God Is Love

2009-06-28T07:23:00.000-07:00

Ephesians 4:3 (New International Version)

3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Galatians 6:2 (New International Version)

2Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

1 Timothy 2:5 (New International Version)

5For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

Ephesians 2:5 (New International Version)

5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

Let us take up our cross and serve our Lord Our Creator!

2009-05-07T06:30:00.000-07:00

Psalm 42 (The Message)

Psalm 42

A psalm of the sons of Korah

1-3 A white-tailed deer drinks from the creek;
I want to drink God,
deep draughts of God.
I'm thirsty for God-alive.
I wonder, "Will I ever make it—
arrive and drink in God's presence?"
I'm on a diet of tears—
tears for breakfast, tears for supper.
All day long
people knock at my door,
Pestering,
"Where is this God of yours?"

4 These are the things I go over and over,
emptying out the pockets of my life.
I was always at the head of the worshiping crowd,
right out in front,
Leading them all,
eager to arrive and worship,
Shouting praises, singing thanksgiving—
celebrating, all of us, God's feast!

5 Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul?
Why are you crying the blues?
Fix my eyes on God—
soon I'll be praising again.
He puts a smile on my face.
He's my God.

6-8 When my soul is in the dumps, I rehearse
everything I know of you,
From Jordan depths to Hermon heights,
including Mount Mizar.
Chaos calls to chaos,
to the tune of whitewater rapids.
Your breaking surf, your thundering breakers
crash and crush me.
Then God promises to love me all day,
sing songs all through the night!
My life is God's prayer.

9-10 Sometimes I ask God, my rock-solid God,
"Why did you let me down?
Why am I walking around in tears,
harassed by enemies?"
They're out for the kill, these
tormentors with their obscenities,
Taunting day after day,
"Where is this God of yours?"

11 Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul?
Why are you crying the blues?
Fix my eyes on God—
soon I'll be praising again.
He puts a smile on my face.
He's my God.

2009-02-26T11:17:00.000-08:00

Psalm 46 (Amplified Bible)

Psalm 46

To the Chief Musician. [A Psalm] of the sons of Korah, set to treble voices. A song.

1GOD IS our Refuge and Strength [mighty and impenetrable to temptation], a very present and well-proved help in trouble.
2Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains be shaken into the midst of the seas,

3Though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling and tumult. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

4There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High.

5God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God will help her right early [at the dawn of the morning].

6The nations raged, the kingdoms tottered and were moved; He uttered His voice, the earth melted.

7The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our Refuge (our Fortress and High Tower). Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

8Come, behold the works of the Lord, Who has wrought desolations and wonders in the earth.

9He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow into pieces and snaps the spear in two; He burns the chariots in the fire.

10Let be and be still, and know (recognize and understand) that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth!

11The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our Refuge (our High Tower and Stronghold). Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

Matthew 6:19-34 (Amplified Bible)

19Do not [a]gather and heap up and store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust and worm consume and destroy, and where thieves break through and steal.

20But [b]gather and heap up and store for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust nor worm consume and destroy, and where thieves do not break through and steal;

21For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

22The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is sound, your entire body will be full of light.

23But if your eye is unsound, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the very light in you [your [c]conscience] is darkened, how dense is that darkness!

24No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand by and be devoted to the one and despise and be [d]against the other. You cannot serve God and mammon ([e]deceitful riches, money, possessions, or [f]whatever is trusted in).

25Therefore I tell you, stop being [g]perpetually uneasy (anxious and worried) about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink; or about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life greater [in quality] than food, and the body [far above and more excellent] than clothing?

26Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they?

27And who of you by worrying and being anxious can add one unit of measure (cubit) to his stature or to the [h]span of his life?(A)

28And why should you be anxious about clothes? Consider the lilies of the field and [i]learn thoroughly how they grow; they neither toil nor spin.

29Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his [j]magnificence (excellence, dignity, and grace) was not arrayed like one of these. [I Kings 10:4-7.]

30But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and green and tomorrow is tossed into the furnace, will He not much more surely clothe you, O you of little faith?

31Therefore do not worry and be anxious, saying, What are we going to have to eat? or, What are we going to have to drink? or, What are we going to have to wear?

32For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows well that you need them all.

33But seek ([k]aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness ([l]His way of doing and being right), and then all these things [m]taken together will be given you besides.

34So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble.

Footnotes:
Matthew 6:19 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
Matthew 6:20 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
Matthew 6:23 Hermann Cremer, Biblico-Theological Lexicon.
Matthew 6:24 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
Matthew 6:24 Hermann Cremer, Biblico-Theological Lexicon.
Matthew 6:24 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
Matthew 6:25 Kenneth Wuest, Word Studies.
Matthew 6:27 Alexander Souter, Pocket Lexicon: the word translated "cubit" is used as a measurement of time, as well as a measurement of length.
Matthew 6:28 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
Matthew 6:29 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
Matthew 6:33 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
Matthew 6:33 Charles B. Williams, The New Testament: A Translation.
Matthew 6:33 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
Cross references:
Matthew 6:27 : Ps 39:5-7

Philippians 4:6 (Amplified Bible)

6Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition ([a]definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.

1 Peter 5:6-7 (Amplified Bible)

6Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation] under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you,

7Casting the [a]whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, [b]once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you [c]watchfully.(A)

Footnotes:
1 Peter 5:7 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
1 Peter 5:7 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
1 Peter 5:7 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
Cross references:
1 Peter 5:7 : Ps 55:22

Needing Peace? :-)

2009-01-20T13:39:00.000-08:00

John 14:1-4 (New International Version)

John 14
Jesus Comforts His Disciples
1"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God[a]; trust also in me. 2In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4You know the way to the place where I am going."

Footnotes:

1. John 14:1 Or You trust in God

John 16:33 (New International Version)

33"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

Romans 5:1-5 (New International Version)

Romans 5
Peace and Joy
1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a]have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we[b] rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but we[c] also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Footnotes:

1. Romans 5:1 Or let us
2. Romans 5:2 Or let us
3. Romans 5:3 Or let us

Philippians 4:6-7 (New International Version)

6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

2008-12-28T06:47:00.000-08:00

Exodus 34 (New International Version)

Exodus 34
The New Stone Tablets
1 The LORD said to Moses, "Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. 2 Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain. 3 No one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain."

4 So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the LORD had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands. 5 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation."

8 Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped. 9 "O Lord, if I have found favor in your eyes," he said, "then let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance."

10 Then the LORD said: "I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the LORD, will do for you. 11 Obey what I command you today. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 12 Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you. 13 Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles. [a] 14 Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

15 "Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices. 16 And when you choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will lead your sons to do the same.

17 "Do not make cast idols.

18 "Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in that month you came out of Egypt.

19 "The first offspring of every womb belongs to me, including all the firstborn males of your livestock, whether from herd or flock. 20 Redeem the firstborn donkey with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem all your firstborn sons.
"No one is to appear before me empty-handed.

21 "Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest.

22 "Celebrate the Feast of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year. [b] 23 Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign LORD, the God of Israel. 24 I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the LORD your God.

25 "Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast, and do not let any of the sacrifice from the Passover Feast remain until morning.

26 "Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God.
"Do not cook a young goat in its mother's milk."

27 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel." 28 Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.
The Radiant Face of Moses
29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD. 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. 32 Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the LORD had given him on Mount Sinai.

33 When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. 34 But whenever he entered the LORD's presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD.

Footnotes:

1. Exodus 34:13 That is, symbols of the goddess Asherah
2. Exodus 34:22 That is, in the fall

2008-07-31T08:09:00.001-07:00

2008-05-13T09:13:00.000-07:00

Mark 3-5 (King James Version)
King James Version (KJV)

Public Domain
[A Public Domain Bible] [KJV at Zondervan] [Zondervan]

Mark 3

1And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand.

2And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him.

3And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth.

4And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.

5And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.

6And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.

7But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judaea,

8And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and from beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things he did, came unto him.

9And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship should wait on him because of the multitude, lest they should throng him.

10For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues.

11And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.

12And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known.

13And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him.

14And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,

15And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:

16And Simon he surnamed Peter;

17And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:

18And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite,

19And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went into an house.

20And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.

21And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.

22And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.

23And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?

24And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

25And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

26And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.

27No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.

28Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:

29But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.

30Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.

31There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him.

32And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee.

33And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren?

34And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!

35For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.
Mark 4

1And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land.

2And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,

3Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:

4And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.

5And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:

6But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.

7And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.

8And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.

9And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

10And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.

11And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:

12That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.

13And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?

14The sower soweth the word.

15And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.

16And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;

17And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.

18And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,

19And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

20And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.

21And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick?

22For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad.

23If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.

24And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given.

25For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.

26And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;

27And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.

28For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.

29But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.

30And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?

31It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth:

32But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.

33And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it.

34But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.

35And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.

36And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.

37And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.

38And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?

39And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

40And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?

41And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?
Mark 5

1And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.

2And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,

3Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:

4Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.

5And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.

6But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,

7And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.

8For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.

9And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.

10And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country.

11Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding.

12And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.

13And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.

14And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done.

15And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.

16And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine.

17And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts.

18And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him.

19Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.

20And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.

21And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side, much people gathered unto him: and he was nigh unto the sea.

22And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet,

23And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.

24And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him.

25And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,

26And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,

27When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.

28For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.

29And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.

30And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?

31And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?

32And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.

33But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.

34And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.

35While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further?

36As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.

37And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James.

38And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly.

39And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.

40And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying.

41And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise.

42And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment.

43And he charged them straitly that no man should know it; and commanded that something should be given her to eat.

2008-05-06T01:53:00.001-07:00

2008-04-10T14:59:00.000-07:00

Acts 9 (King James Version)
King James Version (KJV)

Public Domain
[A Public Domain Bible] [KJV at Zondervan] [Zondervan]

Acts 9

1And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,

2And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.

3And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:

4And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

5And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

6And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

7And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.

8And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.

9And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.

10And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.

11And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,

12And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.

13Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:

14And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.

15But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:

16For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.

17And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.

18And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.

19And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus.

20And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.

21But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests?

22But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ.

23And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him:

24But their laying await was known of Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him.

25Then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket.

26And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple.

27But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.

28And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem.

29And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians: but they went about to slay him.

30Which when the brethren knew, they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus.

31Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.

32And it came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all quarters, he came down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda.

33And there he found a certain man named Aeneas, which had kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy.

34And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed. And he arose immediately.

35And all that dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him, and turned to the Lord.

36Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did.

37And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died: whom when they had washed, they laid her in an upper chamber.

38And forasmuch as Lydda was nigh to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent unto him two men, desiring him that he would not delay to come to them.

39Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping, and shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them.

40But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up.

41And he gave her his hand, and lifted her up, and when he had called the saints and widows, presented her alive.

42And it was known throughout all Joppa; and many believed in the Lord.

43And it came to pass, that he tarried many days in Joppa with one Simon a tanner.

2008-03-26T12:14:00.000-07:00

ohn 1-5 (King James Version)
King James Version (KJV)

Public Domain
[A Public Domain Bible] [KJV at Zondervan] [Zondervan]

John 1

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2The same was in the beginning with God.

3All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

4In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

5And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

6There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

7The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

8He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

9That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

10He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

11He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

12But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

13Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

14And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

15John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.

16And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

17For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

18No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

19And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?

20And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.

21And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.

22Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?

23He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.

24And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.

25And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?

26John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;

27He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.

28These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.

29The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

30This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.

31And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.

32And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.

33And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.

34And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.

35Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples;

36And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!

37And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.

38Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?

39He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.

40One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.

41He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.

42And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.

43The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me.

44Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.

45Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

46And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.

47Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!

48Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.

49Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.

50Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.

51And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
John 2

1And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:

2And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.

3And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.

4Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.

5His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.

6And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.

7Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.

8And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.

9When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,

10And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.

11This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.

12After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: and they continued there not many days.

13And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

14And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting:

15And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables;

16And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.

17And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.

18Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?

19Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

20Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?

21But he spake of the temple of his body.

22When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.

23Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did.

24But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men,

25And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.
John 3

1There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

2The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

3Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

4Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

5Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

6That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

7Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

8The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

9Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?

10Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?

11Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.

12If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

13And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

14And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

15That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

18He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

19And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

20For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

21But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

22After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized.

23And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized.

24For John was not yet cast into prison.

25Then there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying.

26And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him.

27John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.

28Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.

29He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.

30He must increase, but I must decrease.

31He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.

32And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony.

33He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.

34For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.

35The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.

36He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
John 4
When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John,

2(Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,)

3He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee.

4And he must needs go through Samaria.

5Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

6Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.

7There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.

8(For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)

9Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.

10Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

11The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?

12Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?

13Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:

14But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

15The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.

16Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.

17The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:

18For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.

19The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.

20Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

21Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.

22Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.

23But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

24God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

25The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.

26Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.

27And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?

28The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,

29Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?

30Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.

31In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.

32But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.

33Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?

34Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.

35Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.

36And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.

37And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.

38I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.

39And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.

40So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days.

41And many more believed because of his own word;

42And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.

43Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee.

44For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country.

45Then when he was come into Galilee, the Galilaeans received him, having seen all the things that he did at Jerusalem at the feast: for they also went unto the feast.

46So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum.

47When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death.

48Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.

49The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die.

50Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.

51And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth.

52Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.

53So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house.

54This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he was come out of Judaea into Galilee.
John 5

1After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

2Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.

3In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.

4For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.

5And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.

6When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?

7The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.

8Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.

9And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.

10The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.

11He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk.

12Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk?

13And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place.

14Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.

15The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole.

16And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.

17But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.

18Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

19Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

20For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.

21For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.

22For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:

23That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.

24Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

25Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.

26For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;

27And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.

28Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,

29And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

30I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

31If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.

32There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true.

33Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth.

34But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved.

35He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.

36But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.

37And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.

38And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.

39Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

40And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.

41I receive not honour from men.

42But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.

43I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.

44How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?

45Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust.

46For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me.

47But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?

Psalm 1-25 (Amplified Bible)

2008-03-10T20:27:00.001-07:00

Psalm 1-25 (Amplified Bible)
Amplified Bible (AMP)

Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
[AMP at Lockman] [The Lockman Foundation] [Amplified at Zondervan] [Zondervan]

Psalm 1
BOOK ONE
1[a]BLESSED (HAPPY, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly [following their advice, their plans and purposes], nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful [and the mockers] gather.

2But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night.(A)

3And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity].(B)

4Not so the wicked [those disobedient and living without God are not so]. But they are like the chaff [worthless, dead, without substance] which the wind drives away.

5Therefore the wicked [those disobedient and living without God] shall not stand [justified] in the judgment, nor [b]sinners in the congregation of the righteous [those who are upright and in right standing with God].

6For the Lord knows and is fully acquainted with the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly [those living outside God's will] shall perish (end in ruin and come to nought).

Psalm 2
1WHY DO the nations assemble with commotion [uproar and confusion of voices], and why do the people imagine (meditate upon and devise) an empty scheme?

2The kings of the earth take their places; the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and His Anointed One (the Messiah, the Christ). They say,(C)

3Let us break Their bands [of restraint] asunder and cast Their cords [of control] from us.

4He Who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord has them in derision [and in supreme contempt He mocks them].

5He speaks to them in His deep anger and troubles (terrifies and confounds) them in His displeasure and fury, saying,

6Yet have I anointed (installed and placed) My King [firmly] on My holy hill of Zion.

7I will declare the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, You are My Son; this day [I declare] I have begotten You.(D)

8Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations as Your inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth as Your possession.

9You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them in pieces like potters' ware.(E)

10Now therefore, O you kings, act wisely; be instructed and warned, O you rulers of the earth.

11Serve the Lord with reverent awe and worshipful fear; rejoice and be in high spirits with trembling [lest you displease Him].

12Kiss the Son [pay homage to Him in purity], lest He be angry and you perish in the way, for soon shall His wrath be kindled. O blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) are all those who seek refuge and put their trust in Him!

Psalm 3
A Psalm of David. When he fled from Absalom his son.
1LORD, HOW they are increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me.

2Many are saying of me, There is no help for him in God. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

3But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.

4With my voice I cry to the Lord, and He hears and answers me out of His holy hill. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

5I lay down and slept; I wakened again, for the Lord sustains me.

6I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me round about.

7Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God! For You have struck all my enemies on the cheek; You have broken the teeth of the ungodly.

8Salvation belongs to the Lord; May Your blessing be upon Your people. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

Psalm 4
To the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
1ANSWER ME when I call, O God of my righteousness (uprightness, justice, and right standing with You)! You have freed me when I was hemmed in and enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me and hear my prayer.

2O you sons of men, how long will you turn my honor and glory into shame? How long will you love vanity and futility and seek after lies? Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

3But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself [and given distinction to] him who is godly [the man of loving-kindness]. The Lord listens and heeds when I call to Him.

4Be angry [or stand in awe] and sin not; commune with your own hearts upon your beds and be silent (sorry for the things you say in your hearts). Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!(F)

5Offer just and right sacrifices; trust (lean on and be confident) in the Lord.

6Many say, Oh, that we might see some good! Lift up the light of Your countenance upon us, O Lord.

7You have put more joy and rejoicing in my heart than [they know] when their wheat and new wine have yielded abundantly.

8In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for You, Lord, alone make me dwell in safety and confident trust.

Psalm 5
To the Chief Musician; on wind instruments. A Psalm of David.
1LISTEN TO my words, O Lord, give heed to my sighing and groaning.

2Hear the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to You do I pray.

3In the morning You hear my voice, O Lord; in the morning I prepare [a prayer, a sacrifice] for You and watch and wait [for You to speak to my heart].

4For You are not a God Who takes pleasure in wickedness; neither will the evil [man] so much as dwell [temporarily] with You.

5Boasters can have no standing in Your sight; You abhor all evildoers.

6You will destroy those who speak lies; the Lord abhors [and rejects] the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

7But as for me, I will enter Your house through the abundance of Your steadfast love and mercy; I will worship toward and at Your holy temple in reverent fear and awe of You.

8Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; make Your way level (straight and right) before my face.

9For there is nothing trustworthy or steadfast or truthful in their talk; their heart is destruction [or a destructive chasm, a yawning gulf]; their throat is an open sepulcher; they flatter and make smooth with their tongue.(G)

10Hold them guilty, O God; let them fall by their own designs and counsels; cast them out because of the multitude of their transgressions, for they have rebelled against You.

11But let all those who take refuge and put their trust in You rejoice; let them ever sing and shout for joy, because You make a covering over them and defend them; let those also who love Your name be joyful in You and be in high spirits.

12For You, Lord, will bless the [uncompromisingly] righteous [him who is upright and in right standing with You]; as with a shield You will surround him with goodwill (pleasure and favor).

Psalm 6
To the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments, set [possibly] an octave below. A Psalm of David.
1O LORD, rebuke me not in Your anger nor discipline and chasten me in Your hot displeasure.

2Have mercy on me and be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am weak (faint and withered away); O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled.

3My [inner] self [as well as my body] is also exceedingly disturbed and troubled. But You, O Lord, how long [until You return and speak peace to me]?

4Return [to my relief], O Lord, deliver my life; save me for the sake of Your steadfast love and mercy.

5For in death there is no remembrance of You; in Sheol (the place of the dead) who will give You thanks?

6I am weary with my groaning; all night I soak my pillow with tears, I drench my couch with my weeping.

7My eye grows dim because of grief; it grows old because of all my enemies.

8Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity, for the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping.(H)

9The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord receives my prayer.

10Let all my enemies be ashamed and sorely troubled; let them turn back and be put to shame suddenly.

Psalm 7
An Ode of David, [probably] in a wild, irregular, enthusiastic strain, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush, a Benjamite.
1O LORD my God, in You I take refuge and put my trust; save me from all those who pursue and persecute me, and deliver me,

2Lest my foe tear my life [from my body] like a lion, dragging me away while there is none to deliver.

3O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands,

4If I have paid back with evil him who was at peace with me or without cause have robbed him who was my enemy,

5Let the enemy pursue my life and take it; yes, let him trample my life to the ground and lay my honor in the dust. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

6Arise, O Lord, in Your anger; lift up Yourself against the rage of my enemies; and awake [and stir up] for me the justice and vindication [that] You have commanded.

7Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about You, and return on high over them.

8The Lord judges the people; judge me, O Lord, and do me justice according to my righteousness [my rightness, justice, and right standing with You] and according to the integrity that is in me.

9Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the [uncompromisingly] righteous [those upright and in harmony with You]; for You, Who try the hearts and emotions and thinking powers, are a righteous God.(I)

10My defense and shield depend on God, Who saves the upright in heart.

11God is a righteous Judge, yes, a God Who is indignant every day.

12If a man does not turn and repent, [God] will whet His sword; He has strung and bent His [huge] bow and made it ready [by treading it with His foot].

13He has also prepared for him deadly weapons; He makes His arrows fiery shafts.

14Behold, [the wicked man] conceives iniquity and is pregnant with mischief and gives birth to lies.

15He made a pit and hollowed it out and has fallen into the hole which he made [before the trap was completed].

16His mischief shall fall back in return upon his own head, and his violence come down [with the loose dirt] upon his own scalp.

17I will give to the Lord the thanks due to His rightness and justice, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.

Psalm 8
To the Chief Musician; set to a Philistine lute, or [possibly] to a particular Hittite tune. A Psalm of David.
1O LORD, our Lord, how excellent (majestic and glorious) is Your name in all the earth! You have set Your glory on [or above] the heavens.

2Out of the mouths of babes and unweaned infants You have established strength because of Your foes, that You might silence the enemy and the avenger.(J)

3When I view and consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained and established,

4What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of [earthborn] man that You care for him?

5Yet You have made him but a little lower than God [or heavenly beings], and You have crowned him with glory and honor.

6You made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet:(K)

7All sheep and oxen, yes, and the beasts of the field,

8The birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

9O Lord, our Lord, how excellent (majestic and glorious) is Your name in all the earth!

Psalm 9
To the Chief Musician; set for [possibly] soprano voices. A Psalm of David.
1I WILL praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will show forth (recount and tell aloud) all Your marvelous works and wonderful deeds!

2I will rejoice in You and be in high spirits; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High!

3When my enemies turned back, they stumbled and perished before You.

4For You have maintained my right and my cause; You sat on the throne judging righteously.

5You have rebuked the nations, You have destroyed the wicked; You have blotted out their name forever and ever.

6The enemy have been cut off and have vanished in everlasting ruins, You have plucked up and overthrown their cities; the very memory of them has perished and vanished.

