Galatians 4 Cross References - NSB

¹ But I say that so long as the heir is a child, he does not differ from a bondservant, though he is owner of the estate. ² He is under guardians and stewards until the day set by the father. ³ When we were children, we too were held in bondage. We were slaves to the arrangement of this world. ⁴ When the full time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵ that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. ⁶ Because you are sons, God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. ⁷ So you are no longer slaves but a son. And as a son God has made you an heir. ⁸ However at that time, you did not know God. You were in bondage to things that are really not gods at all. ⁹ Now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and poor fundamental things? Do you want to slave for them all over again? ¹⁰ You observe days and months, seasons and years. ¹¹ I fear for you, that I have labored for you to no purpose (and failed). ¹² I beg you, brothers, become as I am, for I also used to be as you are. You did me no wrong. ¹³ You know that because of an infirmity of the flesh I preached the good news to you the first time. ¹⁴ That which was a temptation to you in my flesh, you did not despise or reject. You received me like an angel (messenger) of God, even like Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ Where then is your positive attitude? I bear you witness, that, if possible, you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me. ¹⁶ So then have I become your enemy by telling you the truth? ¹⁷ They zealously (eagerly) seek you in no good way. They desire to shut you out, that you may seek them. ¹⁸ It is good to be zealously sought in a good matter at all times, and not only when I am present with you. ¹⁹ My little children, of whom I am again in labor pains until Christ is formed in you ²⁰ I wish to be present with you now, and to speak in a different way, for I am perplexed about you. ²¹ Tell me, you that desire to be under the Law; do you not hear the Law? ²² It is written, that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman, and one by the freewoman. ²³ How is it that the son by the slave woman is born after the flesh; but the son by the freewoman is born through promise? ²⁴ This contains an allegory (symbolic drama). These women symbolize two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children to bondage, which is Hagar. ²⁵ Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia. She corresponds to the Jerusalem that now is. She is in bondage with her children. ²⁶ The Jerusalem above is free. She is our mother. ²⁷ It is written, »Rejoice, barren woman who does not give birth. Break forth and cry, you who do not labor; for there are more children of the desolate than of the one who has the husband.« ²⁸ Brothers, we are children who belong to the promise, the same as Isaac was. ²⁹ Just like then, the son who was conceived in a natural way according to the flesh persecuted the son conceived in a spiritual way. That is exactly what is happening now! ³⁰ What do the scriptures say? »Throw out the slave woman and her son. For the son of the slave woman must not share the inheritance with the son of the free woman.« (Genesis 21:10) ³¹ Brothers, we are not children of a slave woman but of the free woman.

¹⁵ »And I will put enmity (hostility) (hatred) between you and the woman, and between your offspring (seed) and hers. He will bruise (overwhelm) (crush) you in the head, and you will bruise (overwhelm) (crush) him in the heel.« (Romans 16:20)

¹ The word of Jehovah came to Abram in a vision: »Do not be afraid, Abram; I am your shield. Your reward shall be very great.«

² She said to Abram: »Jehovah has kept me from having children. Go sleep with my maidservant. Perhaps I can build a family through her.« Abram agreed to what Sarai said. ³ After Abram lived in Canaan ten years, Sarai, his wife, gave her Egyptian maidservant Hagar to her husband to be his wife. ⁴ Abram had intercourse with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.

⁸ He said: »Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?« »I am running away from my mistress Sarai,« she answered.

¹⁵ Hagar bore Abram a son. Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne.

¹⁵ Hagar bore Abram a son. Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. ¹⁶ Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

⁷ »I will establish my covenant as a long lasting covenant between us. It will be for your descendants after you, for the generations to come. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. ⁸ »The whole land of Canaan, where you are now a guest (alien) (foreigner) (stranger), I will give a long lasting possession to you and your descendants after you. I will be their God.«

¹⁵ God continued: »Do not call your wife Sarai any longer. Her name will be Sarah. ¹⁶ »I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations. Kings of peoples will come from her.« ¹⁷ Abraham fell to his face. He laughed and said to himself: »Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?« ¹⁸ Abraham said to God: »If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!« ¹⁹ God replied: »Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son! You will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as a long lasting covenant for his descendants after him.

¹⁰ He said: »Next year I will give you and Sarah a son.« (Sarah was listening in the tent door behind him.) ¹¹ Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age. Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. ¹² Therefore Sarah laughed within herself. She said to herself: »After I have grown old, shall I have a baby? My lord is old also.« ¹³ Jehovah said to Abraham: »Why did Sarah laugh, saying, 'Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?' ¹⁴ »Is anything too hard for Jehovah? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life. Sarah shall have a son!«

¹ Jehovah was gracious to Sarah, as he had said. Jehovah did for Sarah what he had promised. ² Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age. It was at the very time God had promised him.

⁹ Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was laughing in mockery.

⁹ Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was laughing in mockery. ¹⁰ She said to Abraham: »Get rid of that slave woman and her son.«

¹⁰ She said to Abraham: »Get rid of that slave woman and her son.«

¹⁰ She said to Abraham: »Get rid of that slave woman and her son.« ¹¹ This upset Abraham because of his son Ishmael.

¹¹ This upset Abraham because of his son Ishmael. ¹² God said to Abraham: »Do not be upset about the boy and your slave. Listen to what Sarah says, because through Isaac your descendants will carry on your name.

¹² God said to Abraham: »Do not be upset about the boy and your slave. Listen to what Sarah says, because through Isaac your descendants will carry on your name. ¹³ »I will make the slave’s son into a nation also, because he is your child.«

² Abraham said to the senior servant of his household who was in charge of all that he owned: »Take a solemn oath. ³ »I want you to swear by Jehovah God of heaven and earth that you will not get my son a wife from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I am living.

¹² This is the genealogy of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maid, bore to Abraham.

¹⁵ »But we will let you marry her, if you and the other men in your tribe get circumcised.

¹⁰ »The royal scepter shall not depart from Judah. His descendants will always rule. Nations will bring him tribute and bow in obedience before him. This, until Shiloh comes and all will obey him.

² But Pharaoh responded: »Who is Jehovah, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I do not know Jehovah, and besides, I will not let Israel go.«

¹⁷ Jehovah said to Moses: »I will do this thing of which you have spoken. You have found favor in my sight. I have known you by name.

¹ Jehovah spoke to Moses: ² »Tell the Israelites: ‘These are the appointed festivals with Jehovah. You must announce these as holy assemblies. ³ »‘You may work for six days. But the seventh day is a day of worship (Sabbath), a day when you do not work, and a holy assembly. Do not do any work. It is Jehovah’s day of worship wherever you live. ⁴ »‘The following are Jehovah’s appointed festivals with holy assemblies. You must announce these at their appointed times. ⁵ »‘The Passover, celebrated to honor Jehovah, begins at sunset on the fourteenth day of the first month. ⁶ »‘The fifteenth day of the same month the Festival of Unleavened Bread begins. You must not eat any bread made with yeast for seven days. ⁷ »‘Gather to worship on the first of these days. Do none of your daily work. ⁸ »‘Bring a sacrifice to Jehovah for seven days. On the seventh day there will be a holy assembly. Do not do any regular work.’« ⁹ Jehovah spoke to Moses: ¹⁰ »Tell the Israelites: ‘When you come to the land I am going to give you and you harvest grain, bring a bundle of the first grain you harvest to the priest. ¹¹ »‘He will present it to Jehovah so that you will be accepted. He will present it on the day after Passover. ¹² »‘On the day you present the bundle, you must sacrifice a one-year-old male lamb that has no defects as a burnt offering to Jehovah. ¹³ »‘Present a grain offering of four quarts of flour mixed with olive oil with it. This will be a sacrifice by fire made to Jehovah. It will be a soothing aroma. Use one quart of wine for the wine offering. ¹⁴ »‘Do not eat bread, roasted grain, or fresh grain until this same day. Then bring the offering to your God. It is a long lasting law for generations to come wherever you live. ¹⁵ »‘Count seven full weeks from the day after Passover, the day you bring the bundle of grain as an offering presented to Jehovah ¹⁶ until the day after the seventh week. This is a total of fifty days. Then bring a new grain offering to Jehovah. ¹⁷ »‘Bring two loaves of bread from your homes to present to Jehovah. Bake them with four quarts of flour. They are the first harvested grain for Jehovah. ¹⁸ »‘Using the bread the community is to present seven one-year-old lambs, one bull, and two rams, none of which may have any defects. They should be offered as a burnt offering to Jehovah, along with a grain offering and a wine offering. The odor of this offering is pleasing to Jehovah. ¹⁹ »‘Also offer one male goat as a sin offering and two one-year-old male lambs as a fellowship offering. ²⁰ »‘The priest should present the bread with the two lambs as a special gift to Jehovah for the priests. These offerings are holy. ²¹ »‘Do none of your daily work. Gather for worship. Your descendants are to observe this regulation from generation to generation, no matter where they live. ²² »‘When you harvest your fields, do not cut the grain at the edges of the fields. Do not go back to cut the heads of grain that were left. Leave them for poor people and foreigners. Jehovah is your God.’« ²³ Jehovah continued to speak to Moses: ²⁴ »Observe a special day of rest on the first day of the seventh month. Gather together for worship when the trumpets sound. ²⁵ »Present a food offering to Jehovah. Do not do your daily work.« ²⁶ Jehovah spoke to Moses: ²⁷ »The tenth day of this seventh month is a special day for the payment for sins. There will be a holy assembly. Humble yourselves, and bring Jehovah a sacrifice by fire. ²⁸ »Do not do any work that day. It is a special day for the payment for sins. It is a time when you pay compensation for wrongdoing and make peace with Jehovah your God. ²⁹ »Those who do not humble themselves on that day will be excluded from the people. ³⁰ »I will destroy those who do any work on that day. ³¹ »Do not do any work! It is a long lasting law for generations to come wherever you live. ³² »It is a day of worship (sabbath), a day when you do not work. Humble yourselves starting on the evening of the ninth day of the month. From that evening to the next, observe the day of worship.« ³³ Jehovah spoke to Moses: ³⁴ Inform the Israelites: ‘The fifteenth day of this seventh month is the Festival of Booths to Jehovah. It will last seven days. ³⁵ »‘There will be a holy assemble on the first day. Do not do any regular work. ³⁶ »‘Bring a sacrifice by fire to Jehovah for seven consecutive days. On the eighth day there will be a holy assembly. Bring Jehovah a sacrifice by fire. This is the last festival of the year. Do not do any regular work. ³⁷ »‘These are Jehovah’s appointed festivals. Announce them as holy assemblies for bringing sacrifices by fire to Jehovah. Bring burnt offerings, grain offerings, other sacrifices, and wine offerings-each one on its special day. ³⁸ »‘This is in addition to Jehovah’s days of worship, your gifts, all your vows, and your freewill offerings to Jehovah. ³⁹ »‘Celebrate Jehovah’s festival for seven days. This should begin on the fifteenth day of the seventh month; at the time you gather what the land produces. The first and the eighth days will be worship festivals. ⁴⁰ »‘Take the best fruits, palm branches, the branches of leafy trees and poplars on the first day, and celebrate in the presence of Jehovah your God for seven days. ⁴¹ »‘It is Jehovah’s festival. Celebrate it for seven days each year. This is a long lasting law for generations to come. Celebrate this festival in the seventh month. ⁴² »‘Live in booths for seven days. Everyone born in Israel must live in booths. ⁴³ »‘This is how generations to come may learn how I made the people of Israel live in booths when I brought them out of Egypt. I am Jehovah your God!’« ⁴⁴ Moses told the Israelites about Jehovah’s appointed festivals.

