Genesis 28 Cross References - NSB

¹ Isaac called Jacob, blessed him, and told him: »Do not marry a Canaanite. ² »Go to Mesopotamia instead, to the home of your grandfather Bethuel. Marry one of the young women there, one of your uncle Laban’s daughters. ³ »Almighty God will bless your marriage and give you many children. You will become the father of many nations! ⁴ »He will bless you and your descendants as he blessed Abraham. You may take possession of this land, in which you have lived and which God gave to Abraham!« ⁵ Isaac then sent Jacob to stay with Rebekah’s brother Laban, the son of Bethuel the Aramean. ⁶ Esau found out that his father Isaac had blessed Jacob and had warned him not to marry any of the Canaanite women. He also learned that Jacob had been sent to find a wife in northern Syria. ⁷ Jacob did as his father and mother said. He went to Paddan-aram. ⁸ It was clear to Esau that his father despised the local Canaanite women. ⁹ So Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath, the daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife in addition to the wives he had. ¹⁰ Jacob left Beer-sheba and traveled toward Haran. ¹¹ As soon as the sun went down he stopped for the night. He took one of the stones from that place, put it under his head, and lay down there. ¹² He had a dream in which he saw a stairway set up on the earth with its top reaching up to heaven. He saw the angels of God going up and coming down on it. ¹³ Jehovah was standing above the stairway. He proclaimed: »I am Jehovah, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give the land on which you are lying to you and your descendants. ¹⁴ »Your descendants will be like the dust on the earth. You will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. Every family on earth will be blessed through you and through your descendants. ¹⁵ »Remember, I am with you. I will watch over you wherever you go. I will also bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I do what I have promised you.« ¹⁶ Jacob woke up from his sleep and said: »Truly, Jehovah is in this place, and I did not know it!« ¹⁷ He was filled with reverence. He said: »This is an awesome place! Certainly, this is the house of God and the gateway to the heavens!« ¹⁸ Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had under his head. He set it up as a marker and poured oil on top of it. ¹⁹ He named that place Bethel (House of God). Previously, the name of the city was Luz. ²⁰ Jacob made a vow. He said: »If God will be with me and will watch over me on my trip and give me food to eat and clothes to wear, ²¹ »and if I return safely to my father’s home, then Jehovah will be my God. ²² »This stone I placed as a marker will be the house of God. I will certainly give you a tenth of everything you give me.«

²⁸ God blessed them and said to them: »Be fruitful and increase in number. Fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and dominate the birds of the air. Have dominion over every living creature that moves on the ground.«

² The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful. They married any of them they chose.

¹ God blessed Noah and his sons. He said: »Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.

³¹ Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot, son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there.

¹ Jehovah said to Abram: »Leave your country, your people, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you. ² »I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you. I will make your name great. You will be a blessing. ³ »I will bless those who bless you. I will curse whoever curses you. All the people on earth will be blessed through you.«

³ »I will bless those who bless you. I will curse whoever curses you. All the people on earth will be blessed through you.«

⁷ Jehovah appeared to Abram and said: »I will give this land to your offspring (seed).« He built an altar there to Jehovah, who had appeared to him. ⁸ From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent. Bethel was on the west and Ai on the east. He built an altar to Jehovah and called on the name of Jehovah.

¹⁴ After Lot had parted from Abram, Jehovah said to Abram: »Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west.

¹⁴ After Lot had parted from Abram, Jehovah said to Abram: »Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. ¹⁵ »All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring (descendants) from generation to generation.

¹⁵ »All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring (descendants) from generation to generation. ¹⁶ »I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth. If anyone could count the dust, your offspring could be counted.

¹⁶ »I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth. If anyone could count the dust, your offspring could be counted. ¹⁷ »Go walk through the length and breadth of the land that I am giving to you.«

²⁰ »Blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!« Abram gave him one tenth of everything.

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.«

⁵ He brought him outside and said: »Look toward heaven and count the stars. Are you able to count them?« He continued: »So shall your descendants be.« ⁶ He believed in Jehovah. Jehovah considered Abram’s faith as his righteousness. ⁷ Then God said to him: »I AM JEHOVAH, who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess.«

¹² As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him.

¹⁸ On that day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram. He said: »To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, ¹⁹ the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, ²⁰ the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, ²¹ the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.«

¹ Abram was ninety-nine years old. Jehovah appeared to him and said: »I am God Almighty. Walk before me and be blameless. ² »I will establish my covenant between us. I will greatly increase your numbers.« ³ Abram fell on his face and God said to him: ⁴ »This is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. ⁵ »You will no longer be called Abram (Exalted Father). Your name will be Abraham (means Father of Many). I have made you a father of many nations. ⁶ »I will make you very fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.

⁶ »I will make you very fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.

⁶ »I will make you very fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. 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.

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.«

¹⁸ »Abraham will definitely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed in him.

³ God appeared to the king in a dream and said: »You are going to die, because you have taken this woman. She is already married.«

⁶ God said to him in a dream: »Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience. In fact, I kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. ⁷ »Give the man’s wife back to him now. He is a prophet. He will pray for you, and you will live. But if you do not give her back, you and all who belong to you are doomed to die.«

³³ Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beer-sheba. There he called on the name of Jehovah, the Everlasting God.

³ Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey. He took two of his servants and his son Isaac with him. He had cut the wood for the burnt offering. Then he set out for the place that God had told him about.

¹⁷ ‘»I will certainly bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of their enemies’ cities. ¹⁸ ‘»All the nations will ask me to bless them as I have blessed your descendants. This is because you obeyed my command.’«

¹⁸ ‘»All the nations will ask me to bless them as I have blessed your descendants. This is because you obeyed my command.’«

²⁰ Abraham’s brother Nahor had married Milcah, and Abraham was later told that they had eight sons. ²¹ Uz was their firstborn. Buz was next. Then there was Kemuel who became the father of Aram. Their other five sons were ²² Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel. ²³ Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. These are the eight children Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother.

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.

¹⁰ The servant took ten camels from the camels of his master, and then set out with a variety of good things of his master’s in his hand. He arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor.

¹⁵ Before he finished praying, Rebekah came with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, son of Milcah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor. ¹⁶ The girl was a very attractive virgin. No man had ever had sexual intercourse with her. She went to the spring and filled her jar, and came back. ¹⁷ The servant ran to meet her and said: »Please give me a drink of water.« ¹⁸ »Drink, my lord,« she said. She quickly lowered her jar to her hand and gave him a drink. ¹⁹ When she finished giving him a drink, she said: »I will also keep drawing water for your camels until they have had enough to drink.« ²⁰ She quickly emptied her jar into the water trough. Then she ran back to the well to draw more water. She drew enough for all his camels. ²¹ The man quietly watched her to see whether or not Jehovah made his trip successful. ²² When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a fifth of an ounce and two gold bracelets weighing four ounces. ²³ He said: »Please tell me who your father is. Is there room in his house for my men and me to spend the night?« ²⁴ »My father is Bethuel son of Nahor and Milcah,« she answered.

²⁹ Rebecca’s brother was named Laban. He ran outside to go to the well where Abraham’s servant was.