7But the Lord shall remain and continue forever; He has prepared and established His throne for judgment.(L)

8And He will judge the world in righteousness (rightness and equity); He will minister justice to the peoples in uprightness.(M)

9The Lord also will be a refuge and a high tower for the oppressed, a refuge and a stronghold in times of trouble (high cost, destitution, and desperation).

10And they who know Your name [who have experience and acquaintance with Your mercy] will lean on and confidently put their trust in You, for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek (inquire of and for) You [on the authority of God's Word and the right of their necessity].(N)

11Sing praises to the Lord, Who dwells in Zion! Declare among the peoples His doings!

12For He Who avenges the blood [of His people shed unjustly] remembers them; He does not forget the cry of the afflicted (the poor and the humble).

13Have mercy upon me and be gracious to me, O Lord; consider how I am afflicted by those who hate me, You Who lift me up from the gates of death,

14That I may show forth (recount and tell aloud) all Your praises! In the gates of the Daughter of Zion I will rejoice in Your salvation and Your saving help.

15The nations have sunk down in the pit that they made; in the net which they hid is their own foot caught.

16The Lord has made Himself known; He executes judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion [meditation]. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

17The wicked shall be turned back [headlong into premature death] into Sheol (the place of the departed spirits of the wicked), even all the nations that forget or are forgetful of God.

18For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the expectation and hope of the meek and the poor shall not perish forever.

19Arise, O Lord! Let not man prevail; let the nations be judged before You.

20Put them in fear [make them realize their frail nature], O Lord, that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

Psalm 10
1WHY DO You stand afar off, O Lord? Why do You hide Yourself, [veiling Your eyes] in times of trouble (distress and desperation)?

2The wicked in pride and arrogance hotly pursue and persecute the poor; let them be taken in the schemes which they have devised.

3For the wicked man boasts (sings the praises) of his own heart's desire, and the one greedy for gain curses and spurns, yes, renounces and despises the Lord.

4The wicked one in the pride of his countenance will not seek, inquire for, and yearn for God; all his thoughts are that there is no God [so He never punishes].

5His ways are grievous [or persist] at all times; Your judgments [Lord] are far above and on high out of his sight [so he never thinks about them]; as for all his foes, he sniffs and sneers at them.

6He thinks in his heart, I shall not be moved; for throughout all generations I shall not come to want or be in adversity.

7His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, oppression (fraud); under his tongue are trouble and sin (mischief and iniquity).

8He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he slays the innocent; he watches stealthily for the poor (the helpless and unfortunate).

9He lurks in secret places like a lion in his thicket; he lies in wait that he may seize the poor (the helpless and the unfortunate); he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.

10[The prey] is crushed, sinks down; and the helpless falls by his mighty [claws].

11[The foe] thinks in his heart, God has quite forgotten; He has hidden His face; He will never see [my deed].

12Arise, O Lord! O God, lift up Your hand; forget not the humble [patient and crushed].

13Why does the wicked [man] condemn (spurn and renounce) God? Why has he thought in his heart, You will not call to account?

14You have seen it; yes, You note trouble and grief (vexation) to requite it with Your hand. The unfortunate commits himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.

15Break the arm of the wicked man; and as for the evil man, search out his wickedness until You find no more.

16The Lord is King forever and ever; the nations will perish out of His land.

17O Lord, You have heard the desire and the longing of the humble and oppressed; You will prepare and strengthen and direct their hearts, You will cause Your ear to hear,

18To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man, who is of the earth, may not terrify them any more.

Psalm 11
To the Chief Musician or Choir Leader. [A Psalm] of David.
1IN THE Lord I take refuge [and put my trust]; how can you say to me, Flee like a bird to your mountain?

2For see, the wicked are bending the bow; they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they [furtively] in darkness may shoot at the upright in heart.

3If the foundations are destroyed, what can the [unyieldingly] righteous do, or what has He [the Righteous One] wrought or accomplished?

4The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord's throne is in heaven. His eyes behold; His eyelids test and prove the children of men.(O)

5The Lord tests and proves the [unyieldingly] righteous, but His soul abhors the wicked and him who loves violence.(P)

6Upon the wicked He will rain quick burning coals or snares; fire, brimstone, and a [dreadful] scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.

7For the Lord is [rigidly] righteous, He loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold His face, or He beholds the upright.

Psalm 12
To the Chief Musician; set [possibly] an octave below. A Psalm of David.
1HELP, LORD! For principled and godly people are here no more; faithfulness and the faithful vanish from among the sons of men.

2To his neighbor each one speaks words without use or worth or truth; with flattering lips and double heart [deceitfully] they speak.

3May the Lord cut off all flattering lips and the tongues that speak proud boasting,

4Those who say, With our tongues we prevail; our lips are our own [to command at our will]--who is lord and master over us?

5Now will I arise, says the Lord, because the poor are oppressed, because of the groans of the needy; I will set him in safety and in the salvation for which he pants.

6The words and promises of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in an earthen furnace, purified seven times over.

7You will keep them and preserve them, O Lord; You will guard and keep us from this [evil] generation forever.

8The wicked walk or prowl about on every side, as vileness is exalted [and baseness is rated high] among the sons of men.

Psalm 13
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
1HOW LONG will You forget me, O Lord? Forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?

2How long must I lay up cares within me and have sorrow in my heart day after day? How long shall my enemy exalt himself over me?

3Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; lighten the eyes [of my faith to behold Your face in the pitchlike darkness], lest I sleep the sleep of death,

4Lest my enemy say, I have prevailed over him, and those that trouble me rejoice when I am shaken.

5But I have trusted, leaned on, and been confident in Your mercy and loving-kindness; my heart shall rejoice and be in high spirits in Your salvation.

6I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me.

Psalm 14
To the Chief Musician. [A Psalm] of David.
1THE [empty-headed] fool has said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable deeds; there is none that does good or right.(Q)

2The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any who understood, dealt wisely, and sought after God, inquiring for and of Him and requiring Him [of vital necessity].

3They are all gone aside, they have all together become filthy; there is none that does good or right, no, not one.(R)

4Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread and who do not call on the Lord?

5There they shall be in great fear [literally--dreading a dread], for God is with the generation of the [uncompromisingly] righteous (those upright and in right standing with Him).

6You [evildoers] would put to shame and confound the plans of the poor and patient, but the Lord is his safe refuge.

7Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord shall restore the fortunes of His people, then Jacob shall rejoice and Israel shall be glad.(S)

Psalm 15
A Psalm of David.
1LORD, WHO shall dwell [temporarily] in Your tabernacle? Who shall dwell [permanently] on Your holy hill?

2He who walks and lives uprightly and blamelessly, who works rightness and justice and speaks and thinks the truth in his heart,

3He who does not slander with his tongue, nor does evil to his friend, nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor;

4In whose eyes a vile person is despised, but he who honors those who fear the Lord (who revere and worship Him); who swears to his own hurt and does not change;

5[He who] does not put out his money for [c]interest [to one of his own people] and who will not take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.(T)

Psalm 16
A Poem of David; [probably] intended to record memorable thoughts.
1KEEP and protect me, O God, for in You I have found refuge, and in You do I put my trust and hide myself.

2I say to the Lord, You are my Lord; I have no good beside or beyond You.

3As for the godly (the saints) who are in the land, they are the excellent, the noble, and the glorious, in whom is all my delight.

4Their sorrows shall be multiplied who choose another god; their drink offerings of blood will I not offer or take their names upon my lips.

5The Lord is my chosen and assigned portion, my cup; You hold and maintain my lot.

6The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; yes, I have a good heritage.

7I will bless the Lord, Who has given me counsel; yes, my heart instructs me in the night seasons.

8I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

9Therefore my heart is glad and my glory [my inner self] rejoices; my body too shall rest and confidently dwell in safety,

10For You will not abandon me to Sheol (the place of the dead), neither will You suffer Your holy one [Holy One] to see corruption.(U)

11You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy, at Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.(V)

Psalm 17
A Prayer of David.
1HEAR THE right (my righteous cause), O Lord; listen to my shrill, piercing cry! Give ear to my prayer, that comes from unfeigned and guileless lips.

2Let my sentence of vindication come from You! May Your eyes behold the things that are just and upright.

3You have proved my heart; You have visited me in the night; You have tried me and find nothing [no evil purpose in me]; I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.

4Concerning the works of men, by the word of Your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent (the paths of the destroyer).

5My steps have held closely to Your paths [to the tracks of the One Who has gone on before]; my feet have not slipped.

6I have called upon You, O God, for You will hear me; incline Your ear to me and hear my speech.

7Show Your marvelous loving-kindness, O You Who save by Your right hand those who trust and take refuge in You from those who rise up against them.

8Keep and guard me as the pupil of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings

9From the wicked who despoil and oppress me, my deadly adversaries who surround me.

10They are enclosed in their own prosperity and have shut up their hearts to pity; with their mouths they make exorbitant claims and proudly and arrogantly speak.

11They track us down in each step we take; now they surround us; they set their eyes to cast us to the ground,

12Like a lion greedy and eager to tear his prey, and as a young lion lurking in hidden places.

13Arise, O Lord! Confront and forestall them, cast them down! Deliver my life from the wicked by Your sword,

14From men by Your hand, O Lord, from men of this world [these poor moths of the night] whose portion in life is idle and vain. Their bellies are filled with Your hidden treasure [what You have stored up]; their children are satiated, and they leave the rest [of their] wealth to their babes.

15As for me, I will continue beholding Your face in righteousness (rightness, justice, and right standing with You); I shall be fully satisfied, when I awake [to find myself] beholding Your form [and having sweet communion with You].

Psalm 18
To the Chief Musician. [A Psalm] of David the servant of the Lord, who spoke the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said:
1I LOVE You fervently and devotedly, O Lord, my Strength.

2The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress, and my Deliverer; my God, my keen and firm Strength in Whom I will trust and take refuge, my Shield, and the Horn of my salvation, my High Tower.(W)

3I will call upon the Lord, Who is to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.(X)

4The cords or bands of death surrounded me, and the streams of ungodliness and the torrents of ruin terrified me.

5The cords of Sheol (the place of the dead) surrounded me; the snares of death confronted and came upon me.

6In my distress [when seemingly closed in] I called upon the Lord and cried to my God; He heard my voice out of His temple (heavenly dwelling place), and my cry came before Him, into His [very] ears.

7Then the earth quaked and rocked, the foundations also of the mountains trembled; they moved and were shaken because He was indignant and angry.

8There went up smoke from His nostrils; and lightning out of His mouth devoured; coals were kindled by it.

9He bowed the heavens also and came down; and thick darkness was under His feet.

10And He rode upon a cherub [a storm] and flew [swiftly]; yes, He sped on with the wings of the wind.

11He made darkness His secret hiding place; as His pavilion (His canopy) round about Him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.

12Out of the brightness before Him there broke forth through His thick clouds hailstones and coals of fire.

13The Lord also thundered from the heavens, and the Most High uttered His voice, amid hailstones and coals of fire.

14And He sent out His arrows and scattered them; and He flashed forth lightnings and put them to rout.

15Then the beds of the sea appeared and the foundations of the world were laid bare at Your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

16He reached from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.

17He delivered me from my strong enemy and from those who hated and abhorred me, for they were too strong for me.

18They confronted and came upon me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my stay and support.

19He brought me forth also into a large place; He was delivering me because He was pleased with me and delighted in me.

20The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness (my conscious integrity and sincerity with Him); according to the cleanness of my hands has He recompensed me.

21For I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not wickedly departed from my God.

22For all His ordinances were before me, and I put not away His statutes from me.

23I was upright before Him and blameless with Him, ever [on guard] to keep myself free from my sin and guilt.

24Therefore has the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness (my uprightness and right standing with Him), according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.

25With the kind and merciful You will show Yourself kind and merciful, with an upright man You will show Yourself upright,

26With the pure You will show Yourself pure, and with the perverse You will show Yourself contrary.

27For You deliver an afflicted and humble people but will bring down those with haughty looks.

28For You cause my lamp to be lighted and to shine; the Lord my God illumines my darkness.

29For by You I can run through a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.

30As for God, His way is perfect! The word of the Lord is tested and tried; He is a shield to all those who take refuge and put their trust in Him.

31For who is God except the Lord? Or who is the Rock save our God,

32The God who girds me with strength and makes my way perfect?

33He makes my feet like hinds' feet [able to stand firmly or make progress on the dangerous heights of testing and trouble]; He sets me securely upon my high places.

34He teaches my hands to war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

35You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, and Your right hand has held me up; Your gentleness and condescension have made me great.

36You have given plenty of room for my steps under me, that my feet would not slip.

37I pursued my enemies and overtook them; neither did I turn again till they were consumed.

38I smote them so that they were not able to rise; they fell wounded under my feet.

39For You have girded me with strength for the battle; You have subdued under me and caused to bow down those who rose up against me.

40You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me, that I might cut off those who hate me.

41They cried [for help], but there was none to deliver--even unto the Lord, but He answered them not.

42Then I beat them small as the dust before the wind; I emptied them out as the dirt and mire of the streets.

43You have delivered me from the strivings of the people; You made me the head of the nations; a people I had not known served me.

44As soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me; foreigners submitted themselves cringingly and yielded feigned obedience to me.

45Foreigners lost heart and came trembling out of their caves or strongholds.

46The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted,

47The God Who avenges me and subdues peoples under me,

48Who delivers me from my enemies; yes, You lift me up above those who rise up against me; You deliver me from the man of violence.

49Therefore will I give thanks and extol You, O Lord, among the nations, and sing praises to Your name.(Y)

50Great deliverances and triumphs gives He to His king; and He shows mercy and steadfast love to His anointed, to David and his offspring forever.(Z)

Psalm 19
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
1THE HEAVENS declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows and proclaims His handiwork.(AA)

2Day after day pours forth speech, and night after night shows forth knowledge.

3There is no speech nor spoken word [from the stars]; their voice is not heard.

4Yet their voice [in evidence] goes out through all the earth, their sayings to the end of the world. Of the heavens has God made a tent for the sun,(AB)

5Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber; and it rejoices as a strong man to run his course.

6Its going forth is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the ends of it; and nothing [yes, no one] is hidden from the heat of it.

7The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the [whole] person; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.

8The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure and bright, enlightening the eyes.

9The [reverent] fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the ordinances of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

10More to be desired are they than gold, even than much fine gold; they are sweeter also than honey and drippings from the honeycomb.

11Moreover, by them is Your servant warned (reminded, illuminated, and instructed); and in keeping them there is great reward.

12Who can discern his lapses and errors? Clear me from hidden [and unconscious] faults.

13Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then shall I be blameless, and I shall be innocent and clear of great transgression.

14Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my [firm, impenetrable] Rock and my Redeemer.

Psalm 20
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
1MAY THE Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob set you up on high [and defend you];

2Send you help from the sanctuary and support, refresh, and strengthen you from Zion;

3Remember all your offerings and accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah [pause, and think of that]!

4May He grant you according to your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans.

5We will [shout in] triumph at your salvation and victory, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners. May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.

6Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand.

7Some trust in and boast of chariots and some of horses, but we will trust in and boast of the name of the Lord our God.

8They are bowed down and fallen, but we are risen and stand upright.

9O Lord, give victory; let the King answer us when we call.

Psalm 21
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
1THE KING [David] shall joy in Your strength, O Lord; and in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!

2You have given him his heart's desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah [pause, and think of that]!

3For You send blessings of good things to meet him; You set a crown of pure gold on his head.

4He asked life of You, and You gave it to him--long life forever and evermore.

5His glory is great because of Your aid; splendor and majesty You bestow upon him.

6For You make him to be blessed and a blessing forever; You make him exceedingly glad with the joy of Your presence.(AC)

7For the king trusts, relies on, and is confident in the Lord, and through the mercy and steadfast love of the Most High he will never be moved.

8Your hand shall find all Your enemies; Your right hand shall find all those who hate You.

9You will make them as if in a blazing oven in the time of Your anger; the Lord will swallow them up in His wrath, and the fire will utterly consume them.

10Their offspring You will destroy from the earth, and their sons from among the children of men.

11For they planned evil against You; they conceived a mischievous plot which they are not able to perform.

12For You will make them turn their backs; You will aim Your bow [of divine justice] at their faces.

13Be exalted, Lord, in Your strength; we will sing and praise Your power.

Psalm 22
To the Chief Musician; set to [the tune of] Aijeleth Hashshahar [the hind of the morning dawn]. A Psalm of David.
1[d]MY GOD, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?(AD)

2O my God, I cry in the daytime, but You answer not; and by night I am not silent or find no rest.

3But You are holy, O You Who dwell in [the holy place where] the praises of Israel [are offered].

4Our fathers trusted in You; they trusted (leaned on, relied on You, and were confident) and You delivered them.

5They cried to You and were delivered; they trusted in, leaned on, and confidently relied on You, and were not ashamed or confounded or disappointed.

6But I am a worm, and no man; I am the scorn of men, and despised by the people.(AE)

7All who see me laugh at me and mock me; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,(AF)

8He trusted and rolled himself on the Lord, that He would deliver him. Let Him deliver him, seeing that He delights in him!(AG)

9Yet You are He Who took me out of the womb; You made me hope and trust when I was on my mother's breasts.

10I was cast upon You from my very birth; from my mother's womb You have been my God.

11Be not far from me, for trouble is near and there is none to help.

12Many [foes like] bulls have surrounded me; strong bulls of Bashan have hedged me in.(AH)

13Against me they opened their mouths wide, like a ravening and roaring lion.

14I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax; it is softened [with anguish] and melted down within me.

15My strength is dried up like a fragment of clay pottery; [with thirst] my tongue cleaves to my jaws; and You have brought me into the dust of death.(AI)

16For [like a pack of] dogs they have encompassed me; a company of evildoers has encircled me, they pierced my hands and my feet.(AJ)

17I can count all my bones; [the evildoers] gaze at me.(AK)

18They part my clothing among them and cast lots for my raiment (a long, shirtlike garment, a seamless undertunic).(AL))

19But be not far from me, O Lord; O my Help, hasten to aid me!

20Deliver my life from the sword, my dear life [my only one] from the power of the dog [the agent of execution].

21Save me from the lion's mouth; for You have answered me [kindly] from the horns of the wild oxen.

22I will declare Your name to my brethren; in the midst of the congregation will I praise You.(AM)

23You who fear (revere and worship) the Lord, praise Him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify Him. Fear (revere and worship) Him, all you offspring of Israel.

24For He has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither has He hidden His face from him, but when he cried to Him, He heard.

25My praise shall be of You in the great congregation. I will pay to Him my vows [made in the time of trouble] before them who fear (revere and worship) Him.

26The poor and afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; they shall praise the Lord--they who [diligently] seek for, inquire of and for Him, and require Him [as their greatest need]. May your hearts be quickened now and forever!

27All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall bow down and worship before You,

28For the kingship and the kingdom are the Lord's, and He is the ruler over the nations.

29All the mighty ones upon earth shall eat [in thanksgiving] and worship; all they that go down to the dust shall bow before Him, even he who cannot keep himself alive.

30Posterity shall serve Him; they shall tell of the Lord to the next generation.

31They shall come and shall declare His righteousness to a people yet to be born--that He has done it [that it is finished]!(AN)

Psalm 23
A Psalm of David.
1THE LORD is my Shepherd [to feed, guide, and shield me], I shall not lack.

2He makes me lie down in [fresh, tender] green pastures; He leads me beside the still and restful waters.(AO)

3He refreshes and restores my life (my self); He leads me in the paths of righteousness [uprightness and right standing with Him--not for my earning it, but] for His name's sake.

4Yes, though I walk through the [deep, sunless] valley of the shadow of death, I will fear or dread no evil, for You are with me; Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort me.

5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with [e]oil; my [brimming] cup runs over.

6Surely or only goodness, mercy, and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life, and through the length of my days the house of the Lord [and His presence] shall be my dwelling place.

Psalm 24
A Psalm of David.
1THE EARTH is the Lord's, and the fullness of it, the world and they who dwell in it.(AP)

2For He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the currents and the rivers.

3Who shall go up into the mountain of the Lord? Or who shall stand in His Holy Place?

4He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted himself up to falsehood or to what is false, nor sworn deceitfully.(AQ)

5He shall receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

6This is the generation [description] of those who seek Him [who inquire of and for Him and of necessity require Him], who seek Your face, [O God of] Jacob. Selah [pause, and think of that]!(AR)

7Lift up your heads, O you gates; and be lifted up, you age-abiding doors, that the King of glory may come in.

8Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.

9Lift up your heads, O you gates; yes, lift them up, you age-abiding doors, that the King of glory may come in.

10Who is [He then] this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah [pause, and think of that]!

Psalm 25
[A Psalm] of David.
1UNTO YOU, O Lord, do I bring my life.

2O my God, I trust, lean on, rely on, and am confident in You. Let me not be put to shame or [my hope in You] be disappointed; let not my enemies triumph over me.

3Yes, let none who trust and wait hopefully and look for You be put to shame or be disappointed; let them be ashamed who forsake the right or deal treacherously without cause.

4Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths.

5Guide me in Your truth and faithfulness and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You [You only and altogether] do I wait [expectantly] all the day long.

6Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercy and loving-kindness; for they have been ever from of old.

7Remember not the sins (the lapses and frailties) of my youth or my transgressions; according to Your mercy and steadfast love remember me, for Your goodness' sake, O Lord.

8Good and upright is the Lord; therefore will He instruct sinners in [His] way.

9He leads the humble in what is right, and the humble He teaches His way.

10All the paths of the Lord are mercy and steadfast love, even truth and faithfulness are they for those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.

11For Your name's sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity and my guilt, for [they are] great.

12Who is the man who reverently fears and worships the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way that he should choose.

13He himself shall dwell at ease, and his offspring shall inherit the land.

14The secret [of the sweet, satisfying companionship] of the Lord have they who fear (revere and worship) Him, and He will show them His covenant and reveal to them its [deep, inner] meaning.(AS)

15My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for He will pluck my feet out of the net.

16[Lord] turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.

17The troubles of my heart are multiplied; bring me out of my distresses.

18Behold my affliction and my pain and forgive all my sins [of thinking and doing].

19Consider my enemies, for they abound; they hate me with cruel hatred.

20O keep me, Lord, and deliver me; let me not be ashamed or disappointed, for my trust and my refuge are in You.

21Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for and expect You.