¹ Jehovah spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai and commanded:

¹³ »‘In this jubilee year every slave will be freed in order to return to his property.

¹¹ So he asked: »Jehovah, why have you brought me this trouble? How have I displeased you that you put the burden of all these people on me? ¹² »Am I their mother? Did I give birth to them? Are you really asking me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries a baby, all the way to the land you promised their ancestors with an oath?

¹ Jehovah commanded Moses: ² »Instruct the Israelites to present to God at the appointed time the required food offerings that are pleasing to him. ³ »‘These are the food offerings that are to be presented to Jehovah: for the daily burnt offering, two one-year-old male lambs without any defects. ⁴ »‘Offer the first lamb in the morning, and the second in the evening, ⁵ each with a grain offering of two pounds of flour, mixed with two pints of the best olive oil. ⁶ »‘This is the daily offering that is completely burned. It was first offered at Mount Sinai as a food offering, an odor pleasing to Jehovah. ⁷ »‘As the wine offering with the first lamb, pour out at the altar two pints of wine. ⁸ »‘Offer the second lamb in the evening in the same way as the morning offering, together with its wine offering. It also is a food offering, an odor pleasing to Jehovah. ⁹ »‘On the Sabbath day offer two one-year-old male lambs without any defects, four pounds of flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering, and the wine offering. ¹⁰ »‘This burnt offering is to be offered every Sabbath in addition to the daily offering with its wine offering. ¹¹ »‘At the beginning of each of your months you shall present a burnt offering to Jehovah: two bulls and one ram, seven male lambs one year old without defect. ¹² »‘With each bull there will be a grain offering of twenty-four cups of flour mixed with olive oil, with each ram a grain offering of sixteen cups of flour mixed with olive oil. ¹³ »‘With each one-year-old lamb a grain offering of eight cups of flour mixed with olive oil. This is a burnt offering, a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to Jehovah. ¹⁴ »‘The wine offering that goes with each bull will be two quarts of wine, with each ram one and one half quarts of wine, and with each lamb one quart of wine. This will be the monthly burnt offering for every month of the year. ¹⁵ »‘In addition to the daily burnt offering with its wine offering, one male goat must be offered to Jehovah as an offering for sin. ¹⁶ »‘Jehovah’s Passover is the fourteenth day of the first month. ¹⁷ »‘The feast of unleavened bread in the fifteenth of this same month. For seven days you must eat only unleavened bread. ¹⁸ »‘There will be a holy assembly on the first day. Do not do any regular work. ¹⁹ »‘Instead, bring Jehovah an offering by fire, a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram, and seven one-year-old lambs, all of them without defects. ²⁰ »‘In addition to them bring grain offerings of flour mixed with olive oil. Bring twenty-four cups for each bull, sixteen cups for each ram, ²¹ and eight cups for each of the seven lambs. ²² »‘Also bring one male goat as an offering for sin to pay compensation for wrongdoing and make peace with Jehovah. ²³ »‘Offer these in addition to the morning burnt offering. ²⁴ »‘Bring all these offerings on each of the seven days. They are food. They are offerings by fire, a soothing aroma to Jehovah. They will be offered in addition to the daily burnt offering and the wine offering that goes with it. ²⁵ »‘On the seventh day you must have a holy assembly. You must not do any regular work. ²⁶ »‘During the Festival of Weeks, you must have a holy assembly. On that day you must not do any regular work. Bring Jehovah your new grain offering, the first produce harvested from your fields. ²⁷ »‘Offer a burnt offering as an odor pleasing to Jehovah: two young bulls, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs, all without any defects. ²⁸ »‘Offer the proper grain offering of flour mixed with olive oil: six pounds with each bull, four pounds with the ram, ²⁹ and two pounds with each lamb.

¹¹ Jehovah said to Moses: »Phinehas, son of Eleazar and grandson of the priest Aaron, turned my fury away from the Israelites. Since he stood up for me, I did not have to stand up for myself and destroy them. ¹² »Tell Phinehas that I now make a promise of peace to him. ¹³ »My promise is that he and his descendants will be priests for a very long time because he stood up for his God. He made peace with Jehovah for the Israelites.«

² »Jehovah came from Mount Sinai. He rose like the sun over Edom and shone on his people from Mount Paran. Ten thousand angels were with him. A flaming fire was at his right hand.

² Joshua said to all the people: »This is what Jehovah, the God of Israel says: ‘Long ago your ancestors lived on the other side of the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. One of those ancestors was Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor.

¹⁵ »‘If you are not willing to serve him, decide today whom you will serve, the gods your ancestors worshiped in Mesopotamia or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are now living. As for my family and me, we will serve Jehovah.’«

⁵ »The mountains shook before Jehovah of Sinai, before Jehovah, the God of Israel.

¹¹ »You must go back, my daughters,« Naomi replied. »Why do you want to come with me? Do you think I could have sons again for you to marry? ¹² »Return home, my daughters. I am too old to get married again. Even if I thought there was still hope, and got married and had sons, ¹³ »would you wait for them to grow up? Would this keep you from marrying someone else? No, my daughters, you know that is not possible. Jehovah has turned against me. I feel sorry for you.«

¹⁴ The women said to Naomi: »A blessing on Jehovah. He has not let you be without a near relative. May his name be great in Israel. ¹⁵ »He will be a giver of new life to you. He will be your comforter when you are old, because your daughter-in-law, who in her love for you is better than seven sons, has given birth to him.« ¹⁶ Naomi took the child in her arms and took care of it.

⁵ »Those who were full have hired themselves out for food. The hungry have ceased to hunger. The barren has borne seven. She who has had many sons has languished.

²⁷ »He told you lies about me. My lord the king is like an angel of God. Do what you think is right.

²⁰ Tamar’s brother Absalom said to her: »How could Amnon have done such a terrible thing to you! But since he is your brother, do not tell anyone what happened. Just try not to think about it.« Tamar soon moved into Absalom’s house. She was always sad and lonely.

¹⁷ »I can rest easy now that you have given your decision. You know the difference between right and wrong just like an angel of God. I pray that Jehovah your God will be with you.«

⁴³ »Listen to him and give him his desire. Let all the peoples of the earth know about your name. Let them worship you as your people Israel, and that they may see that this house which I have built is truly named by your name.

¹⁷ Ahab saw Elijah. He said: »Is it you, Israel’s troublemaker?« ¹⁸ Then he said in answer: »I have not made trouble for Israel. You and your family have. You have disobeyed Jehovah’s commands and have gone after the Baals.

²⁰ Ahab said to Elijah: »Have you come face to face with me, O my enemy?« Elijah said: »I have come to you because you have given yourself up to do evil in the eyes of Jehovah.«

⁴ Ahab asked Jehoshaphat: »Will you go with me to attack Ramoth?« »I am ready when you are,« Jehoshaphat answered. »And so are my soldiers and my cavalry.«

⁸ Ahab answered: »There is one more, Micaiah son of Imlah. But I hate him because he never prophesies anything good for me, always something bad.« »The king should not say such things!« Jehoshaphat replied.

²⁷ »‘Tell them: ‘It is the king's order that this man is to be put in prison and given prison food till I come again in peace.’«

¹ Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. Jehu sent letters to Samaria, to the rulers of the town, and to the elders, and to those who took care of the sons of Ahab. The letter stated: ² »You are in charge of the king's descendants, and you have at your disposal chariots, horses, weapons, and fortified cities. As soon as you receive this letter,

¹² Then Jehoiada led Joash out and placed the crown on his head. He gave him a copy of the laws governing kingship. Then Jehoash was anointed and proclaimed king. The people clapped their hands and shouted: »Long live the king!«

² Jehoash did what was right in the eyes of Jehovah all his days, because he was guided by the teaching of Jehoiada the priest.