³⁷ »I solemnly promised my master I would do what he said. He told me: ‘Do not choose a wife for my son from the women in this land of Canaan.

⁵⁰ Laban and Bethuel replied: »The matter comes from Jehovah. We cannot speak to you bad or good.

⁶⁰ They gave Rebecca their blessing in these words: »May you, sister, become the mother of millions! May your descendants conquer the cities of their enemies!«

¹³ These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael, and Kedar and Adbeel and Mibsam ¹⁴ and Mishma and Dumah and Massa, ¹⁵ Hadad and Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. ¹⁶ These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages, and by their camps: twelve leaders according to their tribes. ¹⁷ Ishmael lived one hundred and thirty-seven years. Then he died and was gathered to his ancestors.

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

³ »You will live there as a foreigner. I will be with you and bless you. I will keep my promise to your father Abraham by giving this land to you and your descendants. ⁴ »I will give you as many descendants as there are stars in the sky. I will give your descendants all of this land. They will be a blessing to every nation on earth.

²⁴ That night Jehovah appeared to Isaac. Jehovah said: »I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, because I am with you. I will bless you and increase the number of your descendants for my servant Abraham’s sake.«

³⁴ When Esau was forty he married Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite.

³⁴ When Esau was forty he married Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. ³⁵ These two women brought a lot of grief to his parents, Isaac and Rebekah.

⁴ »Prepare a good-tasting meal for me. Prepare it the way I like it. Bring it to me to eat so that I will bless you before I die.«

²⁷ He came close and kissed him. He smelled the smell of his garments. Then he blessed him and said: »See, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field Jehovah has blessed.« ²⁸ »May God give you of the dew of heaven, the fatness of the earth, and an abundance of grain and new wine. ²⁹ »May peoples serve you. And nations bow down to you. Be master of your brothers. And may your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you. Blessed be those who bless you.« ³⁰ No sooner had Isaac finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob left his presence, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. ³¹ He also prepared a good-tasting meal and brought it to his father. Then he said to his father: »Please, Father, eat some of the meat I have hunted for you so that you will bless me.« ³² »Who are you?« his father Isaac asked him. »I am your firstborn son, Esau,« he answered. ³³ Isaac began to tremble and shake all over. He asked: »Who was it, then, who killed an animal and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came. I gave him my final blessing, and so it is his forever.«

³³ Isaac began to tremble and shake all over. He asked: »Who was it, then, who killed an animal and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came. I gave him my final blessing, and so it is his forever.«

⁴³ »Go quickly, my son. Run away to my brother Laban in Haran.

⁴⁶ Rebekah said to Isaac: »I cannot stand Hittite women! I would rather die than see Jacob marry one of them.«

¹ Isaac called Jacob, blessed him, and told him: »Do not marry a Canaanite.

³ »Almighty God will bless your marriage and give you many children. You will become the father of many nations! ⁴ »He will bless you and your descendants as he blessed Abraham. You may take possession of this land, in which you have lived and which God gave to Abraham!«

⁴ »He will bless you and your descendants as he blessed Abraham. You may take possession of this land, in which you have lived and which God gave to Abraham!« ⁵ Isaac then sent Jacob to stay with Rebekah’s brother Laban, the son of Bethuel the Aramean.

¹⁵ »Remember, I am with you. I will watch over you wherever you go. I will also bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I do what I have promised you.«

¹⁷ He was filled with reverence. He said: »This is an awesome place! Certainly, this is the house of God and the gateway to the heavens!« ¹⁸ Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had under his head. He set it up as a marker and poured oil on top of it.

²⁰ Jacob made a vow. He said: »If God will be with me and will watch over me on my trip and give me food to eat and clothes to wear, ²¹ »and if I return safely to my father’s home, then Jehovah will be my God. ²² »This stone I placed as a marker will be the house of God. I will certainly give you a tenth of everything you give me.«

¹ Jacob continued on his trip and arrived at the land in the east.

³ Jehovah said to Jacob: »Go back to the land of your ancestors and to your relatives. I will be with you.«

¹³ »‘I am the God of Bethel. That is where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me. Arise and leave this land. Return to the land of your birth.’«

¹⁸ He drove all his livestock ahead of him. He took all the possessions that he had accumulated. He took his own livestock that he had accumulated in Paddan-aram and went back to his father Isaac in Canaan.

⁴² »If the God of my father, the God of Abraham, out of respect for Isaac, had not been with me, you would have sent me away empty-handed by now. God has seen my misery and hard work. Last night he made it right!«

⁴⁵ Jacob took a stone and set it up as a marker. ⁴⁶ Jacob said to his relatives: »Gather some stones.« They took stones, put them into a pile, and ate there by the pile of stones.

¹ Along the way God’s angels met Jacob. ² When he saw them, Jacob said: »This is God’s camp!« He named that place Mahanaim.

⁹ Then Jacob prayed: »O God of my father Abraham, the God of my father Isaac, O Jehovah, you said to me: ‘Go back to your country and your family and I will be good to you.’ ¹⁰ »I am less than nothing in comparison with all your love and your faithfulness to me your servant. I only had a stick in my hand when I traveled across Jordan. Now I have become two armies.

¹² »You said, ‘I will make sure that you are prosperous and that your descendants will be as many as the grains of sand on the seashore. No one will be able to count them because there are so many.’«

²⁰ He set up an altar there and named it God, the God of Israel.

⁹ »Let us make an agreement that there will be intermarriage between our people and yours.

¹⁶ »Then we will give our daughters to you. And we will take your daughters for us. We will live with you as one people.

¹ God said to Jacob: »Go to Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar to God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.«

¹ God said to Jacob: »Go to Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar to God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.« ² Jacob said to his family and those who were with him: »Get rid of the foreign gods that you have. Wash yourselves until you are ritually clean. Change your clothes. ³ »After that let us go to Bethel. I will make an altar there to God, who answered me when I was troubled and who has been with me wherever I have gone.« ⁴ So everyone gave Jacob their idols and their earrings. He buried them under the oak (big) tree near Shechem. ⁵ Jacob and his family traveled through Canaan. God terrified the people in the towns so much that no one dared bother them. ⁶ Finally, they reached Bethel, also known as Luz.

⁶ Finally, they reached Bethel, also known as Luz. ⁷ Jacob built an altar there and called it God of Bethel. That was the place where God appeared to him when he was running from Esau.

⁷ Jacob built an altar there and called it God of Bethel. That was the place where God appeared to him when he was running from Esau.

⁷ Jacob built an altar there and called it God of Bethel. That was the place where God appeared to him when he was running from Esau. ⁸ Deborah died. She was the servant who cared for Rebekah from childhood. She was buried near Bethel, under the holy tree. They named it Allon-bacuth (weeping tree). ⁹ God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-aram. He blessed him.

⁹ God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-aram. He blessed him. ¹⁰ God said to him: »Your name is Jacob. You shall no longer be called Jacob. Israel shall be your name.« Thus He called him Israel. ¹¹ God also said: »I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and an assembly of nations will come from you. Kings shall come forth from you.

¹¹ God also said: »I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and an assembly of nations will come from you. Kings shall come forth from you.

