹⁷ For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with words of wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. ¹⁸ For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” ²⁰ Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? ²¹ For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. ²² Jews demand a sign and Greeks search for wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Greeks, ²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. ²⁶ Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸ He chose the lowly and despised things of the world, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, ²⁹ so that no one may boast in His presence.

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. ⁷ No, we speak of the mysterious and hidden wisdom of God, which He destined for our glory before time began. ⁸ None of the rulers of this age understood it. For if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

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. ¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.” ²⁰ And again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”

³ And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.

⁵ He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will,

¹¹ In Him we were also chosen as God’s own, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything by the counsel of His will,

² that they may be encouraged in heart, knit together in love, and filled with the full riches of complete understanding, so that they may know the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, ³ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

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

²⁷ All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.

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

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

³⁵ The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in His hands.

²² Furthermore, the Father judges no one, but has assigned all judgment to the Son, ²³ so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. ²⁴ Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment. Indeed, he has crossed over from death to life. ²⁵ Truly, truly, I tell you, the hour is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. ²⁶ For as the Father has life in Himself, so also He has granted the Son to have life in Himself. ²⁷ And He has given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man.

⁴⁴ “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written in the Prophets: ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard the Father and learned from Him comes to Me— ⁴⁶ not that anyone has seen the Father except the One who is from God; only He has seen the Father.

¹⁵ just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father. And I lay down My life for the sheep.

³ Jesus knew that the Father had delivered all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was returning to God.

² For You granted Him authority over all people, so that He may give eternal life to all those You have given Him.

⁵ And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world existed.

¹⁰ All I have is Yours, and all You have is Mine; and in them I have been glorified.

²⁶ And I have made Your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love You have for Me may be in them, and I in them.”

²⁴ Then the end will come, when He hands over the kingdom to God the Father after He has destroyed all dominion, authority, and power.

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.

²¹ far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

⁹ Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

⁸ and placed everything under his feet.” When God subjected all things to him, He left nothing outside of his control. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him.

²⁰ And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true—in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

⁹ Anyone who transgresses without remaining in the teaching of Christ does not have God. Whoever remains in the teaching of Christ has both the Father and the Son.

¹⁶ But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. ¹⁷ For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

⁵⁶ Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see My day. He saw it and was glad.”

¹³ All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

³⁹ These were all commended for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised.

¹⁰ Concerning this salvation, the prophets who foretold the grace to come to you searched and investigated carefully, ¹¹ trying to determine the time and setting to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. ¹² It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, when they foretold the things now announced by those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.

¹⁶ Just then a man came up to Jesus and inquired, “Good Teacher, what good thing must I do to obtain eternal life?” ¹⁷ “Why do you call Me good?” Jesus replied. “There is no one who is good but God. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” ¹⁸ “Which ones?” the man asked. Jesus answered, “‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, ¹⁹ honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.’”

³⁴ And when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they themselves gathered together. ³⁵ One of them, an expert in the law, tested Him with a question: ³⁶ “Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in the Law?” ³⁷ Jesus declared, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

³⁰ But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.

⁴⁵ One of the experts in the law told Him, “Teacher, when You say these things, You insult us as well.” ⁴⁶ “Woe to you as well, experts in the law!” He replied. “You weigh men down with heavy burdens, but you yourselves will not lift a finger to lighten their load.

¹⁸ Then a certain ruler asked Him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

³⁰ Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” ³¹ They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household.”

¹⁸ For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God freely granted it to Abraham through a promise.

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

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

¹⁴ For if those who live by the law are heirs, faith is useless and the promise is worthless, ¹⁵ because the law brings wrath. For where there is no law, there is no transgression. ¹⁶ Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may rest on grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.

⁵ For concerning the righteousness that is by the law, Moses writes: “The man who does these things will live by them.”

¹² The law, however, is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.” ¹³ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”

²¹ Is the law, then, opposed to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come from the law. ²² But the Scripture pronounces all things confined by sin, so that by faith in Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe.

¹⁸ Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against any of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.