⁹ »You my son Solomon, learn to know your father’s God. Serve Jehovah wholeheartedly and willingly because he searches every heart and understands every thought we have. If you dedicate your life to serving him, he will accept you. On the other hand if you abandon him, he will reject you from then on.

⁹ »You drove out Jehovah’s priests! You evicted the descendants of Aaron and the Levites. In their place you appointed priests in the same way that other nations do. Anybody who comes along with a bull or seven sheep can get himself consecrated as a priest of those so-called gods of yours.

²⁰ God’s Spirit spoke to Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. Zechariah told everyone that God was saying: »Why are you disobeying me and my Laws? This will only bring punishment! You have deserted me, so now I will desert you.« ²¹ They plotted against Zechariah. Then they followed the king’s order and stoned him to death in the courtyard of Jehovah’s Temple. ²² King Joash forgot that Zechariah’s father had always been a loyal friend. So when the people of Judah plotted to kill Zechariah, Joash joined them and gave orders for them to stone him to death in the courtyard of the Temple. As Zechariah was dying, he said: »I pray that Jehovah will see this and punish all of you.«

¹⁶ The king asked him: »Did we make you an adviser to the king? Stop! Do you want me to have you killed?« The prophet stopped. He said: »I know that God has decided to destroy you because you did this. Yet you refuse to listen to my advice.«

⁵ »Men at ease have contempt for misfortune as the fate of those whose feet are slipping.

¹⁰ Those who know your name, Jehovah, will trust you. You do not abandon anyone who comes to you.

⁶ Jehovah knows (is fully aware of) the way of the righteous. But the way of the wicked will perish.

⁵ Jehovah is the portion of my inheritance and my cup. You determine my position in life.

⁸ The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God: Sinai was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel.

¹⁷ The chariots of God are myriads in number, thousands upon thousands. Jehovah is among them. The God of Sinai is in his holy place.

⁹ Zeal for your house consumes me. The reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.

²⁶ My flesh and my heart fail: God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.

³ Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God. ⁴ I will mention Rahab (defamatory word for Egypt) (a boaster) (Isaiah 30:7) and Babylon among those who know me. Behold, Philistia and Tyre with Ethiopia: »This one was born there.« ⁵ But of Zion it shall be said: »This one and that one were born in her and the Most High will establish her.« ⁶ Jehovah will count when he registers the peoples: »This one was born there.«

¹³⁹ My zeal has consumed me, for the reason that my adversaries have forgotten your words.

¹⁴¹ I am small and despised. Even so I do not forget your precepts.

⁹ He makes a childless woman a joyful mother. Praise Jehovah!

⁴ Their idols are made of silver and gold. Human hands made them. ⁵ They have mouths, but they cannot speak. They have eyes, but they cannot see. ⁶ They have ears, but they cannot hear. They have noses, but they cannot smell. ⁷ They have hands, but they cannot feel. They have feet, but they cannot walk. They cannot even make a sound with their throats. ⁸ Those who make idols end up like them. So does everyone who trusts them.

¹⁵ The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of man's hands. ¹⁶ They have mouths, but they do not speak. They have eyes, but they do not see. ¹⁷ They have ears, but they do not hear. There is no breath in their mouths. ¹⁸ Those who make them will be like them, everyone who trusts in them.

⁵ A righteous person may strike me or correct me out of kindness. It is like lotion for my head. My head will not refuse it, because my prayer is directed against evil deeds.

⁵ If you do these things you will have respect for Jehovah and you will find the true knowledge of God!

⁸ Correct a scoffer (mocker) (scorner) and he will hate you. Reprove a wise man and he will love you.

¹⁶ Then I said: »Wisdom is better than strength.« Nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.

³ Then many people will come and say: »Let us go to the mountain of Jehovah, to the House of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways so that we may live by them.« The law will go out from Zion. The word of Jehovah will go out from Jerusalem.

¹⁴ Therefore Jehovah will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel (God with us).

¹ »If only you were like my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! When I find you outside I would kiss you. I would not be despised. ² »I would lead you to my mother's house. She would instruct me. I would induce you to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate.

² In the last days the mountain of the house of Jehovah will be established as the highest of the mountains and exalted above the hills. All the nations will stream to it.

⁶ For unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. ⁷ Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of Jehovah of Hosts will accomplish this.

¹⁹ »They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them. But they were not gods! They were only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands.

³ »‘I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground. I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring. I will give blessing to your descendants. ⁴ »‘They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams. ⁵ »‘»One person will say: »I belong to Jehovah.« Another person will call himself by the name of Jacob. Still another will write on his hand: »Jehovah’s.« And he will take the name Israel.’

⁹ All who make idols are nothing. The things they treasure are worthless. Those who would speak up for them are blind. They are shamefully ignorant. ¹⁰ Who shapes a god and casts a useless and good for nothing idol. ¹¹ He and his kind will be put to shame. Craftsmen are merely men. Let them all come together and take their stand for they will be brought down to terror and infamy. ¹² The blacksmith takes a tool and works with it in the coals. He shapes an idol with hammers; he forges it with the might of his arm. He gets hungry and loses his strength. He drinks no water and grows faint. ¹³ The carpenter measures with a line and makes an outline with a red chalk marker. He roughs it out with chisels and marks it with a compass. He shapes it in the form of man in all his glory, that it may dwell in a shrine. ¹⁴ He cut down cedars, or cypress or oak. He let it grow among the trees of the forest, or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow. ¹⁵ It is man’s fuel for burning so he takes some to warm himself. He kindles a fire and bakes bread. But he also fashions a god and worships it. Yes he makes an idol and bows down to it. ¹⁶ Half of the wood they burn in the fire. Over this half they roast meat that they can eat until they are full. They also warm themselves and say: We are warm. We can see the fire! ¹⁷ But the rest of the wood they make into gods, carved statues. They bow to them and worship them. They pray to them and say: »Rescue us, because you are our gods.« ¹⁸ They do not know or understand anything. Their eyes are plastered shut and cannot see. Their minds are closed and therefore they cannot understand. ¹⁹ No one stops to think. No one has enough knowledge or understanding to say: »I burned half of the wood in the fire. I also baked bread over its coals. I roasted meat and ate it. Now I am making the rest of the wood into a disgusting thing and bowing to a block of wood.« ²⁰ They eat ashes because they are deceived. Their own misguided minds lead them astray. They cannot rescue themselves or ask themselves: »Is what I hold in my right hand a false god?«

¹⁶ »Come here. Listen to this! From the beginning I have spoken nothing in private. From the time it took place, I was there. Now the Lord Jehovah has sent me, and his Spirit.

⁴ I said: »I have toiled in vain. I have spent my energy for nothing and vanity. Yet, to be sure, the justice due to me is with Jehovah. My reward is with my God.«

²¹ »‘You will think in your heart: ‘Who brought these children to birth? I am barren (sterile) and bereaved of my children. I am an exiled wonderer. Who gave birth to these? From where did these come?’

¹ This is what Jehovah says: »Where are your mother's divorce papers? Did I give her any to get rid of her? To which of my creditors did I sell you? You were sold because of your sins. I got rid of your mother because of your rebellion.

⁹ Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem! Jehovah has comforted his people. He has redeemed Jerusalem.

² He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him. Nothing in his appearance will make us desire him. ³ He was despised and rejected by men. He was a man of sorrows familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised. We did not consider him to be worth much.

¹¹ After his suffering he will see the light and be satisfied. By his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many. He will bear their iniquities.

¹ »Sing joyfully, O barren woman, you who never bore a child! Burst into song and shout for joy, you who were never in labor! More are the children of the desolate woman than of the woman, who has a husband,« proclaims Jehovah. ² »Enlarge the place of your tent. Stretch your tent curtains wide and do not hold back. Lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. ³ »For you will spread out to the right and to the left. Your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities. ⁴ »Do not be afraid. You will not suffer shame. Do not fear disgrace. You will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.« ⁵ »For your Maker is your husband. Jehovah of Hosts is his name! The Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer. He is called the God of all the earth.

¹⁷ He puts on righteousness like a coat of armor and a helmet of salvation on his head. He wears clothes of vengeance. He wraps himself with zeal as a coat.

¹⁸ »Be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy.

¹⁰ »All who love Jerusalem, be happy and rejoice with her. All who mourn for her be glad with her.

¹¹ »Has any nation ever exchanged gods? Their gods are not really gods. Yet my people have exchanged their glory for something that does not help them.

⁴ »‘Now you call to me. You say, ‘Father!’ »You have been my friend ever since I was young.

¹⁹ »I wanted to treat you like children and give you a pleasant land, the most beautiful property among the nations. I thought you would call me Father and not turn away from me.

³ The people’s customs are erroneous and empty. It is wood cut from the forest. It is the work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool. ⁴ »They decorate it with silver and with gold. They fasten it with nails and with hammers so that it will not tip over. ⁵ »They are like scarecrows in cucumber fields. They cannot speak. They must be carried, for they cannot walk! Do not fear them! For they can do no harm and they can do no good.« ⁶ There is none like you, O Jehovah. You are great and your name is powerful. ⁷ Who would not respect you, O King of the nations? It is your right! There is none like you among all the wise men of the nations. ⁸ They are very stupid and foolish. They teach vanity to a tree. Their idol is wood! ⁹ Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz. It is the work of a craftsman and of the hands of a goldsmith. Violet and purple are their clothing. They are all the work of skilled men. ¹⁰ Jehovah is the true (faithful) (right) God! He is the living God and the everlasting king. The earth quakes at his wrath. The nations cannot endure his indignation. ¹¹ You will say to the idolaters: »The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.« ¹² He who made the earth by his power, and established the world by his wisdom; also stretched out the heavens by his understanding. ¹³ He speaks, and the water in the sky produces a storm. He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning flash with the rain. He brings wind out of his storehouses. ¹⁴ Every man is stupid lacking knowledge. Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. His molten images are deceitful. There is no breath in them. ¹⁵ They are worthless, a work of mockery. In the time of their punishment they will perish. ¹⁶ Jacob’s share is not like this. For he made everything! Israel is the tribe of his inheritance. Jehovah of Hosts is his name.