¹¹ God also said: »I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and an assembly of nations will come from you. Kings shall come forth from you. ¹² »The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you. I will give the land to your descendants after you.«

¹² »The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you. I will give the land to your descendants after you.«

¹² »The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you. I will give the land to your descendants after you.« ¹³ Then God went up from him at the place where he had spoken with him. ¹⁴ So Jacob set up a memorial, a stone marker, to mark the place where God had spoken with him. He poured a wine offering and olive oil on it.

¹⁴ So Jacob set up a memorial, a stone marker, to mark the place where God had spoken with him. He poured a wine offering and olive oil on it. ¹⁵ Jacob named the place where God had spoken with him Bethel (House of God).

¹⁵ Jacob named the place where God had spoken with him Bethel (House of God).

¹⁷ When one of her pains hit, the midwife said: »Do not be afraid. You have another son!«

²⁰ Jacob set up a stone as a marker for her grave. The same marker is at Rachel’s grave today.

³ and Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebaioth.

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

¹⁸ These were the sons of Oholibamah, Esau’s wife: Chief Jeush, Chief Jaalam, and Chief Korah. These were the chiefs who descended from Oholibamah, Esau’s wife, the daughter of Anah.

⁵ One time Joseph had a dream. He told his brothers about it and they hated him even more. ⁶ He said: »Please listen to the dream I had. ⁷ »We were all in the field tying up sheaves of wheat. My sheaf got up and stood up straight. Yours formed a circle around mine and bowed down to it.« ⁸ »Do you think you are going to be a king and rule over us?« his brothers asked. So they hated him even more because of his dreams and because of what he said about them. ⁹ Joseph had another dream and told his brothers: »I had another dream, in which I saw the sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowing down to me.« ¹⁰ He also told the dream to his father. His father scolded him. »What kind of a dream is that? Do you think that your mother, your brothers, and I are going to come and bow down to you?« ¹¹ Joseph’s brothers were jealous of him. His father kept thinking about the whole matter.

² Jehovah was with Joseph. Joseph became a successful man. He worked in the house of his Egyptian master.

²¹ Jehovah helped him and was good to him. He even made the jailer like Joseph so much that

¹ The king’s chief cupbearer and his chief baker made the king angry. ² Pharaoh was furious with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker. ³ So he put them in confinement in the house of the captain of the bodyguard. It was the same place where Joseph was imprisoned. ⁴ The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph. He took care of them. After they had been confined for some time, ⁵ both prisoners, the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt, had dreams one night. Each man had a dream with its own special meaning. ⁶ Joseph saw that they were upset when he came to them in the morning. ⁷ He asked these officials of Pharaoh who were with him in his master’s prison: »Why do you look so unhappy today?« ⁸ »We both had dreams,« they answered him, »but there is no one to tell us what they mean.« »Is it not God who can tell what dreams mean?« Joseph asked them. »Tell me all about them.« ⁹ So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said: »In my dream a grapevine with three branches appeared in front of me. ¹⁰ »Soon after it sprouted it blossomed. Then its clusters ripened into grapes. ¹¹ »Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand. I took the grapes and squeezed them into it. I put the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.« ¹² »This is what it means,« Joseph said to him. »The three branches are three days. ¹³ »In the next three days Pharaoh will release you and restore you to your position. You will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand as you used to do when you were his cupbearer. ¹⁴ »Remember me when things go well for you. Please do me a favor. Mention me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this prison. ¹⁵ »I was in fact kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews. And here I have done nothing that they should have put me into the dungeon.« ¹⁶ When the chief baker saw that he had interpreted favorably, he said to Joseph: »I also saw in my dream three baskets of white bread on my head. ¹⁷ »The top basket contained all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh. The birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.« ¹⁸ Joseph answered: »This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days. ¹⁹ »In three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head from you. He will hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh off you.« ²⁰ It happened on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday that he made a feast for all his servants. He lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. ²¹ He restored the chief cupbearer to his office, and he put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand. ²² He did indeed hang the chief baker, just as Joseph had interpreted to them. ²³ Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph. In fact he forgot him.

⁵² He named the second son Ephraim, because God made him fruitful in the land where he had suffered.

¹⁴ »May God Almighty cause the man to have pity on you, so that he will give Benjamin and your other brother back to you. As for me, if I must lose my children, I must lose them.«

³ God said: »I am God! I am the same God your father worshiped. Do not be afraid to go to Egypt. I will give you so many descendants that one day they will become a nation. ⁴ »I will go to Egypt with you. I will make sure you come back again. Joseph will close your eyes when you die.«

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

³ Jacob said to Joseph: »Almighty God appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me.

¹⁵ Jacob blessed Joseph. He said: »May God, in whose presence my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac walked, may this God who has been my shepherd all my life to this very day, ¹⁶ »May the being who rescued me from all evil bless these boys! May they be called by my name and by the names of my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac. May they have many children on the earth.«

²¹ Then Israel said to Joseph: »I am about to die. God will be with you. He will bring you back to the land of your fathers.

²⁸ These are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is how Jacob blessed each of them.

⁵ God said: »Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground. ⁶ »I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.« Moses covered his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

¹² God said: »I will be with you! This shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.«

¹⁵ God, further said to Moses: »You shall say to the sons of Israel: ‘JEHOVAH, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ (JEHOVAH) THIS IS MY NAME FOREVER! This is my memorial-name to all generations. ¹⁶ Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them: JEHOVAH, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has appeared to me. He said: »I am indeed concerned about you and what has been done to you in Egypt.«

³ »I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name, Jehovah, I did not make myself known to them.

² »Jehovah is my strong defender. He is the one who has saved me. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will sing about his greatness.

¹¹ »Who among the gods is like you Jehovah? Who is like you, wonderful in holiness? Who can work wonders and mighty acts like yours?

¹² »Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land Jehovah your God gives you.

¹⁵ Otherwise you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land. They would commit spiritual immorality (fornication) with their gods and sacrifice to their gods. Someone might invite you to eat of his sacrifice. ¹⁶ »You might take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters might commit spiritual immorality (fornication) with their gods and cause your sons also to commit spiritual immorality with their gods.

¹⁰ Moses took the anointing oil to anoint the tent and everything in it and dedicate them. ¹¹ He sprinkled the altar seven times. He anointed the altar; it’s utensils, the washbasin and its pedestal. This made them holy. ¹² He also poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron's head and anointed him to set him apart for his holy duties.

³ »‘Respect your mother and father. Observe my days of worship. I am Jehovah your God!