22Redeem Israel, O God, out of all their troubles.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 1:1 This has been called "The Preface Psalm" because in some respects it may be considered "the text upon which the whole of the Psalms make up a divine sermon." It opens with a benediction, "Blessed," as does our Lord's Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:3).
2. Psalm 1:5 Charles Haddon Spurgeon (The Treasury of David) said, "Sinners cannot live in heaven. They would be out of their element. Sooner could a fish live upon a tree than the wicked in paradise." The only way they will ever be able to endure heaven is to be born again and become new creatures with pure hearts able fully to enjoy the presence of God, His holy angels, and the redeemed.
3. Psalm 15:5 "Israel was originally not a mercantile people, and the law aimed at an equal diffusion of wealth, not at enriching some while others were poor. The spirit of the law still is obligatory--not to take advantage of a brother's distress to lend at interest ruinous to him--but the letter of the law is abrogated, and a loan at moderate interest is often of great service to the poor. Hence, it is referred to by our Lord in parables, apparently as a lawful as well as recognized usage. (Matt. 25:27; Luke 19:23)" (A.R. Fausset, Bible Encyclopedia and Dictionary).
4. Psalm 22:1 "This is beyond all others 'The Psalm of the Cross.' It may have been actually repeated by our Lord when hanging on the tree; it would be too bold to say so, but even a casual reader may see that it might have been. It begins with, 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?' and ends [with the thought], 'It is finished.' For plaintive expressions uprising from unutterable depths of woe, we may say of this psalm, 'There is none like it'" (Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Treasury of David). Quoted in the Gospels (Matt. 27:46; Mark 15:34; and alluded to in Matt. 27:35, 39, 43 and John 19:23-24, 28) as being fulfilled at Christ's crucifixion.
5. Psalm 23:5 It is difficult for those living in a temperate climate to appreciate, but it was customary in hot climates to anoint the body with oil to protect it from excessive perspiration. When mixed with perfume, the oil imparted a delightfully refreshing and invigorating sensation. Athletes anointed their bodies as a matter of course before running a race. As the body, therefore, anointed with oil was refreshed, invigorated, and better fitted for action, so the Lord would anoint His "sheep" with the Holy Spirit, Whom oil symbolizes, to fit them to engage more freely in His service and run in the way He directs--in heavenly fellowship with Him.

Cross references:

1. Psalm 1:2 : Rom 13:8-10; Gal 3:1-29; II Tim 3:16
2. Psalm 1:3 : Jer 17:7, 8
3. Psalm 2:2 : Acts 4:25-27
4. Psalm 2:7 : Heb 1:5; 3:5, 6; II Pet 1:17, 18
5. Psalm 2:9 : Rev 12:5; 19:15
6. Psalm 4:4 : Eph 4:26
7. Psalm 5:9 : Rom 3:13
8. Psalm 6:8 : Matt 7:23; Luke 13:27
9. Psalm 7:9 : Rev 2:23
10. Psalm 8:2 : Matt 21:15, 16
11. Psalm 8:6 : I Cor 15:27; Eph 1:22, 23; Heb 2:6-8
12. Psalm 9:7 : Heb 1:11
13. Psalm 9:8 : Acts 17:31
14. Psalm 9:10 : Ps 42:1
15. Psalm 11:4 : Acts 7:49; Rev 4:2
16. Psalm 11:5 : James 1:12
17. Psalm 14:1 : Rom 3:10
18. Psalm 14:3 : Rom 3:11, 12
19. Psalm 14:7 : Rom 11:25-27
20. Psalm 15:5 : Exod 22:25, 26
21. Psalm 16:10 : Acts 13:35
22. Psalm 16:11 : Acts 2:25-28, 31
23. Psalm 18:2 : Heb 2:13
24. Psalm 18:3 : Rev 5:12
25. Psalm 18:49 : Rom 15:9
26. Psalm 18:50 : II Sam 22:2-51
27. Psalm 19:1 : Rom 1:20, 21
28. Psalm 19:4 : Rom 10:18
29. Psalm 21:6 : Gen 12:2
30. Psalm 22:1 : Matt 27:46
31. Psalm 22:6 : Matt 27:39-44
32. Psalm 22:7 : Matt 27:43
33. Psalm 22:8 : Matt 27:39, 43; Mark 15:29, 30; Luke 23:35
34. Psalm 22:12 : Ezek 39:18
35. Psalm 22:15 : John 19:28
36. Psalm 22:16 : Isa 53:7; John 19:37
37. Psalm 22:17 : Luke 23:27, 35
38. Psalm 22:18 : John 19:23, 24
39. Psalm 22:22 : John 20:17; Rom 8:29; Heb 2:12
40. Psalm 22:31 : John 19:30
41. Psalm 23:2 : Rev 7:17
42. Psalm 24:1 : I Cor 10:26
43. Psalm 24:4 : Matt 5:8
44. Psalm 24:6 : Ps 42:1
45. Psalm 25:14 : John 7:17; 15:15

Jonah 1-4 (Amplified Bible)

2008-02-16T06:12:00.000-08:00

Jonah 1-4 (Amplified Bible)
Amplified Bible (AMP)

Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
[AMP at Lockman] [The Lockman Foundation] [Amplified at Zondervan] [Zondervan]

Jonah 1
1NOW THE word of the Lord came to [a]Jonah son of Amittai, saying,

2Arise, go to [b]Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.(A)

3But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from being in the presence of the Lord [as His prophet] and went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish [the most remote of the Phoenician trading places then known]. So he paid the appointed fare and went down into the ship to go with them to Tarshish from being in the presence of the Lord [as His servant and minister].(B)

4But the Lord sent out a great wind upon the sea, and there was a violent tempest on the sea so that the ship was about to be broken.(C)

5Then the mariners were afraid, and each man cried to his god; and they cast the goods that were in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep.

6So the captain came and said to him, What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call upon your God! Perhaps your God will give a thought to us so that we shall not perish.

7And they each said to one another, Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us. So they cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.

8Then they said to him, Tell us, we pray you, on whose account has this evil come upon us? What is your occupation? Where did you come from? And what is your country and nationality?

9And he said to them, I am a Hebrew, and I [reverently] fear and worship the Lord, the God of heaven, Who made the sea and the dry land.

10Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, What is this that you have done? For the men knew that he fled from being in the presence of the Lord [as His prophet and servant], because he had told them.

11Then they said to him, What shall we do to you, that the sea may subside and be calm for us? For the sea became more and more [violently] tempestuous.

12And [Jonah] said to them, Take me up and cast me into the sea; so shall the sea become calm for you, for I know that it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.

13Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring the ship to the land, but they could not, for the sea became more and more violent against them.

14Therefore they cried to the Lord, We beseech You, O Lord, we beseech You, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood; for You, O Lord, have done as it pleased You.

15So they took up Jonah and cast him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging.

16Then the men [reverently and worshipfully] feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.

17Now the Lord had prepared and appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.(D)

Jonah 2
1THEN JONAH prayed to the Lord his God from the fish's belly,

2And said, I cried out of my distress to the Lord, and He heard me; out of the belly of Sheol cried I, and You heard my voice.(E)

3For You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the floods surrounded me; all Your waves and Your billows passed over me.(F)

4Then I said, I have been cast out of Your presence and Your sight; yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.(G)

5The waters compassed me about, even to [the extinction of] life; the abyss surrounded me, the seaweed was wrapped about my head.(H)

6I went down to the bottoms and the very roots of the mountains; the earth with its bars closed behind me forever. Yet You have brought up my life from the pit and corruption, O Lord my God.

7When my soul fainted upon me [crushing me], I earnestly and seriously remembered the Lord; and my prayer came to You, into Your holy temple.

8Those who pay regard to false, useless, and worthless idols forsake their own [Source of] mercy and loving-kindness.

9But as for me, I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that which I have vowed. Salvation and deliverance belong to the Lord!

10And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.

Jonah 3
1AND THE word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying,

2Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach and cry out to it the preaching that I tell you.

3So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city of three days' journey [sixty miles in circumference].

4And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown!

5So the people of Nineveh believed in God and proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth [in penitent mourning], from the greatest of them even to the least of them.

6For word came to the king of Nineveh [of all that had happened to Jonah, and his terrifying message from God], and he arose from his throne and he laid his robe aside, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.

7And he made proclamation and published through Nineveh, By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; let them not feed nor drink water.

8But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth and let them cry mightily to God. Yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.

9Who can tell, God may turn and revoke His sentence against us [when we have met His terms], and turn away from His fierce anger so that we perish not.(I)

10And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God revoked His [sentence of] evil that He had said that He would do to them and He did not do it [for He was comforted and eased concerning them].

Jonah 4
1BUT IT displeased Jonah exceedingly and he was very angry.

2And he prayed to the Lord and said, I pray You, O Lord, is not this just what I said when I was still in my country? That is why I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness, and [when sinners turn to You and meet Your conditions] You revoke the [sentence of] evil against them.(J)

3Therefore now, O Lord, I beseech You, take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.

4Then said the Lord, Do you do well to be angry?

5So Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city, and he made a booth there for himself. He sat there under it in the shade till he might see what would become of the city.

6And the Lord God prepared a gourd and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to deliver him from his evil situation. So Jonah was exceedingly glad [to have the protection] of the gourd.

7But God prepared a cutworm when the morning dawned the next day, and it smote the gourd so that it withered.

8And when the sun arose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah so that he fainted and wished in himself to die and said, It is better for me to die than to live.

9And God said to Jonah, Do you do well to be angry for the loss of the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die!

10Then said the Lord, You have had pity on the gourd, for which you have not labored nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night.

11And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons not [yet old enough to] know their right hand from their left, and also many cattle [not accountable for sin]?

Footnotes:

1. Jonah 1:1 That Jonah was a historical character is evidenced beyond question by the reference to him in II Kings 14:25: "Jeroboam restored Israel's border... according to the word of the Lord... which He spoke through His servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath-hepher."
2. Jonah 1:2 In spite of the fact that Nineveh is called a "great city" three times in the Old Testament (Gen. 10:11, 12; Jonah 1:2; 3:3) and once in the Apocrypha (Judith 1:1), skeptical Bible critics long believed the statement to be greatly exaggerated. When the walled city was first excavated, it was found to be less than nine miles in circumference. That sparked cynical claims that the author, Jonah, did not know what he was talking about. But the real author, the Holy Spirit, was being overlooked. Later excavations have revealed that Nineveh had many suburbs, three of which are mentioned along with Nineveh in Gen. 10:11, 12. One first-century writer (Diodorus of Sicily) justifiably says that Nineveh was a quadrangle measuring about sixty miles in circuit--a "great city" indeed.

Cross references:

1. Jonah 1:2 : Gen 10:11, 12
2. Jonah 1:3 : Gen 4:16; Job 1:12; 2:7
3. Jonah 1:4 : Ps 107:23-27
4. Jonah 1:17 : Matt 12:40
5. Jonah 2:2 : Ps 120:1; 130:1; 142:1; Lam 3:55-58
6. Jonah 2:3 : Ps 42:7
7. Jonah 2:4 : Ps 31:22
8. Jonah 2:5 : Ps 69:1; Lam 3:54
9. Jonah 3:9 : Joel 2:13, 14
10. Jonah 4:2 : Exod 34:6

Psalm 139

2008-01-25T18:59:00.001-08:00

Psalm 139 (King James Version)
King James Version (KJV)

Public Domain
[A Public Domain Bible] [KJV at Zondervan] [Zondervan]

Psalm 139

1O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.

2Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.

3Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.

4For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.

5Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.

6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.

7Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

8If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

9If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;

10Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

11If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.

12Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

13For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.

14I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

15My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

16Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

17How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!

18If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.

19Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men.

20For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain.

21Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?

22I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.

23Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:

24And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

LOVE ONE ANOTHER ~

2007-12-11T10:02:00.000-08:00

1. John 13:34
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
John 13:33-35 (in Context) John 13 (Whole Chapter)
2. John 13:35
By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
John 13:34-36 (in Context) John 13 (Whole Chapter)
3. Romans 12:10
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.
Romans 12:9-11 (in Context) Romans 12 (Whole Chapter)
4. Romans 13:8
[ Love, for the Day is Near ] Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.
Romans 13:7-9 (in Context) Romans 13 (Whole Chapter)
5. Galatians 5:13
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature ; rather, serve one another in love.
Galatians 5:12-14 (in Context) Galatians 5 (Whole Chapter)
6. Ephesians 4:2
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
Ephesians 4:1-3 (in Context) Ephesians 4 (Whole Chapter)
7. Hebrews 10:24
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
Hebrews 10:23-25 (in Context) Hebrews 10 (Whole Chapter)
8. 1 Peter 1:22
Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.
1 Peter 1:21-23 (in Context) 1 Peter 1 (Whole Chapter)
9. 1 Peter 3:8
[ Suffering for Doing Good ] Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.
1 Peter 3:7-9 (in Context) 1 Peter 3 (Whole Chapter)
10. 1 Peter 5:14
Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.
1 Peter 5:13-14 (in Context) 1 Peter 5 (Whole Chapter)

Judges 5-9 (New International Version)

2007-12-04T15:02:00.000-08:00

Judges 5-9 (New International Version)

New International Version (NIV)

Judges 5

The Song of Deborah

1 On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song:

2 "When the princes in Israel take the lead,
when the people willingly offer themselves—
praise the LORD!

3 "Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers!
I will sing to ^[a] the LORD, I will sing;
I will make music to ^[b] the LORD, the God of Israel.

4 "O LORD, when you went out from Seir,
when you marched from the land of Edom,
the earth shook, the heavens poured,
the clouds poured down water.

5 The mountains quaked before the LORD, the One of Sinai,
before the LORD, the God of Israel.

6 "In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,
in the days of Jael, the roads were abandoned;
travelers took to winding paths.

7 Village life ^[c] in Israel ceased,
ceased until I, ^[d] Deborah, arose,
arose a mother in Israel.

8 When they chose new gods,
war came to the city gates,
and not a shield or spear was seen
among forty thousand in Israel.

9 My heart is with Israel's princes,
with the willing volunteers among the people.
Praise the LORD!

10 "You who ride on white donkeys,
sitting on your saddle blankets,
and you who walk along the road,
consider 11 the voice of the singers ^[e] at the watering places.
They recite the righteous acts of the LORD,
the righteous acts of his warriors ^[f] in Israel.
"Then the people of the LORD
went down to the city gates.

12 'Wake up, wake up, Deborah!
Wake up, wake up, break out in song!
Arise, O Barak!
Take captive your captives, O son of Abinoam.'

13 "Then the men who were left
came down to the nobles;
the people of the LORD
came to me with the mighty.

14 Some came from Ephraim, whose roots were in Amalek;
Benjamin was with the people who followed you.
From Makir captains came down,
from Zebulun those who bear a commander's staff.

15 The princes of Issachar were with Deborah;
yes, Issachar was with Barak,
rushing after him into the valley.
In the districts of Reuben
there was much searching of heart.

16 Why did you stay among the campfires ^[g]
to hear the whistling for the flocks?
In the districts of Reuben
there was much searching of heart.

17 Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan.
And Dan, why did he linger by the ships?
Asher remained on the coast
and stayed in his coves.

18 The people of Zebulun risked their very lives;
so did Naphtali on the heights of the field.

19 "Kings came, they fought;
the kings of Canaan fought
at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo,
but they carried off no silver, no plunder.

20 From the heavens the stars fought,
from their courses they fought against Sisera.

21 The river Kishon swept them away,
the age-old river, the river Kishon.
March on, my soul; be strong!

22 Then thundered the horses' hoofs—
galloping, galloping go his mighty steeds.

23 'Curse Meroz,' said the angel of the LORD.
'Curse its people bitterly,
because they did not come to help the LORD,
to help the LORD against the mighty.'

24 "Most blessed of women be Jael,
the wife of Heber the Kenite,
most blessed of tent-dwelling women.

25 He asked for water, and she gave him milk;
in a bowl fit for nobles she brought him curdled milk.

26 Her hand reached for the tent peg,
her right hand for the workman's hammer.
She struck Sisera, she crushed his head,
she shattered and pierced his temple.

27 At her feet he sank,
he fell; there he lay.
At her feet he sank, he fell;
where he sank, there he fell-dead.

28 "Through the window peered Sisera's mother;
behind the lattice she cried out,
'Why is his chariot so long in coming?
Why is the clatter of his chariots delayed?'

29 The wisest of her ladies answer her;
indeed, she keeps saying to herself,

30 'Are they not finding and dividing the spoils:
a girl or two for each man,
colorful garments as plunder for Sisera,
colorful garments embroidered,
highly embroidered garments for my neck—
all this as plunder?'

31 "So may all your enemies perish, O LORD!
But may they who love you be like the sun
when it rises in its strength."
Then the land had peace forty years.

Judges 6

Gideon

1 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. 2 Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. 3 Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country. 4 They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. 5 They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count the men and their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it. 6 Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the LORD for help.

7 When the Israelites cried to the LORD because of Midian, 8 he sent them a prophet, who said, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 9 I snatched you from the power of Egypt and from the hand of all your oppressors. I drove them from before you and gave you their land. 10 I said to you, 'I am the LORD your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.' But you have not listened to me."

11 The angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. 12 When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior."

13 "But sir," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, 'Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian."

14 The LORD turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?"

15 "But Lord , ^[h] " Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."

16 The LORD answered, "I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together."

17 Gideon replied, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me. 18 Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you."
And the LORD said, "I will wait until you return."

19 Gideon went in, prepared a young goat, and from an ephah ^[i] of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them out and offered them to him under the oak.

20 The angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth." And Gideon did so. 21 With the tip of the staff that was in his hand, the angel of the LORD touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the LORD disappeared. 22 When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he exclaimed, "Ah, Sovereign LORD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!"

23 But the LORD said to him, "Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die."

24 So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

25 That same night the LORD said to him, "Take the second bull from your father's herd, the one seven years old. ^[j] Tear down your father's altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole ^[k] beside it. 26 Then build a proper kind of ^[l] altar to the LORD your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second ^[m] bull as a burnt offering."

27 So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the men of the town, he did it at night rather than in the daytime.

28 In the morning when the men of the town got up, there was Baal's altar, demolished, with the Asherah pole beside it cut down and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar!

29 They asked each other, "Who did this?"
When they carefully investigated, they were told, "Gideon son of Joash did it."

30 The men of the town demanded of Joash, "Bring out your son. He must die, because he has broken down Baal's altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it."

31 But Joash replied to the hostile crowd around him, "Are you going to plead Baal's cause? Are you trying to save him? Whoever fights for him shall be put to death by morning! If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar." 32 So that day they called Gideon "Jerub-Baal, ^[n] " saying, "Let Baal contend with him," because he broke down Baal's altar.

33 Now all the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples joined forces and crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel. 34 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him. 35 He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, calling them to arms, and also into Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, so that they too went up to meet them.

36 Gideon said to God, "If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised- 37 look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said." 38 And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water.

39 Then Gideon said to God, "Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece. This time make the fleece dry and the ground covered with dew." 40 That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.

Judges 7

Gideon Defeats the Midianites

1 Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. 2 The LORD said to Gideon, "You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, 3 announce now to the people, 'Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.' " So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.

4 But the LORD said to Gideon, "There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, 'This one shall go with you,' he shall go; but if I say, 'This one shall not go with you,' he shall not go."

5 So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the LORD told him, "Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink." 6 Three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.

7 The LORD said to Gideon, "With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each to his own place." 8 So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others.
Now the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley. 9 During that night the LORD said to Gideon, "Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands. 10 If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah 11 and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp." So he and Purah his servant went down to the outposts of the camp. 12 The Midianites, the Amalekites and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore.

13 Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. "I had a dream," he was saying. "A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed."

14 His friend responded, "This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands."

15 When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped God. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, "Get up! The LORD has given the Midianite camp into your hands." 16 Dividing the three hundred men into three companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them, with torches inside.

17 "Watch me," he told them. "Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do. 18 When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, 'For the LORD and for Gideon.' "

19 Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands. 20 The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, "A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!" 21 While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled.

22 When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the LORD caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath. 23 Israelites from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh were called out, and they pursued the Midianites. 24 Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying, "Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of them as far as Beth Barah."
So all the men of Ephraim were called out and they took the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth Barah. 25 They also captured two of the Midianite leaders, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued the Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was by the Jordan.

Judges 8

Zebah and Zalmunna

1 Now the Ephraimites asked Gideon, "Why have you treated us like this? Why didn't you call us when you went to fight Midian?" And they criticized him sharply.

2 But he answered them, "What have I accomplished compared to you? Aren't the gleanings of Ephraim's grapes better than the full grape harvest of Abiezer? 3 God gave Oreb and Zeeb, the Midianite leaders, into your hands. What was I able to do compared to you?" At this, their resentment against him subsided.

4 Gideon and his three hundred men, exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit, came to the Jordan and crossed it. 5 He said to the men of Succoth, "Give my troops some bread; they are worn out, and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian."

6 But the officials of Succoth said, "Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your troops?"

7 Then Gideon replied, "Just for that, when the LORD has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your flesh with desert thorns and briers."

8 From there he went up to Peniel ^[o] and made the same request of them, but they answered as the men of Succoth had. 9 So he said to the men of Peniel, "When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower."

10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with a force of about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of the armies of the eastern peoples; a hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had fallen. 11 Gideon went up by the route of the nomads east of Nobah and Jogbehah and fell upon the unsuspecting army. 12 Zebah and Zalmunna, the two kings of Midian, fled, but he pursued them and captured them, routing their entire army.

13 Gideon son of Joash then returned from the battle by the Pass of Heres. 14 He caught a young man of Succoth and questioned him, and the young man wrote down for him the names of the seventy-seven officials of Succoth, the elders of the town. 15 Then Gideon came and said to the men of Succoth, "Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me by saying, 'Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your exhausted men?' " 16 He took the elders of the town and taught the men of Succoth a lesson by punishing them with desert thorns and briers. 17 He also pulled down the tower of Peniel and killed the men of the town.

18 Then he asked Zebah and Zalmunna, "What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?"
"Men like you," they answered, "each one with the bearing of a prince."

19 Gideon replied, "Those were my brothers, the sons of my own mother. As surely as the LORD lives, if you had spared their lives, I would not kill you." 20 Turning to Jether, his oldest son, he said, "Kill them!" But Jether did not draw his sword, because he was only a boy and was afraid.