¹⁶ Jacob’s share is not like this. For he made everything! Israel is the tribe of his inheritance. Jehovah of Hosts is his name.

²⁵ Pour out your fury on the nations who do not know you and on people who do not worship you. They have devoured the descendants of Jacob. They have devoured them completely. They have destroyed their homes.

¹ For Zion's sake I will not remain silent. For Jerusalem's sake I will not rest until its righteousness shines like the sunrise and its salvation burns brightly like a torch. ² »The nations will see your righteousness. All kings will see your glory. You will be given a new name that Jehovah will designate.

²² »How long will you go here and there, O faithless daughter? For Jehovah has created a new thing in the earth. A woman will protect a man.«

³³ »This is the covenant (agreement) that I will make with Israel after those days,« declares Jehovah. »I will put my teachings (Law) inside them. I will write those teachings (Law) on their hearts (inner man) (mind) (will) (conscience) (understanding). I will be their God, and they will be my people.« ³⁴ »No longer will each person teach his neighbors or his relatives by saying: ‘Know Jehovah.’ »All of them, from the least important to the most important, will know me,« declares Jehovah. »I will forgive their wickedness and I will no longer hold (remember) their sins against them.«

³⁸ »They will be my people, and I will be their God. ³⁹ »I will give them the same attitude and the same purpose so that they will respect and reverence me as long as they live. This will be for their good and for the good of their children. ⁴⁰ »I will make an eternal promise to them that I will never stop blessing them. I will make them respect me so that they will never turn away from me. ⁴¹ »I will enjoy blessing them. With all my heart and all my being I will faithfully plant them in this land.’«

²⁴ I said to myself, »Jehovah is my heritage. For this reason I will hope in him.«

⁴⁹ Then I said: Oh no! Lord Jehovah, no! The people already say that I am only telling stories (a figure of speech or a parable).

² »Plead with your mother (your nation), for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband. Let her put away her acts of adultery from her face, and her adulteries from between her breasts!

⁵ Their mother played the harlot. She that conceived them acted shamefully! For she said, I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.

⁵ You will stumble in the day, and the prophet will stumble with you in the night. I will destroy your mother.

¹⁷ »You will know that I am Jehovah your God, dwelling in Zion my holy mountain. Then Jerusalem will be holy and no strangers will pass through (invade) her any more.

¹⁰ You hate the one who reproves in the gate, and abhor him who speaks the truth (with integrity).

²⁴ »Seventy weeks (seventy sets of seven time periods) are decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish transgression and to make an end of sin, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy. ²⁵ »Know and discern, that from the utterance of the commandment to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One (Messiah), the Leader: there shall be seven weeks, also sixty-two weeks. It shall be built again with a public square and moat, even in terrible times. ²⁶ »And after the sixty-two weeks the anointed one will be cut off (destroyed) (killed) and shall have nothing. The people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be by the flood of war and desolations.

¹⁰ »They will follow Jehovah! He will roar like a lion. When he roars, his children will come trembling from the west.

¹ It will happen in the last days! The mountain of the house of Jehovah will be established above the top of the mountains. It will be exalted above the hills. Peoples will flow to it. ² Many nations will come. They will say: »Come you people, let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths!« For out of Zion will go forth the law, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem.

² »You Bethlehem Ephrathah who are little to be among the thousands of Judah. Out of you one will come to me who is to be ruler in Israel! His origin is from of old, from everlasting (days of antiquity) (ancient times). ³ »He will give them up, until the time that she who is giving birth delivers. Then the remainder of his brothers will return to the children of Israel.

¹⁴ »The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea.

⁸ »Jehovah of Hosts proclaims: ‘He sent me after glory! He sent me to the nations that plundered you. For he that touches you touches the pupil of his eye.’ ⁹ »Behold! I will shake my hand (power) over them, and they will be a spoil to those who served them.« Then you will know that Jehovah of Hosts has sent me. ¹⁰ »Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For I am coming, and I will dwell in the midst of you,« said Jehovah. ¹¹ »Many nations will join themselves to Jehovah in that day, and will be my people! I will dwell in the your midst, and you will know that Jehovah of Hosts has sent me to you.«

¹² ‘»Say to him: ‘Jehovah of Hosts says, »See here, the man whose name is the Branch (Sprout) (Shoot) (Bud). For he will branch out (sprout) from where he is and he will build the Temple of Jehovah.

⁸ »In that day Jehovah will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem. He that is feeble among them will be like David. For the house of David will be like God, like the angel of Jehovah before them.

⁷ »The priests should teach the true knowledge of God. They are the messengers of Jehovah of Hosts. Therefore the people should learn (my will) the law from them.

¹ »Behold, I send my messenger! He will prepare the way before me. Seek Jehovah! He will suddenly come to his Temple along with the messenger of the covenant. He is one you desire, behold, he comes,« said Jehovah of Hosts.

²³ »The virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel,« which means: »God (God-like one) is with us.« (John 1:18)

¹⁷ »Do not think I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I came, not to destroy, but to fulfill (perfect) (execute) (accomplish).

⁶ »Go to your room and close the door. Privately pray to your Father. When your Father sees you he will reward you. ⁷ »Large quantities of meaningless words and repetition are not acceptable in prayer. The pagans think their gods will hear long and repetitious prayers. ⁸ »Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. ⁹ »‘Our Father in heaven, holy is your name. (Exodus 6:3) (Psalm 83:18) (Isaiah 42:8; 54:5; 63:16; 64:8)

³⁵ That which was spoken through the prophet was fulfilled, saying: »I will open my mouth in illustrations. I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world.«

¹⁵ Jesus answered emphatically: »This is the proper way to do everything that God requires. This is the way it must be!«

⁴⁰ »He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me.

²⁷ »All things have been delivered to me from my Father. Only the Father knows the Son, and only the Son knows the Father. The Son tells others about the Father so that they can know him too. ²⁸ »Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.

⁵ »Everyone who accepts this little child in my name accepts me.

⁴² Jesus said to them: »Have you read the Scriptures, ‘The stone the builders rejected has been made the chief cornerstone of the building. This was Jehovah’s doing, and it is wonderful in our eyes.’ (Isaiah 28:16) ⁴³ »For this reason I tell you, The kingdom of God will be taken away from you. It will be given to a nation producing fruit. ⁴⁴ »Any man falling on this stone will be broken. Any man having this stone fall on him will be crushed to dust.«

²⁹ Jesus answered: »You are mistaken! You do not know the scriptures or the power of God. ³⁰ »In the resurrection they will not marry nor be given in marriage. They will be like the angels in heaven. ³¹ »Concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you read that which was spoken to you by God? ³² »God said: ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ God is not the God of the dead, but of the living!«

¹⁵ »Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You travel on both sea and land to make one convert. When this happens, you make him twice as deserving of destruction in the trash fires of the valley of Hinnom (Greek: Gehenna).

³⁴ »Look! I am sending you prophets, wise men, and scribes. Some of them you will torture and kill. Others you will torment and persecute from city to city. ³⁵ »You are responsible for all the righteous blood shed on earth. That includes the blood of the righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, whom you killed between the sanctuary and the altar. ³⁶ »I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation (those living at that time). ³⁷ »Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you kill the prophets and stone the messengers who are sent to you! How often I wanted to gather your children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings. But you were not willing!

³⁷ »Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you kill the prophets and stone the messengers who are sent to you! How often I wanted to gather your children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings. But you were not willing!

⁴⁰ »The King will answer: ‘To the extent that you did it to one of the least of my brothers, you did it to me.’

²⁸ »The Son of man came not to be ministered to, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom in payment for many.«

¹⁵ Jesus said: »The time has come. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the good news.«

³¹ »You will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son. You will call his name Jesus.

³⁵ The angel replied: »Holy Spirit would come to you and the power of the Most High will envelope you. Because of this the newborn will be called the Son of God.«

⁶⁸ »Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel. He has visited his people and brought them redemption. (Psalm 72:18)

⁷ She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger. That was because there was no room for them in the inn.

¹⁰ The angel spoke to them: »Do not be afraid. Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy to all the people. ¹¹ »Christ (Messiah) the Lord, a Savior, is born this day in the city of David.

²¹ After eight days the baby was circumcised. He was called by the name, Jesus. (Jesus: Jehovah is salvation) This was the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. ²² Following the days of their purification according to the Law of Moses they brought him up to Jerusalem. There they would present him to God. ²³ It is written in God’s law that every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to God. (Exodus 13:1, 2) ²⁴ According to God’s Law they must offer a sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons. ²⁵ There was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout. He was waiting for God to save Israel. God’s Holy Spirit was working in him. ²⁶ Holy Spirit revealed to him that he would not die before he saw the Christ of God. ²⁷ Under the power of the spirit he came to the temple. The parents brought in the child Jesus, that they obey the custom of the law.

¹³ »Those on the rock are those who receive the word with joy. These have no root. They believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.

¹⁶ »He that hears you hears me; and he that rejects you rejects me and he that rejects me rejects him that sent me.«

² He said: »When you pray say, ‘Father holy (sacred) (sanctified) (blessed) (consecrated) is your name. Let your kingdom come.