¹ Jehovah spoke to Moses: ² »Give the following regulations for the people of Israel: ‘When any of you have been given to Jehovah in fulfillment of a special vow, you may be set free by the payment of the following sums of money, ³ »‘This is according to the official standard: adult male, twenty to sixty years old: fifty pieces of silver, adult female: thirty pieces of silver, young male, five to twenty years old: twenty pieces of silver, young female: ten pieces of silver, infant male under five: five pieces of silver, infant female: three pieces of silver, male above sixty years of age: fifteen pieces of silver, female above sixty: ten pieces of silver. ⁴ »‘If it is a woman, give twelve ounces. ⁵ »‘For a boy from five to twenty years old, give eight ounces and for a girl give four ounces. ⁶ »‘For a boy from one month to five years old, give two ounces of silver and for a girl give about one ounce. ⁷ For a man sixty years or over, give six ounces and for a woman give four ounces. ⁸ »‘The person who is too poor to pay the required amount must stand in front of the priest. The priest will determine the amount based on what the person can afford. ⁹ »‘If the vow is to give the kind of animal that people offer to Jehovah, it will be considered holy. ¹⁰ »‘Do not exchange or substitute animals, a good one for a bad one or a bad one for a good one. If you do exchange one animal for another, then both animals will be holy. ¹¹ »‘If it is an unclean animal that cannot be brought to Jehovah as an offering, bring it in front of the priest. ¹² »‘The priest will determine what its value is. The value will be whatever the priest decides. ¹³ »‘If you want to buy it back, you must pay its full value plus one-fifth more. ¹⁴ »‘If you give your house to Jehovah as something holy, the priest will determine what its value is. The value will be whatever the priest decides. ¹⁵ »‘If you want to buy it back, you must pay its full value plus one-fifth more. ¹⁶ »‘If a person gives part of a field to Jehovah as something holy, its value will be based on the seed planted on it. Ground planted with two quarts of barley will be worth twenty ounces of silver. ¹⁷ »‘If you give your field in the jubilee year, it will have its full value. ¹⁸ »‘Should you give the field after the jubilee year, the priest will estimate its value based on the number of years left until the next jubilee year. ¹⁹ »‘If you want to buy it back, you must pay its full value plus one-fifth more. ²⁰ »‘If you do not buy it back and it is sold to someone else, it may not be redeemed. ²¹ »‘When the field is released in the jubilee year, it will be holy like a field claimed by Jehovah. It will become the property of the priest. ²² »‘You may give a field you bought, not one that was a part of your family property, to Jehovah as something holy. ²³ »‘The priest must figure out the field's value until the jubilee year. You will pay its value on that day as something holy, belonging to Jehovah. ²⁴ »‘In the jubilee year the field will go back to the person from whom it was bought, to whom it belongs as family property. ²⁵ »‘All values will be set using the standard weight of the holy place. ²⁶ »‘A firstborn animal already belongs to Jehovah because it was born first. Therefore, it cannot be set apart as holy. Whether it is a bull or a sheep, it belongs to Jehovah. ²⁷ »‘If it is an unclean animal it must be bought back. The payment will be its full value plus one-fifth more. If it is not bought back, it must be sold at the value given it. ²⁸ »‘However, everything dedicated to Jehovah for destruction, a person, an animal, or a field that belongs to you, must not be sold or bought back. Everything dedicated in that way is very holy. It belongs to Jehovah. ²⁹ »‘People dedicated this way may not be bought back. They must be put to death. ³⁰ »‘One-tenth of what comes from the land, whether grain or fruit, is holy and belongs to Jehovah.

³⁰ »‘One-tenth of what comes from the land, whether grain or fruit, is holy and belongs to Jehovah. ³¹ »‘If you buy back any part of it, you must add one-fifth more to it.

³¹ »‘If you buy back any part of it, you must add one-fifth more to it. ³² »‘Every tenth head of cattle or sheep that you counted is holy and belongs to Jehovah.

³² »‘Every tenth head of cattle or sheep that you counted is holy and belongs to Jehovah. ³³ »‘You must not look to see if it is good or bad or exchange it. If you do exchange it, both the first animal and its substitute will be holy. They may not be bought back.’«

³³ »‘You must not look to see if it is good or bad or exchange it. If you do exchange it, both the first animal and its substitute will be holy. They may not be bought back.’« ³⁴ These are the commandments Jehovah gave Moses on Mount Sinai for the Israelites.

¹ Jehovah said to Moses: ² »Tell the Israelites: ‘A man or a woman may make a special vow to live as a Nazirite dedicated to Jehovah. ³ »‘Nazirites must never drink wine, liquor, vinegar made from wine or liquor, or any kind of grape juice. They must never eat fresh grapes or raisins. ⁴ »‘As long as they are Nazirites they must never eat anything that comes from a grapevine, not even grape seeds or skins. ⁵ »‘As long as they are under the Nazirite vow no razor may touch their heads. During the entire time that they are dedicated to Jehovah as Nazirites, they will be holy. They must let their hair grow long. ⁶ »‘While they are dedicated to Jehovah as Nazirites, they must never go near a dead body. ⁷ »‘Even if their own father, mother, brother, or sister dies, they must not make themselves unclean by going near them. Nazarites show their vow to God with their long hair. ⁸ »‘As long as they are Nazirites, they will be holy to Jehovah. ⁹ »‘Someone might suddenly drop dead next to a Nazirite and make the Nazirite’s hair unclean. Seven days later he must shave his head in order to be declared clean. ¹⁰ »‘The eighth day he must bring two mourning doves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ¹¹ »‘The priest will sacrifice one as an offering for sin and the other one as a burnt offering. The priest will pay compensation for the wrongdoing and make peace with Jehovah for the person who touched the dead body. That same day the person must dedicate his head again. ¹² »‘Once again he will dedicate himself to Jehovah as a Nazirite for the same length of time as before. He must bring a one-year-old male lamb as an offering for guilt. The first time period will not count. He has to start over from when he became unclean. ¹³ »‘These are the instructions for Nazirites to complete their vows: They must come to the entrance of the tent of meeting. ¹⁴ »‘They are to bring these offerings to Jehovah: a one-year-old male lamb as a burnt offering, a one-year-old female lamb as an offering for sin, and a ram as a fellowship offering. All of these animals must have no defects. ¹⁵ »‘They must also bring a basket of unleavened bread containing some rings of bread made with olive oil and wafers of unleavened bread brushed with olive oil, along with other grain offerings and wine offerings. ¹⁶ »‘The priest will bring these offerings to Jehovah. He will make the offering for sin and the burnt offering. ¹⁷ »‘He will sacrifice the ram as a fellowship offering to Jehovah. He will offer the basket of unleavened bread along with it, and make the grain offerings and wine offerings. ¹⁸ »‘The Nazirites will shave their heads at the entrance to the tent of meeting. Then they will take the hair as proof that they had made this vow, and put it on the fire under the fellowship offering. ¹⁹ »‘The priest will take one of the shoulders from a boiled ram, one ring of unleavened bread from the basket, and one wafer of unleavened bread and hand them to the Nazirites after they have shaved off their hair. ²⁰ »‘The priest will present them as an offering to Jehovah. They are holy and belong to the priest, along with the ram’s breast that is presented and the thigh that is given. After that, the Nazirites may drink wine.’«

¹ Moses finished setting up the tent. He anointed it and dedicated it and all the furnishings. He also anointed and dedicated the altar and all the utensils.

⁶ He said: »Listen to my words: ‘When there are prophets of Jehovah among you, I make myself known to them in visions or speak to them in dreams.