21 Zebah and Zalmunna said, "Come, do it yourself. 'As is the man, so is his strength.' " So Gideon stepped forward and killed them, and took the ornaments off their camels' necks.

Gideon's Ephod

22 The Israelites said to Gideon, "Rule over us—you, your son and your grandson—because you have saved us out of the hand of Midian."

23 But Gideon told them, "I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The LORD will rule over you." 24 And he said, "I do have one request, that each of you give me an earring from your share of the plunder." (It was the custom of the Ishmaelites to wear gold earrings.)

25 They answered, "We'll be glad to give them." So they spread out a garment, and each man threw a ring from his plunder onto it. 26 The weight of the gold rings he asked for came to seventeen hundred shekels, ^[p] not counting the ornaments, the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian or the chains that were on their camels' necks. 27 Gideon made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family.

Gideon's Death

28 Thus Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head again. During Gideon's lifetime, the land enjoyed peace forty years.

29 Jerub-Baal son of Joash went back home to live. 30 He had seventy sons of his own, for he had many wives. 31 His concubine, who lived in Shechem, also bore him a son, whom he named Abimelech. 32 Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

33 No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They set up Baal-Berith as their god and 34 did not remember the LORD their God, who had rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on every side. 35 They also failed to show kindness to the family of Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) for all the good things he had done for them.

Judges 9

Abimelech

1 Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal went to his mother's brothers in Shechem and said to them and to all his mother's clan, 2 "Ask all the citizens of Shechem, 'Which is better for you: to have all seventy of Jerub-Baal's sons rule over you, or just one man?' Remember, I am your flesh and blood."

3 When the brothers repeated all this to the citizens of Shechem, they were inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, "He is our brother." 4 They gave him seventy shekels ^[q] of silver from the temple of Baal-Berith, and Abimelech used it to hire reckless adventurers, who became his followers. 5 He went to his father's home in Ophrah and on one stone murdered his seventy brothers, the sons of Jerub-Baal. But Jotham, the youngest son of Jerub-Baal, escaped by hiding. 6 Then all the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo gathered beside the great tree at the pillar in Shechem to crown Abimelech king.

7 When Jotham was told about this, he climbed up on the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted to them, "Listen to me, citizens of Shechem, so that God may listen to you. 8 One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, 'Be our king.'

9 "But the olive tree answered, 'Should I give up my oil, by which both gods and men are honored, to hold sway over the trees?'

10 "Next, the trees said to the fig tree, 'Come and be our king.'

11 "But the fig tree replied, 'Should I give up my fruit, so good and sweet, to hold sway over the trees?'

12 "Then the trees said to the vine, 'Come and be our king.'

13 "But the vine answered, 'Should I give up my wine, which cheers both gods and men, to hold sway over the trees?'

14 "Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, 'Come and be our king.'

15 "The thornbush said to the trees, 'If you really want to anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, then let fire come out of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!'

16 "Now if you have acted honorably and in good faith when you made Abimelech king, and if you have been fair to Jerub-Baal and his family, and if you have treated him as he deserves- 17 and to think that my father fought for you, risked his life to rescue you from the hand of Midian 18 (but today you have revolted against my father's family, murdered his seventy sons on a single stone, and made Abimelech, the son of his slave girl, king over the citizens of Shechem because he is your brother)- 19 if then you have acted honorably and in good faith toward Jerub-Baal and his family today, may Abimelech be your joy, and may you be his, too! 20 But if you have not, let fire come out from Abimelech and consume you, citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and let fire come out from you, citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and consume Abimelech!"

21 Then Jotham fled, escaping to Beer, and he lived there because he was afraid of his brother Abimelech.

22 After Abimelech had governed Israel three years, 23 God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem, who acted treacherously against Abimelech. 24 God did this in order that the crime against Jerub-Baal's seventy sons, the shedding of their blood, might be avenged on their brother Abimelech and on the citizens of Shechem, who had helped him murder his brothers. 25 In opposition to him these citizens of Shechem set men on the hilltops to ambush and rob everyone who passed by, and this was reported to Abimelech.

26 Now Gaal son of Ebed moved with his brothers into Shechem, and its citizens put their confidence in him. 27 After they had gone out into the fields and gathered the grapes and trodden them, they held a festival in the temple of their god. While they were eating and drinking, they cursed Abimelech. 28 Then Gaal son of Ebed said, "Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should be subject to him? Isn't he Jerub-Baal's son, and isn't Zebul his deputy? Serve the men of Hamor, Shechem's father! Why should we serve Abimelech? 29 If only this people were under my command! Then I would get rid of him. I would say to Abimelech, 'Call out your whole army!' " ^[r]

30 When Zebul the governor of the city heard what Gaal son of Ebed said, he was very angry. 31 Under cover he sent messengers to Abimelech, saying, "Gaal son of Ebed and his brothers have come to Shechem and are stirring up the city against you. 32 Now then, during the night you and your men should come and lie in wait in the fields. 33 In the morning at sunrise, advance against the city. When Gaal and his men come out against you, do whatever your hand finds to do."

34 So Abimelech and all his troops set out by night and took up concealed positions near Shechem in four companies. 35 Now Gaal son of Ebed had gone out and was standing at the entrance to the city gate just as Abimelech and his soldiers came out from their hiding place.

36 When Gaal saw them, he said to Zebul, "Look, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains!"
Zebul replied, "You mistake the shadows of the mountains for men."

37 But Gaal spoke up again: "Look, people are coming down from the center of the land, and a company is coming from the direction of the soothsayers' tree."

38 Then Zebul said to him, "Where is your big talk now, you who said, 'Who is Abimelech that we should be subject to him?' Aren't these the men you ridiculed? Go out and fight them!"

39 So Gaal led out ^[s] the citizens of Shechem and fought Abimelech. 40 Abimelech chased him, and many fell wounded in the flight—all the way to the entrance to the gate. 41 Abimelech stayed in Arumah, and Zebul drove Gaal and his brothers out of Shechem.

42 The next day the people of Shechem went out to the fields, and this was reported to Abimelech. 43 So he took his men, divided them into three companies and set an ambush in the fields. When he saw the people coming out of the city, he rose to attack them. 44 Abimelech and the companies with him rushed forward to a position at the entrance to the city gate. Then two companies rushed upon those in the fields and struck them down. 45 All that day Abimelech pressed his attack against the city until he had captured it and killed its people. Then he destroyed the city and scattered salt over it.

46 On hearing this, the citizens in the tower of Shechem went into the stronghold of the temple of El-Berith. 47 When Abimelech heard that they had assembled there, 48 he and all his men went up Mount Zalmon. He took an ax and cut off some branches, which he lifted to his shoulders. He ordered the men with him, "Quick! Do what you have seen me do!" 49 So all the men cut branches and followed Abimelech. They piled them against the stronghold and set it on fire over the people inside. So all the people in the tower of Shechem, about a thousand men and women, also died.

50 Next Abimelech went to Thebez and besieged it and captured it. 51 Inside the city, however, was a strong tower, to which all the men and women—all the people of the city—fled. They locked themselves in and climbed up on the tower roof. 52 Abimelech went to the tower and stormed it. But as he approached the entrance to the tower to set it on fire, 53 a woman dropped an upper millstone on his head and cracked his skull.

54 Hurriedly he called to his armor-bearer, "Draw your sword and kill me, so that they can't say, 'A woman killed him.' " So his servant ran him through, and he died. 55 When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they went home.

56 Thus God repaid the wickedness that Abimelech had done to his father by murdering his seventy brothers. 57 God also made the men of Shechem pay for all their wickedness. The curse of Jotham son of Jerub-Baal came on them.

Footnotes:

Judges 5:3 Or of
Judges 5:3 Or / with song I will praise
Judges 5:7 Or Warriors
Judges 5:7 Or you
Judges 5:11 Or archers ; the meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Judges 5:11 Or villagers
Judges 5:16 Or saddlebags
Judges 6:15 Or sir
Judges 6:19 That is, probably about 3/5 bushel (about 22 liters)
Judges 6:25 Or Take a full-grown, mature bull from your father's herd
Judges 6:25 That is, a symbol of the goddess Asherah; here and elsewhere in Judges
Judges 6:26 Or build with layers of stone an
Judges 6:26 Or full-grown ; also in verse 28
Judges 6:32 Jerub-Baal means let Baal contend .
Judges 8:8 Hebrew Penuel , a variant of Peniel ; also in verses 9 and 17
Judges 8:26 That is, about 43 pounds (about 19.5 kilograms)
Judges 9:4 That is, about 1 3/4 pounds (about 0.8 kilogram)
Judges 9:29 Septuagint; Hebrew him." Then he said to Abimelech, "Call out your whole army!"
Judges 9:39 Or Gaal went out in the sight of

ECCLESIASTES 2 with Commentary

2007-11-04T10:55:00.000-08:00

ECCLESIASTES 2
1 I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also is vanity.
2 I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?
3 I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life.
4 I made me great works; I built me houses; I planted me vineyards:
5 I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits:
6 I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees:
7 I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me:
8 I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces: I got me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts.
9 So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me.
10 And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labor: and this was my portion of all my labor.
11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had labored to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.
12 And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done.
13 Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.
14 The wise man's eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all.
15 Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity.
16 For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool forever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise man ? as the fool.
17 Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
18 Yea, I hated all my labor which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me.
19 And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labor wherein I have labored, and wherein I have showed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.
20 Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labor which I took under the sun.
21 For there is a man whose labor is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity; yet to a man that hath not labored therein shall he leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil.
22 For what hath man of all his labor, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath labored under the sun?
23 For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity.
24 There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul good in his labor. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.
25 For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto , more than I?
26 For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.

ECCLESIASTES 2

* The vanity and vexation of mirth, sensual pleasure, riches,
and pomp. (1-11) Human wisdom insufficient. (12-17) This world
to be used according to the will of God. (18-26)

#1-11 Solomon soon found mirth and pleasure to be vanity. What
does noisy, flashy mirth towards making a man happy? The
manifold devices of men's hearts, to get satisfaction from the
world, and their changing from one thing to another, are like
the restlessness of a man in a fever. Perceiving it was folly to
give himself to wine, he next tried the costly amusements of
princes. The poor, when they read such a description, are ready
to feel discontent. But the remedy against all such feelings is
in the estimate of it all by the owner himself. All was vanity
and vexation of spirit: and the same things would yield the same
result to us, as to Solomon. Having food and raiment, let us
therewith be content. His wisdom remained with him; a strong
understanding, with great human knowledge. But every earthly
pleasure, when unconnected with better blessings, leaves the
mind as eager and unsatisfied as before. Happiness arises not
from the situation in which we are placed. It is only through
Jesus Christ that final blessedness can be attained.

#12-17 Solomon found that knowledge and prudence were preferable
to ignorance and folly, though human wisdom and knowledge will
not make a man happy. The most learned of men, who dies a
stranger to Christ Jesus, will perish equally with the most
ignorant; and what good can commendations on earth do to the
body in the grave, or the soul in hell? And the spirits of just
men made perfect cannot want them. So that if this were all, we
might be led to hate our life, as it is all vanity and vexation
of spirit.

#18-26 Our hearts are very loth to quit their expectations of
great things from the creature; but Solomon came to this at
length. The world is a vale of tears, even to those that have
much of it. See what fools they are, who make themselves drudges
to the world, which affords a man nothing better than
subsistence for the body. And the utmost he can attain in this
respect is to allow himself a sober, cheerful use thereof,
according to his rank and condition. But we must enjoy good in
our labour; we must use those things to make us diligent and
cheerful in worldly business. And this is the gift of God.
Riches are a blessing or a curse to a man, according as he has,
or has not, a heart to make a good use of them. To those that
are accepted of the Lord, he gives joy and satisfaction in the
knowledge and love of him. But to the sinner he allots labour,
sorrow, vanity, and vexation, in seeking a worldly portion,
which yet afterwards comes into better hands. Let the sinner
seriously consider his latter end. To seek a lasting portion in
the love of Christ and the blessings it bestows, is the only way
to true and satisfying enjoyment even of this present world.

Romans 1-6 (King James Version)

2007-09-17T03:48:00.000-07:00

Romans 1-6 (King James Version)
King James Version (KJV)

Public Domain
[A Public Domain Bible] [KJV at Zondervan] [Zondervan]

Romans 1

1Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,

2(Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)

3Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;

4And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

5By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:

6Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:

7To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

8First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.

9For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;

10Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.

11For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established;

12That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.

13Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.

14I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.

15So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.

16For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

17For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

19Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

20For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

21Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

22Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

23And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

24Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

25Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

26For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:

27And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

28And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

29Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

30Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

31Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

32Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
Romans 2

1Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.

2But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.

3And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?

4Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

5But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

6Who will render to every man according to his deeds:

7To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:

8But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,

9Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;

10But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:

11For there is no respect of persons with God.

12For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;

13(For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

14For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:

15Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)

16In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

17Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God,

18And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law;

19And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness,

20An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.

21Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?

22Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?

23Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?

24For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.

25For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.

26Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?

27And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?

28For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:

29But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
Romans 3

1What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?

2Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.

3For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?

4God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

5But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man)

6God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world?

7For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner?

8And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just.

9What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;

10As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

11There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

12They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

13Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:

14Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:

15Their feet are swift to shed blood:

16Destruction and misery are in their ways:

17And the way of peace have they not known:

18There is no fear of God before their eyes.

19Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

20Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

21But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;

22Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

23For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

24Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

25Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

26To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

27Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.

28Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

29Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:

30Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.

31Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
Romans 4

1What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?

2For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.

3For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

4Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.

5But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

6Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,

7Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.

8Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

9Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.

10How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.

11And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:

12And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.

13For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

14For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:

15Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.

16Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,

17(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

18Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.

19And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb:

20He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;

21And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

22And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

23Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;

24But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

25Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
Romans 5

1Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

2By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

3And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

4And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

5And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

6For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

7For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.

8But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

9Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

10For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

11And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

12Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

13(For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

14Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.

15But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.

16And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.

17For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

18Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

19For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

20Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:

21That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 6

1What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

2God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

3Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

4Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

5For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

6Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

7For he that is dead is freed from sin.

8Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:

9Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.

10For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.

11Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

12Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

13Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

14For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

15What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

16Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

17But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.

18Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

19I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.

20For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.

21What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.

22But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

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

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2007-09-09T01:36:00.001-07:00

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Ecclesiastes 3 (New International Version)

2007-07-29T13:46:00.000-07:00

Ecclesiastes 3 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

Ecclesiastes 3
A Time for Everything
1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

9 What does the worker gain from his toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on men. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. 13 That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.

15 Whatever is has already been,
and what will be has been before;
and God will call the past to account. [a]

16 And I saw something else under the sun:
In the place of judgment—wickedness was there,
in the place of justice—wickedness was there.

17 I thought in my heart,
"God will bring to judgment
both the righteous and the wicked,
for there will be a time for every activity,
a time for every deed."

18 I also thought, "As for men, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals. 19 Man's fate is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath [b] ; man has no advantage over the animal. Everything is meaningless. 20 All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return. 21 Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and if the spirit of the animal [c] goes down into the earth?"

22 So I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?

Footnotes:
Ecclesiastes 3:15 Or God calls back the past
Ecclesiastes 3:19 Or spirit
Ecclesiastes 3:21 Or Who knows the spirit of man, which rises upward, or the spirit of the animal, which

Love One Another :)

2007-07-16T04:31:00.000-07:00

John 13 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

John 13
Jesus Washes His Disciples' Feet
1It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.[a]

2The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. 3Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

6He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?"

7Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."

8"No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet."
Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."

9"Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!"

10Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you." 11For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

12When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. 13"You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. 15I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
Jesus Predicts His Betrayal
18"I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture: 'He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.'[b]

19"I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He. 20I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me."

21After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, "I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me."

22His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. 23One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. 24Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, "Ask him which one he means."

25Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, "Lord, who is it?"

26Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish." Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon. 27As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.

"What you are about to do, do quickly," Jesus told him, 28but no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. 29Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the Feast, or to give something to the poor. 30As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.
Jesus Predicts Peter's Denial
31When he was gone, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him. 32If God is glorified in him,[c] God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.

33"My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.

34"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

36Simon Peter asked him, "Lord, where are you going?"
Jesus replied, "Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later."

37Peter asked, "Lord, why can't I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you."

38Then Jesus answered, "Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!

Footnotes:
John 13:1 Or he loved them to the last
John 13:18 Psalm 41:9
John 13:32 Many early manuscripts do not have If God is glorified in him.

Message Forum :)

2007-06-08T15:32:00.000-07:00

Devotional for June 7th - 10th, 2007

2007-06-07T04:04:00.000-07:00

John 3-5 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.

John 3
Jesus and Nicodemus
1 There was a man from the Pharisees (A) named Nicodemus, (B) a ruler (C) of the Jews. 2 This man came to Him at night and said, " Rabbi, (D) we know that You have come from God (E) as a teacher, (F) for no one could perform these signs You do unless God were with him." (G)
3 Jesus replied, " I assure you: Unless someone is born again, (H) [a] he cannot see the kingdom of God." (I)

4 "But how can anyone be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked Him. "Can he enter his mother's womb a second time and be born?"

5 Jesus answered, " I assure you: Unless someone is born (J) of water and the Spirit, (K) [b] he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 Whatever is born of the flesh (L) is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit (M) is spirit. 7 Do not be amazed that I told you that you [c] must be born (N) again. 8 The wind [d] blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don't know where it comes from or where it is going. (O) So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." (P)

9 "How can these things be?" asked Nicodemus.

10 "Are you a teacher [e] of Israel and don't know these things?" Jesus replied. 11 " I assure you: (Q) We speak what We know and We testify to what We have seen, but you [f] do not accept Our testimony. [g] 12 If I have told you about things that happen on earth and you don't believe, how will you believe if I tell you about things of heaven? 13 No one has ascended (R) into heaven (S) except the One who descended from heaven (T) —the Son of Man. (U) [h] 14 Just as Moses (V) lifted up the snake in the wilderness, (W) so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in Him will [i] have eternal life. (X)

16 "For God loved (Y) the world in this way: He gave His One and Only (Z) Son, (AA) so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. (AB) 17 For God did not send His Son into the world that He might judge (AC) the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 Anyone who believes in Him is not judged, (AD) but anyone who does not believe is already judged, (AE) because he has not believed in the name (AF) of the One and Only Son (AG) of God.

19 "This, then, is the judgment: the light (AH) has come into the world, (AI) and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who practices wicked things hates (AJ) the light and avoids it, [j] so that his deeds (AK) may not be exposed. 21 But anyone who lives by [k] the truth comes to the light, so that his works (AL) may be shown to be accomplished by God." [l]

Jesus and John the Baptist
22 After this, Jesus and His disciples went to the Judean countryside, where He spent time with them and baptized. 23 John (AM) also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water there. People were coming and being baptized, 24 since John had not yet been thrown into prison. (AN)
25 Then a dispute arose between John's disciples (AO) and a Jew [m] about purification. (AP) 26 So they came to John and told him, " Rabbi, (AQ) the One you testified about, and who was with you across the Jordan, (AR) is baptizing—and everyone is flocking to Him." (AS)

27 John responded, "No one can receive a single thing unless it's given to him from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Messiah, (AT) but I've been sent ahead of Him. (AU) ' 29 He who has the bride (AV) is the groom. But the groom's friend, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly [n] at the groom's voice. So this joy (AW) of mine is complete. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease."

The One from Heaven
31 The One who comes from above (AX) is above all. The one who is from the earth is earthly and speaks in earthly terms. [o] The One who comes from heaven is above all. (AY) 32 He testifies (AZ) to what He has seen and heard, yet no one accepts His testimony. 33 The one who has accepted His testimony has affirmed that God is true. (BA) 34 For God sent Him, and He speaks God's words, since He [p] gives the Spirit (BB) without measure. 35 The Father loves the Son (BC) and has given all things into His hands. (BD) 36 The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who refuses to believe in the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him. (BE)
John 4
Jesus and the Samaritan Woman
1 When Jesus [q] knew that the Pharisees (BF) heard He was making (BG) and baptizing more disciples than John (BH) 2 (though Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were), 3 He left Judea (BI) and went again to Galilee. (BJ) 4 He had to travel through Samaria, (BK) 5 so He came to a town of Samaria called Sychar near the property [r] that Jacob (BL) had given his son Joseph. (BM) 6 Jacob's well (BN) was there, and Jesus, worn out from His journey, sat down at the well. It was about six in the evening. [s]
7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. (BO)

"Give Me a drink," Jesus said to her, 8 for His disciples had gone into town to buy food.

9 "How is it that You, a Jew, (BP) ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan (BQ) woman?" she asked Him. For Jews do not associate with [t] Samaritans. [u]

10 Jesus answered, "If you knew the gift of God, (BR) and who is saying to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would ask Him, and He would give you living water." (BS)

11 "Sir," (BT) said the woman, "You don't even have a bucket, and the well is deep. So where do you get this 'living water'? 12 You aren't greater than our father Jacob, (BU) are you? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and livestock."

13 Jesus said, "Everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again. 14 But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again—ever! (BV) In fact, the water I will give him will become a well (BW) [v] of water springing up within him for eternal life." (BX)

15 "Sir," the woman said to Him, "give me this water so I won't get thirsty and come here to draw water."

16 "Go call your husband," He told her, "and come back here."

17 "I don't have a husband," she answered.

"You have correctly said, 'I don't have a husband,' " Jesus said. 18 "For you've had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true."

19 "Sir," the woman replied, "I see that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, (BY) [w] yet you [Jews] say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem." (BZ)

21 Jesus told her, "Believe Me, woman, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans [x] worship what you do not know. We worship what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews. (CA) 23 But an hour is coming, and is now here, (CB) when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship Him. 24 God is spirit, (CC) and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (CD)

25 The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah (CE) [y] is coming" (who is called Christ (CF) ). "When He comes, He will explain everything to us."

26 "I am [He]," (CG) Jesus told her, "the One speaking to you."

The Ripened Harvest
27 Just then His disciples arrived, and they were amazed that He was talking with a woman. Yet no one said, "What do You want?" or "Why are You talking with her?"
28 Then the woman left her water jar, went into town, and told the men, 29 "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could this be the Messiah?" (CH) 30 They left the town and made their way to Him. (CI)

31 In the meantime the disciples kept urging Him, " Rabbi, (CJ) eat something."

32 But He said, "I have food to eat that you don't know about."

33 The disciples said to one another, "Could someone have brought Him something to eat?"

34 "My food is to do the will of Him (CK) who sent Me (CL) and to finish His work," (CM) Jesus told them. 35 "Don't you say, 'There are still four more months, then comes the harvest'? Listen [to what] I'm telling you: Open [z] your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ready [aa] for harvest. 36 The reaper is already receiving pay and gathering fruit for eternal life, (CN) so the sower and reaper can rejoice together. 37 For in this case the saying is true: 'One sows and another reaps. (CO) ' 38 I sent you to reap what you didn't labor for; others have labored, and you have benefited from [ab] their labor."