¹³ »If you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?«

³⁴ »O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets! You stone those sent to you. How often I would have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her own brood under her wings. But you would not have it!

⁴⁴ »They will knock you and your children down to the ground. They will not leave one stone upon another. What’s more you do not know when this visit will take place.«

¹⁹ He gave thanks. Then he took the bread, broke it and gave it to them, saying: »This represents my body that is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.« ²⁰ Then he took the cup saying: »This represents the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

⁴⁴ (possible spurious text) He was in agony and earnestly prayed. His sweat became, as it were great drops of blood falling down upon the ground.

¹⁰ The world was made through him. He was in the world and the world did not recognize him.

¹² He gave the right to become children of God to all who received him. Even to those who believe in his name.

¹² He gave the right to become children of God to all who received him. Even to those who believe in his name. ¹³ They were born from God. It was not from blood, or the will of the flesh, or the will of man. ¹⁴ The Word [Jesus] became flesh (a human being) and lived with us. We saw the glory of the only begotten son from the Father. He was full of loving-kindness and truth.

¹⁷ His disciples remembered what was written. ‘Zeal for your house shall eat me up.’ (Psalm 69:9)

⁵ Jesus responded: »I tell you truth, except a man be born of water and the spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God!

¹⁶ »For God loved the world so much, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever has an active faith in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

³⁴ »For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God. God does not give the spirit by measure.

⁴⁶ »It is a fact! If you believed Moses you would believe me. He wrote about me! ⁴⁷ »If you do not believe his writings how will you believe my words?«

³⁸ »I do not do my own will. I came down from heaven to do the will of him that sent me.

⁷ »The world has no reason to hate you. But it hates me because I testify that its works are evil.

³⁹ He spoke this by the Spirit. Those who believed in him were to receive the Spirit. The Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified.

³¹ Jesus told the Jews who believed him: »If you dwell in my word you truly are my disciples.

³⁵ »The slave does not abide in the house forever. The son abides forever. ³⁶ »If therefore the Son will make you free, you will be free indeed.

⁴² Jesus said: »If God were your Father you would love me. I came from God! I have not come from myself. He sent me!

⁴⁵ »I tell you the truth and you do not believe me.

¹⁴ »I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me.

²⁷ »My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me.

³⁴ Jesus said: »Is it not written in your law, I said, you are ‘god-like ones’?

³⁶ »do you say to the one whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, you blaspheme? And this because I said, I am the Son of God. (Psalm 82:1, 6) (John 1:34; 5:18) (Luke 1:35)

³⁴ The crowd answered him: »We have heard from the law that the Christ lives forever. Why do you say the Son of man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of man?«

²⁰ »Truly I say to you, he who receives whom ever I send receives me. And he who receives me receives him who sent me.

¹⁶ »I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another helper, that he [the Father] may be with you forever.

⁹ »I love you just as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love.

²⁵ »This took place that the word written in the Law may be fulfilled: They hated me without a cause. ²⁶ »I will send the helper from the Father, the Spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father to bear witness of me.

⁷ »Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away. For if I do not go away the helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send it to you. (Greek: autos: it)

³ »This is everlasting life that they should have *deep, intimate knowledge of you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have commissioned. *(Greek: ginosko: know, perceive, be sure, understand)

⁷ He replied: »It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has set within His own authority.

¹¹ They said: »You men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was received up from you into heaven will come in a similar manner as you saw him go into heaven.«

²⁵ »You are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant that God made with our fathers. He said to Abraham: ‘All the families of the earth will be blessed in your seed.’

¹² They called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker.

¹⁰ »Why do you test God by placing a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, one that our fathers were not able to bear?

⁶ The Holy Spirit did not let them preach the message in the province of Asia. So they traveled through the region of Phrygia and Galatia. ⁷ When they reached the border of Mysia, they tried to go into the province of Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.

²³ »As I passed along, and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: »To An Unknown God.« What you worship as unknown, this I will proclaim to you.

²⁹ »Being then the offspring of God, we should not think that the divine being is like gold, or silver, or stone, a device made by man’s design or skill. ³⁰ »God overlooked the times of ignorance; but now he commands men everywhere to repent.

²⁸ »Be on guard for yourselves and the flock that the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Feed the Congregation of God that he purchased with the blood of his own [Son].

²¹ »They have been informed concerning you, that you teach all the Jews who are among the nations to forsake Moses. You tell them not to circumcise their children neither to walk after the customs.

³ This is about his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who came from the seed of David according to the flesh.

²³ They changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.

²⁸ They did not like to retain God in their knowledge, so God gave them over to a reprobate (depraved) mind, to do things that are not fitting.

¹⁴ Sin will not have dominion over you. For you are not under law, but under grace.

¹⁸ After being made free from sin, you became servants of righteousness.

⁵ When we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were through the law, worked in our members to bring forth fruit to death. ⁶ We have been discharged (released) from the law. We have died to that by which we were held. So we serve in newness of the Spirit, and not in oldness of the letter.

¹ Those who live through (in union with) (because of) Jesus Christ have no condemnation. [They do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.]

³ God did what the Law could not do, because human nature was weak. He sent his own son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering and do away with sin. So he condemned sin in sinful human nature.

⁹ But you are not in flesh but in Spirit, if indeed God’s Spirit dwells in you. If any one does not have the Spirit of Christ he does not belong to him.

¹³ for if you live according to flesh, you are about to die. If by the Spirit, you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

¹⁵ For you have not received a spirit of bondage again causing fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Father, Father! (Chaldee: Abba, meaning father).

¹⁵ For you have not received a spirit of bondage again causing fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Father, Father! (Chaldee: Abba, meaning father). ¹⁶ The Spirit itself (Greek:autos ho pneuma) (itself the Spirit) bears witness with our spirit (mind and heart), that we are children of God. ¹⁷ If children, then heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ. If indeed we suffer with him we may also be glorified with him.

¹⁹ For the earnest expectation of the creation is waiting for the manifestation (revelation) (disclosure) of the sons of God.

²³ We also, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption and the release from our bodies by ransom.

²⁶ Likewise the Spirit also helps our weaknesses. We do not know what we should pray for, as we should. The Spirit [of God] makes intercession with groaning that cannot be spoken. ²⁷ So he who searches the hearts knows what is the inclination (purpose) (mind-set) of the Spirit [of God], because the Spirit makes intercession for the holy ones according to the will of God.

²⁹ Those he first recognized, he ordained in advance that they be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

³ I could wish that I were accursed (separated) (banned) (excommunicated) from Christ for the good of (in behalf of) my countrymen and brothers (the Jews). ⁴ They are Israelites and the adoption belongs to them. They have the glory of the covenants. The law was given to them along with the service and promises. ⁵ The forefathers belong to them from whom came the Christ according to the flesh. God who is over all is blessed forever. Amen.

⁷ It is not because they are Abraham’s that they are all children, but: »What will be called ‘your seed’ will be through Isaac.« (Genesis 21:12) ⁸ That is, the children of the flesh are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as seed.

⁸ That is, the children of the flesh are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as seed. ⁹ The word of promise: »According to this time I will come and Sarah will have a son.«

³⁰ What shall we say? The nations did not pursue righteousness. Yet they have attained to righteousness, the righteousness that is based on the principle of faith. ³¹ But Israel, pursuing after a law of righteousness, has not attained to that law. ³² Why? It is because it was not based on the principle of faith, but on that of works. They have stumbled at the stumbling stone.

² I testify that they have zeal for God, but not according to [precise and correct] knowledge. ³ They are ignorant of God’s righteousness. They seek to establish their own righteousness and have not submitted to the righteousness of God. ⁴ Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who exerts active faith. ⁵ Moses writes down the righteousness that is of the law. The man who has practiced those things shall live by them. ⁶ But the righteousness of faith speaks this way: »Do not say in your heart: ‘who will ascend to heaven? That is, to bring Christ down; ⁷ or »‘who will descend into the abyss? That is, to bring up Christ from among the dead.’« ⁸ But what does it say? »The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.« It is the »word« of faith, which we preach. (Deuteronomy 30:8-20)

⁸ But what does it say? »The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.« It is the »word« of faith, which we preach. (Deuteronomy 30:8-20) ⁹ If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and have active faith in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes for righteousness. And with the mouth one declares for salvation.

² God has not rejected his people whom he first knew. Do you remember what the Scripture says about Elijah? How he made intercession to God against Israel?

⁷ What then? Israel has not obtained that which he seeks. The chosen ones have obtained it, and the rest were blinded (rendered stupid) (hardened) (made insensitive). ⁸ It is written, »God has given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear to this very day.« (Deuteronomy 29:4) ⁹ David says, »Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumbling block, and recompense to them. ¹⁰ »Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back always.« (Psalm 69:23) ¹¹ I ask: Did they stumble and fall? Certainly not! But rather through their fall into sin salvation has come to the nations. This will provoke them to jealousy.

¹⁸ They do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the unaware.

²¹ This is the wisdom of God that the world through its wisdom did not come to know God. God was well pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

²⁸ God also chose the base things of the world, and things which are despised, yes, and things which are not, to bring to nothing things that are.

³ And I came to you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.

¹⁹ We know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those under the law. Every mouth may be stopped and the entire world may become liable to God for punishment.

³ For what does the scriptures say? »Abraham believed Jehovah, and it was counted to him as righteousness.« (Genesis 15:6)

⁶ David also pronounces blessing on the man, to whom God counts righteousness apart from works, ⁷ saying: »Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. ⁸ »Blessed is the man to whom, Jehovah will not impute sin.« (Psalm 32:2) ⁹ Is this blessing then pronounced upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say: »To Abraham his faith was counted for righteousness.«

¹³ The promise to Abraham or to his seed that he should be heir of the world was not through the law but through righteousness by faith. ¹⁴ If those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void, and the promise is made of no effect. ¹⁵ The law produces wrath (violent passion) (indignation). But where there is no law there is no sin. ¹⁶ For this reason it is by faith that it may be according to grace (divine influence) (loving-kindness). The promise may be sure to all descendants! This is not only to that which is of the law, but to that also which is by the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all. ¹⁷ It is written: »I have made you a father of many nations.« [This was] in the presence of God, the one in whom he believed. He gives life to the dead, and calls into being that which does not exist. ¹⁸ In hope against hope Abraham believed that he might become a father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken: »So your descendants will be.«

¹⁸ In hope against hope Abraham believed that he might become a father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken: »So your descendants will be.« ¹⁹ Not being weak in faith he considered his own body now as good as dead (he being about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. ²⁰ Yet, he looked to the promise of God. He did not waver through unbelief, but grew strong through faith. He gave the glory to God! ²¹ He was fully assured that what he had promised, he was able to perform.

² We have access to grace (God’s favor) by faith through him. This is where we stand. We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

⁵ Hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts. It comes through Holy Spirit, which is God’s gift to us.

¹⁴ Put on (live like) (clothe yourself with) the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not make provision for the desires of the flesh.

⁵ One person judges one day above another. Another person judges every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.

⁸ Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcised for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers.

¹³ Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

²¹ Therefore let no man boast in men. For all things are yours. ²² Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours! ²³ And you belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God.

⁸ You are full and now you are rich, you have reigned as kings without us. I would to God you did reign, that we also might reign with you.

¹⁰ We are fools for Christ. But you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honorable, but we are despised.

¹⁴ I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you. ¹⁵ Though you have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers. For in Christ Jesus I have given birth to you through the good news.

¹⁸ Now some have become proud (arrogant), thinking that I would not come to you. ¹⁹ But I will come to you shortly, if God wills, and I will get to know what the proud ones do and not what they say, but their power. ²⁰ For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. ²¹ What do you want? Shall I come to you with punishment or with love, and in the mild spirit of meekness?

³ But if any man loves God, God knows him. ⁴ Concerning the eating of food offered in sacrifice to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one.

² You know that you were of the nations, carried away and led by mute idols.

¹² For now we see in a mirror dimly, and then we will see face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.

²² He also sealed us, and gave us the guarantee of the Spirit in our hearts.

⁵ But if any has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow, not to me, but in part (that I press not too heavily) to you all.

¹⁷ Now God is the Spirit and where the Spirit of God is, there is liberty (freedom).

⁶ God said: Light will shine out of darkness. He shined in our hearts. He gave the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face (presence) ((person) of Jesus Christ.

²⁰ We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making entreaty through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ that you be reconciled to God.

¹³ Now in return for the same in like kind (I speak as to my children), you also be open (open your hearts wide)!

¹⁶ And what agreement does a temple of God have with idols? We are the temple of the living God. God said: I will dwell in them, and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they will be my people. (Leviticus 26:12) (Zechariah 8:8) ¹⁷ Therefore come out from among them and be separate (set off) (severed from them) (excluded from them), said Jehovah. Do not touch the unclean thing and I will receive you. (Isaiah 52:11) (Jeremiah 51:45) ¹⁸ I will be a Father to you, and you will be to me sons and daughters, said Jehovah God the Almighty. (Hosea 1:10)

³ For according to their ability, I bear witness, yes and beyond their power, they gave of their own accord.

²⁰ To the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews. To those under the Law, as under the Law, that I might gain those under the Law. ²¹ To those without Law I became like those without Law that I might gain them. I am not without law to God, but under the law to (toward) (of) Christ. ²² To the weak I became as the weak, that I might gain the weak. I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. ²³ And this I do for the sake of the good news that I might be a partaker of it with others.

⁴ They all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them. That Rock was (represented) (symbolic of) Christ! (Exodus 7:6) (Numbers 20:11)

¹¹ These things happened for examples, and they are written for our instruction, upon whom the end of the ages has come.

¹⁹ What do I mean? That the idol is anything, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is anything? ²⁰ But I say, that the things that the nations sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God. I do not want you to have fellowship with demons.

² Now I praise you, brothers, because you remember me in all things, and carefully follow the teachings (precepts) (doctrine) just as I delivered them to you.

³⁴ Wake up to righteousness and do not sin. Some do not have knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.

⁴⁵ Thus it is written: »The first man Adam was made a living being.« The last Adam became a life giving spirit!

⁵⁸ Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and unmovable. Always have plenty to do in the work of the Lord, for you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

¹⁰ For, His letters, they say, are weighty and strong. But his bodily presence is weak and his speech of no account.

² For I am zealous over you with a godly fervor (ardor) (zeal)! For I promised you to one husband, that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ. ³ But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve in his craftiness, your minds will be lead away from the simplicity and the purity (cleanness) that is toward Christ.

³ But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve in his craftiness, your minds will be lead away from the simplicity and the purity (cleanness) that is toward Christ.

⁶ Though I am unskilled in speech, yet I am not in knowledge. We have in every way made this evident to you in all things.

¹³ For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, fashioning themselves into apostles of Christ. ¹⁴ And no wonder for even Satan fashions himself into an angel of light. ¹⁵ It is no great thing therefore if his ministers also fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works.

² I went in response to a revelation. I demonstrated to them the way I spread the good news among the people of the nations. I did this privately before them for they have a reputation. I am concerned that by any means I should be running, or had run, in vain.

⁴ This occurred because of the false brothers brought in secretly. They came to spy out our liberty that we have in Christ Jesus. This was so they might bring us into bondage. ⁵ We did not yield to them for a moment or an hour! That way the truth of the good news (the whole body of Christian teachings) might continue with you.

¹⁴ I saw that they did not walk uprightly according to the truth of the good news. Therefore I said to Cephas, in front of them all: »If you, being a Jew, live as the nations do and not as the Jews, why do you compel the people of the nations to live like the Jews?«

¹ O foolish Galatians, who fascinated (cast a spell over) (beguiled) (influenced) you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was openly presented impaled. ² I want to learn this from you. Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law, or by having faith in what you heard? ³ Are you so foolish? After starting in the Spirit, are you now made perfect (mature) in the flesh?

³ Are you so foolish? After starting in the Spirit, are you now made perfect (mature) in the flesh? ⁴ Did you suffer so many things in vain? Does it have no purpose?

⁸ The Scripture revealed ahead of time, that God justified the people of the nations by faith. He preached the good news beforehand to Abraham. He said: »In you will all the nations be blessed.«

¹⁰ Those who are of the works of the Law are under a curse. For it is written, »Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the Law, by obeying them.«

¹³ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. It is written; »Cursed is everyone who is hung on a stake.« ¹⁴ This way the blessing of Abraham might come upon the nations through Christ Jesus and we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. ¹⁵ Brothers, I speak like a man speaks: Though it is only a man's covenant, yet when it has been confirmed, no one makes it void, or adds to it. ¹⁶ The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He did not say to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to your seed, which is Christ. ¹⁷ Now this I say: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. ¹⁸ If the inheritance is based on the Law, it is no longer based on a promise. However God granted it to Abraham by means of a promise. ¹⁹ What then is the law? It was added (to cause awareness of sin) because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise has been made. It was ordained through angels by the hand of a mediator.

¹⁹ What then is the law? It was added (to cause awareness of sin) because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise has been made. It was ordained through angels by the hand of a mediator. ²⁰ A mediator is not a mediator of one; but God is one. ²¹ Is the Law then against the promises of God? God forbid! If a law had been given which could impart life, righteousness would have been from the Law. ²² But the Scriptures shut up (imprisoned) (pictured) all things (mankind) under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. ²³ But before faith came the Law held us in custody. We were locked up until faith was revealed.

²³ But before faith came the Law held us in custody. We were locked up until faith was revealed. ²⁴ The Law was our schoolmaster (Greek: paedagogue: a combination of schoolmaster, instructor, servant and guardian in charge of us) to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

²⁴ The Law was our schoolmaster (Greek: paedagogue: a combination of schoolmaster, instructor, servant and guardian in charge of us) to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵ Now that faith has come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. ²⁶ You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

²⁹ If you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, heirs according to promise.

²⁹ If you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, heirs according to promise.

⁵ that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. ⁶ Because you are sons, God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. ⁷ So you are no longer slaves but a son. And as a son God has made you an heir.

⁹ Now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and poor fundamental things? Do you want to slave for them all over again?

¹³ You know that because of an infirmity of the flesh I preached the good news to you the first time.

¹⁹ My little children, of whom I am again in labor pains until Christ is formed in you ²⁰ I wish to be present with you now, and to speak in a different way, for I am perplexed about you. ²¹ Tell me, you that desire to be under the Law; do you not hear the Law? ²² It is written, that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman, and one by the freewoman. ²³ How is it that the son by the slave woman is born after the flesh; but the son by the freewoman is born through promise?

²⁵ Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia. She corresponds to the Jerusalem that now is. She is in bondage with her children.

²⁸ Brothers, we are children who belong to the promise, the same as Isaac was. ²⁹ Just like then, the son who was conceived in a natural way according to the flesh persecuted the son conceived in a spiritual way. That is exactly what is happening now!

²⁹ Just like then, the son who was conceived in a natural way according to the flesh persecuted the son conceived in a spiritual way. That is exactly what is happening now!