² Then the Israelites made a vow to Jehovah: »If you will let us conquer these people, we will unconditionally dedicate them and their cities to you and will destroy them.« ³ Jehovah heard them and helped them conquer the Canaanites. The Israelites completely destroyed them and their cities, and named the place Hormah.

¹⁰ »‘The descendants of Jacob are like specks of dust. Who can count them or number even one-fourth of the people of Israel? Let me die the death of innocent people. Let my end be like theirs.’«

¹⁹ »God is a not man that he should lie. He is not a son of man who changes his mind. Does he ever promise and not fulfill? Does he ever speak and not act?

²⁰ »Jehovah your God will expand your country's borders as he promised. You will say: I am hungry for meat. Then eat as much meat as you want.

²² »You shall surely tithe all the produce from what you sow, which comes out of the field every year. ²³ »You shall eat in the presence of Jehovah your God, at the place where He chooses to establish his name, the tithe of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and your flock, so that you may learn to respect Jehovah your God always.

¹⁷ »You declared Jehovah to be your God today. You said you would walk in his ways and keep his statutes, his commandments and his ordinances, and listen to his voice.

⁶ »Be determined and with good courage. Do not be afraid of them. Your God, Jehovah, will be with you. He will not fail you or abandon you.

¹ These are the blessings that Moses, the man of God, pronounced on the people of Israel before he died:

⁵ »No man will be able to resist you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses I will be with you. I will not fail you nor forsake you.

¹⁵ The captain (commander) of Jehovah’s host (army) said to Joshua: »Take your shoes from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy.« And at once Joshua did so.

⁷ To the one half tribe of Manasseh Moses had given possession in Bashan: but he gave the other half to Joshua among their brothers on this side Jordan westward. Joshua sent them a way to their tents and he blessed them.

¹⁴ »It is time for me to die. Every one of you knows in his heart and very being that Jehovah your God has given you all the good things he promised. Every promise he made has been kept; not one has failed. ¹⁵ »Just as he kept every promise that he made to you, so he will carry out every threat. ¹⁶ »If you do not obey the covenant Jehovah your God commanded you to obey and if you serve and worship other gods, then in his anger he will punish you. Soon none of you will be left in this good land that he gave you.«

²⁶ Joshua wrote these commands in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up under the oak tree in Jehovah’s sanctuary. ²⁷ He told the people: »This stone will serve as our witness. It has heard all the words that Jehovah spoke to us. So it will be a witness against you, to keep you from rebelling against your God.«

²² The house of Joseph also attacked Bethel: and Jehovah was with them. ²³ The house of Joseph sent men to spy out Bethel. ²⁴ The spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said to him: »Show us the entrance into the city, and we will show you mercy.« ²⁵ When he showed them the entrance into the city, they struck the city with the edge of the sword. But spared the man and all his family. ²⁶ The man went into the land of the Hittites and built a city. He called it Luz, which is its name this day.

³⁰ Jephthah promised Jehovah: »If you give me victory over the Ammonites, ³¹ »I will sacrifice with a burnt offering the first person that comes out of my house to meet me, when I return from the victory. I will offer that person to you as a sacrifice.« (Jeremiah 19:5)

³¹ »I will sacrifice with a burnt offering the first person that comes out of my house to meet me, when I return from the victory. I will offer that person to you as a sacrifice.« (Jeremiah 19:5)

¹⁶ Jehovah answered: »You can do it. I will help you. You will crush the Midianites as easily as if they were only one man.«

²² Manoah told his wife: »We will die, for we have seen God (a God-like being)!«

¹¹ »O Jehovah of Hosts: If you will truly notice the sorrow of your servant. Remember me. Do not turn away from me. If you will give me a son, then I will give him to you, Jehovah, all the days of his life. His hair will never be cut.«

¹² Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He said: »Jehovah helped us all the way.« He named it: »Stone of Help.«

⁶ Samuel was upset to hear the leaders say they wanted a king. So he prayed about it.

²⁸ »So I am dedicating (giving) (granting) him to Jehovah. As long as he lives, he will belong to Jehovah.« Then they worshiped Jehovah there.

⁴ Jehovah called Samuel. He answered: »Here am I.« ⁵ He ran to Eli and said: »Here I am. You called me?« »I did not call you,« Eli replied. »Go back to bed.« So Samuel went back to bed. ⁶ Jehovah called Samuel again. Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said: »Here I am. You called me.« Eli responded: »I did not call you, son. Go back to bed.« ⁷ Samuel had no experience with Jehovah, because the word of Jehovah had not yet been revealed to him.

²⁴ And all the people were with Saul. There were about twenty thousand men. The fight was general through all the mountains of Ephraim. Saul made a great error that day. He put the people under an oath, saying: »Let that man be cursed who eats any food before evening. I have taken vengeance on my enemies.« So the people did not eat.

⁸ »When I lived at Geshur in Syria (Aram), I promised Jehovah that if he would take me back to Jerusalem, I would worship him in Hebron.«

²⁴ Mephibosheth grandson of Saul also came to meet David. He missed David so much that he did not take a bath or trim his beard or wash his clothes the whole time David was gone.

³⁰ »Let him take it all,« Mephibosheth told the king. »It is enough for me that you have come home safely.«

¹⁸ During his lifetime Absalom built a monument for himself in King’s Valley. He had no son to keep his name alive. So he named it after himself. To this day it is known as Absalom’s Monument.

⁵⁷ »May Jehovah our God be with us as he was with our ancestors. May he not leave us or abandon us.

²⁹ He placed one in Bethel and the other in Dan.

¹⁷ So Naaman said: »If you will not accept my gift, then let me have two mule-loads of earth to take home with me. From now on I will not offer sacrifices or burnt offerings to any god except Jehovah.

¹⁴ The priests could not serve because of the cloud. Jehovah’s glory filled the Temple of God.

⁹ »The eyes of Jehovah keep close watch over the entire world. He gives strength (shows His strength) to (in behalf of) those whose hearts are loyal to him. You have acted foolishly! Therefore from now on you will always be at war.«

¹ Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel came together, taking no food and putting sackcloth and dust on their bodies. ² The seed of Israel made themselves separate from all the men of other nations. They publicly requested forgiveness for their sins and the wrongdoing of their fathers. ³ For a fourth part of the day, upright in their places, they read from the book of the Law of their God. For a fourth part of the day they requested forgiveness and worshipped Jehovah their God. ⁴ Then Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani took their places on the steps of the Levites and cried in a loud voice to Jehovah their God. ⁵ Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah said: »Get up and give praise to Jehovah your God forever and ever. Praise your great name that is lifted up high over all, blessing and praise. ⁶ »You are Jehovah, even you only! You made heaven, the heaven of heavens with all their armies, the earth and all things in it, the seas and everything in them. You keep them from destruction and the armies of heaven are your worshippers. ⁷ »You are Jehovah, the true God, who took Abram and made him yours, guiding him from Ur of the Chaldees, and gave him the name of Abraham; ⁸ »You saw that his heart was true to you, and made an agreement with him to give the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Jebusite and the Girgashite, even to give it to his seed, and you have done what you said; for righteousness is yours. ⁹ »You saw the trouble of our fathers in Egypt, and their cry came to your ears by the Red Sea. ¹⁰ »You did signs and wonders on Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land. You saw how cruel they were to them. So you made a name for yourself as it is today.