The Savior of the World
39 Now many Samaritans (CP) from that town believed in Him because of what the woman said [ac] when she testified, (CQ) "He told me everything I ever did." 40 Therefore, when the Samaritans came to Him, (CR) they asked Him to stay with them, and He stayed there two days. 41 Many more believed because of what He said. [ad] 42 And they told the woman, "We no longer believe because of what you said, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this really is the Savior (CS) of the world." [ae]

A Galilean Welcome
43 After two days He left there for Galilee. (CT) 44 Jesus Himself testified (CU) that a prophet has no honor in his own country. (CV) 45 When (CW) they entered Galilee, the Galileans (CX) welcomed Him because they had seen everything He did in Jerusalem (CY) during the festival. (CZ) For they also had gone to the festival.

The Second Sign: Healing an Official's Son
46 Then He went again to Cana (DA) of Galilee, where He had turned the water into wine. There was a certain royal official whose son was ill at Capernaum. (DB) 47 When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea (DC) into Galilee, he went to Him and pleaded with Him to come down and heal his son, for he was about to die.
48 Jesus told him, "Unless you [people] see signs and wonders, (DD) you will not believe." (DE)

49 "Sir," (DF) the official said to Him, "come down before my boy dies!"

50 "Go," Jesus told him, "your son will live." The man believed what [af] Jesus said to him and departed.

51 While he was still going down, his slaves met him saying that his boy was alive. 52 He asked them at what time he got better. "Yesterday at seven in the morning [ag] the fever left him," they answered. 53 The father (DG) realized this was the very hour at which Jesus had told him, "Your son will live." Then he himself believed, along with his whole household.

54 This therefore was the second sign (DH) Jesus performed after He came from Judea to Galilee. (DI)

John 5
The Third Sign: Healing the Sick
1 After this, a Jewish festival took place, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. (DJ) 2 By the Sheep Gate (DK) in Jerusalem there is a pool, called Bethesda [ah] in Hebrew, which has five colonnades. [ai] 3 Within these lay a multitude of the sick—blind, lame, and paralyzed [—waiting for the moving of the water, 4 because an angel would go down into the pool from time to time and stir up the water. Then the first one who got in after the water was stirred up recovered from whatever ailment he had] . [aj]
5 One man was there who had been sick for 38 years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew he had already been there a long time, (DL) He said to him, "Do you want to get well?"

7 "Sir," (DM) the sick man answered, "I don't have a man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I'm coming, someone goes down ahead of me."

8 "Get up," Jesus told him, "pick up your bedroll and walk!" 9 Instantly the man got well, picked up his bedroll, and started to walk.

Now that day was the Sabbath, (DN) 10 so the Jews (DO) said to the man who had been healed, "This is the Sabbath! (DP) It's illegal for you to pick up your bedroll."

11 He replied, "The man who made me well (DQ) told me, 'Pick up your bedroll and walk.' "

12 "Who is this man who told you, 'Pick up [your bedroll] and walk?' " they asked. 13 But the man who was cured did not know who it was, (DR) because Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there. [ak]

14 After this, Jesus found him in the temple complex (DS) and said to him, "See, you are well. Do not sin any more, so that something worse doesn't happen to you." 15 The man went and reported to the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. (DT)

Honoring the Father and the Son
16 Therefore, the Jews began persecuting (DU) Jesus [al] because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. (DV) 17 But Jesus responded to them, "My Father (DW) is still working, and I am working also." 18 This is why the Jews began trying all the more to kill Him: (DX) not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.
19 Then Jesus replied, " I assure you: The Son is not able to do anything on His own, but only what He sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father [am] does, the Son also does these things in the same way. (DY) 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows Him everything He is doing, and He will show Him greater works (DZ) than these so that you will be amazed. 21 And just as the Father raises (EA) the dead and gives them life, so the Son also gives life to anyone He wants to. (EB) 22 The Father, (EC) in fact, judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 so that all people will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. (ED) Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. (EE)

Life and Judgment
24 " I assure you: Anyone who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life (EF) and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life.
25 " I assure you: An hour is coming, and is now here, (EG) when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. (EH) 26 For just as the Father has life in Himself, so also He has granted to the Son (EI) to have life in Himself. 27 And He has granted Him the right to pass judgment, (EJ) because He is the Son of Man. (EK) 28 Do not be amazed at this, because a time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come out—those who have done good things, to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked things, to the resurrection of judgment.

30 "I can do nothing on My own. I judge only as I hear, and My judgment (EL) is righteous, (EM) because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. (EN)

Four Witnesses to Jesus
31 "If I testify about Myself, My testimony is not valid. [an] 32 There is Another who testifies about Me, and I know that the testimony He gives about Me is valid. (EO) [ao] 33 You have sent [messengers] to John, and he has testified to the truth. (EP) 34 I don't receive man's testimony, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 John (EQ) [ap] was a burning and shining lamp, (ER) and for a time you were willing to enjoy his light. (ES)
36 "But I have a greater testimony than John's because of the works that the Father has given Me to accomplish. (ET) These very works I am doing testify about Me that the Father has sent (EU) Me. 37 The Father who sent Me has Himself testified (EV) about Me. You have not heard His voice at any time, and you haven't seen His form. (EW) 38 You don't have His word living in you, because you don't believe the One He sent. 39 You pore over [aq] the Scriptures (EX) because you think you have eternal life in them, yet they testify about Me. (EY) 40 And you are not willing (EZ) to come to Me (FA) that you may have life.

41 "I do not accept glory (FB) from men, 42 but I know you—that you have no love for God (FC) within you. 43 I have come in My Father's name, (FD) yet you don't accept Me. (FE) If someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44 How can you believe? While accepting glory from one another, you don't seek the glory that comes from the only (FF) God. (FG) 45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. Your accuser is Moses, (FH) on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, because he wrote about Me. 47 But if you don't believe his writings, (FI) how will you believe My words?" (FJ)

Footnotes:

John 3:3 The same Gk word can mean again or from above (also in v. [7]).
John 3:5 Or spirit, or wind; the Gk word pneuma can mean wind, spirit, or Spirit, each of which occurs in this context.
John 3:7 The pronoun is pl in Gk.
John 3:8 The Gk word pneuma can mean wind, spirit, or Spirit, each of which occurs in this context.
John 3:10 Or the teacher
John 3:11 The word you in Gk is pl here and throughout v. [12].
John 3:11 The pl forms (We, Our) refer to Jesus and His authority to speak for the Father.
John 3:13 Other mss add who is in heaven
John 3:15 Other mss add not perish, but
John 3:20 Lit and does not come to the light
John 3:21 Lit who does
John 3:21 It is possible that Jesus' words end at v. [15]. Ancient Gk did not have quotation marks.
John 3:25 Other mss read and the Jews
John 3:29 Lit with joy rejoices
John 3:31 Or of earthly things
John 3:34 Other mss read since God
John 4:1 Other mss read the Lord
John 4:5 Lit piece of land
John 4:6 Lit the sixth hour; see note at [Jn 1:39]; an alternate time reckoning would be noon
John 4:9 Or do not share vessels with
John 4:9 Other mss omit For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.
John 4:14 Or spring
John 4:20 Mount Gerizim, where there had been a Samaritan temple that rivaled Jerusalem's
John 4:22 Samaritans is implied since the Gk verb and pronoun are pl.
John 4:25 In the NT, the word Messiah translates the Gk word Christos ("Anointed One"), except here and in [Jn 1:41] where it translates Messias.
John 4:35 Lit Raise
John 4:35 Lit white
John 4:38 Lit you have entered into
John 4:39 Lit because of the woman's word
John 4:41 Lit because of His word
John 4:42 Other mss add the Messiah
John 4:50 Lit the word
John 4:52 Or seven in the evening; lit at the seventh hour; see note at [Jn 1:39]; an alternate time reckoning would be at one in the afternoon
John 5:2 Other mss read Bethzatha; other mss read Bethsaida
John 5:2 Rows of columns supporting a roof
John 5:4 Other mss omit bracketed text
John 5:13 Lit slipped away, there being a crowd in that place
John 5:16 Other mss add and trying to kill Him
John 5:19 Lit whatever that One
John 5:31 Or not true
John 5:32 Or true
John 5:35 Lit That man
John 5:39 In Gk this could be a command: Pore over . . .

Cross references:
John 3:1 : Mk 7:3;
John 3:1 : Jn 3:4;, 9; 7:50; 19:39;
John 3:1 : Lk 8:41; 12:58;
John 3:2 : Jn 11:8;
John 3:2 : Mk 1:45;
John 3:2 : Mk 4:38; Eph 4:11;
John 3:2 : Ex 3:12; Jn 15:24; Ac 10:38; Rv 21:3;
John 3:3 : 1Pt 1:3; 1Jn 2:29;
John 3:3 : Mk 1:15; 9:1;
John 3:5 : Mk 9:43;
John 3:5 : Ezk 36:25-27; Ac 22:16; Ti 3:5;
John 3:6 : Php 3:3;
John 3:6 : Jn 1:33;
John 3:7 : 1Pt 1:3;
John 3:8 : Jn 8:14;
John 3:8 : 1Co 2:13-16;
John 3:11 : Jn 1:51; Rv 22:21;
John 3:13 : Jn 20:17;
John 3:13 : Dt 30:12; Jn 6:62; Ac 2:34; Rm 10:6; 1Co 15:47; Eph 4:8-10; Rv 11:12;
John 3:13 : Jn 6:38; 8:23;
John 3:13 : Mk 2:10;
John 3:14 : Ps 77:20; Mt 8:4; Heb 3:2;
John 3:14 : Num 21:4-9;
John 3:15 : Mk 10:17; Jn 12:25; Ac 13:48;
John 3:16 : Jn 12:43; 1Co 13:1; Gl 2:20; Col 1:13; 3:12; 1Th 1:4; 2Th 2:13, 16; 1Jn 4:7-12; Jude 1;
John 3:16 : 1Jn 4:9;
John 3:16 : Jn 5:19; Heb 1:2;
John 3:16 : Jn 12:25; Rm 5:8; 1Jn 3:16; 4:9-10;
John 3:17 : Jn 8:11;, 15; Rv 19:11;
John 3:18 : Jn 5:22-30;
John 3:18 : Mt 12:41; Mk 16:16; Jn 5:11;
John 3:18 : Jn 10:25; 1Jn 3:23;
John 3:18 : Jn 5:19;
John 3:19 : Ps 36:9; Jn 12:46;
John 3:19 : Jn 18:37; 1Jn 2:8;
John 3:20 : Lk 6:27; 19:14;
John 3:20 : Mk 14:6; Gl 3:10; Jms 2:14-26;
John 3:21 : Jn 5:36;
John 3:23 : Mk 1:4;
John 3:24 : Mk 1:14;
John 3:25 : Mt 9:14; 11:2; 14:12; Mk 2:18; 6:29; Lk 5:33; 7:18-19; 11:1; Jn 1:35;, 37; 6:3;
John 3:25 : Lv 13-14; Heb 1:3;
John 3:26 : Jn 11:8;
John 3:26 : Mk 10:1; Lk 3:3;
John 3:26 : Mk 1:45;
John 3:28 : Mt 1:17; Eph 5:2;
John 3:28 : Lk 1:17;
John 3:29 : Rv 21:2;
John 3:29 : Jn 15:11;
John 3:31 : Jms 1:17;
John 3:31 : Jn 8:23; 1Jn 4:5-6;
John 3:32 : Jn 15:26; Ac 26:5;
John 3:33 : 1Jn 5:20;
John 3:34 : Jn 1:33;
John 3:35 : Jn 5:20; 10:17; 1Co 13:1;
John 3:35 : Jn 5:19;
John 3:36 : Mk 16:16;
John 4:1 : Mk 7:3;
John 4:1 : Mt 28:19-20;
John 4:1 : Mk 1:4;
John 4:3 : Lk 1:5;
John 4:3 : Mt 17:22;
John 4:4 : Ac 1:8;
John 4:5 : Ps 22:23; Mt 1:2; Lk 1:33;
John 4:5 : Gn 30:24; 33:19; 48:22; 49:22;
John 4:6 : Jms 3:11;
John 4:7 : Gn 24:11-17; 29:2-12;
John 4:9 : Jn 11:36; Ac 14:1; Rv 2:9;
John 4:9 : Lk 9:52; Ac 1:8;
John 4:10 : Ac 8:20;
John 4:10 : Gn 26:19; Ps 36:7-9; Is 49:10; 55:1; Jr 2:13; Zch 14:8; Jn 7:38; Rv 7:17; 21:6; 22:1, 17;
John 4:11 : Lk 10:1;
John 4:12 : Mt 1:2; Lk 1:33;
John 4:14 : Jn 6:35; 7:37; 1Co 4:11; Rv 7:16; 21:6; 22:17;
John 4:14 : Jms 3:11;
John 4:14 : Jn 12:25; Ac 13:48; Rm 8:2; 1Jn 2:25;
John 4:20 : Dt 11:29-12:14; 27:3; Jos 24:1;
John 4:20 : Mt 23:37;
John 4:22 : Gn 12:1-7; Is 2:3; Mal 1:11; Mt 15:24; Jn 11:36; Rm 3:1-2; 9:4-5; 15:8-9;
John 4:23 : Jn 5:25-29; 16:32;
John 4:24 : Jn 1:33; 2Th 2:10; Jude 20;
John 4:24 : 2Th 2:10;
John 4:25 : Mt 1:17; Eph 5:2;
John 4:25 : Ex 29:29; Jn 1:41;
John 4:26 : Ex 3:14; Ps 45:8; Jn 8:24;
John 4:29 : Mt 1:17;
John 4:30 : Mk 1:45;
John 4:31 : Jn 11:8;
John 4:34 : Eph 1:9; 1Jn 2:17;
John 4:34 : Jn 5:30;
John 4:34 : Jn 5:36;
John 4:36 : Mk 10:17; Jn 12:25; Ac 13:48;
John 4:37 : Lv 26:16; Dt 20:6; Jb 31:8; Mic 6:15; Mt 25:24; Lk 19:21;
John 4:39 : Lk 9:52; Ac 1:8;
John 4:39 : Jn 15:26; Ac 26:5;
John 4:40 : Mk 1:45;
John 4:42 : 2Pt 3:18;
John 4:43 : Is 9:1-2; Mt 17:22;
John 4:44 : Jn 15:26; Ac 26:5;
John 4:44 : Mt 13:57; Mk 6:4; Lk 4:24;
John 4:45 : Mt 4:17; Mk 1:14-15;
John 4:45 : Mt 26:69; Mk 14:70; Lk 13:1-2; 22:59; 23:6; Ac 1:11; 2:7; 5:37;
John 4:45 : Mt 23:37;
John 4:45 : Jn 2:23; 5:1;
John 4:46 : Jn 2:1;, 11; 21:2;
John 4:46 : Lk 10:15;
John 4:47 : Lk 1:5;
John 4:48 : Ex 7:3-4; Mk 13:22; Jn 2:23-25; 6:26;
John 4:48 : Jn 3:16; 6:64; 20:25;
John 4:49 : Lk 10:1;
John 4:53 : Lk 11:11; Col 3:21;
John 4:54 : Jn 2:11;
John 4:54 : Mt 17:22;
John 5:1 : Mt 23:37;
John 5:2 : Neh 3:1;, 32; 12:39;
John 5:6 : Is 46:10; Zch 14:7; Jn 5:6; 6:6; 8:14; 9:3; 11:11-15; 13:1-3, 11;
John 5:7 : Lk 10:1;
John 5:9 : Mk 2:23;
John 5:10 : Jn 11:36;
John 5:10 : Lk 14:3;
John 5:11 : Ti 2:8;
John 5:13 : Jn 7:28;
John 5:14 : Ac 21:26;
John 5:15 : Ti 2:8;
John 5:16 : Lk 6:28; 2Tm 3:12;
John 5:16 : Lk 13:10;
John 5:17 : Mt 5:16; 11:27; Jn 8:42;
John 5:18 : Mt 12:14; 26:4; 27:1; Mk 3:6; 14:1; Lk 6:11; Jn 7:1;, 19; 10:33; 11:53;
John 5:19 : Jn 3:35; 6:38; 7:16;, 28; 8:26-42; 10:18;, 30;, 36-38; 12:49-50; 14:9;, 24;, 31; 15:9-10; 16:15; 17:9-10;
John 5:20 : Heb 3:9; Rv 15:3;
John 5:21 : Jn 2:19; Mk 9:27;
John 5:21 : Jn 11:25-26;
John 5:22 : Mt 11:27;
John 5:23 : Jn 15:23;
John 5:23 : Lk 10:16;
John 5:24 : Jn 6:53; 12:25; Ac 13:48; 1Jn 2:25;
John 5:25 : Jn 4:23;
John 5:25 : Php 1:21;
John 5:26 : Jn 5:19; Col 1:19;
John 5:27 : 2Th 1:5;
John 5:27 : Mk 2:10; Heb 2:6; Rv 1:13; 14:14;
John 5:30 : Mt 12:41; 2Th 1:5;
John 5:30 : Mt 6:33; Jn 8:16;
John 5:30 : Mt 26:39; Jn 4:34; 6:38; 7:16-18; 8:28; 14:10; Rm 8:27; Eph 1:9;
John 5:32 : 1Jn 5:20;
John 5:33 : Ps 119:142; Jn 14:6;
John 5:35 : Mk 1:4;
John 5:35 : 2Sm 21:17; Mt 5:14-15; Lk 12:35; 2Pt 1:19; Rv 21:23;
John 5:35 : Ps 36:9; Jn 12:46;
John 5:36 : Jn 15:24;
John 5:36 : Mk 9:37; Jn 1:6;, 33;
John 5:37 : 1Jn 5:9;
John 5:37 : Ex 33:11; Dt 4:12; Is 6:1; Lk 3:22; Jn 1:18; 6:46-47; 14:9; 1Tm 1:17;
John 5:39 : Mt 26:54; 2Pt 1:20;
John 5:39 : Lk 24:27;, 44; Ac 13:27;
John 5:40 : Lk 13:34;
John 5:40 : Lk 14:26;
John 5:41 : Jn 17:24; Php 3:19; 1Pt 5:4;
John 5:42 : Lk 10:27; 11:42; 1Jn 4:20;
John 5:43 : Jn 10:25; 14:13; Ac 15:14; Rv 14:1;
John 5:43 : Mk 4:16; Jn 1:12; 12:48; 13:20; 17:8;
John 5:44 : Dt 6:4; Jn 17:3; Rm 3:30; 16:27; 1Tm 1:17; 6:15-16; Jude 25; Rv 15:4;
John 5:44 : 1Th 2:4;
John 5:45 : Ps 77:20; Mt 8:4; Heb 3:2;
John 5:47 : Mt 26:54; Rm 1:2;
John 5:47 : Lk 16:29-31;

Previous Book:Go to Luke Previous Chapter : Go to John 2 Show Chapter Next Chapter : Go to John 6 Next Book:Go to Acts Listen to this passageView commentary related to this passage : John 3

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Acts 1-3 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.

Acts 1
Prologue
1 I wrote the first narrative, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach (A) 2 until the day He was taken up, after He had given orders through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom He had chosen. (B) 3 After He had suffered, He also presented Himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God. (C)

The Holy Spirit Promised
4 While He was together with them, [a] He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father's promise. (D) "This," [He said, "is what] you heard from Me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." (E)
6 So when they had come together, they asked Him, "Lord, at this time are You restoring the kingdom to Israel?"

7 He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by His own authority. (F) 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends [b] of the earth." (G)

The Ascension
9 After He had said this, He was taken up as they were watching, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 While He was going, they were gazing into heaven, and suddenly two men in white clothes stood by them. (H) 11 They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen Him going into heaven." (I)

United in Prayer
12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olive Grove, which is near Jerusalem—a Sabbath day's journey away. 13 When they arrived, they went to the room (J) upstairs where they were staying:
Peter, John,
James, Andrew,
Philip, Thomas,
Bartholomew, Matthew,
James the son of Alphaeus,
Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. (K)
14 All these were continually united (L) in prayer, [c] along with the women, including Mary [d] the mother of Jesus, and His brothers. (M)

Matthias Chosen
15 During these days Peter stood up among the brothers [e] —the number of people who were together was about 120—and said: 16 "Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled that the Holy Spirit through the mouth of David spoke in advance about Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. (N) 17 For he was one of our number and was allotted a share in this ministry." (O) 18 Now this man acquired a field with his unrighteous wages; and falling headfirst, he burst open in the middle, and all his insides spilled out. (P) 19 This became known to all the residents of Jerusalem, so that in their own language that field is called Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood. 20 "For it is written in the Book of Psalms:
Let his dwelling become desolate;

let no one live in it; (Q) and

Let someone else take his position. (R) (S)

21 "Therefore, from among the men who have accompanied us during the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us— 22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day He was taken up from us—from among these, it is necessary that one become a witness with us of His resurrection." (T)

23 So they proposed two: Joseph, called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. (U) 24 Then they prayed, (V) "You, Lord, know the hearts of all; show which of these two You have chosen (W) 25 to take the place [f] in this apostolic service (X) that Judas left to go to his own place." 26 Then they cast lots (Y) for them, and the lot fell to Matthias. So he was numbered with the 11 apostles.

Acts 2
Pentecost
1 When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place. (Z) 2 Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind (AA) came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying. (AB) 3 And tongues, like flames of fire that were divided, appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 Then they were all filled (AC) with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different languages, as the Spirit gave them ability for speech. (AD)
5 There were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation (AE) under heaven. 6 When this sound occurred, the multitude came together and was confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 And they were astounded and amazed, saying, [g] "Look, aren't all these who are speaking Galileans? (AF) 8 How is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites; those who live in Mesopotamia, in Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, (AG) 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, (AH) 11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own languages the magnificent acts of God." 12 And they were all astounded and perplexed, saying to one another, "What could this be?" 13 But some sneered and said, "They're full of new wine!" (AI)

Peter's Sermon
14 But Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them: "Jewish men and all you residents of Jerusalem, let this be known to you and pay attention to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it's only nine in the morning. [h] 16 On the contrary, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
17 And it will be in the last days, says God,

that I will pour out My Spirit on all humanity;

then your sons and your daughters will prophesy,

your young men will see visions,

and your old men will dream dreams. (AJ)

18 I will even pour out My Spirit

on My male and female slaves in those days,

and they will prophesy. (AK)

19 I will display wonders in the heaven above

and signs on the earth below:

blood and fire and a cloud of smoke.