³¹ Brothers, we are not children of a slave woman but of the free woman.

¹ Christ liberated us for freedom (moral liberty). Stand fast therefore, and do not become entangled again in a yoke of bondage. ² Behold, I Paul say to you, that, if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. ³ Yes, I testify again to every man who receives circumcision. He is under obligation to obey the whole Law. ⁴ You who seek to be righteous by Law are separated from Christ. You have fallen away from grace.

⁷ You were running well! Who hindered you that you should not obey the truth?

¹¹ But I, brothers, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? Then has the stumbling block of the stake been done away?

¹³ For you brothers, were called for freedom; only do not use your freedom for an occasion to the flesh. Serve one another through love!

²² The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faith,

⁴ Each of you must examine your own actions. Then you can be proud of your own accomplishments without comparing yourself to others.

¹² Those who desire to make a showing in the flesh try to compel you to be circumcised. This is done so they may not be persecuted for the stake of Christ.

¹² Those who desire to make a showing in the flesh try to compel you to be circumcised. This is done so they may not be persecuted for the stake of Christ. ¹³ For not even those who receive circumcision obey the Law. They desire to have you circumcised, that they may boast in your flesh.

¹³ For not even those who receive circumcision obey the Law. They desire to have you circumcised, that they may boast in your flesh. ¹⁴ Never should I boast except in the stake (symbolic: self-denial and atonement) of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is through this stake that the world has been impaled to me, and I to the world.

¹⁴ Never should I boast except in the stake (symbolic: self-denial and atonement) of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is through this stake that the world has been impaled to me, and I to the world.

¹⁸ The grace (Greek: charis, divine favor, loving-kindness) of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit (Greek: pneuma, mental outlook, attitude), brothers. Amen.

⁵ He predetermined (ordained) us to adoption, as sons to himself through Jesus Christ, according to the kind intention of his will.

⁷ In him we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.

¹⁰ It was for an administration at the appointed time. This administration is to gather up all things in Christ, the things in heaven, and the things upon the earth. Yes in him!

¹³ You have heard the word of the truth in Christ. It is the good news about your salvation. You also believed and were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.

¹⁷ May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit (mental disposition) of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.

¹¹ Remember that you were once people of the nations in the flesh. You are called uncircumcision by that which is called circumcision, in the flesh, made by human hands. ¹² You were separate from Christ at that time, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel. You were strangers from the covenants of the promise. You had no hope and were without God in the world.

¹⁸ We both have access to the Father by one Spirit through him.

¹³ until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a full-grown (mature) man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

¹⁸ They are darkened (blinded) (obscured) in their understanding, alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their heart.

²⁴ Put on the new man, that in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

³⁰ Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in which (Greek: en hos) (in which) (Greek: hos, he ho) (whereby) (which) you were sealed to the day of release by ransom.

² Walk in love, even as Christ also loved you, and gave himself up for us. He was an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling odor.

⁷ Things that offered gain to me I count a loss for Christ. ⁸ I count all things to be loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. I suffered the loss of all things. Yet I count them as refuse (garbage) (dung) that I may gain Christ.

²⁰ However, our citizenship is in heaven. We also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

¹³ He rescued us from the power of darkness, and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of his love (the Son he dearly loves). ¹⁴ We have in him our redemption and the forgiveness of our sins.

³⁰ If I need to boast, I will boast about the things that concern my infirmities.

⁷ I was given a painful physical ailment that will keep me from being puffed up with pride because of the many wonderful things I saw. It acts as Satan's messenger to beat me and keep me from being proud. ⁸ Three times I prayed to God about this and asked him to take it away. ⁹ He told me: »My grace is sufficient for you for my strength is made perfect in weakness.« Most gladly therefore, I would rather glory in my infirmities (frailities), that the power of Christ may rest upon me (cover me like a tent) (descend upon me) (abide with me). (Isaiah 40:29-31) ¹⁰ Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then I am strong.

²⁰ I am afraid that I may come and find you different from what I want you to be, and that you may find me different from what you want me to be. I fear that there may be rivalry, jealousy, hot tempers, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorderly conduct. ²¹ I am afraid that the next time I come my God will humiliate me in your presence, and I shall weep over many who sinned in the past and have not repented of the uncleanness, fornication and loose conduct that they have practiced.

⁴ Though he was impaled through weakness, yet he lives by the power of God. We are weak through him also, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.

⁶ I am amazed that you so quickly turned away from the One who called you by the grace of Christ. You turned to different good news.

¹⁷ I did not go to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before I was. I went away to Arabia and again I returned to Damascus.

¹⁸ With prayer and supplication pray at all times in the Spirit. Watch with all perseverance and supplication for all the holy ones.

⁸ God is my witness, how I long for you all in the tender mercies of Christ Jesus.

¹⁹ For I know that this will turn out to my redemption through your prayer and the provision of the spirit (vital principles) (mind) of Jesus Christ.

²⁷ Let your manner of life be worthy of the good news about Christ. Whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your conduct, that you stand fast in one spirit (common purpose) (mental disposition) (vital principle), with one mind striving together for the faith of the good news.

⁵ Have this attitude (mind-set) (understanding) (mental state) in you that was also in Christ Jesus. ⁶ He existed in the form (shape and nature) of God but did not try to be equal with God. He did not even consider it! ⁷ He emptied (humbled) himself by taking the form of a servant. He was made in the likeness of men. ⁸ He obtained the appearance as a man, humbled himself, and became obedient even to death, yes, death on the stake.

¹² My beloved, you have always obeyed, not just in my presence, but now much more in my absence. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

¹⁶ Hold fast to the word of life so I may rejoice in the day of Christ. That way I will not have labored in vain. ¹⁷ If I am offered for the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice with you all.

²¹ They all seek their own interest and not the things of Jesus Christ.

¹⁵ He is the image (likeness) (representation) of the invisible God. He is the firstborn (Greek: prototokos: childbirth, offspring) of all creation. ¹⁶ All things in the heavens and upon the earth where created through him. The things visible and invisible were created through him. Whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and for him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and through him all things originate. ¹⁸ He is the head of the body, the congregation. He is the beginning (commencement), the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence (first place). ¹⁹ It was the good pleasure of the Father that in him all the fullness should dwell. ²⁰ And all things are reconciled through him. He made peace through the blood of his atonement (of the stake). He reconciles all things, whether things upon the earth, or things in heaven.

²⁷ It was God’s will to make known his secret to the people of the nations, this rich and glorious secret that he has for people. The secret is that Christ is in union with you, which means that you will share in his glory.

¹ Let me tell you how hard I worked for you, for the people in Laodicea, and for all others who do not personally know me.

⁸ See to it that no one enslaves you by means of philosophy and worthless deceit of human wisdom according to tradition of men. It is according to the elementary principles of the world, and not from Christ.

¹⁴ He blotted out the bond written in ordinances. It was against us and was contrary to us. He has taken it out of the way. He nailed it to the stake.

¹⁶ Let no man judge you in food or in drink or in respect of a feast day or a new moon or a Sabbath day. ¹⁷ They are a shadow of the things to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.

²⁰ If you died with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to ordinances:

²⁰ If you died with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to ordinances: ²¹ »Do not handle. Do not taste. Do not touch.« ²² These are the precepts and doctrines of men. ²³ These have, indeed, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body. But these are not of any value against the indulgence of the flesh.

¹⁰ You put on the new self that is being renewed to a true knowledge (full discernment) according to the image of the one who created him.

¹² Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always striving for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God. ¹³ I testify for him, that he has worked hard for you, and for them in Laodicea, and for them in Hierapolis.

⁹ All those people speak about how you received us when we visited you, and how you turned away from idols to God, to serve the true and living God,

⁸ Having much affection for you, we were well pleased to impart the good news of God to you and also to share our lives with you. You have become very dear to us.

¹³ For this purpose we also thank God without ceasing, that, when you received from us the word of the message, even the word of God, you accepted it, not as the word of men, but, as it is in truth, the word of God, which also works in you who believe. ¹⁴ You brothers became imitators of the congregations of God that are in Judea in Christ Jesus. You also suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews. ¹⁵ They killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out. They did not please God and are contrary to all men.

¹⁷ But we have been taken away from you for a short while. We have been taken away in person, not in spirit. We are all the more eager with great desire to see you. ¹⁸ We wanted to come to you. I, Paul, wanted to more than once and yet Satan hindered us.

⁵ For this cause, when I could no longer bear it, I inquired about your faith. I feared that the tempter might have tempted you, and our labor would be in vain.

⁹ What thanks can we render to God for you and for all the joy we have for your sakes before our God?

⁵ not in the lust of sexual desire like the nations who do not know God.

⁸ He therefore that rejects this, rejects not man, but God, who has also given his Holy Spirit to us.

¹³ To esteem them very highly in love because of the work they do. And be at peace among yourselves.

⁸ They will render vengeance to those who do not know God, and to those who do not obey the good news of our Lord Jesus.

⁵ Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, has her hope set on God, and continues in supplications and prayers day and night.

¹⁹ The foundation of God stands firm having this seal: »Jehovah knows those who belong to him,« and: »Everyone who names the name of Jehovah is to abstain from wickedness.«

¹⁹ I Paul write with my own hand. I will repay. I do not say that you owe your own self (life) to me.

³ God’s Son is the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his being. He sustains all things by his powerful word. After Jesus purged our sins, he sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.

¹⁴ Since the »children« are partakers of flesh and blood, he also took part of the same things, that through death he might destroy him that had the power to cause death, [Satan] the Devil.

¹⁴ Since the »children« are partakers of flesh and blood, he also took part of the same things, that through death he might destroy him that had the power to cause death, [Satan] the Devil. ¹⁵ And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

² to Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy, peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

¹⁶ The secret of godliness is great and it is without controversy. ‘He (Jesus Christ) was manifested (revealed) in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, and seen by angels. He preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, and received up in glory.’

⁴ To Titus, my true child sharing a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

¹⁴ He (Jesus Christ) gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify a people for himself, who are special people, zealous for good works.

¹⁰ I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my imprisonment.

¹⁴ We have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, so let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵ We do not have a high priest who is not able to sympathize with our infirmities (weaknesses). He was tested in all things like ourselves. Yet he was without sin! ¹⁶ Let us approach the throne of grace (loving-kindness) with confidence, that we may receive mercy, and find grace for help in time of need.

⁷ In the days of his life on earth, when he [Christ] offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears to the one who was able to save him out of death, and was heard because of his godly reverence. (Galatians 1:1) (Psalm 69:13)

¹⁶ He would become such, not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life.

¹⁸ The former commandment was set aside because it was weak and useless.

²² Jesus became the guarantee of a better covenant.

⁶ Jesus has obtained a more excellent ministry. The covenant that he arranged between God and his people is a better one, because it is based on promises of better things. ⁷ If there had been nothing wrong with the first covenant, there would not have been a need for a second one. ⁸ God finds fault with his people and said to them: »‘The time is coming,’ says Jehovah, ‘when I will draw up a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. (Jeremiah 31:31) ⁹ »‘It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt. They were not faithful to the covenant I made with them, and so I paid no attention to them. ¹⁰ »‘This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,’ said Jehovah: ‘I will put my teachings (laws) in their mind, I will write them upon their hearts (deep thought) (understanding). I will be their God, and they will be my people. (Jeremiah 31:32) ¹¹ »‘They will not teach a neighbor or brother saying: »Know Jehovah.« All will know me from the little one among them to the great among them. (Hosea 2:20) ¹² »‘I will forgive their wickedness and I will remember their sins no more.’« ¹³ By calling this covenant »new,« he has made the first one old (obsolete). That which grows old and aged will soon disappear.

¹⁰ since they have to do only with food, drink, and various purification ceremonies. These are all outward rules, which apply only until the time comes to change them for something better.

¹² He went once and forever into the Most Holy Place having eternal salvation. It is not with the blood of goats and young bulls, but with his blood.

¹⁵ For this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant. A death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant. Those called may receive the promise of everlasting inheritance.

¹⁵ For this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant. A death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant. Those called may receive the promise of everlasting inheritance. ¹⁶ A will is used for a person who is dead. It becomes effective only when the person dies. ¹⁷ A will is in force after a person dies. Otherwise it is not in effect at all while the one who provided it lives. ¹⁸ The first covenant was dedicated with blood. ¹⁹ When Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the Law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, ²⁰ He said: »This is the blood of the covenant that God has presented to you.« ²¹ He sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of service. ²² Almost all things are by the Law purified with blood. There is no forgiveness unless blood is poured out. ²³ It was necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these. But the heavenly things should be cleansed with better sacrifices than these. ²⁴ Christ has not entered into the Holy Place made with human hands. This is a copy of the true one. He has entered into heaven to appear before the presence of God for us.

⁵ When Christ came into the world he said: »‘Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but you have prepared a body for me. ⁶ »‘You have no pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin.’ ⁷ »Then I said: ‘I have come in the scroll of the book. It is written about me, to do your will, O God.’«

¹⁵ The Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after that he said: ¹⁶ »‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days,’ says Jehovah; ‘I will put my laws in their hearts, and in their minds will I write them.’ (Jeremiah 31:33) ¹⁷ »I will not remember their sins and unrighteousness.« ¹⁸ Where there is forgiveness for these, there is no more offering for sin.

³³ You were at times publicly insulted and mistreated. Other times you were ready to join those who were being treated in this way. ³⁴ You shared the sufferings of prisoners. When all your belongings were seized, you endured your loss gladly. This is because you knew that you possessed something much better, which would last forever.

³⁸ »My righteous people will live by faith. If any of them turn back, I will not be pleased with them.« ³⁹ We are not people who turn back and are destroyed. Instead, we have faith and are saved.

¹¹ By faith Sarah received strength to conceive seed when she was past age, since she counted him faithful who promised.

¹⁹ Abraham reasoned that God is able to raise him from the dead. So he figured he would receive him back.

¹⁸ You have not come to a mountain that can be touched, to Mount Sinai with its blazing fire, the darkness and the gloom, the storm.

²² You have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads (thousands of thousands) of angels,

²⁴ You have come to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks in a better way than the blood of Abel.

² Show hospitality to strangers, for some have entertained angels without knowing it.

²⁰ Now the God of peace, who brought again from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep with the blood of an eternal covenant, even our Lord Jesus,

¹¹ searching what time or what manner of time the spirit of Christ that was in them did point to, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that should follow them.

¹⁸ Know that you were redeemed from your futile way of life inherited from your fathers. [The redemption] was not with corruptible things like silver or gold, ¹⁹ but with precious blood, as of a lamb without spot, even the blood of Christ. ²⁰ Jesus was known before the foundation of the world. He was made known at the end times for your sake.

¹⁶ Be free, and yet do not use your freedom for a covering for evil, but as servants of God.

³ They speak evil words about you because of their extreme greed. They will exploit you with false evil words. Their judgment from long ago is not idle. Their destruction will not delay.

¹⁸ For, uttering arrogant words of vanity, they entice in the desires (lusts) of the flesh, by sensuality (lasciviousness), those who are just escaping from the ones who live in error.

²⁰ After they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled and overcome; the last state is worse with them than the first.

¹ My little children, I write you these things that you may not sin. If any man sin, we have an Advocate (intercessor) (comforter) (helper) with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous!

¹⁸ Using his own will, he gave us birth through the word of truth. This way we would be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

⁵ Or do you think the scripture speaks to no purpose? Does the attitude of the heart (mental disposition) that he induced to live in us cause us to envy?

¹⁸ Because Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit.

³ You have spent enough time in the past doing what unbelievers like to do. Your lives were spent in indecency, lusts, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and the disgusting worship of idols (false gods).

³ We know that we know him, when we obey his commandments. ⁴ He who says: I know him, and does not obey his commandments is a liar! The truth is not in him.

¹² I write to you, my little children, because your sins are forgiven on account of his name.

¹ Observe the love the Father gave to us that we should be called the children of God. That is what we are! For this reason the world does not know us. This is because it did not know him.

¹ Observe the love the Father gave to us that we should be called the children of God. That is what we are! For this reason the world does not know us. This is because it did not know him. ² Beloved, now we are children of God. It is not yet revealed what we will be. We know that when he is revealed we will be like him. We will see him just as he is.

¹⁶ By this we know love, because he (Jesus) gave his life for us. We ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. ¹⁷ Whoever has this world's goods and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his compassion from him, how does the love of God dwell in him? ¹⁸ My Little children, let us not love in word, neither with the tongue; but in deed and truth.

² Here is how you know the Spirit of God, every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ came in the flesh is from God.

⁹ The love of God was made known through us. God sent his only-begotten Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation (atonement) (sacrificial payment) for our sins.

¹⁴ We see and testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.

²⁰ You, beloved, build yourself up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.

¹² »'I will make the one who overcomes, a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will not go out from it anymore. I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is the New Jerusalem. This city comes down out of heaven from my God. I will write my new name on him.

¹⁹ »'I reprove and discipline those whom I love: be zealous therefore, and repent.

⁹ They sing a new song, saying: »You are worthy to take the book, and to open the seals, for you were slaughtered and by your blood you bought persons for God out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.

¹ A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head was a crown with twelve stars. ² She, being with child, cried out in labor pains, ready to deliver.

³ They sing a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders. No man can learn that song but the hundred and forty-four thousand, who were redeemed from the earth.

⁵ A name was written on her forehead, a mystery, »Babylon the Great, the mother of the harlots and of the abominations of the earth.«

¹⁰ I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me: »Do not do that. I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers. You have the witness from Jesus: worship God! For the witness from Jesus is the spirit (mind-set) of prophecy.«

² Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

⁷ »He who overcomes will inherit all things. I will be his God, and he will be my son.

¹⁰ He carried me away in spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy city Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. ¹¹ She had the glory of God. Her light was like a very precious stone, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. ¹² The city had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written on each gate, the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: ¹³ On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. ¹⁴ The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. ¹⁵ He who talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city and the gates and the wall. ¹⁶ And the city lies foursquare. The length is as large as the width. He measured the city with the reed, fourteen hundred miles. The length and the width and the height of it are equal. ¹⁷ He measured the wall, two hundred feet, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. ¹⁸ The structure of the wall was jasper: and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. ¹⁹ The foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; ²⁰ the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, hyacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. ²¹ The twelve gates were twelve pearls. Each individual gate was one pearl. The street of the city was pure gold, as transparent glass. ²² I saw no temple there: for the Jehovah God the Almighty and the Lamb are the temple. ²³ The city did not need the sun or the moon to shine on it. For the glory of God and of the Lamb was its light. ²⁴ The nations will walk by means of its light. The kings of the earth bring their glory into it. ²⁵ Its gates will not close in the daytime and there will be no night there. ²⁶ They will bring the glory of the nations into it. ²⁷ Nothing impure will ever enter it. The shameful and deceitful will not enter. Only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life will enter.

²⁰ We know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding. We know him that is true for we are in him who is true, [and] in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and everlasting life. ²¹ My little children guard (protect) yourselves from idols.

⁸ Watch yourselves that you do not lose the things that we worked to produce. You may receive a full reward.