¹² Eliphaz of Teman continued: »I was told something secretly and heard something whispered in my ear. ¹³ »I am with disturbing thoughts from visions in the night, when deep sleep falls on people. ¹⁴ »Fear and trembling came over me, and all my bones shook. ¹⁵ »A spirit passed in front of me. It made my hair stand on end. ¹⁶ »Something stood there. I could not tell what it was. A vague image was in front of my eyes. I heard a soft voice say: ¹⁷ »Can any mortal be righteous to God? Can any human being be pure to his maker? ¹⁸ »You see God does not trust his own servants. He accuses his angels of making mistakes. ¹⁹ »How much more will he accuse those who live in clay houses that have their foundation in the dust? Those houses can be crushed quicker than a moth! ²⁰ »From morning to evening, they are shattered. They will disappear forever without anyone noticing. ²¹ »Have the ropes of their tent been loosened? Will they die without wisdom?«

¹¹ »He goes by me and I do not see. He moves past and I do not perceive him.

¹⁴ »God does speak, now one-way and then another, though man may not perceive it. ¹⁵ »In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men as they slumber in their beds, ¹⁶ he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings,

²⁵ My praise comes from you while I am among those assembled for worship. I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who respect Jehovah.

⁷ Jehovah of Hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our stronghold.

¹¹ Jehovah of Hosts is with us! The God of Jacob is our stronghold.

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

¹³ I will come into your temple with burnt offerings. I will keep my vows to you,

³⁵ God, the God of Israel, is awe-inspiring in his holy place. He gives strength and power to his people. Praise God!

¹⁷ His name will endure forever. His name will continue as long as the sun shines. May all nations be blessed through him and call him blessed.

¹² »Hear my prayer, O Jehovah. Open your ear (listen) to my cry for help. Do not be deaf to my tears, for I am a foreign resident with you, a stranger like all my fathers.

⁵ You have heard my vows, O God, and you have given me what belongs to those who respect your name.

⁸ So I will always sing praises to your name, as I perform my vows day after day.

¹¹ Make vows to Jehovah your God and fulfill them. Let all who are around him bring gifts to him. He should be respected.

⁶ You seed of Abraham his servant, you children of Jacob his chosen ones. ⁷ He is Jehovah our God: his judgments are in all the earth. ⁸ He has remembered his covenant forever! It is the word he commanded to a thousand generations. ⁹ He made this covenant with Abraham and gave his oath to Isaac. ¹⁰ He confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant. ¹¹ He said: »I will give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance to you.«

¹¹ He said: »I will give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance to you.« ¹² They were a few men in number, very few, and strangers in it.

¹⁴ I will keep my vows to Jehovah in the presence of all his people.

¹⁸ I will keep my vows to Jehovah in the presence of all his people,

⁶⁰ I hurried and did not delay to keep your commandments.

¹⁰⁶ I have sworn and I will confirm it: I will keep your righteous ordinances.

⁵ Jehovah is your keeper. Jehovah is your shade on your right hand. ⁶ The sun will not strike you by day. The moon will not strike you by night. ⁷ Jehovah will protect you from all evil. He will protect (preserve) you. ⁸ May Jehovah guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever.

¹ ([Psalm of Solomon]) If Jehovah does not build the house, it is vain for the builders to work on it. If Jehovah does not protect a city, it is vain for the guard to stay alert.

³ Children are an inheritance from Jehovah. They are a blessing from him. ⁴ The children born to a man when he is young are like arrows in the hand of a warrior. ⁵ Blessed is the man who has filled his quiver with them. He will not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the city gate.

³ Your wife will be like a fruitful vine inside your home. Your children will be like young olive trees around your table. ⁴ This is how Jehovah will bless the person who fears him. ⁵ May Jehovah bless you from Zion so that you may see Jerusalem prosper all the days of your life. ⁶ May you live to see your children's children. Let there be peace in Israel!

² Remember how he swore an oath to Jehovah and made this vow to the Mighty One of Jacob.

⁸ My son, listen to the instruction of your father. Do not forsake the law of your mother.

¹⁷ The eye that mocks his father, and rejects obedience to his mother, the ravens of the valley pick it out, and the young eagles eat it.

¹ Guard your step when you go to the house of God. It is better to go there and listen than to bring the sacrifices fools bring. Fools are not aware that they do evil.

¹ Guard your step when you go to the house of God. It is better to go there and listen than to bring the sacrifices fools bring. Fools are not aware that they do evil. ² Do not be in a hurry to talk. Do not be eager to speak in the presence of God. Since God is in heaven and you are on earth, limit the number of your words. ³ Dreams come with many efforts, trials and concerns. Fools speak with too many words. ⁴ Do not be late in paying a vow you make to God. He takes no delight in fools. Pay what you vow! ⁵ It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. ⁶ Do not let your speech cause you to sin. Do not say to the messenger of God that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry because of what you say and destroy the work of your hands? ⁷ There is futility and emptiness in many dreams and in many words. Reverence God.

¹⁰ Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, where you are going.

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).

¹⁰ Make plans for battle, but they will never succeed. Give orders, but they will not be carried out, because God is with us!

¹³ »Remember that Jehovah of Hosts is holy. He is the one you should respect. He is the one you should reverence (venerate) (exalt).«

¹⁹ When that time comes, there will be an altar to Jehovah in the middle of the land of Egypt and a stone pillar dedicated to him at the Egyptian border.

²¹ Jehovah will make himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know Jehovah in that day. They will even worship with sacrifice and offering, and will make a vow to Jehovah and perform it.

² »When you go through the sea, I am with you. When you go through rivers, they will not sweep you away. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned, and the flames will not harm you.

¹⁰ »‘Do not fear for I am with you! Do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.’

¹⁹ »They will fight you but they will not defeat you. I am with you, and I will rescue you,« declares Jehovah.

²⁴ »‘»My servant David will be their king. All of them will have one shepherd. They will live by my rules, and they will obey my laws. ²⁵ »‘»They will live in the land that I gave my servant Jacob, the land where their ancestors lived. They, their children, and their grandchildren will live in it for a very long time. My servant David will be their prince for a very long time.