⁵ And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

¹² And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God by walking in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,

⁶ The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.

¹⁹ honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.’”

³⁷ Jesus declared, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

³⁰ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. This is the first commandment.’ ³¹ The second, like it, is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

³³ and to love Him with all your heart and with all your understanding and with all your soul and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, which is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ³⁴ When Jesus saw that the man had answered wisely, He said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to question Him any further.

⁹ The commandments “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and any other commandments, are summed up in this one decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

¹³ For you, brothers, were called to freedom; but do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Rather, serve one another in love.

¹⁰ For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. I will put My laws in their minds and inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people.

⁸ If you really fulfill the royal law stated in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.

¹⁸ My little children, let us love not in word and speech, but in action and truth.

⁵ Keep My statutes and My judgments, for the man who does these things will live by them. I am the LORD.

²⁹ You admonished them to turn back to Your law, but they were arrogant and disobeyed Your commandments. They sinned against Your ordinances, by which a man will live if he practices them. They stubbornly shrugged their shoulders; they stiffened their necks and would not obey.

¹¹ And I gave them My statutes and made known to them My ordinances—for the man who does these things will live by them.

¹³ Yet the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not follow My statutes and they rejected My ordinances—though the man who does these things will live by them—and they utterly profaned My Sabbaths. Then I resolved to pour out My wrath upon them and put an end to them in the wilderness.

²¹ But the children rebelled against Me. They did not walk in My statutes or carefully observe My ordinances—though the man who does these things will live by them—and they profaned My Sabbaths. So I resolved to pour out My wrath upon them and vent My anger against them in the wilderness.

¹⁷ “Why do you call Me good?” Jesus replied. “There is no one who is good but God. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”

³⁴ When Jesus saw that the man had answered wisely, He said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to question Him any further.

⁴³ “I suppose the one who was forgiven more,” Simon replied. “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

⁴ For Christ is the end of the law, to bring righteousness to everyone who believes.

¹² The law, however, is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.”

³⁴ You must treat the foreigner living among you as native-born and love him as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.

² This kindled the anger of Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram. He burned with anger against Job for justifying himself rather than God,

⁴³ You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘Hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you,

³⁶ So which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

¹⁵ So He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is prized among men is detestable before God.

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.

² If Abraham was indeed justified by works, he had something to boast about, but not before God.

³ Because they were ignorant of God’s righteousness and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.

¹¹ Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.”

²⁴ As you can see, then, a man is justified by his deeds and not by faith alone.

⁴ I am counted among those descending to the Pit. I am like a man without strength.

⁵² “Therefore, behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will punish her idols, and throughout her land the wounded will groan.

¹² They cry out to their mothers: “Where is the grain and wine?” as they faint like the wounded in the streets of the city, as their lives fade away in the arms of their mothers.

²⁴ I will strengthen the arms of Babylon’s king and place My sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, who will groan before him like a mortally wounded man.

³¹ Then Jesus took the Twelve aside and said to them, “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything the prophets have written about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.

²⁸ After Jesus had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

³ So Ruth departed and went out into the field and gleaned after the harvesters. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech.

⁶ “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,” he replied, “and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and the cavalry closing in on him.

¹⁴ A despairing man should have the kindness of his friend, even if he forsakes the fear of the Almighty. ¹⁵ But my brothers are as faithless as wadis, as seasonal streams that overflow, ¹⁶ darkened because of the ice and the inflow of melting snow, ¹⁷ but ceasing in the dry season and vanishing from their channels in the heat. ¹⁸ Caravans turn aside from their routes; they go into the wasteland and perish. ¹⁹ The caravans of Tema look for water; the travelers of Sheba hope to find it. ²⁰ They are confounded because they had hoped; their arrival brings disappointment. ²¹ For now you are of no help; you see terror, and you are afraid.

¹⁰ My heart pounds, my strength fails, and even the light of my eyes has faded. ¹¹ My beloved and friends shun my disease, and my kinsmen stand at a distance.

²⁰ Insults have broken my heart, and I am in despair. I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found no one.

⁴ Look to my right and see; no one attends to me. There is no refuge for me; no one cares for my soul.

¹³ Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too shall cry out and receive no answer.

¹¹ Rescue those being led away to death, and restrain those stumbling toward the slaughter. ¹² If you say, “Behold, we did not know about this,” does not He who weighs hearts consider it? Does not the One who guards your life know? Will He not repay a man according to his deeds?

¹¹ I saw something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; neither is the bread to the wise, nor the wealth to the intelligent, nor the favor to the skillful. For time and chance happen to all.

³¹ The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it so, but what will you do in the end?

¹ “Hear this, O priests! Take heed, O house of Israel! Give ear, O royal house! For this judgment is against you because you have been a snare at Mizpah, a net spread out on Tabor.

⁹ Like raiders who lie in ambush, so does a band of priests; they murder on the way to Shechem; surely they have committed atrocities.

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

¹³ For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment. 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?

¹⁶ By this we know what love is: Jesus laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 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.

²⁵ I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they shake their heads.

¹⁰ Do not forsake your friend or your father’s friend, and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity; better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.

¹⁷ At this, all the Greeks seized Sosthenes the synagogue leader and beat him in front of the judgment seat. But none of this was of concern to Gallio.

² For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,

⁶ When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the little boy was crying. So she had compassion on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrew children.”

⁵⁰ May You forgive Your people who have sinned against You and all the transgressions they have committed against You, and may You grant them compassion in the eyes of their captors to show them mercy.

⁷ Now Ebed-melech the Cushite, a court official in the royal palace, heard that Jeremiah had been put into the cistern. While the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin, ⁸ Ebed-melech went out from the king’s palace and said to the king, ⁹ “My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have dropped him into the cistern, where he will starve to death, for there is no more bread in the city.” ¹⁰ So the king commanded Ebed-melech the Cushite, “Take thirty men from here with you and pull Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.” ¹¹ Then Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the king’s palace, to a place below the storehouse. From there he took old rags and worn-out clothes and lowered them with ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern. ¹² Ebed-melech the Cushite cried out to Jeremiah, “Put these worn-out rags and clothes under your arms to pad the ropes.” Jeremiah did so, ¹³ and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.

¹⁶ “Go and tell Ebed-melech the Cushite that this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I am about to fulfill My words against this city for harm and not for good, and on that day they will be fulfilled before your eyes. ¹⁷ But I will deliver you on that day, declares the LORD, and you will not be delivered into the hands of the men whom you fear. ¹⁸ For I will surely rescue you so that you do not fall by the sword. Because you have trusted in Me, you will escape with your life like a spoil of war, declares the LORD.’”

⁵ These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go onto the road of the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans.

³³ Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had on you?’

⁵² He sent messengers on ahead, who went into a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him. ⁵³ But the people there refused to welcome Him, because He was heading for Jerusalem.

¹⁶ He fell facedown at Jesus’ feet in thanksgiving to Him—and he was a Samaritan. ¹⁷ “Were not all ten cleansed?” Jesus asked. “Where then are the other nine? ¹⁸ Was no one found except this foreigner to return and give glory to God?”

⁹ “You are a Jew,” said the woman. “How can You ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

⁴⁸ The Jews answered Him, “Are we not right to say that You are a Samaritan and You have a demon?”

²⁷ At the place where they lodged for the night, one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey, and he saw his silver in the mouth of the sack.

²⁴ Now at a lodging place along the way, the LORD met Moses and was about to kill him.

⁴ If you encounter your enemy’s stray ox or donkey, you must return it to him. ⁵ If you see the donkey of one who hates you fallen under its load, do not leave it there; you must help him with it.

³ He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

¹⁷ Do not gloat when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles, ¹⁸ or the LORD will see and disapprove, and turn His wrath away from him.

²¹ If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. ²² For in so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.

⁵ Why do you want more beatings? Why do you keep rebelling? Your head has a massive wound, and your whole heart is afflicted. ⁶ From the sole of your foot to the top of your head, there is no soundness—only wounds and welts and festering sores neither cleansed nor bandaged nor soothed with oil.

⁴³ You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘Hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

⁸ She has done what she could to anoint My body in advance of My burial.

⁷ And she gave birth to her firstborn, a Son. She wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

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.”

¹⁵ Make sure that no one repays evil for evil. Always pursue what is good for one another and for all people.

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

² He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

¹³ But when you host a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind,

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

²⁵ “Yes,” he answered. When Peter entered the house, Jesus preempted him. “What do you think, Simon?” He asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs and taxes: from their own sons, or from others?”

²⁸ But what do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first one and said, ‘Son, go and work today in my vineyard.’ ²⁹ ‘I will not,’ he replied. But later he changed his mind and went. ³⁰ Then the man went to the second son and told him the same thing. ‘I will, sir,’ he said. But he did not go. ³¹ Which of the two did the will of his father?” “The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you.

⁴² “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is He?” “David’s,” they answered.

⁴² When they were unable to repay him, he forgave both of them. Tell Me, which one, then, will love him more?”

²¹ He who despises his neighbor sins, but blessed is he who shows kindness to the poor.

⁶ For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

⁸ He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

²⁸ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

²³ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin. But you have disregarded the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

³² If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. ³³ If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. ³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. ³⁵ But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ³⁶ Therefore be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

¹⁵ I have set you an example so that you should do as I have done for you. ¹⁶ Truly, truly, I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷ If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

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

¹⁸ will have power, together with all the saints, to comprehend the length and width and depth and height ¹⁹ of the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

² and walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant sacrificial offering to God.

⁹ But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. ¹⁰ In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting for God, for whom and through whom all things exist, to make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. ¹¹ For both the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. ¹² He says: “I will proclaim Your name to My brothers; I will sing Your praises in the assembly.” ¹³ And again: “I will put My trust in Him.” And once again: “Here am I, and the children God has given Me.” ¹⁴ Now since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity, so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵ and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

²¹ For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His footsteps:

²³ And this is His commandment: that we should believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and we should love one another just as He commanded. ²⁴ Whoever keeps His commandments remains in God, and God in him. And by this we know that He remains in us: by the Spirit He has given us.

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 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

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

² as well as some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, ³ Joanna the wife of Herod’s household manager Chuza, Susanna, and many others. These women were ministering to them out of their own means.

¹ At this time a man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ² (Mary, whose brother Lazarus was sick, was to anoint the Lord with perfume and wipe His feet with her hair.) ³ So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one You love is sick.” ⁴ When Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” ⁵ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

¹⁹ and many of the Jews had come to the women around Martha and Mary to console them in the loss of their brother. ²⁰ So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet Him; but Mary stayed at home.

¹ Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, the hometown of Lazarus who had died, whom He had raised from the dead. ² So they hosted a dinner for Jesus there. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with Him. ³ Then Mary took about a pint of expensive perfume, made of pure nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

¹⁰ If anyone comes to you but does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your home or even greet him.

³ Surely You love the people; all the holy ones are in Your hand, and they sit down at Your feet; each receives Your words—

³⁴ Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at the posts of my doorway.

⁴⁶ Finally, after three days they found Him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.

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

¹ At this time a man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

³ Then Mary took about a pint of expensive perfume, made of pure nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

³ “I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but raised in this city. I was educated at the feet of Gamaliel in strict conformity to the law of our fathers. I am just as zealous for God as any of you here today.

³² I want you to be free from concern. The unmarried man is concerned about the work of the Lord, how he can please the Lord. ³³ But the married man is concerned about the affairs of this world, how he can please his wife. ³⁴ And they are different. The unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the work of the Lord, how she can be holy in both body and spirit. But the married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world, how she can please her husband. ³⁵ I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but in order to promote proper decorum and undivided devotion to the Lord. ³⁶ However, if someone thinks he is acting inappropriately toward his betrothed, and if she is beyond her youth and they ought to marry, let him do as he wishes; he is not sinning; they should get married. ³⁷ But the man who is firmly established in (his) heart and under no constraint, with control over his will and resolve in his heart not to marry the virgin, he will do well. ³⁸ So then, he who marries the virgin does well, but he who does not marry her does even better. ³⁹ A wife is bound by law to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, as long as he belongs to the Lord. ⁴⁰ In my judgment, however, she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God.

¹ Jonah, however, was greatly displeased, and he became angry. ² So he prayed to the LORD, saying, “O LORD, is this not what I said while I was still in my own country? This is why I was so quick to flee toward Tarshish. I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion—One who relents from sending disaster. ³ And now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” ⁴ But the LORD replied, “Have you any right to be angry?”

¹⁵ When evening came, His disciples came to Him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is already late. Dismiss the crowds so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”

²² Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. “Far be it from You, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to You!”

²¹ When His family heard about this, they went out to take custody of Him, saying, “He is out of His mind.”

⁵⁵ But Jesus turned and rebuked them and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are.

²⁹ And do not be concerned about what you will eat or drink. Do not worry about it.

²⁷ Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval.”

¹¹ For the more words, the more futility—and how does that profit anyone?

²⁵ Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns—and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? ²⁸ And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the lilies of the field grow: They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹ Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the Gentiles strive after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about the things of itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.

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

¹⁴ The seeds that fell among the thorns are those who hear, but as they go on their way, they are choked by the worries, riches, and pleasures of this life, and their fruit does not mature.

²² Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear.

³⁴ But watch yourselves, or your hearts will be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life—and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare.

³² I want you to be free from concern. The unmarried man is concerned about the work of the Lord, how he can please the Lord. ³³ But the married man is concerned about the affairs of this world, how he can please his wife. ³⁴ And they are different. The unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the work of the Lord, how she can be holy in both body and spirit. But the married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world, how she can please her husband. ³⁵ I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but in order to promote proper decorum and undivided devotion to the Lord.

⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

¹⁹ I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life, so that you and your descendants may live,

¹⁵ But if it is unpleasing in your sight to serve the LORD, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD!”

²² Then Joshua told them, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the LORD.” “We are witnesses!” they said.

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.

¹⁵ As for me, I will behold Your face in righteousness; when I awake, I will be satisfied in Your presence.

⁴ One thing I have asked of the LORD; this is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and seek Him in His temple.

²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but You? And on earth I desire no one besides You.

³⁰ I have chosen the way of truth; I have set Your ordinances before me.

¹¹¹ Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.

¹⁷³ May Your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen Your precepts.

⁵ I cry to You, O LORD: “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”

¹³ When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.

³⁶ What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world yet forfeits his soul?

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.”

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?’

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

² So he called him in to ask, ‘What is this I hear about you? Turn in an account of your management, for you cannot be manager any longer.’

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.

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.”

¹⁴ But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”

²⁴ Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment. Indeed, he has crossed over from death to life.

²⁷ My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand.

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

³ If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

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

¹⁰ And you have been made complete in Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority. ¹¹ In Him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of your sinful nature, with the circumcision performed by Christ and not by human hands. ¹² And having been buried with Him in baptism, you were raised with Him through your faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead. ¹³ When you were dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our trespasses, ¹⁴ having canceled the debt ascribed to us in the decrees that stood against us. He took it away, nailing it to the cross! ¹⁵ And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. ¹⁶ Therefore let no one judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a feast, a New Moon, or a Sabbath. ¹⁷ These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts it belongs to Christ. ¹⁸ Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you with speculation about what he has not seen. Such a person is puffed up without basis by his unspiritual mind. ¹⁹ He has lost connection to the head, from whom the whole body, supported and knit together by its joints and ligaments, grows as God causes it to grow.

³ For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ, who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

⁴ and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you, ⁵ who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

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.