20 The sun will be turned to darkness,

and the moon to blood, (AL)

before the great and remarkable day of the Lord (AM) comes;

21 then whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. (AN) (AO)

22 "Men of Israel, listen to these words: This Jesus the Nazarene was a man pointed out to you by God with miracles, wonders, and signs that God did among you through Him, just as you yourselves know. (AP) 23 Though He was delivered up according to God's determined plan and foreknowledge, you used [i] lawless people [j] to nail Him to a cross and kill Him. (AQ) 24 God raised Him up, ending the pains of death, (AR) because it was not possible for Him to be held by it. 25 For David says of Him:

I saw the Lord ever before me;

because He is at my right hand,

I will not be shaken.

26 Therefore my heart was glad,

and my tongue rejoiced.

Moreover my flesh will rest in hope,

27 because You will not leave my soul in Hades,

or allow Your Holy One to see decay. (AS)

28 You have revealed the paths of life to me;

You will fill me with gladness in Your presence. (AT) (AU)

29 "Brothers, I can confidently speak to you about the patriarch David: he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. (AV) 30 Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn an oath to him to seat one of his descendants [k] [l] on his throne. (AW) 31 Seeing this in advance, he spoke concerning the resurrection of the Messiah:

He [m] was not left in Hades,

and His flesh did not experience decay. (AX) (AY)

32 "God has resurrected (AZ) this Jesus. We are all witnesses of this. 33 Therefore, since He has been exalted to the right hand of God (BA) and has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, (BB) He has poured out (BC) what you both see and hear. 34 For it was not David who ascended into the heavens, but he himself says:

The Lord said to my Lord,

'Sit at My right hand

35 until I make Your enemies Your footstool. (BD) ' (BE)

36 "Therefore let all the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah!" (BF)

Forgiveness through the Messiah
37 When they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles: "Brothers, what must we do?" (BG)
38 "Repent," (BH) Peter said to them, "and be baptized, (BI) each of you, in the name (BJ) of Jesus the Messiah for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, (BK) [n] as many as the Lord our God will call." 40 And with many other words he testified and strongly urged them, saying, "Be saved from this corrupt [o] generation!" (BL)

A Generous and Growing Church
41 So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about 3,000 people were added to them. 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, (BM) to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayers. (BN)
43 Then fear came over everyone, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles. (BO) 44 Now all the believers were together and had everything in common. (BP) 45 So they sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as anyone had a need. [p] 46 And every day they devoted themselves [to meeting] together in the temple complex, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, (BQ) 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And every day the Lord added to them [q] those who were being saved. (BR)

Acts 3
Healing of a Lame Man
1 Now Peter and John were going up together to the temple complex at the hour of prayer (BS) at three in the afternoon. [r] 2 And a man who was lame from his mother's womb was carried there and placed every day at the temple gate called Beautiful, so he could beg from those entering the temple complex. (BT) 3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter the temple complex, he asked for help. 4 Peter, along with John, looked at him intently and said, "Look at us." 5 So he turned to them, [s] expecting to get something from them. 6 But Peter said, "I have neither silver nor gold, but what I have, I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!" (BU) 7 Then, taking him by the right hand he raised him up, and at once his feet and ankles became strong. 8 So he jumped up, stood, and started to walk, and he entered the temple complex with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. (BV) 9 All the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and they recognized that he was the one who used to sit and beg at the Beautiful Gate of the temple complex. So they were filled with awe and astonishment at what had happened to him. (BW)

Preaching in Solomon's Colonnade
11 While he [t] was holding on to Peter and John, all the people, greatly amazed, ran toward them in what is called Solomon's Colonnade. (BX) 12 When Peter saw this, he addressed the people: "Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this? Or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made him walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, (BY) has glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you handed over and denied in the presence of Pilate, (BZ) when he had decided to release Him. 14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, (CA) and asked to have a murderer given to you. (CB) 15 And you killed the source [u] of life, whom God raised from the dead; we are witnesses of this. (CC) 16 By faith in His name, His name has made this man strong, whom you see and know. So the faith that comes through Him has given him this perfect health in front of all of you.
17 "And now, brothers, I know that you did it in ignorance, just as your leaders also did. (CD) 18 But what God predicted through the mouth of all the prophets—that His Messiah would suffer—He has fulfilled (CE) in this way. 19 Therefore repent (CF) and turn back, that your sins may be wiped out (CG) so that seasons of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, 20 and He may send Jesus, who has been appointed (CH) Messiah for you. 21 Heaven must welcome [v] Him until the times of the restoration of all things, which God spoke about by the mouth of His holy prophets from the beginning. (CI) 22 Moses said: [w]

The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to Him in everything He will say to you. 23 And it will be that everyone who will not listen to that Prophet will be completely cut off from the people. (CJ) (CK)

24 "In addition, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those after him, have also announced these days. 25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your forefathers, saying to Abraham, And in your seed all the families of the earth will be blessed. (CL) (CM) 26 God raised up His Servant [x] and sent Him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your evil ways." (CN)

Footnotes:

Acts 1:4 Or He was eating with them, or He was lodging with them
Acts 1:8 Lit the end
Acts 1:14 Other mss add and petition
Acts 1:14 Or prayer, with their wives and Mary
Acts 1:15 Other mss read disciples
Acts 1:25 Other mss read to share
Acts 2:7 Other mss add to one another
Acts 2:15 Lit it's the third hour of the day
Acts 2:23 Other mss read you have taken
Acts 2:23 Or used the hand of lawless ones
Acts 2:30 Other mss add according to the flesh to raise up the Messiah
Acts 2:30 Lit one from the fruit of his loin
Acts 2:31 Other mss read His soul
Acts 2:39 Remote in time or space
Acts 2:40 Or crooked, or twisted
Acts 2:45 Or to all, according to one's needs
Acts 2:47 Other mss read to the church
Acts 3:1 Lit at the ninth hour
Acts 3:5 Or he paid attention to them
Acts 3:11 Other mss read the lame man who was healed
Acts 3:15 Or the Prince, or the Ruler
Acts 3:21 Or receive, or retain
Acts 3:22 Other mss add to the fathers
Acts 3:26 Other mss add Jesus

Cross references:
Acts 1:1 : Lk 1:3; 24:19;
Acts 1:2 : Mt 28:19-20; Lk 24:47; Jn 20:21;
Acts 1:3 : Mt 28:17; Mk 16:14; Lk 24:34; 36; Jn 20:19; 1Co 15:5-7;
Acts 1:4 : Lk 24:49; Jn 14:1; Ac 2:33;
Acts 1:5 : Jl 3:18; Mt 3:11; Ac 11:16;
Acts 1:7 : Mt 24:36; Mk 13:32; 1Th 5:1;
Acts 1:8 : Lk 24:48; Ac 2:1;, 4; 4:33; 8:1;, 14; 13:47;
Acts 1:10 : Mt 28:13; Mk 16:5; Lk 24:4; Jn 20:12;
Acts 1:11 : Mt 16:27; Ac 2:7; 1Th 1:10; 2Th 1:10;
Acts 1:13 : Ac 9:37;, 39; 20:8;
Acts 1:13 : Mt 10:2-4; Mk 3:16-19; Lk 6:14-16;
Acts 1:14 : Ac 2:46; 4:24; 5:12; 7; 15:25; Rm 15:6;
Acts 1:14 : Mt 12:46; Lk 23:49;, 55; Rm 12:12; Col 4:2;
Acts 1:16 : Lk 22:37;, 47; 24:44; Jn 13:18; 18:3;
Acts 1:17 : Jn 6:71; Ac 20:24; 21:19;
Acts 1:18 : Mt 26:14-15; 27:5;, 7-8;
Acts 1:20 : Ps 69:25;
Acts 1:20 : Ps 69:25; 109:8;
Acts 1:20 : Ps 109:8;
Acts 1:22 : Mk 1:4; Ac 2:31; 4:2; 17:18; 23:6; 24:15; 26:23;
Acts 1:23 : Ac 15:22; 18:7;
Acts 1:24 : Ac 6:6; 13:3;
Acts 1:24 : 1Sm 16:7; Jr 17:10; Ac 15:8; Rv 2:23;
Acts 1:25 : Rm 1:5; 1Co 9:2; Gl 7:8;
Acts 1:26 : Mt 27:35; Mk 15:24; Lk 23:34; Jn 19:24; Ac 8:21; 26:18; Col 1:12; 1Pt 5:3;
Acts 2:1 : Lv 23:15; Ac 1:14; 20:16;
Acts 2:2 : 1Kg 19:11; Jb 38:1; Ezk 1:4;
Acts 2:2 : Ac 4:31; 16:26;
Acts 2:4 : Ac 4:31; 13:52;
Acts 2:4 : Mk 16:17; 1Co 12:10;
Acts 2:5 : Mt 28:19; Rm 1:5; Gl 1:16;
Acts 2:7 : Ac 1:11; 2:12;
Acts 2:9 : Gn 14:9; 2Kg 17:6;
Acts 2:10 : Mt 23:15; Ac 13:13; 15:38; 16:6;, 21; 18:23;
Acts 2:13 : Ac 17:32; 1Co 14:23;
Acts 2:17 : Is 44:3; Jn 7:38; Ac 10:45; 21:9;
Acts 2:18 : Ac 21:10; 1Co 12:10;
Acts 2:20 : Mt 24:29; 1Th 5:2;
Acts 2:20 : Is 58:13; Ezk 13:5; Am 5:18; Ob 15; Zph 1:14; Zch 14:1; Mal 4:5;
Acts 2:21 : Jl 2:28-32; Ac 16:31; Rm 10:13;
Acts 2:21 : Jl 2:28-32;
Acts 2:22 : Jn 3:2; 4:48; Ac 10:38; Heb 2:4;
Acts 2:23 : Mt 26:24; Lk 22:22; 24:20; Ac 3:18; 4:28; 5:30;
Acts 2:24 : Rm 8:11; 1Co 6:14; 2Co 4:14; Eph 1:20; Col 2:12; 1Th 1:10; Heb 13:20;
Acts 2:27 : Mt 11:23; Lk 2:26; Ac 13:35; Heb 7:26;
Acts 2:28 : Ps 16:8-11;
Acts 2:28 : Ps 16:8-11;
Acts 2:29 : 1Kg 2:10; Neh 3:16; Ac 7:8-9; 13:36;
Acts 2:30 : 2Sm 23:2; Ps 132:11; Mt 22:43; Lk 1:32; Ac 1:8; Heb 11:32;
Acts 2:31 : Ps 16:10; Ac 2:27;
Acts 2:31 : Ps 16:10;
Acts 2:32 : Lk 18:33; Ac 2:24;
Acts 2:33 : Php 2:9; Heb 10:12;
Acts 2:33 : Jn 7:39; 14:26; 16:7;, 13;
Acts 2:33 : Ac 2:17; 10:45;
Acts 2:35 : Ps 110:1; Mt 5:35; 22:44; Mk 12:36; Lk 20:42-43; Jn 3:13; 1Co 15:25; Heb 1:13;
Acts 2:35 : Ps 110:1;
Acts 2:36 : Mt 28:18; Lk 2:11; Rm 14:9; 2Co 4:5;
Acts 2:37 : Lk 3:10; Ac 16:30;
Acts 2:38 : Lk 24:47; Ac 3:19; 26:20;
Acts 2:38 : Ac 8:12; 22:16;
Acts 2:38 : Ac 3:16; 15:14;
Acts 2:39 : Is 44:3; Ac 3:25; Eph 2:13;
Acts 2:40 : Dt 32:5; Mt 17:17; Php 2:15;
Acts 2:42 : Ac 5:28; 13:12; 17:19; 1Co 14:6;
Acts 2:42 : Ac 1:14; Heb 10:25;
Acts 2:43 : Mk 16:17;, 20; Ac 5:12;
Acts 2:44 : Mt 19:21; Ac 4:32;
Acts 2:46 : Lk 24:53; Ac 5:42; 20:7;
Acts 2:47 : Ac 5:14; 11:24; 16:5; Rm 14:18;
Acts 3:1 : Ps 55:17; Mt 27:46; Ac 10:3;, 30;
Acts 3:2 : Lk 16:20; Jn 9:8; Ac 14:8;
Acts 3:6 : Ac 4:10; 2Co 6:10;
Acts 3:8 : Is 35:4-6; Ac 14:10
Acts 3:10 : Jn 9:8; Ac 3:2;
Acts 3:11 : Lk 22:8; Jn 10:23; Ac 5:12;
Acts 3:13 : Ac 5:30; 7:32; 22:14;
Acts 3:13 : Mt 27:2; Lk 23:4; Jn 19:15; Ac 13:28;
Acts 3:14 : Mk 1:24; Ac 4:27; 7:52;
Acts 3:14 : Mk 15:11; Lk 23:18;, 25;
Acts 3:15 : Ac 2:24; 5:31;
Acts 3:17 : Lk 23:34; Ac 13:27;
Acts 3:18 : Lk 24:27; Ac 2:23; 17:3; 26:23;
Acts 3:19 : Ac 2:38; 8:22; 17:30; 26:20;
Acts 3:19 : Ps 51:1;, 9; Is 43:25; 44:22; Col 2:14;
Acts 3:20 : Ac 22:14; 26:16;
Acts 3:21 : Mt 17:10; Lk 1:70; Ac 1:11;
Acts 3:23 : Dt 18:15-19; Ac 7:37;
Acts 3:23 : Dt 18:15-19;
Acts 3:25 : Gn 22:18; Ac 2:39; Rm 9:4;
Acts 3:25 : Gn 12:3; 18:18; 22:18; 26:4;
Acts 3:26 : Ac 2:24; 13:46; Rm 1:16;

Psalm 27-32 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.

Psalm 27
My Stronghold
Davidic.
1 The LORD is my light and my salvation—
whom should I fear? (A)
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
of whom should I be afraid? (B)
2 When evildoers came against me to devour my flesh, (C)
my foes and my enemies stumbled and fell. (D)

3 Though an army deploy against me,
my heart is not afraid;
though war break out against me,
still I am confident. (E)

4 I have asked one thing from the LORD;
it is what I desire:
to dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life, (F)
gazing on the beauty of the LORD (G)
and seeking [Him] in His temple. (H)

5 For He will conceal me in His shelter
in the day of adversity;
He will hide me under the cover of His tent;
He will set me high on a rock. (I)

6 Then my head will be high
above my enemies around me; (J)
I will offer sacrifices in His tent with shouts of joy. (K)
I will sing and make music to the LORD. (L)

7 LORD, hear my voice when I call;
be gracious to me and answer me. (M)

8 In Your behalf my heart says, "Seek My face."
LORD, I will seek Your face. (N)

9 Do not hide Your face from me; (O)
do not turn Your servant away in anger. (P)
You have been my help; (Q)
do not leave me or abandon me,
God of my salvation.

10 Even if my father and mother abandon me,
the LORD cares for me. (R)

11 Because of my adversaries,
show me Your way, LORD,
and lead me on a level path. (S)

12 Do not give me over to the will of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
breathing violence. (T)

13 I am certain that I will see the LORD's goodness
in the land of the living. (U)

14 Wait for the LORD;
be courageous and let your heart be strong. (V)
Wait for the LORD. (W)

Psalm 28
My Strength
Davidic.
1 LORD, I call to You;
my rock, do not be deaf to me. (X)
If You remain silent to me,
I will be like those going down to the Pit. (Y)
2 Listen to the sound of my pleading
when I cry to You for help,
when I lift up my hands
toward Your holy sanctuary. (Z)

3 Do not drag me away with the wicked,
with the evildoers,
who speak in friendly ways with their neighbors,
while malice is in their hearts. (AA)

4 Repay them according to what they have done—
according to the evil of their deeds.
Repay them according to the work of their hands;
give them back what they deserve. (AB)

5 Because they do not consider
what the LORD has done
or the work of His hands,
He will tear them down and not rebuild them. (AC)

6 May the LORD be praised,
for He has heard the sound of my pleading. (AD)

7 The LORD is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. (AE)
Therefore my heart rejoices,
and I praise Him with my song. (AF)

8 The LORD is the strength of His people; [a]
He is a stronghold of salvation for His anointed. (AG)

9 Save Your people, bless Your possession,
shepherd them, and carry them forever. (AH)

Psalm 29
The Voice of the LORD
A Davidic psalm.
1 Give the LORD— you heavenly beings [b] —
give the LORD glory and strength.
2 Give the LORD the glory due His name;
worship the LORD
in the splendor of [His] holiness. (AI) [c]

3 The voice of the LORD is above the waters.
The God of glory thunders—
the LORD, above vast waters, (AJ)

4 the voice of the LORD in power,
the voice of the LORD in splendor. (AK)

5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
the LORD shatters the cedars of Lebanon. (AL)

6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, (AM)
and Sirion, [d] like a young wild ox. (AN)

7 The voice of the LORD flashes flames of fire. (AO)

8 The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. (AP)

9 The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth (AQ) [e]
and strips the woodlands bare. (AR)
In His temple all cry, "Glory!"

10 The LORD sat enthroned at the flood;
the LORD sits enthroned, King forever. (AS)

11 The LORD gives His people strength; (AT)
the LORD blesses His people with peace. (AU)

Psalm 30
Joy in the Morning
A psalm; a dedication song for the house. Davidic.
1 I will exalt You, LORD,
because You have lifted me up (AV)
and have not allowed my enemies
to triumph over me. (AW)
2 LORD my God,
I cried to You for help, and You healed me. (AX)

3 LORD, You brought me up from Sheol; (AY)
You spared me from among those
going down [f] to the Pit. (AZ)

4 Sing to the LORD, you His faithful ones,
and praise His holy name. (BA)

5 For His anger lasts only a moment,
but His favor, a lifetime.
Weeping may spend the night,
but there is joy in the morning. (BB)

6 When I was secure, I said,
"I will never be shaken." (BC)

7 LORD, when You showed Your favor,
You made me stand like a strong mountain; (BD)
when You hid Your face, I was terrified. (BE)

8 LORD, I called to You;
I sought favor from my Lord: (BF)

9 "What gain is there in my death,
in my descending to the Pit?
Will the dust praise You?
Will it proclaim Your truth? (BG)

10 LORD, listen and be gracious to me;
LORD, be my helper." (BH)

11 You turned my lament into dancing;
You removed my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness, (BI)

12 so that I can sing to You and not be silent.
LORD my God, I will praise You forever. (BJ)

Psalm 31
A Plea for Protection
For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.
1 LORD, I seek refuge in You;
let me never be disgraced. (BK)
Save me by Your righteousness.
2 Listen closely to me; rescue me quickly.
Be a rock of refuge for me,
a mountain fortress to save me. (BL)

3 For You are my rock and my fortress; (BM)
You lead and guide me
because of Your name. (BN)

4 You will free me from the net
that is secretly set for me,
for You are my refuge. (BO)

5 Into Your hand I entrust my spirit; (BP)
You redeem [g] me, LORD, God of truth. (BQ)

6 I [h] hate those who are devoted to worthless idols,
but I trust in the LORD. (BR)

7 I will rejoice and be glad in Your faithful love
because You have seen my affliction.
You have known the troubles of my life (BS)

8 and have not handed me over to the enemy. (BT)
You have set my feet in a spacious place. (BU)

9 Be gracious to me, LORD,
because I am in distress; (BV)
my eyes are worn out from angry sorrow—
my whole being [i] as well. (BW)

10 Indeed, my life is consumed with grief,
and my years with groaning; (BX)
my strength has failed
because of my sinfulness, [j]
and my bones waste away. (BY)

11 I am ridiculed by all my adversaries
and even by my neighbors.
I am an object of dread to my acquaintances;
those who see me in the street run from me. (BZ)

12 I am forgotten: gone from memory
like a dead person—like broken pottery. (CA)

13 I have heard the gossip of many;
terror is on every side. (CB)
When they conspired against me,
they plotted to take my life. (CC)

14 But I trust in You, LORD;
I say, "You are my God." (CD)

15 The course of my life is in Your power; (CE)
deliver me from the power of my enemies
and from my persecutors. (CF)

16 Show Your favor to Your servant;
save me by Your faithful love. (CG)

17 LORD, do not let me be disgraced when I call on You. (CH)
Let the wicked be disgraced;
let them be silent [k] [l] in Sheol. (CI)

18 Let lying lips be quieted; (CJ)
they speak arrogantly against the righteous
with pride and contempt. (CK)

19 How great is Your goodness
that You have stored up for those who fear You,
and accomplished in the sight of everyone
for those who take refuge in You. (CL)

20 You hide them in the protection of Your presence;
You conceal them in a shelter [m]
from the schemes of men,
from quarrelsome tongues. (CM)

21 May the LORD be praised,
for He has wonderfully shown His faithful love to me
in a city under siege. (CN) [n]

22 In my alarm I had said,
"I am cut off from Your sight." (CO)
But You heard the sound of my pleading
when I cried to You for help. (CP)

23 Love the LORD, all His faithful ones. (CQ)
The LORD protects the loyal,
but fully repays the arrogant. (CR)

24 Be strong and courageous,
all you who put your hope in the LORD. (CS)

Psalm 32
The Joy of Forgiveness
Davidic. A Maskil.
1 How happy is the one
whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered! (CT)
2 How happy is the man
the LORD does not charge with sin, (CU)
and in whose spirit is no deceit! (CV)

3 When I kept silent, [o] my bones became brittle
from my groaning all day long. (CW)

4 For day and night Your hand was heavy on me; (CX)
my strength was drained [p]
as in the summer's heat. (CY)

Selah

5 Then I acknowledged my sin to You
and did not conceal my iniquity.
I said,
"I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,"
and You took away the guilt of my sin. (CZ)

Selah

6 Therefore let everyone who is faithful pray to You
at a time that You may be found. (DA) [q]
When great floodwaters come,
they will not reach him. (DB)

7 You are my hiding place; (DC)
You protect me from trouble. (DD)
You surround me with joyful shouts of deliverance.

Selah

8 I will instruct you and show you the way to go; (DE)
with My eye on you, I will give counsel. (DF)

9 Do not be like a horse or mule,
without understanding,
that must be controlled with bit and bridle,
or else it will not come near you. (DG)

10 Many pains come to the wicked, (DH)
but the one who trusts in the LORD
will have faithful love surrounding him. (DI)

11 Be glad in the LORD and rejoice,
you righteous ones;
shout for joy,
all you upright in heart. (DJ)

Footnotes:

Psalm 28:8 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr; other Hb mss read strength for them
Psalm 29:1 Or you angels, or you sons of the mighty; lit LORD sons of [the] gods
Psalm 29:2 Or in holy attire, or in holy appearance
Psalm 29:6 Mount Hermon; [Dt 3:9]
Psalm 29:9 Or the oaks shake
Psalm 30:3 Some Hb mss, LXX, Theod, Orig, Syr; other Hb mss, Aq, Sym, Tg, Jer read from going down
Psalm 31:5 Or You have redeemed, or You will redeem, or spirit. Redeem
Psalm 31:6 One Hb ms, LXX, Syr, Vg, Jer read You
Psalm 31:9 Lit my soul and my belly
Psalm 31:10 LXX, Syr, Sym read affliction
Psalm 31:17 LXX reads brought down
Psalm 31:17 Or them perish or wail
Psalm 31:20 Lit canopy
Psalm 31:21 Or a fortified city
Psalm 32:3 Probably a reference to a refusal to confess sin
Psalm 32:4 Hb obscure
Psalm 32:6 Lit time of finding

Cross references:
Psalm 27:1 : Is 60:20; Mic 7:8;
Psalm 27:1 : Ps 28:8; 118:6;
Psalm 27:2 : Ps 14:4;
Psalm 27:2 : Ps 9:3;
Psalm 27:3 : Ps 3:6;
Psalm 27:4 : Ps 23:6; 26:8;
Psalm 27:4 : Ps 93:5;
Psalm 27:4 : Mal 3:1;
Psalm 27:5 : Ps 31:20; 91:1; Is 25:4;
Psalm 27:6 : Ps 3:3;
Psalm 27:6 : Ps 54:6; 116:17;
Psalm 27:6 : Eph 5:19;
Psalm 27:7 : Ps 4:3; 30:10;
Psalm 27:8 : Ps 24:6; 105:4;
Psalm 27:9 : Ps 69:17; 102:2; 143:7;
Psalm 27:9 : Ps 6:1;
Psalm 27:9 : Ps 40:17;
Psalm 27:10 : Ps 37:28; 94:14;
Psalm 27:11 : Ps 25:4; 26:12;
Psalm 27:12 : Ps 35:11; 41:2; Mt 26:59-60;
Psalm 27:13 : Ex 33:19; Ps 116:9; 142:5;
Psalm 27:14 : Jos 1:6;
Psalm 27:14 : Ps 37:34; 130:5;
Psalm 28:1 : Ps 83:1;
Psalm 28:1 : Ps 88:4; 143:7;
Psalm 28:2 : Ps 28:2; 134:2; 141:2; 1Tm 2:8;
Psalm 28:3 : Ps 26:9-10;
Psalm 28:4 : Jr 50:29; Rv 18:6; 22:12;
Psalm 28:5 : Jb 34:26-28; Is 5:12;
Psalm 28:6 : Ps 31:22;
Psalm 28:7 : Gn 15:1; Dt 33:29; Ps 3:3; 5:12; 18:2; 119:114;
Psalm 28:7 : Ps 59:17; 69:30;
Psalm 28:8 : Ps 20:6; 27:1;
Psalm 28:9 : Ps 33:12; Is 40:11;
Psalm 29:2 : 1Ch 16:28-29; Ps 96:7-9;
Psalm 29:3 : Jb 37:4-5; Ps 18:13; 104:7;
Psalm 29:4 : Ps 68:33;
Psalm 29:5 : Ps 104:16;
Psalm 29:6 : Ps 114:4;, 6;
Psalm 29:6 : Dt 3:9;
Psalm 29:7 : Dt 4:12;, 33;
Psalm 29:8 : Num 13:26;
Psalm 29:9 : Jb 39:1-3;
Psalm 29:9 : Is 24:1;, 3;
Psalm 29:10 : Ps 9:7; 10:17;
Psalm 29:11 : Ps 28:8; 68:35;
Psalm 29:11 : Php 4:7;
Psalm 30:1 : Ps 3:3;
Psalm 30:1 : Ps 25:2; 35:19;
Psalm 30:2 : Ps 88:13;
Psalm 30:3 : Ps 86:13;
Psalm 30:3 : Ps 28:1; 88:4; 143:7;
Psalm 30:4 : Ps 50:5; 149:1;
Psalm 30:5 : Ps 103:9; Is 54:7-8; 2Co 4:17;
Psalm 30:6 : Ps 10:6; 62:2;, 6;
Psalm 30:7 : Ps 20:8;
Psalm 30:7 : Ps 104:29;
Psalm 30:8 : Ps 119:58;
Psalm 30:9 : Ps 6:5; 88:10-12;
Psalm 30:10 : Ps 4:1; 27:7;
Psalm 30:11 : Ec 3:4; Is 61:10; Jr 31:13;
Psalm 30:12 : Ps 44:8; 108:1;
Psalm 31:1 : Ps 25:2;
Psalm 31:2 : Ps 71:1-2;
Psalm 31:3 : Ps 18:2; 71:3;
Psalm 31:3 : Ps 23:3; 25:11;
Psalm 31:4 : Ps 25:15; 46:1;
Psalm 31:5 : Lk 23:46;
Psalm 31:5 : Ps 25:5;
Psalm 31:6 : Ps 26:5; Jnh 2:8;
Psalm 31:7 : Ps 10:14;
Psalm 31:8 : Dt 32:30;
Psalm 31:8 : Jb 36:16;
Psalm 31:9 : Ps 69:17;
Psalm 31:9 : Ps 6:7; 63:1;
Psalm 31:10 : Ps 102:3;
Psalm 31:10 : Ps 32:3; 38:3;
Psalm 31:11 : Jb 19:13; Ps 38:11; 88:8;, 18;
Psalm 31:12 : Ps 88:5; Ec 9:5;
Psalm 31:13 : Jr 20:10;
Psalm 31:13 : Ps 41:7; Mt 27:1;
Psalm 31:14 : Ps 140:6;
Psalm 31:15 : Jb 14:5; 24:1;
Psalm 31:15 : Ps 59:1;
Psalm 31:16 : Ps 6:4; 119:135;
Psalm 31:17 : Ps 25:2-3;, 20;
Psalm 31:17 : Ps 94:17; 115:17;
Psalm 31:18 : Ps 120:2;
Psalm 31:18 : 1Sm 2:3; Ps 94:4;
Psalm 31:19 : Ps 5:11; 23:5;
Psalm 31:20 : Ps 27:5; 32:7;
Psalm 31:21 : Ps 28:6;
Psalm 31:22 : Ps 88:5; Is 38:11-12;
Psalm 31:22 : Ps 66:19; 145:19;
Psalm 31:23 : Ps 30:4;
Psalm 31:23 : Ps 94:2;
Psalm 31:24 : Ps 27:14;
Psalm 32:1 : Ps 85:2;
Psalm 32:2 : Rm 4:7-8;
Psalm 32:2 : Jn 1:47;
Psalm 32:3 : Ps 31:10; 38:8;
Psalm 32:4 : Jb 23:2; Ps 38:2;
Psalm 32:4 : Ps 22:15; 39:10;
Psalm 32:5 : Lv 26:40; Ps 38:18; Pr 28:13; 1Jn 1:9;
Psalm 32:6 : Is 55:6;
Psalm 32:6 : Ps 124:4-5; Is 43:2;
Psalm 32:7 : Ps 31:20; 91:1;
Psalm 32:7 : Ps 121:7;
Psalm 32:8 : Ps 25:8;, 12;
Psalm 32:8 : Ps 33:18; 73:24;
Psalm 32:9 : Pr 26:3; Jms 3:3;
Psalm 32:10 : Pr 13:21; Rm 2:9;
Psalm 32:10 : Ps 5:12;
Psalm 32:11 : Ps 64:10; 68:3; 97:12;

Previous Book:Go to Job Previous Chapter : Go to Psalm 26 Show Chapter Next Chapter : Go to Psalm 33 Next Book:Go to Proverbs Listen to this passageView commentary related to this passage : Psalm 27

John 4-5 (King James Version)

2007-05-23T14:29:00.000-07:00

John 4-5 (King James Version)
King James Version (KJV)

John 4
When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John,

2(Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,)

3He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee.

4And he must needs go through Samaria.

5Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

6Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.

7There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.

8(For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)

9Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.

10Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

11The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?

12Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?

13Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:

14But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

15The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.

16Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.

17The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:

18For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.

19The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.

20Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

21Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.

22Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.

23But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

24God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

25The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.

26Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.

27And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?

28The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,

29Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?

30Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.

31In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.

32But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.

33Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?

34Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.

35Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.

36And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.

37And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.

38I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.

39And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.

40So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days.

41And many more believed because of his own word;

42And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.

43Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee.

44For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country.

45Then when he was come into Galilee, the Galilaeans received him, having seen all the things that he did at Jerusalem at the feast: for they also went unto the feast.

46So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum.

47When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death.

48Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.

49The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die.

50Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.

51And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth.

52Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.

53So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house.

54This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he was come out of Judaea into Galilee.
John 5

1After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

2Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.

3In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.

4For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.

5And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.

6When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?

7The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.

8Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.

9And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.

10The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.

11He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk.

12Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk?

13And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place.

14Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.

15The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole.

16And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.

17But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.

18Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

19Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

20For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.

21For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.

22For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:

23That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.

24Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

25Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.

26For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;

27And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.

28Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,

29And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

30I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

31If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.

32There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true.

33Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth.

34But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved.

35He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.

36But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.

37And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.

38And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.

39Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

40And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.

41I receive not honour from men.

42But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.

43I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.

44How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?

45Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust.

46For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me.

47But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?

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Psalm 12 (New Living Translation) Biblestudy:)

2007-05-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

Psalm 12 (New Living Translation)
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers.

Psalm 12
For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by an eight-stringed instrument.[a]
1 Help, O Lord, for the godly are fast disappearing!
The faithful have vanished from the earth!
2 Neighbors lie to each other,
speaking with flattering lips and deceitful hearts.
3 May the Lord cut off their flattering lips
and silence their boastful tongues.
4 They say, “We will lie to our hearts’ content.
Our lips are our own—who can stop us?”

5 The Lord replies, “I have seen violence done to the helpless,
and I have heard the groans of the poor.
Now I will rise up to rescue them,
as they have longed for me to do.”
6 The Lord’s promises are pure,
like silver refined in a furnace,
purified seven times over.
7 Therefore, Lord, we know you will protect the oppressed,
preserving them forever from this lying generation,
8 even though the wicked strut about,
and evil is praised throughout the land.

Footnotes:
Psalm 12:1 Hebrew according to the sheminith.

http://www.westpalmbeachchurchofchrist.com/articles/psalms/psalms_12.html

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Psalms Chapter 98

2007-05-04T15:19:00.000-07:00

Psalms Chapter 98

1 A Psalm. O sing unto the LORD a new song; for He hath done marvellous things; {N}
His right hand, and His holy arm, hath wrought salvation for Him.
2 The LORD hath made known His salvation; His righteousness hath He revealed in the sight of the nations.
3 He hath remembered His mercy and His faithfulness toward the house of Israel; {N}
all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
4 Shout unto the LORD, all the earth; break forth and sing for joy, yea, sing praises.
5 Sing praises unto the LORD with the harp; with the harp and the voice of melody.
6 With trumpets and sound of the horn shout ye before the King, the LORD.
7 Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein;
8 Let the floods clap their hands; let the mountains sing for joy together;
9 Before the LORD, for He is come to judge the earth; {N}
He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity. {P}

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2007-04-26T13:28:00.000-07:00

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Psalms Chapter 90

2007-04-24T08:55:00.000-07:00

Psalms Chapter 90

1 A Prayer of Moses the man of God. {N}
Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations.
2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever Thou hadst formed the earth and the world, {N}
even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God.
3 Thou turnest man to contrition; and sayest: 'Return, ye children of men.'
4 For a thousand years in Thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, {N}
and as a watch in the night.
5 Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep; in the morning they are like grass which groweth up.
6 In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.
7 For we are consumed in Thine anger, and by Thy wrath are we hurried away.
8 Thou hast set our iniquities before Thee, our secret sins in the light of Thy countenance.
9 For all our days are passed away in Thy wrath; we bring our years to an end as a tale that is told.
10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten, or even by reason of strength fourscore years; {N}
yet is their pride but travail and vanity; {N}
for it is speedily gone, and we fly away.
11 Who knoweth the power of Thine anger, and Thy wrath according to the fear that is due unto Thee?
12 So teach us to number our days, that we may get us a heart of wisdom.
13 Return, O LORD; how long? And let it repent Thee concerning Thy servants.
14 O satisfy us in the morning with Thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad according to the days wherein Thou hast afflicted us, according to the years wherein we have seen evil.
16 Let Thy work appear unto Thy servants, and Thy glory upon their children.
17 And let the graciousness of the Lord our God be upon us; {N}
establish Thou also upon us the work of our hands; yea, the work of our hands establish Thou it. {P}

Psalms Chapter 59

2007-04-21T20:54:00.000-07:00

Psalms Chapter 59

1 For the Leader; Al-tashheth. [A Psalm] of David; Michtam; when Saul sent, {N}
and they watched the house to kill him.
2 Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God; set me on high from them that rise up against me.
3 Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from the men of blood.
4 For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul; the impudent gather themselves together against me; {N}
not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O LORD.
5 Without my fault, they run and prepare themselves; awake Thou to help me, and behold.
6 Thou therefore, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, arouse Thyself to punish all the nations; {N}
show no mercy to any iniquitous traitors. Selah
7 They return at evening, they howl like a dog, and go round about the city.
8 Behold, they belch out with their mouth; swords are in their lips: 'For who doth hear?'
9 But Thou, O LORD, shalt laugh at them; Thou shalt have all the nations in derision.
10 Because of his strength, I will wait for Thee; for God is my high tower.
11 The God of my mercy will come to meet me; God will let me gaze upon mine adversaries.
12 Slay them not, lest my people forget, make them wander to and fro by Thy power, and bring them down, O Lord our shield.
13 For the sin of their mouth, and the words of their lips, {N}
let them even be taken in their pride, and for cursing and lying which they speak.
14 Consume them in wrath, consume them, that they be no more; {N}
and let them know that God ruleth in Jacob, unto the ends of the earth. Selah
15 And they return at evening, they howl like a dog, and go round about the city;
16 They wander up and down to devour, and tarry all night if they have not their fill.
17 But as for me, I will sing of Thy strength; yea, I will sing aloud of Thy mercy in the morning; {N}
for Thou hast been my high tower, and a refuge in the day of my distress.
18 O my strength, unto Thee will I sing praises; for God is my high tower, the God of my mercy. {P}

Job 1-3 (Amplified Bible)

2007-04-21T20:52:00.000-07:00

Job 1-3 (Amplified Bible)
Amplified Bible (AMP)

Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation

Job 1
1THERE WAS a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who [reverently] feared God and abstained from and shunned evil [because it was wrong].

2And there were born to him seven sons and three daughters.

3He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very great body of servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the East.

4His sons used to go and feast in the house of each on his day (birthday) in turn, and they invited their three sisters to eat and drink with them.(A)

5And when the days of their feasting were over, Job sent for them to purify and hallow them, and rose up early in the morning and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed or disowned God in their hearts. Thus did Job at all [such] times.

6Now there was a day when the sons (the angels) of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan (the adversary and accuser) also came among them.(B)

7And the Lord said to Satan, From where did you come? Then Satan answered the Lord, From going to and fro on the earth and from walking up and down on it.

8And the Lord said to Satan, Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who [reverently] fears God and abstains from and shuns evil [because it is wrong]?

9Then Satan answered the Lord, Does Job [reverently] fear God for nothing?

10Have You not put a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have conferred prosperity and happiness upon him in the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.

11But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has, and he will curse You to Your face.

12And the Lord said to Satan (the adversary and the accuser), Behold, all that he has is in your power, only upon the man himself put not forth your hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.

13And there was a day when [Job's] sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house [on his birthday],

14And there came a messenger to Job and said, The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them,

15And the Sabeans swooped down upon them and took away [the animals]. Indeed, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.

16While he was yet speaking, there came also another and said, The fire of God (lightning) has fallen from the heavens and has burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.

17While he was yet speaking, there came also another and said, The Chaldeans divided into three bands and made a raid upon the camels and have taken them away, yes, and have slain the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.

18While he was yet speaking, there came also another and said, Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house,

19And behold, there came a great [whirlwind] from the desert, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.

20Then Job arose and rent his robe and shaved his head and fell down upon the ground and worshiped

21And said, Naked (without possessions) came I [into this world] from my mother's womb, and naked (without possessions) shall I depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed (praised and magnified in worship) be the name of the Lord!

22In all this Job sinned not nor charged God foolishly.

Job 2
1AGAIN THERE was a day when the sons of God [the angels] came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan (the adversary and the accuser) came also among them to present himself before the Lord.

2And the Lord said to Satan, From where do you come? And Satan (the adversary and the accuser) answered the Lord, From going to and fro on the earth and from walking up and down on it.

3And the Lord said to Satan, Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who [reverently] fears God and abstains from and shuns all evil [because it is wrong]? And still he holds fast his integrity, although you moved Me against him to destroy him without cause.

4Then Satan answered the Lord, Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has will he give for his life.

5But put forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse and renounce You to Your face.

6And the Lord said to Satan, Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.

7So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord and smote Job with loathsome and painful sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.

8And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself, and he sat [down] among the ashes.

9Then his wife said to him, Do you still hold fast your blameless uprightness? Renounce God and die!

10But he said to her, You speak as one of the impious and foolish women would speak. What? Shall we accept [only] good at the hand of God and shall we not accept [also] misfortune and what is of a bad nature? In [spite of] all this, Job did not sin with his lips.

11Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came each one from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, for they had made an appointment together to come to condole with him and to comfort him.

12And when they looked from afar off and saw him [disfigured] beyond recognition, they lifted up their voices and wept; and each one tore his robe, and they cast dust over their heads toward the heavens.

13So they sat down with [Job] on the ground for seven days and seven nights, and none spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief and pain were very great.

Job 3
1AFTER THIS, Job opened his mouth and cursed his day (birthday).

2And Job said,

3Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night which announced, There is a man-child conceived.

4Let that day be darkness! May not God above regard it, nor light shine upon it.

5Let gloom and deep darkness claim it for their own; let a cloud dwell upon it; let all that blackens the day terrify it (the day that I was born).

6As for that night, let thick darkness seize it; let it not rejoice among the days of the year; let it not come into the number of the months.

7Yes, let that night be solitary and barren; let no joyful voice come into it.

8Let those curse it who curse the day, who are skilled in rousing up Leviathan.

9Let the stars of the early dawn of that day be dark; let [the morning] look in vain for the light, nor let it behold the day's dawning,

10Because it shut not the doors of my mother's womb nor hid sorrow and trouble from my eyes.

11Why was I not stillborn? Why did I not give up the ghost when my mother bore me?

12Why did the knees receive me? Or why the breasts, that I should suck?

13For then would I have lain down and been quiet; I would have slept; then would I have been at rest [in death]

14With kings and counselors of the earth, who built up [now] desolate ruins for themselves,

15Or with princes who had gold, who filled their houses with silver.

16Or [why] was I not a miscarriage, hidden and put away, as infants who never saw light?

17There [in death] the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary are at rest.

18There the [captive] prisoners rest together; they hear not the taskmaster's voice.

19The small and the great are there, and the servant is free from his master.(C)

20Why is light [of life] given to him who is in misery, and life to the bitter in soul,

21Who long and wait for death, but it comes not, and dig for it more than for hidden treasures,

22Who rejoice exceedingly and are elated when they find the grave?

23[Why is the light of day given] to a man whose way is hidden, and whom God has hedged in?

24For my sighing comes before my food, and my groanings are poured out like water.

25For the thing which I greatly fear comes upon me, and that of which I am afraid befalls me.

26I was not or am not at ease, nor had I or have I rest, nor was I or am I quiet, yet trouble came and still comes [upon me].

Cross references:
Job 1:4 : Gen 21:8; 40:20
Job 1:6 : Rev 12:10
Job 3:19 : Jer 20:14-18

Ecclesiastes Chapter 3

2007-04-12T12:46:00.000-07:00

Ecclesiastes Chapter 3

1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: {P}

2 {S} A time to be born, {S} and a time to die; {N}
{S} a time to plant, {S} and a time to pluck up that which is planted; {N}
3 {S} A time to kill, {S} and a time to heal; {N}
{S} a time to break down, {S} and a time to build up; {N}
4 {S} A time to weep, {S} and a time to laugh; {N}
{S} a time to mourn, {S} and a time to dance; {N}
5 {S} A time to cast away stones, {S} and a time to gather stones together; {N}
{S} a time to embrace, {S} and a time to refrain from embracing; {N}
6 {S} A time to seek, {S} and a time to lose; {N}
{S} a time to keep, {S} and a time to cast away; {N}
7 {S} A time to rend, {S} and a time to sew; {N}
{S} a time to keep silence, {S} and a time to speak; {N}
8 {S} A time to love, {S} and a time to hate; {N}
{S} a time for war, {S} and a time for peace. {N}
9 {S} What profit hath he that worketh in that he laboureth? 10 I have seen the task which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised therewith. 11 He hath made every thing beautiful in its time; also He hath set the world in their heart, yet so that man cannot find out the work that God hath done from the beginning even to the end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for them, than to rejoice, and to get pleasure so long as they live. 13 But also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy pleasure for all his labour, is the gift of God. 14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever; nothing can be added to it, nor any thing taken from it; and God hath so made it, that men should fear before Him. 15 That which is hath been long ago, and that which is to be hath already been; and God seeketh that which is pursued. 16 And moreover I saw under the sun, in the place of justice, that wickedness was there; and in the place of righteousness, that wickedness was there. 17 I said in my heart: 'The righteous and the wicked God will judge; for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.' 18 I said in my heart: 'It is because of the sons of men, that God may sift them, and that they may see that they themselves are but as beasts.' 19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them; as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that man hath no pre-eminence above a beast; for all is vanity. 20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all return to dust. 21 Who knoweth the spirit of man whether it goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast whether it goeth downward to the earth? 22 Wherefore I perceived that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his works; for that is his portion; for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?

Galatians 1-5 (New Living Translation)

2007-04-02T12:51:00.000-07:00

A A A A A

Galatians 1
Greetings from Paul
1 This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead.

2 All the brothers and sisters[a] here join me in sending this letter to the churches of Galatia.

3 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ[b] give you grace and peace. 4 Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live. 5 All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.
There Is Only One Good News
6 I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ.[c] You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News 7 but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ.

8 Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. 9 I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed.

10 Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.
Paul’s Message Comes from Christ
11 Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. 12 I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ.[d]

13 You know what I was like when I followed the Jewish religion—how I violently persecuted God’s church. I did my best to destroy it. 14 I was far ahead of my fellow Jews in my zeal for the traditions of my ancestors.

15 But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased him 16 to reveal his Son to me[e] so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles.

When this happened, I did not rush out to consult with any human being.[f] 17 Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to consult with those who were apostles before I was. Instead, I went away into Arabia, and later I returned to the city of Damascus.

18 Then three years later I went to Jerusalem to get to know Peter,[g] and I stayed with him for fifteen days. 19 The only other apostle I met at that time was James, the Lord’s brother. 20 I declare before God that what I am writing to you is not a lie.

21 After that visit I went north into the provinces of Syria and Cilicia. 22 And still the Christians in the churches in Judea didn’t know me personally. 23 All they knew was that people were saying, “The one who used to persecute us is now preaching the very faith he tried to destroy!” 24 And they praised God because of me.
Galatians 2
The Apostles Accept Paul
1 Then fourteen years later I went back to Jerusalem again, this time with Barnabas; and Titus came along, too. 2 I went there because God revealed to me that I should go. While I was there I met privately with those considered to be leaders of the church and shared with them the message I had been preaching to the Gentiles. I wanted to make sure that we were in agreement, for fear that all my efforts had been wasted and I was running the race for nothing. 3 And they supported me and did not even demand that my companion Titus be circumcised, though he was a Gentile.[h]

4 Even that question came up only because of some so-called Christians there—false ones, really[i]—who were secretly brought in. They sneaked in to spy on us and take away the freedom we have in Christ Jesus. They wanted to enslave us and force us to follow their Jewish regulations. 5 But we refused to give in to them for a single moment. We wanted to preserve the truth of the gospel message for you.

6 And the leaders of the church had nothing to add to what I was preaching. (By the way, their reputation as great leaders made no difference to me, for God has no favorites.) 7 Instead, they saw that God had given me the responsibility of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as he had given Peter the responsibility of preaching to the Jews. 8 For the same God who worked through Peter as the apostle to the Jews also worked through me as the apostle to the Gentiles.

9 In fact, James, Peter,[j] and John, who were known as pillars of the church, recognized the gift God had given me, and they accepted Barnabas and me as their co-workers. They encouraged us to keep preaching to the Gentiles, while they continued their work with the Jews. 10 Their only suggestion was that we keep on helping the poor, which I have always been eager to do.
Paul Confronts Peter
11 But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong. 12 When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile Christians, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision. 13 As a result, other Jewish Christians followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.

14 When I saw that they were not following the truth of the gospel message, I said to Peter in front of all the others, “Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you now trying to make these Gentiles follow the Jewish traditions?

15 “You and I are Jews by birth, not ‘sinners’ like the Gentiles. 16 Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.”[k]

17 But suppose we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then we are found guilty because we have abandoned the law. Would that mean Christ has led us into sin? Absolutely not! 18 Rather, I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down. 19 For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God. 20 My old self has been crucified with Christ.[l] It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.
Galatians 3
The Law and Faith in Christ
1 Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross. 2 Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. 3 How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? 4 Have you experienced[m] so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it?

5 I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ.

6 In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”[n] 7 The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God.

8 What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would declare the Gentiles to be righteous because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you.”[o] 9 So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith.

10 But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.”[p] 11 So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”[q] 12 This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, “It is through obeying the law that a person has life.”[r]

13 But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”[s] 14 Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised[t] Holy Spirit through faith.
The Law and God’s Promise
15 Dear brothers and sisters,[u] here’s an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or amend an irrevocable agreement, so it is in this case. 16 God gave the promises to Abraham and his child.[v] And notice that the Scripture doesn’t say “to his children,[w]” as if it meant many descendants. Rather, it says “to his child”—and that, of course, means Christ. 17 This is what I am trying to say: The agreement God made with Abraham could not be canceled 430 years later when God gave the law to Moses. God would be breaking his promise. 18 For if the inheritance could be received by keeping the law, then it would not be the result of accepting God’s promise. But God graciously gave it to Abraham as a promise.

19 Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave his law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people. 20 Now a mediator is helpful if more than one party must reach an agreement. But God, who is one, did not use a mediator when he gave his promise to Abraham.

21 Is there a conflict, then, between God’s law and God’s promises?[x] Absolutely not! If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it. 22 But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ.
God’s Children through Faith
23 Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed.

24 Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. 25 And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian.

26 For you are all children[y] of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes.[z] 28 There is no longer Jew or Gentile,[aa] slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children[ab] of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.
Galatians 4

1 Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had. 2 They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set. 3 And that’s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles[ac] of this world.

4 But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 5 God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.[ad] 6 And because we[ae] are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.”[af] 7 Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child.[ag] And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.
Paul’s Concern for the Galatians
8 Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so-called gods that do not even exist. 9 So now that you know God (or should I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world? 10 You are trying to earn favor with God by observing certain days or months or seasons or years. 11 I fear for you. Perhaps all my hard work with you was for nothing. 12 Dear brothers and sisters,[ah] I plead with you to live as I do in freedom from these things, for I have become like you Gentiles—free from those laws.

You did not mistreat me when I first preached to you. 13 Surely you remember that I was sick when I first brought you the Good News. 14 But even though my condition tempted you to reject me, you did not despise me or turn me away. No, you took me in and cared for me as though I were an angel from God or even Christ Jesus himself. 15 Where is that joyful and grateful spirit you felt then? I am sure you would have taken out your own eyes and given them to me if it had been possible. 16 Have I now become your enemy because I am telling you the truth?

17 Those false teachers are so eager to win your favor, but their intentions are not good. They are trying to shut you off from me so that you will pay attention only to them. 18 If someone is eager to do good things for you, that’s all right; but let them do it all the time, not just when I’m with you.

19 Oh, my dear children! I feel as if I’m going through labor pains for you again, and they will continue until Christ is fully developed in your lives. 20 I wish I were with you right now so I could change my tone. But at this distance I don’t know how else to help you.
Abraham’s Two Children
21 Tell me, you who want to live under the law, do you know what the law actually says? 22 The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons, one from his slave wife and one from his freeborn wife.[ai] 23 The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise. But the son of the freeborn wife was born as God’s own fulfillment of his promise.

24 These two women serve as an illustration of God’s two covenants. The first woman, Hagar, represents Mount Sinai where people received the law that enslaved them. 25 And now Jerusalem is just like Mount Sinai in Arabia,[aj] because she and her children live in slavery to the law. 26 But the other woman, Sarah, represents the heavenly Jerusalem. She is the free woman, and she is our mother. 27 As Isaiah said,

“Rejoice, O childless woman,
you who have never given birth!
Break into a joyful shout,
you who have never been in labor!
For the desolate woman now has more children
than the woman who lives with her husband!”[ak]

28 And you, dear brothers and sisters, are children of the promise, just like Isaac. 29 But you are now being persecuted by those who want you to keep the law, just as Ishmael, the child born by human effort, persecuted Isaac, the child born by the power of the Spirit.

30 But what do the Scriptures say about that? “Get rid of the slave and her son, for the son of the slave woman will not share the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”[al] 31 So, dear brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman; we are children of the free woman.
Galatians 5
Freedom in Christ
1 So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.

2 Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you. 3 I’ll say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole law of Moses. 4 For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace.

5 But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us. 6 For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.

7 You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth? 8 It certainly isn’t God, for he is the one who called you to freedom. 9 This false teaching is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough! 10 I am trusting the Lord to keep you from believing false teachings. God will judge that person, whoever he is, who has been confusing you.

11 Dear brothers and sisters,[am] if I were still preaching that you must be circumcised—as some say I do—why am I still being persecuted? If I were no longer preaching salvation through the cross of Christ, no one would be offended. 12 I just wish that those troublemakers who want to mutilate you by circumcision would mutilate themselves.[an]

13 For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. 14 For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[ao] 15 But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.
Living by the Spirit’s Power
16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. 18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.

19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.

Footnotes:
Galatians 1:2 Greek brothers; also in 1:11.
Galatians 1:3 Some manuscripts read God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Galatians 1:6 Some manuscripts read through loving mercy.
Galatians 1:12 Or by the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Galatians 1:16 Or in me.
Galatians 1:16 Greek with flesh and blood.
Galatians 1:18 Greek Cephas.
Galatians 2:3 Greek a Greek.
Galatians 2:4 Greek some false brothers.
Galatians 2:9 Greek Cephas; also in 2:11, 14.
Galatians 2:16 Some translators hold that the quotation extends through verse 14; others through verse 16; and still others through verse 21.
Galatians 2:20 Some English translations put this sentence in verse 19.
Galatians 3:4 Or Have you suffered.
Galatians 3:6 Gen 15:6.
Galatians 3:8 Gen 12:3; 18:18; 22:18.
Galatians 3:10 Deut 27:26.
Galatians 3:11 Hab 2:4.
Galatians 3:12 Lev 18:5.
Galatians 3:13 Deut 21:23 (Greek version).
Galatians 3:14 Some manuscripts read the blessing of the.
Galatians 3:15 Greek Brothers.
Galatians 3:16 Greek seed; also in 3:16c, 19. See notes on Gen 12:7 and 13:15.
Galatians 3:16 Greek seeds.
Galatians 3:21 Some manuscripts read and the promises?
Galatians 3:26 Greek sons.
Galatians 3:27 Greek have put on Christ.
Galatians 3:28 Greek Jew or Greek.
Galatians 3:29 Greek seed.
Galatians 4:3 Or powers; also in 4:9.
Galatians 4:5 Greek sons; also in 4:6.
Galatians 4:6 Greek you.
Galatians 4:6 Abba is an Aramaic term for “father.”
Galatians 4:7 Greek son; also in 4:7b.
Galatians 4:12 Greek brothers; also in 4:28, 31.
Galatians 4:22 See Gen 16:15; 21:2-3.
Galatians 4:25 Greek And Hagar, which is Mount Sinai in Arabia, is now like Jerusalem; other manuscripts read And Mount Sinai in Arabia is now like Jerusalem.
Galatians 4:27 Isa 54:1.
Galatians 4:30 Gen 21:10.
Galatians 5:11 Greek Brothers; similarly in 5:13.
Galatians 5:12 Or castrate themselves, or cut themselves off from you; Greek reads cut themselves off.
Galatians 5:14 Lev 19:18.

Book Of Timothy

2007-03-30T15:01:00.000-07:00

1 Timothy 1

1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,

2To Timothy my true son in the faith:
Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Warning Against False Teachers of the Law
3As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer 4nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God's work—which is by faith. 5The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6Some have wandered away from these and turned to meaningless talk. 7They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.

8We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. 9We also know that law[a] is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine 11that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.
The Lord's Grace to Paul
12I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. 13Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

15Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. 17Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

18Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, 19holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. 20Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.
1 Timothy 2
Instructions on Worship
1I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— 2for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time. 7And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a teacher of the true faith to the Gentiles.

8I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.

9I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, 10but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.

11A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. 12I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. 13For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. 15But women[b] will be saved[c] through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.
1 Timothy 3
Overseers and Deacons
1Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer,[d] he desires a noble task. 2Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 5(If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) 6He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap.

8Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. 9They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. 10They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.

11In the same way, their wives[e] are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.

12A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well. 13Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.

14Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, 15if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. 16Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great:
He[f] appeared in a body,[g]
was vindicated by the Spirit,
was seen by angels,
was preached among the nations,
was believed on in the world,
was taken up in glory.
1 Timothy 4
Instructions to Timothy
1The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 3They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. 4For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

6If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. 7Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

9This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance 10(and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.

11Command and teach these things. 12Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. 13Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. 14Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you.

15Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. 16Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
1 Timothy 5
Advice About Widows, Elders and Slaves
1Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, 2older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.

3Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need. 4But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. 5The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help. 6But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives. 7Give the people these instructions, too, so that no one may be open to blame. 8If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

9No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband,[h] 10and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds.

11As for younger widows, do not put them on such a list. For when their sensual desires overcome their dedication to Christ, they want to marry. 12Thus they bring judgment on themselves, because they have broken their first pledge. 13Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying things they ought not to. 14So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander. 15Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan.

16If any woman who is a believer has widows in her family, she should help them and not let the church be burdened with them, so that the church can help those widows who are really in need.

17The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 18For the Scripture says, "Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,"[i] and "The worker deserves his wages."[j] 19Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. 20Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the others may take warning.

21I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism.

22Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.

23Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.

24The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. 25In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not cannot be hidden.
1 Timothy 6

1All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God's name and our teaching may not be slandered. 2Those who have believing masters are not to show less respect for them because they are brothers. Instead, they are to serve them even better, because those who benefit from their service are believers, and dear to them. These are the things you are to teach and urge on them.
Love of Money
3If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, 4he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions 5and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.

6But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Paul's Charge to Timothy
11But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.

17Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

20Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, 21which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith.
Grace be with you.

Footnotes:
1 Timothy 1:9 Or that the law
1 Timothy 2:15 Greek she
1 Timothy 2:15 Or restored
1 Timothy 3:1 Traditionally bishop; also in verse 2
1 Timothy 3:11 Or way, deaconesses
1 Timothy 3:16 Some manuscripts God
1 Timothy 3:16 Or in the flesh
1 Timothy 5:9 Or has had but one husband
1 Timothy 5:18 Deut. 25:4
1 Timothy 5:18 Luke 10:7

Ecclesiastes 8-10 (The Message)

2007-03-23T04:03:00.000-07:00

Ecclesiastes 8

1 There's nothing better than being wise, Knowing how to interpret the meaning of life.
Wisdom puts light in the eyes,
And gives gentleness to words and manners.
No One Can Control the Wind
2-7 Do what your king commands; you gave a sacred oath of obedience. Don't worryingly second-guess your orders or try to back out when the task is unpleasant. You're serving his pleasure, not yours. The king has the last word. Who dares say to him, "What are you doing?" Carrying out orders won't hurt you a bit; the wise person obeys promptly and accurately. Yes, there's a right time and way for everything, even though, unfortunately, we miss it for the most part. It's true that no one knows what's going to happen, or when. Who's around to tell us?

8 No one can control the wind or lock it in a box.
No one has any say-so regarding the day of death.
No one can stop a battle in its tracks.
No one who does evil can be saved by evil.

9 All this I observed as I tried my best to understand all that's going on in this world. As long as men and women have the power to hurt each other, this is the way it is.
One Fate for Everybody
10 One time I saw wicked men given a solemn burial in holy ground. When the people returned to the city, they delivered flowery eulogies—and in the very place where wicked acts were done by those very men! More smoke. Indeed.

11 Because the sentence against evil deeds is so long in coming, people in general think they can get by with murder.

12-13 Even though a person sins and gets by with it hundreds of times throughout a long life, I'm still convinced that the good life is reserved for the person who fears God, who lives reverently in his presence, and that the evil person will not experience a "good" life. No matter how many days he lives, they'll all be as flat and colorless as a shadow—because he doesn't fear God.

14 Here's something that happens all the time and makes no sense at all: Good people get what's coming to the wicked, and bad people get what's coming to the good. I tell you, this makes no sense. It's smoke.

15 So, I'm all for just going ahead and having a good time—the best possible. The only earthly good men and women can look forward to is to eat and drink well and have a good time—compensation for the struggle for survival these few years God gives us on earth.

16-17 When I determined to load up on wisdom and examine everything taking place on earth, I realized that if you keep your eyes open day and night without even blinking, you'll still never figure out the meaning of what God is doing on this earth. Search as hard as you like, you're not going to make sense of it. No matter how smart you are, you won't get to the bottom of it.
Ecclesiastes 9
1-3 Well, I took all this in and thought it through, inside and out. Here's what I understood: The good, the wise, and all that they do are in God's hands—but, day by day, whether it's love or hate they're dealing with, they don't know.

Anything's possible. It's one fate for everybody—righteous and wicked, good people, bad people, the nice and the nasty, worshipers and non-worshipers, committed and uncommitted. I find this outrageous—the worst thing about living on this earth—that everyone's lumped together in one fate. Is it any wonder that so many people are obsessed with evil? Is it any wonder that people go crazy right and left? Life leads to death. That's it.
Seize Life!
4-6 Still, anyone selected out for life has hope, for, as they say, "A living dog is better than a dead lion." The living at least know something, even if it's only that they're going to die. But the dead know nothing and get nothing. They're a minus that no one remembers. Their loves, their hates, yes, even their dreams, are long gone. There's not a trace of them left in the affairs of this earth.

7-10 Seize life! Eat bread with gusto,
Drink wine with a robust heart.
Oh yes—God takes pleasure in your pleasure!
Dress festively every morning.
Don't skimp on colors and scarves.
Relish life with the spouse you love
Each and every day of your precarious life.
Each day is God's gift. It's all you get in exchange
For the hard work of staying alive.
Make the most of each one!
Whatever turns up, grab it and do it. And heartily!
This is your last and only chance at it,
For there's neither work to do nor thoughts to think
In the company of the dead, where you're most certainly headed.

11 I took another walk around the neighborhood and realized that on this earth as it is—

The race is not always to the swift,
Nor the battle to the strong,
Nor satisfaction to the wise,
Nor riches to the smart,
Nor grace to the learned.
Sooner or later bad luck hits us all.

12 No one can predict misfortune.
Like fish caught in a cruel net or birds in a trap,
So men and women are caught
By accidents evil and sudden.
Wisdom Is Better than Muscle
13-15 One day as I was observing how wisdom fares on this earth, I saw something that made me sit up and take notice. There was a small town with only a few people in it. A strong king came and mounted an attack, building trenches and attack posts around it. There was a poor but wise man in that town whose wisdom saved the town, but he was promptly forgotten. (He was only a poor man, after all.)

16 All the same, I still say that wisdom is better than muscle, even though the wise poor man was treated with contempt and soon forgotten.

17 The quiet words of the wise are more effective
Than the ranting of a king of fools.

18 Wisdom is better than warheads,
But one hothead can ruin the good earth.
Ecclesiastes 10

1 Dead flies in perfume make it stink, And a little foolishness decomposes much wisdom.

2 Wise thinking leads to right living;
Stupid thinking leads to wrong living.

3 Fools on the road have no sense of direction.
The way they walk tells the story: "There goes the fool again!"

4 If a ruler loses his temper against you, don't panic;
A calm disposition quiets intemperate rage.

5-7 Here's a piece of bad business I've seen on this earth, An error that can be blamed on whoever is in charge:
Immaturity is given a place of prominence,
While maturity is made to take a backseat.
I've seen unproven upstarts riding in style,
While experienced veterans are put out to pasture.

8 Caution: The trap you set might catch you.
Warning: Your accomplice in crime might double-cross you.

9 Safety first: Quarrying stones is dangerous.
Be alert: Felling trees is hazardous.

10 Remember: The duller the ax the harder the work;
Use your head: The more brains, the less muscle.

11 If the snake bites before it's been charmed,
What's the point in then sending for the charmer?

12-13 The words of a wise person are gracious.
The talk of a fool self-destructs—
He starts out talking nonsense
And ends up spouting insanity and evil.

14 Fools talk way too much,
Chattering stuff they know nothing about.

15 A decent day's work so fatigues fools
That they can't find their way back to town.

16-17 Unlucky the land whose king is a young pup,
And whose princes party all night.
Lucky the land whose king is mature,
Where the princes behave themselves
And don't drink themselves silly.

18 A shiftless man lives in a tumbledown shack;
A lazy woman ends up with a leaky roof.

19 Laughter and bread go together,
And wine gives sparkle to life—
But it's money that makes the world go around.

20 Don't bad-mouth your leaders, not even under your breath,
And don't abuse your betters, even in the privacy of your home.
Loose talk has a way of getting picked up and spread around.
Little birds drop the crumbs of your gossip far and wide.

Genesis Chapter 2

2007-03-17T19:04:00.001-07:00

Genesis Chapter 2
1 And the heaven and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God finished His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it; because that in it He rested from all His work which God in creating had made. {P}
4 These are the generations of the heaven and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made earth and heaven. 5 No shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up; for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground; 6 but there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. 7 Then the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. 8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward, in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became four heads. 11 The name of the first is Pishon; that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; 12 and the gold of that land is good; there is bdellium and the onyx stone. 13 And the name of the second river is Gihon; the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Cush. 14 And the name of the third river is Tigris; that is it which goeth toward the east of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. 15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying: 'Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.' 18 And the LORD God said: 'It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.' 19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto the man to see what he would call them; and whatsoever the man would call every living creature, that was to be the name thereof. 20 And the man gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found a help meet for him. 21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the place with flesh instead thereof. 22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from the man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23 And the man said: 'This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.' 24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

God Is Love

Needing Peace? :-)

Psalm 1-25 (Amplified Bible)

Jonah 1-4 (Amplified Bible)

Psalm 139

LOVE ONE ANOTHER ~

Judges 5-9 (New International Version)

Judges 5-9 (New International Version)

Judges 5

The Song of Deborah

Judges 6

Gideon

Judges 7

Gideon Defeats the Midianites

Judges 8

Zebah and Zalmunna

Gideon's Ephod

Gideon's Death

Judges 9

Abimelech

ECCLESIASTES 2 with Commentary

Romans 1-6 (King James Version)

Ecclesiastes 3 (New International Version)

Love One Another :)

Message Forum :)

Devotional for June 7th - 10th, 2007

John 4-5 (King James Version)

Psalm 12 (New Living Translation) Biblestudy:)

Psalms Chapter 98

Feel Free To Come by and Chat or Leave a Prayer Request:)

Psalms Chapter 90

Psalms Chapter 59

Job 1-3 (Amplified Bible)

Ecclesiastes Chapter 3

Galatians 1-5 (New Living Translation)

Book Of Timothy

Ecclesiastes 8-10 (The Message)

~~Genesis Chapter 2~~

Genesis Chapter 2