¹ It was the second year of his reign. He was troubled and could not sleep. Nebuchadnezzar had dreams and was disturbed by them. ² The king summoned the magicians, enchanters (conjurers), sorcerers, and the Chaldeans and commanded them to tell the king about his dreams. They came in and stood before the king. ³ The king said: »I had a dream that troubles me and I want to understand what the dream means.« ⁴ The Chaldeans spoke in the Syrian language: »O king, may you live for a very long time. Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it.« ⁵ The king answered: »I have decided. If you do not make the dream known to me and it’s interpretation you will be cut in pieces, and your houses will be made a dunghill (foul smelling pile of rubbish). ⁶ »But if you tell me the dream and what it means you will receive gifts and rewards and great honor from me. Therefore tell me the dream and the interpretation of it.« ⁷ They answered the second time. They said: »Let the king tell his servants the dream. Then we will tell the interpretation.« ⁸ The king responded: »I am certain that you bargain for time, because you see my command is firm. ⁹ »If you do not tell me my dream, the law will apply to you. You are stalling by speaking lies to me until I change my requirements. Tell me the dream, and I will know that you can show me the interpretation of it.« ¹⁰ The Chaldeans answered: »There is no man on earth who can do what the king requires. No king, lord, or ruler, has asked such a thing of any magician, or enchanter, or Chaldean. ¹¹ »It is a rare thing that the king requires. There is no other person who can show it to the king, except the gods, and they do not live with humans.« ¹² This caused the king to be angry. In fact he became furious! He commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. ¹³ So the decree was delivered. The wise men were to be executed. They searched for Daniel and his companions to execute them. ¹⁴ Daniel sent an answer tempered with counsel and prudence to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, who was ordered to execute the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁵ He asked Arioch the king's captain: »Why is the decree so urgent from the king?« Then Arioch explained it to Daniel. ¹⁶ Daniel made an appointment with the king so he could show the king the interpretation. ¹⁷ Then Daniel went back to his house, and explained everything to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions: ¹⁸ that they would request mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret. And they would request that Daniel and his companions would not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁹ The secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Daniel praised the God of heaven. ²⁰ Daniel said: »Praise be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are his. ²¹ »He changes the times and the seasons. He removes kings, and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to the discerning. ²² »He reveals the deep and hidden things. He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. ²³ »I thank you, and praise you, O God of my fathers. You have given me wisdom and might. You have made known to me what we desired from you. For you have made known to us the king's situation.« ²⁴ Therefore Daniel went to Arioch. Arioch was appointed by the king to destroy the wise men of Babylon. Daniel said to him: »Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king and I will show the king the interpretation.« ²⁵ Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king and said: »I have found a man of the captive children of Judah who will make the interpretation known to the king.« ²⁶ The king said to Daniel, who was also called Belteshazzar: »Are you able to tell me about my dream and interpret it?« ²⁷ Daniel answered: »Wise men, enchanters, magicians, and soothsayers cannot show the secret the king demanded. ²⁸ »There is a God in heaven that reveals secrets. He made known to king Nebuchadnezzar what will be in days to come. Your dream and visions are these: ²⁹ »As for you, O king, your thoughts while you were in bed were about what will happen in the future. He who reveals secrets revealed the future to you. ³⁰ »Concerning me, this secret is not revealed to me to give me more wisdom than anyone else. It is for the purpose that the interpretation may be made known to the king; that you may know the thoughts of your mind. ³¹ »You, O king, saw a large statue. This statue was in fact very large. It was very bright as it stood before you. Its appearance was awesome. ³² »The statue had a head of pure gold, chest and arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass. ³³ »It had legs of iron and its feet were partly of iron, and partly of clay. ³⁴ »You watched while a stone was cut out without hands. It struck the statue upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. ³⁵ »The iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broke in pieces together. It became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors. The wind carried them away and no place was found for them. The stone that struck the statue became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. ³⁶ »This was the dream! We will interpret it for the king. ³⁷ »You, O king, are king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory. ³⁸ »He gave the children of men, the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens to your hand. He made you the ruler over them all! You are the head of gold. ³⁹ »After you another inferior kingdom will arise and another third kingdom of brass, which will rule over all the earth. ⁴⁰ »The fourth kingdom will be strong as iron, since iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things. It is iron that crushes all these. It will break in pieces and crush. ⁴¹ »The feet and toes you saw, part of potters' clay, and part of iron will be a divided kingdom. It will have the strength of iron. However, you saw the iron mixed with clay. ⁴² »As the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom will be partly strong, and partly broken. ⁴³ »The iron mixed with clay will mingle with the seed of men. But they will not adhere to one another. For iron does not stick to clay. ⁴⁴ »In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed. Its sovereignty will not be entrusted to another people. It will break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms and it will stand forever! ⁴⁵ »You saw a stone cut out of the mountain without hands. It broke the iron, brass, clay, silver, and the gold to pieces. The great God made known to the king what will happen in the future. The dream is certain, and the interpretation of it is sure.« ⁴⁶ King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and worshipped Daniel. He commanded that they present an offering and burn incense to him. ⁴⁷ The king spoke to Daniel: »It is true, your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing you were able to reveal this secret.« ⁴⁸ The king made Daniel great! He gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon. He was appointed chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. ⁴⁹ Daniel requested that the king appoint Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon. Daniel sat in the court of the king.

¹ »Nebuchadnezzar the king, to all the peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you. ² »It seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me. ³ »How great are his signs! How mighty are his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation. ⁴ »I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house, and active in my palace. ⁵ »I saw a dream that made me afraid. When I saw this vision my thoughts troubled me. ⁶ »I made a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon that they might explain the dream to me. ⁷ »The magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and the soothsayers came to me. I told the dream to them. They did not explain the dream to me. ⁸ »Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, finally came to me. He has the spirit of the holy gods. So I told the dream to him saying: ⁹ ‘»O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and no secret troubles you! Tell me the visions I have seen in my dream. Give me the interpretation. ¹⁰ ‘»Here are the visions of my head: I saw a tree in the midst of the earth. It was very tall. ¹¹ »‘The tree grew and became strong. Its height reached to heaven. It could be seen from distant parts of the earth. ¹² ‘»The leaves were beautiful and the fruit abundant. In it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shadow under it. The birds of the heavens dwelt in its branches. All flesh was fed by it. ¹³ ‘»I saw in the visions of my head: Behold, a watcher and a holy one came down from heaven. ¹⁴ »He cried aloud: ‘Chop down the tree, and cut off its branches, shake off its leaves, and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from its branches. ¹⁵ ‘»Leave the stump and roots in the earth. Apply to it a band of iron and copper in the tender grass of the field. Let it be wet with the dew of heaven. Let its portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth. ¹⁶ ‘»Let its heart be changed from a man's, and let a beast's heart be given to it. Seven times should pass over it. ¹⁷ ‘»The decision is by the decree of the watchers. The sentence by the word of the holy ones! It is to the intent that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever he will, and sets over it the lowest of men.« ¹⁸ ‘»I, king Nebuchadnezzar, have seen this dream and you O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation! For all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make the interpretation known to me. You are able for the spirit of the holy gods is in you!’ ¹⁹ »Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was stricken dumb for a while, and his thoughts troubled him. The king said, Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or the interpretation trouble you. Belteshazzar answered: My lord, the dream may be to them that hate you and the interpretation to your adversaries. ²⁰ ‘»The tree that you saw, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached to heaven, and was seen in the distant parts of the earth; ²¹ whose leaves were beautiful and fruit abundant, and in it was food for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the birds of the heavens lived: ²² It is you O king! You have grown and become strong. Your greatness has grown, and reaches to heaven. Your dominion is to the end of the earth. ²³ ‘»Since the king saw a watcher and a holy one coming down from heaven saying: Chop down the tree, and destroy it. Leave the stump and the roots in the earth. With a band of iron and brass leave it in the tender grass of the field and let it be wet with the dew of heaven. Let its portion be with the beasts of the field till seven times pass over it.« ²⁴ This is the interpretation, O king. It is the decree from the Most High that has come to my lord the king. ²⁵ You will be driven from men. Your dwelling will be with the beasts of the field. You will eat grass like oxen and will be wet with the dew of heaven. Seven times shall pass over you until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever he will. ²⁶ »Because they commanded to leave the stump and the roots of the tree your kingdom will be sure to you. After that you will know that the heavens do rule. ²⁷ »Let my counsel be acceptable to you O King. Stop your sins by being righteous and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. May there be a lengthening of your prosperity.« ²⁸ All this happened to king Nebuchadnezzar. ²⁹ At the end of twelve months he was walking in the royal palace of Babylon. ³⁰ The king spoke: »Is this not great Babylon, which I have built for the royal dwelling-place, by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?« ³¹ While the word was in the king's mouth a voice came from heaven, saying: »O king Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom is departed from you. ³² »You will be driven from men. Your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You will have to eat grass like bulls. Seven times shall pass over you until you know the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever he will.« ³³ That same hour it was fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from men and did eat grass like bulls. His body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hair grew like eagles' feathers, and his fingernails like birds' claws. ³⁴ »At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven and my understanding returned to me. I blessed the Most High and I praised and honored the one who lives forever. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom from generation to generation. ³⁵ All the inhabitants of the earth are considered as nothing. He does according to his will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth. None can stop him, or say to him: ‘What do you do?’ ³⁶ »My understanding returned to me at that time. The glory of my kingdom, my majesty and brightness returned to me. My counselors and my lords came to me. I was established in my kingdom with excellent greatness. ³⁷ »Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, extol and honor the King of heaven. All his works are truth, and his ways justice. He is able to abase (humble) (subdue) those who walk in pride.«

¹ Daniel had a dream and visions. He wrote the summery of the dream that came to his mind while he was in bed. It was the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon.

¹⁵ Though you, Israel, play the harlot, do not let Judah become guilty! Do not go to Gilgal, neither go to Bethaven, nor swear, »As Jehovah lives.«

⁴ He struggled with the angel and won. Jacob cried and pleaded with him. Jacob found him at Bethel, and he talked with him there. ⁵ »Jehovah is the God of Hosts. Jehovah is the name by which he is remembered.

¹² »Jacob fled to the country of Syria. Israel worked to get a wife. He took care of sheep to pay for her.

²⁰ Joseph had this in mind when God’s angel appeared to him in a dream. The angel said to him: »Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She is pregnant by Holy Spirit.

¹² God warned the astrologers in a dream not to go back to Herod. So they departed for their country by a different road.

¹¹ »I tell you, many will come from the east and the west, to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven:

²⁰ Jesus replied: »Foxes have holes, and the birds of heaven have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.«

¹³ When they left, the angel of God appeared to Joseph in a dream and said: »Herod is looking to kill the young child. Arise, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you to leave.«

¹⁹ After Herod died God’s angel appeared in a dream to Joseph who was in Egypt.

²⁰ »Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in their midst.«

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!«

³⁵ »Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

⁶ When the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces. They were very afraid.

²⁰ »Teach them to observe all the things I have commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.«

⁹ God’s angel stood by them and His glory gave illumination around them and they were very afraid.

³⁵ They went out to see what happened. They came to Jesus and found the man who had been demon possessed. He was clothed, in his right mind and sitting at the feet of Jesus. They were afraid.

¹⁶ Out of the fullness of his undeserved kindness he gives us one blessing after another.

⁵¹ Jesus continued: »You will see the heavens opened and you will see the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.«

²⁸ »I give them eternal life. They will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ »My Father has given them to me. He is greater than all and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

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.’

² He said: »Men, brothers and fathers, listen; The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran.

⁵ »He gave him no inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on. Yet he promised that he would give it to him and his seed after him for a possession. This promise was made before he had a child.

¹⁸ Paul stayed many days. Then he left the brothers and sailed for Syria. Also with Paul were Priscilla and Aquila. Paul clipped this hair short in Cenchreae because of a vow.

¹³ A few days later king Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to greet Festus.

¹² When day arrived some of the Jews came together and united with an oath saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. ¹³ There were more than forty involved in this conspiracy. ¹⁴ They went to the chief priests and elders and said: »We have united with a great oath that we will eat nothing until we have killed Paul. ¹⁵ »Now therefore you, with the Sanhedrin, inform the commander that he bring him down to you tomorrow. You say you would inquire some more regarding him. We are ready to put him to death before he comes near.«

³¹ What shall we then say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He that did not spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, will he not with him freely give us all things?

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)

¹⁴ Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers: for what fellowship does righteousness have with lawlessness? Or what communion does light have with darkness? ¹⁵ And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 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)

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)

⁵ For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, even so our comfort also abounds through Christ.

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.«

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.

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.

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places through Christ.

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

³ Then it will go well with you, and you may live long on the earth.

²⁰ Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing in the Lord.

⁸ Bodily exercise is profitable for a little. However, godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of the life that is to come.

⁸ We should be content with having food and covering.

¹ Long ago on many occasions and in many ways God spoke to our fathers through the prophets.

¹⁴ Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to minister for those who will be heirs of salvation?

¹⁵ though if I am delayed, so that you may know how men ought to behave themselves in the household of God, which is the congregation of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.

¹⁶ At first no one defended me. They all abandoned me. May it not be counted against them. ¹⁷ But the Lord stood by me, and strengthened me; that through me the message might be fully proclaimed, and that all the people of the nations might hear. I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion (Satan the Devil) (great danger) (1 Peter 5:8) (Psalm 22:21) (1 Thessalonians 2:18).

²¹ having a high priest over the house of God,

⁹ By faith he became an alien in the Promised Land. It was not his land. He lived in tents with Isaac and Jacob. They were heirs with him of the same promise. ¹⁰ He looked for the city having real foundations, whose builder and maker is God. ¹¹ By faith Sarah received strength to conceive seed when she was past age, since she counted him faithful who promised. ¹² This was to come from one man and him as good as dead. There were born children, as many as the stars of heaven in multitude, and as uncountable as the sand by the seashore. ¹³ These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them and greeted them from afar. They confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

¹⁶ They desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Because of this, God is not ashamed to be called their God. He has prepared a city for them!

⁵ You should be free from the love of money. Be content with what you have, for he has said: »I will not leave you. I will not forsake you.« ⁶ So that with good confidence (courage) we say: »Jehovah is my helper; I will not fear: What shall man do to me?« (Psalm 56:11)

¹⁷ For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God. If it begins with us first what will it be like in the end for those who do not obey the good news of God?

¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell as dead at his feet. He laid his right hand on me and said: »Do not fear. I am the first and the last:

⁴ I heard the number of those who were sealed. There were sealed a hundred and forty-four thousand from all the tribes of the children of Israel.

⁹ After this I saw a great crowd that no man could number. It was from all nations, and tribes, and people, and tongues. It stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes. They had palm branches in their hands.

²² I saw no temple there: for the Jehovah God the Almighty and the Lamb are the temple.

¹ Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ: