CSB
Click to Change
Return to Top
KJV (Narrated)
NKJV (Narrated)
NKJV (Dramatized)
NLT (Dramatized)
NIV (Narrated)
NIV (Dramatized)
ESV (Narrated)
NASB95 (Narrated)
|
Line-By-Line Order:
 Verse-ReferenceReference-VerseSeparate LineVerse OnlyReference Only |
Reference Delimiters:
None — Jhn 1:1 KJV Square — [Jhn 1:1 KJV]Curly — {Jhn 1:1 KJV}Parens — (Jhn 1:1 KJV) |
|
Paragraph Order:
Verse-ReferenceReference-VerseReference-Only |
Number Delimiters:*
No NumberNo Delimiter — 15Square — [15]Curly — {15}Parens — (15) |
|
Other Options:
 Abbreviate Books Use SBL Abbrev.En dash not Hyphen |
Quotes Around VersesRemove Square Brackets |
Select All Verses |
Clear All Verses |
* 'Number Delimiters' only apply to 'Paragraph Order'
* 'Remove Square Brackets' does not apply to the Amplified Bible
“In Bethlehem of Judea,” they told him, “because this is what was written by the prophet:
After hearing the king, they went on their way. And there it was — the star they had seen at its rising. It led them until it came and stopped above the place where the child was.
saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, because those who intended to kill the child are dead.”
When Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water. The heavens suddenly opened for him,[fn] and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him.
Then the tempter approached him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
When he saw the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
“For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don't even the tax collectors do the same?
“So whenever you give to the poor, don't sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward.
“Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward.
“When you pray, don't babble like the Gentiles, since they imagine they'll be heard for their many words.
“Whenever you fast, don't be gloomy like the hypocrites. For they disfigure their faces so that their fasting is obvious to people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward.
“Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
“Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it.
“The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn't collapse, because its foundation was on the rock.
“The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. It collapsed with a great crash.”
When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astonished at his teaching,
“But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey him! ”
“Go! ” he told them. So when they had come out, they entered the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the water.
Then the men who tended them fled. They went into the city and reported everything, especially what had happened to those who were demon-possessed.
When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners? ”
Now when he heard this, he said, “It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick.
Then John's disciples came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast? ”
“And no one puts[fn] new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. No, they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”
When he entered the house, the blind men approached him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I can do this? ”
They said to him, “Yes, Lord.”
And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus warned them sternly, “Be sure that no one finds out.”
When the demon had been driven out, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were amazed, saying, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel! ”
“Look, I'm sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves.
“because it isn't you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father is speaking through you.
“What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothes? See, those who wear soft clothes are in royal palaces.
At that time Jesus passed through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick and eat some heads of grain.
When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “See, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.”
He said to them, “Haven't you read what David did when he and those who were with him were hungry:
“Or haven't you read in the law that on Sabbath days the priests in the temple violate the Sabbath and are innocent?
When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man drives out demons only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.”
“And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? For this reason they will be your judges.
While he was still speaking with the crowds, his mother and brothers were standing outside wanting to speak to him.
Someone told him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”[fn]
He replied to the one who was speaking to him, “Who is my mother and who are my brothers? ”
Stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!
Then the disciples came up and asked him, “Why are you speaking to them in parables? ”
“The landowner's servants came to him and said, ‘Master, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from? '
“ ‘An enemy did this,' he told them.
“ ‘So, do you want us to go and pull them up? ' the servants asked him.
Then he left the crowds and went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
“the field is the world; and the good seed — these are the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one,
“and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
“Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father's kingdom. Let anyone who has ears[fn] listen.
“So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out, separate the evil people from the righteous,
“Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother called Mary, and his brothers James, Joseph,[fn] Simon, and Judas?
Then his disciples came, removed the corpse,[fn] buried it, and went and reported to Jesus.
When Jesus heard about it, he withdrew from there by boat to a remote place to be alone. When the crowds heard this, they followed him on foot from the towns.
When evening came, the disciples approached him and said, “This place is deserted, and it is already late.[fn] Send the crowds away so that they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”
Then he commanded the crowds to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them. He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.
When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified. “It's a ghost! ” they said, and they cried out in fear.
When the men of that place recognized him, they alerted the whole vicinity and brought to him all who were sick.
“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they don't wash their hands when they eat.”[fn]
Then the disciples came up and told him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said? ”
Jesus did not say a word to her. His disciples approached him and urged him, “Send her away because she's crying out after us.”
The disciples said to him, “Where could we get enough bread in this desolate place to feed such a crowd? ”
“How many loaves do you have? ” Jesus asked them.
“Seven,” they said, “and a few small fish.”
he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.
The Pharisees and Sadducees approached, and tested him, asking him to show them a sign from heaven.
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
So the disciples asked him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first? ”
Then the disciples approached Jesus privately and said, “Why couldn't we drive it out? ”
When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the temple tax approached Peter and said, “Doesn't your teacher pay the temple tax? ”
At that time[fn] the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “So who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven? ”
“See to it that you don't despise one of these little ones, because I tell you that in heaven their angels continually view the face of my Father in heaven.[fn]
“When the other servants saw what had taken place, they were deeply distressed and went and reported to their master everything that had happened.
“and he also said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'?
His disciples said to him, “If the relationship of a man with his wife is like this, it's better not to marry.”
Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them.
When the disciples heard this, they were utterly astonished and asked, “Then who can be saved? ”
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, in the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
“He said to them, ‘You also go into my vineyard, and I'll give you whatever is right.' So off they went.
“So when the first ones came, they assumed they would get more, but they also received a denarius each.
“‘These last men put in one hour, and you made them equal to us who bore the burden of the day's work and the burning heat.'
“What do you want? ” he asked her.
“Promise,”[fn] she said to him, “that these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right and the other on your left, in your kingdom.”
Jesus called them over and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions act as tyrants over them.
The crowd demanded that they keep quiet, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David! ”
Then the crowds who went ahead of him and those who followed shouted:
Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is he who comes in the name
of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!
When the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonders that he did and the children shouting in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David! ” they were indignant
When the disciples saw it, they were amazed and said, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly? ”
When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority? ”
“Did John's baptism come from heaven, or was it of human origin? ”
They discussed it among themselves, “If we say, ‘From heaven,' he will say to us, ‘Then why didn't you believe him? '
“Which of the two did his father's will? ”
They said, “The first.”
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you.
“For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you didn't believe him. Tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; but you, when you saw it, didn't even change your minds then and believe him.
“But when the tenant farmers saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance.'
Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.[fn]
This is what the Lord has done
and it is wonderful in our eyes?
When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew he was speaking about them.
“Again, he sent out other servants and said, ‘Tell those who are invited: See, I've prepared my dinner; my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.'
“But they paid no attention and went away, one to his own farm, another to his business,
“Then he told his servants, ‘The banquet is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.
“So those servants went out on the roads and gathered everyone they found, both evil and good. The wedding banquet was filled with guests.[fn]
As Jesus left and was going out of the temple, his disciples came up and called his attention to its buildings.
While he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples approached him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what is the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? ”
“Immediately after the distress of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
“Now concerning that day and hour no one knows — neither the angels of heaven nor the Son[fn] — except the Father alone.
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels[fn] with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?
“And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Then the chief priests[fn] and the elders of the people assembled in the courtyard of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas,
and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you? ” So they weighed out thirty pieces of silver for him.
On the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover? ”
“Even if I have to die with you,” Peter told him, “I will never deny you,” and all the disciples said the same thing.
And he came again and found them sleeping, because they could not keep their eyes open.
Then Jesus told him, “Put your sword back in its place because all who take up the sword will perish by the sword.
“But all this has happened so that the writings of the prophets would be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted him and ran away.
Those who had arrested Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had convened.
The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false testimony against Jesus so that they could put him to death,
After a little while those standing there approached and said to Peter, “You really are one of them, since even your accent[fn] gives you away.”
When daybreak came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put him to death.
“I have sinned by betraying innocent blood,” he said.
“What's that to us? ” they said. “See to it yourself! ”
The chief priests took the silver and said, “It's not permitted to put it into the temple treasury, since it is blood money.”
The chief priests and the elders, however, persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to execute Jesus.
The governor asked them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you? ”
“Barabbas! ” they answered.
Then he said, “Why? What has he done wrong? ”
But they kept shouting all the more, “Crucify him! ”
Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the governor's residence and gathered the whole company[fn] around him.
In the same way the chief priests, with the scribes and elders,[fn] mocked him and said,
When the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they were terrified and said, “Truly this man was the Son of God! ”
The next day, which followed the preparation day, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate
“So give orders that the tomb be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come, steal him, and tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,' and the last deception will be worse than the first.”
They went and secured the tomb by setting a seal on the stone and placing the guards.
and told them, “Say this, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him while we were sleeping.'
They took the money and did as they were instructed, and this story has been spread among Jewish people to this day.
The eleven disciples traveled to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had directed them.
The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
He was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and the angels were serving him.
They were astonished at his teaching because he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not like the scribes.
When Jesus heard this, he told them, “It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick. I didn't come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Now John's disciples and the Pharisees[fn] were fasting. People came and asked him, “Why do John's disciples and the Pharisees' disciples fast, but your disciples do not fast? ”
Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot fast while the groom is with them, can they? As long as they have the groom with them, they cannot fast.
“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost as well as the skins. No, new wine is put into fresh wineskins.”
On the Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to make their way, picking some heads of grain.
The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath? ”
He said to them, “Have you never read what David and those who were with him did when he was in need and hungry —
Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do evil, to save life or to kill? ” But they were silent.
Immediately the Pharisees went out and started plotting with the Herodians against him, how they might kill him.
When his family heard this, they set out to restrain him, because they said, “He's out of his mind.”
The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and, “He drives out demons by the ruler of the demons.”
His mother and his brothers came, and standing outside, they sent word to him and called him.
A crowd was sitting around him and told him, “Look, your mother, your brothers, and your sisters[fn] are outside asking for you.”
Looking at those sitting in a circle around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!
“Some are like the word sown on the path. When they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word sown in them.[fn]
“And others are like seed sown on rocky ground. When they hear the word, immediately they receive it with joy.
“And those like seed sown on good ground hear the word, welcome it, and produce fruit thirty, sixty, and a hundred times what was sown.”
The men who tended them ran off and reported it in the town and the countryside, and people went to see what had happened.
Those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and told about the pigs.
His disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing against you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me? ' ”
When John's disciples heard about it, they came and removed his corpse and placed it in a tomb.
The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all that they had done and taught.
He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a remote place and rest for a while.” For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.
When it grew late, his disciples approached him and said, “This place is deserted, and it is already late.
The Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him.
(For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, keeping the tradition of the elders.
When he went into the house away from the crowd, his disciples asked him about the parable.
“For from within, out of people's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders,
His disciples answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread here in this desolate place to feed these people? ”
The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, demanding of him a sign from heaven to test him.
Jesus went out with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the road he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am? ”
They answered him, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, one of the prophets.”
After he had gone into the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn't we drive it out? ”
But they were silent, because on the way they had been arguing with one another about who was the greatest.
People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them.
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! ”
The disciples were astonished at his words. Again Jesus said to them, “Children, how hard it is[fn] to enter the kingdom of God!
They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. The disciples were astonished, but those who followed him were afraid. Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them the things that would happen to him.
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached him and said, “Teacher, we want you to do whatever we ask you.”
“We are able,” they told him.
Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with.
Jesus called them over and said to them, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions act as tyrants over them.
Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted:
Hosanna!
Blessed is he who comes
in the name of the Lord!
He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again! ” And his disciples heard it.
The chief priests and the scribes heard it and started looking for a way to kill him. For they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was astonished by his teaching.
They came again to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came
“But those tenant farmers said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let's kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'
“Haven't you read this Scripture:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
They brought a coin. “Whose image and inscription is this? ” he asked them.
“Caesar's,” they replied.
“In the resurrection, when they rise,[fn] whose wife will she be, since the seven had married her? ”
While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he asked, “How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the son of David?
“They devour widows' houses and say long prayers just for show. These will receive harsher judgment.”
“So when they arrest you and hand you over, don't worry beforehand what you will say, but say whatever is given to you at that time, for it isn't you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.
“When you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be” (let the reader understand), “then those in Judea must flee to the mountains.
“the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
“Now concerning that day or hour no one knows — neither the angels in heaven nor the Son — but only the Father.
It was two days before the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a cunning way to arrest Jesus and kill him.
And when they heard this, they were glad and promised to give him money. So he started looking for a good opportunity to betray him.
On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrifice the Passover lamb, his disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and prepare the Passover so that you may eat it? ”
So the disciples went out, entered the city, and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.
And again he came and found them sleeping, because they could not keep their eyes open. They did not know what to say to him.
They led Jesus away to the high priest, and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes assembled.
The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they could not find any.
“You have heard the blasphemy. What is your decision? ” They all condemned him as deserving death.
Then some began to spit on him, to blindfold him, and to beat him, saying, “Prophesy! ” The temple servants also took him and slapped him.
But again he denied it. After a little while those standing there said to Peter again, “You certainly are one of them, since you're also a Galilean.”[fn]
As soon as it was morning, having held a meeting with the elders, scribes, and the whole Sanhedrin, the chief priests tied Jesus up, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate.
But the chief priests stirred up the crowd so that he would release Barabbas to them instead.
Pilate said to them, “Why? What has he done wrong? ”
But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him! ”
The soldiers led him away into the palace (that is, the governor's residence) and called the whole company together.
Those who passed by were yelling insults at[fn] him, shaking their heads, and saying, “Ha! The one who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,
In the same way, the chief priests with the scribes were mocking him among themselves and saying, “He saved others, but he cannot save himself!
“Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, so that we may see and believe.” Even those who were crucified with him taunted him.
Then her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her his great mercy, and they rejoiced with her.
All who heard about him took it to heart, saying, “What then will this child become? ” For, indeed, the Lord's hand was with him.
When the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let's go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had seen and heard, which were just as they had been told.
After those days were over, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents[fn] did not know it.
He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him.
When it was day, he went out and made his way to a deserted place. But the crowds were searching for him. They came to him and tried to keep him from leaving them.
He saw two boats at the edge of the lake; the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets.
Then the scribes and the Pharisees began to think to themselves, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone? ”
But the Pharisees and their scribes were complaining to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? ”
Jesus replied to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a doctor, but those who are sick.
Then they said to him, “John's disciples fast often and say prayers, and those of the Pharisees do the same, but yours eat and drink.”
“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins, it will spill, and the skins will be ruined.
On a Sabbath, he passed through the grainfields. His disciples were picking heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them.
Jesus answered them, “Haven't you read what David and those who were with him did when he was hungry —
The scribes and Pharisees were watching him closely, to see if he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they could find a charge against him.
They came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those tormented by unclean spirits were made well.
Blessed are you when people hate you,
when they exclude you, insult you,
and slander your name as evil
because of the Son of Man.
“Rejoice in that day and leap for joy. Take note — your reward is great in heaven, for this is the way their ancestors used to treat the prophets.
“Woe to you[fn]
when all people speak well of you,
for this is the way their ancestors
used to treat the false prophets.
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.
“If you do what is good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that.
When they reached Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy for you to grant this,
When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant in good health.
Afterward he was on his way to a town called Nain. His disciples and a large crowd were traveling with him.
Then he came up and touched the open coffin, and the pallbearers stopped. And he said, “Young man, I tell you, get up! ”
Then John's disciples told him about all these things. So John summoned two of his disciples
When the men reached him, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to ask you, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else? ' ”
“What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothes? See, those who are splendidly dressed and live in luxury are in royal palaces.
(And when all the people, including the tax collectors, heard this, they acknowledged God's way of righteousness, because they had been baptized with John's baptism.
But since the Pharisees and experts in the law had not been baptized by him, they rejected the plan of God for themselves.)
Those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins? ”
Afterward he was traveling from one town and village to another, preaching and telling the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him,
“The seed along the path are those who have heard and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.
“And the seed on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy. Having no root, these believe for a while and fall away in a time of testing.
“As for the seed that fell among thorns, these are the ones who, when they have heard, go on their way and are choked with worries, riches, and pleasures of life, and produce no mature fruit.
“No one, after lighting a lamp, covers it with a basket or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand so that those who come in may see its light.
Then his mother and brothers came to him, but they could not meet with him because of the crowd.
He was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.”
But he replied to them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear and do the word of God.”
One day he and his disciples got into a boat, and he told them, “Let's cross over to the other side of the lake.” So they set out,
When the men who tended them saw what had happened, they ran off and reported it in the town and in the countryside.
Meanwhile, the eyewitnesses reported to them how the demon-possessed man was delivered.
because he had an only daughter about twelve years old, and she was dying.
While he was going, the crowds were nearly crushing him.
When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus all that they had done. He took them along and withdrew privately to a[fn] town called Bethsaida.
When the crowds found out, they followed him. He welcomed them, spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.
Late in the day, the Twelve approached and said to him, “Send the crowd away, so that they can go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find food and lodging, because we are in a deserted place here.”
“You give them something to eat,” he told them.
“We have no more than five loaves and two fish,” they said, “unless we go and buy food for all these people.”
While he was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am? ”
They answered, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, that one of the ancient prophets has come back.”[fn]
Peter and those with him were in a deep sleep,[fn] and when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men who were standing with him.
But they did not understand this statement; it was concealed from them so that they could not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.
When the disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them? ”[fn]
He told them, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.
The seventy-two[fn] returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”
Then turning to his disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see the things you see!
Now he was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon came out, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were amazed.
“And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? For this reason they will be your judges.
“No one lights a lamp and puts it in the cellar or under a basket,[fn] but on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see its light.
But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and evil.
“Woe to you![fn] You are like unmarked graves; the people who walk over them don't know it.”
When he left there,[fn] the scribes and the Pharisees began to oppose him fiercely and to cross-examine him about many things;
“Blessed will be those servants the master finds alert when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will get ready,[fn] have them recline at the table, then come and serve them.
And he[fn] responded to them, “Do you think that these Galileans were more sinful than all the other Galileans because they suffered these things?
“Or those eighteen that the tower in Siloam fell on and killed — do you think they were more sinful than all the other people who live in Jerusalem?
When he had said these things, all his adversaries were humiliated, but the whole crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things he was doing.
“Lord,” someone asked him, “are only a few people going to be saved? ”
He said to them,
“Otherwise, after he has laid the foundation and cannot finish it, all the onlookers will begin to ridicule him,
And the Pharisees and scribes were complaining, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
“He longed to eat his fill from[fn] the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one would give him anything.
“The master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the children of this age are more shrewd than the children of light in dealing with their own people.[fn]
The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and scoffing at him.
And he told them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly admired by people is revolting in God's sight.
“The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then, the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is urgently invited to enter it.[fn]
“He longed to be filled with what fell from the rich man's table, but instead the dogs would come and lick his sores.
“Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that those who want to pass over from here to you cannot; neither can those from there cross over to us.'
“Where, Lord? ” they asked him.
He said to them, “Where the corpse is, there also the vultures will be gathered.”
“The Pharisee was standing and praying like this about himself:[fn] ‘God, I thank you that I'm not like other people — greedy, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
People were bringing infants to him so that he might touch them, but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.
Seeing that he became sad,[fn] Jesus said, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!
Then those in front told him to keep quiet,[fn] but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me! ”
“But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We don't want this man to rule over us.'
As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt? ”
“For the days will come on you when your enemies will build a barricade around you, surround you, and hem you in on every side.
Every day he was teaching in the temple. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people were looking for a way to kill him,
One day as he was teaching the people in the temple and proclaiming the good news, the chief priests and the scribes, with the elders, came
They discussed it among themselves: “If we say, ‘From heaven,' he will say, ‘Why didn't you believe him? '
“At harvest time he sent a servant to the farmers so that they might give him some fruit from the vineyard. But the farmers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
“He sent yet another servant, but they beat that one too, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.
“But when the tenant farmers saw him, they discussed it among themselves and said, ‘This is the heir. Let's kill him, so that the inheritance will be ours.'
But he looked at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of this Scripture:[fn]
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone?
Then the scribes and the chief priests looked for a way to get their hands on him that very hour, because they knew he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people.
“Show me a denarius.[fn] Whose image and inscription does it have? ”
“Caesar's,” they said.
Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came up and questioned him:
“In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For all seven had married her.”
“But those who are counted worthy to take part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage.
“Moses even indicated in the passage about the burning bush that the dead are raised, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.
“for I will give you such words and a wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.
“Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. Those inside the city must leave it, and those who are in the country must not enter it,
The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to put him to death, because they were afraid of the people.
But he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who have authority over them have themselves called[fn] ‘Benefactors.'
He also said to them, “When I sent you out without money-bag, traveling bag, or sandals, did you lack anything? ”
“Not a thing,” they said.
He went out and made his way as usual to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him.
When those around him saw what was going to happen, they asked, “Lord, should we strike with the sword? ”
“Why do we need any more testimony,” they said, “since we've heard it ourselves from his mouth? ”
But they kept insisting, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee where he started even to here.”
But they kept up the pressure, demanding with loud voices that he be crucified, and their voices[fn] won out.
The people stood watching, and even the leaders were scoffing: “He saved others; let him save himself if this is God's Messiah, the Chosen One! ”
All the crowds that had gathered for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, went home, striking their chests.
But all who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
Then he asked them, “What is this dispute that you're having[fn] with each other as you are walking? ” And they stopped walking and looked discouraged.
“What things? ” he asked them.
So they said to him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet powerful in action and speech before God and all the people,
“and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him.
He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow[fn] to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, but he disappeared from their sight.
He told them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you — that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
This was John's testimony when the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you? ”
When Jesus turned and noticed them following him, he asked them, “What are you looking for? ”
They said to him, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying? ”
Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law (and so did the prophets): Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”
Then he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the headwaiter.”[fn] And they did.
When the headwaiter tasted the water (after it had become wine), he did not know where it came from — though the servants who had drawn the water knew. He called the groom
Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee. He revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.
After this, he went down to Capernaum, together with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples, and they stayed there only a few days.
And his disciples remembered that it is written: Zeal for your house will consume me.
Therefore the Jews said, “This temple took forty-six years to build,[fn] and will you raise it up in three days? ”
So when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the statement Jesus had made.
“This is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.
After this, Jesus and his disciples went to the Judean countryside, where he spent time with them and baptized.
When Jesus[fn] learned that the Pharisees had heard he was making and baptizing more disciples than John
“You aren't greater than our father Jacob, are you? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and livestock.”
“Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.”
“But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth.[fn] Yes, the Father wants such people to worship him.
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? ”
The disciples said to one another, “Could someone have brought him something to eat? ”
So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days.
When they entered Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him because they had seen everything he did in Jerusalem during the festival. For they also had gone to the festival.
and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “This is the Sabbath. The law prohibits you from picking up your mat.”
Therefore, the Jews began persecuting Jesus[fn] because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.
This is why the Jews began trying all the more to kill him: Not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal to God.
“Truly I tell you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
“Do not be amazed at this, because a time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear his voice
“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 condemnation.
Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.”
There was plenty of grass in that place; so they sat down. The men numbered about five thousand.
When the people saw the sign[fn] he had done, they said, “This truly is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
The next day, the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the sea saw there had been only one boat.[fn] They also saw that Jesus had not boarded the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone off alone.
When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
“Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”
Therefore the Jews started grumbling about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”
At that, the Jews argued among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat? ”
“This is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the manna[fn] your ancestors ate — and they died. The one who eats this bread will live forever.”
Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, asked them, “Does this offend you?
“But there are some among you who don't believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning those who did not[fn] believe and the one who would betray him.)
After this, Jesus traveled in Galilee, since he did not want to travel in Judea because the Jews were trying to kill him.
So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea so that your disciples can see your works that you are doing.
After his brothers had gone up to the festival, then he also went up, not openly but secretly.
And there was a lot of murmuring about him among the crowds. Some were saying, “He's a good man.” Others were saying, “No, on the contrary, he's deceiving the people.”
Then the Jews were amazed and said, “How is this man so learned, since he hasn't been trained? ”
“Yet, look, he's speaking publicly and they're saying nothing to him. Can it be true that the authorities know he is the Messiah?
The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things about him, and so the chief priests and the Pharisees sent servants[fn] to arrest him.
Then the Jews said to one another, “Where does he intend to go that we won't find him? He doesn't intend to go to the Jewish people dispersed[fn] among the Greeks and teach the Greeks, does he?
Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But some said, “Surely the Messiah doesn't come from Galilee, does he?
Then the servants came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn't you bring him? ”
Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, making her stand in the center.
When they heard this, they left one by one, starting with the older men. Only he was left, with the woman in the center.
So the Pharisees said to him, “You are testifying about yourself. Your testimony is not valid.”
So the Jews said again, “He won't kill himself, will he, since he says, ‘Where I'm going, you cannot come'? ”
The Jews responded to him, “Aren't we right in saying that you're a Samaritan and have a demon? ”
Then the Jews said, “Now we know you have a demon. Abraham died and so did the prophets. You say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.'
“Are you greater than our father Abraham who died? And the prophets died. Who do you claim to be? ”
His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? ”
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” Jesus answered. “This came about so that God's works might be displayed in him.
His neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar said, “Isn't this the one who used to sit begging? ”
Then the Pharisees asked him again how he received his sight.
“He put mud on my eyes,” he told them. “I washed and I can see.”
The Jews did not believe this about him — that he was blind and received sight — until they summoned the parents of the one who had received his sight.
His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jews, since the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed him as the Messiah, he would be banned from the synagogue.
Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, in order that those who do not see will see and those who do see will become blind.”
Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things and asked him, “We aren't blind too, are we? ”
“We aren't stoning you for a good work,” the Jews answered, “but for blasphemy, because you — being a man — make yourself God.”
“Rabbi,” the disciples told him, “just now the Jews tried to stone you, and you're going there again? ”
The Jews who were with her in the house consoling her saw that Mary got up quickly and went out. They followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to cry there.
So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and were saying, “What are we going to do since this man is doing many signs?
“If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
The chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should report it so that they could arrest him.
His disciples did not understand these things at first. However, when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him.
Then the Pharisees said to one another, “You see? You've accomplished nothing. Look, the world has gone after him! ”
The disciples started looking at one another — uncertain which one he was speaking about.
His disciples said, “Look, now you're speaking plainly and not using any figurative language.
After Jesus had said these things, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron Valley, where there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it.
Then he asked them again, “Who is it that you're seeking? ”
“Jesus of Nazareth,” they said.
Then the company of soldiers, the commander, and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus and tied him up.
Now the servants and the officials had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold. They were standing there warming themselves, and Peter was standing with them, warming himself.
“I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus answered him. “I have always taught in the synagogue and in the temple, where all the Jews gather, and I haven't spoken anything in secret.
Pilate told them, “You take him and judge him according to your law.”
“It's not legal for us to put anyone to death,” the Jews declared.
“I'm not a Jew, am I? ” Pilate replied. “Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done? ”
“My kingdom is not of this world,” said Jesus. “If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight, so that I wouldn't be handed over to the Jews. But as it is,[fn] my kingdom is not from here.”
The soldiers also twisted together a crown of thorns, put it on his head, and clothed him in a purple robe.
When the chief priests and the temple servants[fn] saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify! ”
Pilate responded, “Take him and crucify him yourselves, since I find no grounds for charging him.”
“We have a law,” the Jews replied to him, “and according to that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.”
From that moment Pilate kept trying[fn] to release him. But the Jews shouted, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend. Anyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar! ”
They shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him! ”
Pilate said to them, “Should I crucify your king? ”
“We have no king but Caesar! ” the chief priests answered.
So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Don't write, ‘The king of the Jews,' but that he said, ‘I am the king of the Jews.' ”
When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, a part for each soldier. They also took the tunic, which was seamless, woven in one piece from the top.
Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
Since it was the preparation day, the Jews did not want the bodies to remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a special[fn] day). They requested that Pilate have the men's legs broken and that their bodies be taken away.
So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man and of the other one who had been crucified with him.
The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and got to the tomb first.
When it was evening on that first day of the week, the disciples were gathered together with the doors locked because they feared the Jews. Jesus came, stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
Having said this, he showed them his hands and his side. So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
So the other disciples were telling him, “We've seen the Lord! ”
But he said to them, “If I don't see the mark of the nails in his hands, put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe.”
A week later his disciples were indoors again, and Thomas was with them. Even though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”
Jesus said, “Because you have seen me, you have believed.[fn] Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”
Simon Peter, Thomas (called “Twin”[fn]), Nathanael from Cana of Galilee, Zebedee's sons, and two others of his disciples were together.
When daybreak came, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not know it was Jesus.
Since they were not far from land (about a hundred yards[fn] away), the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish.
So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time? ”
They were astounded and amazed, saying,[fn] “Look, aren't all these who are speaking Galileans?
“Parthians, Medes, Elamites; those who live in Mesopotamia, in Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
“Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts),
“And it will be in the last days, says God,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all people;
then your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
and your old men will dream dreams.
So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them.
“And now, brothers and sisters, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your leaders also did.
“In addition, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those after him, have also foretold these days.
“You are the sons[fn] of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors, saying to Abraham, And all the families of the earth will be blessed through your offspring.
While they were speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple police, and the Sadducees confronted them,
After threatening them further, they released them. They found no way to punish them because the people were all giving glory to God over what had been done.
After they were released, they went to their own people and reported everything the chief priests and the elders had said to them.
When they heard this, they raised their voices together to God and said, “Master, you are the one who made the heaven, the earth, and the sea, and everything in them.
“The kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers assemble together
against the Lord and against his Messiah.
With great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on all of them.
Then Peter said to her, “Why did you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.”
Instantly she dropped dead at his feet. When the young men came in, they found her dead, carried her out, and buried her beside her husband.
Then the high priest rose up. He and all who were with him, who belonged to the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy.
Hearing this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach.
When the high priest and those who were with him arrived, they convened the Sanhedrin — the full council of the Israelites — and sent orders to the jail to have them brought.
But when the servants[fn] got there, they did not find them in the jail; so they returned and reported,
As[fn] the captain of the temple police and the chief priests heard these things, they were baffled about them, wondering what would come of this.
Someone came and reported to them, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple and teaching the people.”
Then they went out from the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to be treated shamefully on behalf of the Name.[fn]
The Twelve summoned the whole company of the disciples and said, “It would not be right for us to give up preaching the word of God to wait on tables.
And all who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at him and saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
“The patriarchs became jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt, but God was with him
“Now a famine and great suffering came over all of Egypt and Canaan, and our ancestors could find no food.
“He assumed his people would understand that God would give them deliverance through him, but they did not understand.
“Our ancestors were unwilling to obey him. Instead, they pushed him aside, and in their hearts turned back to Egypt.
“Our ancestors in turn received it and with Joshua brought it in when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before them, until the days of David.
“You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are always resisting the Holy Spirit. As your ancestors did, you do also.
“Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become.
They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. And the witnesses laid their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.
The crowds were all paying attention to what Philip said, as they listened and saw the signs he was performing.
When the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them.
So, after they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they traveled back to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.
The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the sound but seeing no one.
All who heard him were astounded and said, “Isn't this the man in Jerusalem who was causing havoc for those who called on this name and came here for the purpose of taking them as prisoners to the chief priests? ”
but his disciples took him by night and lowered him in a large basket through an opening in the wall.
When the brothers found out, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.
Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples heard that Peter was there and sent two men to him who urged him, “Don't delay in coming with us.”
While Peter was deeply perplexed about what the vision he had seen might mean, right away the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having asked directions to Simon's house, stood at the gate.
They said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who has a good reputation with the whole Jewish nation, was divinely directed by a holy angel to call you to his house and to hear a message from you.”
“All the prophets testify about him that through his name everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins.”
The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were amazed because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.
The apostles and the brothers and sisters who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.
“The Spirit told me to accompany them with no doubts at all. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we went into the man's house.
Now those who had been scattered as a result of the persecution that started because of Stephen made their way as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews.
“You're out of your mind! ” they told her. But she kept insisting that it was true, and they said, “It's his angel.”
Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia, but John left them and went back to Jerusalem.
After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, you can speak.”
“Since the residents of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize him or the sayings of the prophets that are read every Sabbath, they have fulfilled their words by condemning him.
But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what Paul was saying, insulting him.
But the Jews incited the prominent God-fearing women and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and expelled them from their district.
But Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet against them and went to Iconium.
But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.
But the people of the city were divided, some siding with the Jews and others with the apostles.
When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form! ”
The apostles Barnabas and Paul tore their robes when they heard this and rushed into the crowd, shouting,
When they had been sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and they brought great joy to all the brothers and sisters.
“Now then, why are you testing God by putting a yoke on the disciples' necks that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear?
“so that the rest of humanity
may seek the Lord —
even all the Gentiles
who are called by my name —
declares the Lord
who makes these things
They wrote:
“From the apostles and the elders, your brothers,
To the brothers and sisters among the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia:
Greetings.
So they were sent off and went down to Antioch, and after gathering the assembly, they delivered the letter.
As she followed Paul and us she cried out, “These men, who are proclaiming to you[fn] a way of salvation, are the servants of the Most High God.”
When her owners realized that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.
Bringing them before the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are seriously disturbing our city. They are Jews
The crowd joined in the attack against them, and the chief magistrates stripped off their clothes and ordered them to be beaten with rods.
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.
They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved — you and your household.”
He took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds. Right away he and all his family were baptized.
When daylight came, the chief magistrates sent the police to say, “Release those men.”
The jailer reported these words to Paul: “The magistrates have sent orders for you to be released. So come out now and go in peace.”
The police reported these words to the magistrates. They were afraid when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens.
But the Jews became jealous, and they brought together some wicked men from the marketplace, formed a mob, and started a riot in the city. Attacking Jason's house, they searched for them to bring them out to the public assembly.
When they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city officials, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here too,
As soon as it was night, the brothers and sisters sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. Upon arrival, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.
But when the Jews from Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul at Berea, they came there too, agitating and upsetting[fn] the crowds.
Then the brothers and sisters immediately sent Paul away to go to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed on there.
Those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving instructions for Silas and Timothy to come to him as quickly as possible, they departed.
Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also debated with him. Some said, “What is this ignorant show-off[fn] trying to say? ”
Others replied, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign deities” — because he was telling the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.
Now all the Athenians and the foreigners residing there spent their time on nothing else but telling or hearing something new.
When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some began to ridicule him, but others said, “We'd like to hear from you again about this.”
While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack against Paul and brought him to the tribunal.
When he wanted to cross over to Achaia, the brothers and sisters wrote to the disciples to welcome him. After he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed.
and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? ”
“No,” they told him, “we haven't even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
“Into what then were you baptized? ” he asked them.
“Into John's baptism,” they replied.
“You see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this man Paul has persuaded and misled a considerable number of people by saying that gods made by hand are not gods.
Some were shouting one thing and some another, because the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together.
“So if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a case against anyone, the courts are in session, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another.
He came to us, took Paul's belt, tied his own feet and hands, and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews in Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him over to the Gentiles.' ”
When we heard this, both we and the local people pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem.
When they heard it, they glorified God and said, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law.
When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd, and seized him,
Taking along soldiers and centurions, he immediately ran down to them. Seeing the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.
“Now those who were with me saw the light,[fn] but they did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me.
So those who were about to examine him withdrew from him immediately. The commander too was alarmed when he realized Paul was a Roman citizen and he had bound him.
When it was morning, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.
“The Jews,” he said, “have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the Sanhedrin tomorrow, as though they are going to hold a somewhat more careful inquiry about him.
So the soldiers took Paul during the night and brought him to Antipatris as they were ordered.
he said, “I will give you a hearing whenever your accusers also get here.” He ordered that he be kept under guard in Herod's palace.[fn]
The chief priests and the leaders of the Jews presented their case against Paul to him; and they appealed,
“Therefore,” he said, “let those of you who have authority go down with me and accuse him, if he has done anything wrong.”
When he arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him and brought many serious charges that they were not able to prove.
“When I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews presented their case and asked that he be condemned.
“The accusers stood up but brought no charge against him of the evils I was expecting.
“All the Jews know my way of life from my youth, which was spent from the beginning among my own people and in Jerusalem.
“To this very day, I have had help from God, and I stand and testify to both small and great, saying nothing other than what the prophets and Moses said would take place —
Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided to set sail from there, hoping somehow to reach Phoenix, a harbor on Crete facing the southwest and northwest, and to winter there.
When the fourteenth night came, we were drifting in the Adriatic Sea, and about midnight the sailors thought they were approaching land.
When the local people saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “This man, no doubt, is a murderer. Even though he has escaped the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.”
They expected that he would begin to swell up or suddenly drop dead. After they waited a long time and saw nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.
After this, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed.
Now the brothers and sisters from there had heard the news about us and had come to meet us as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.
Then they said to him, “We haven't received any letters about you from Judea. None of the brothers has come and reported or spoken anything evil about you.
For the hearers of the law are not righteous before God, but the doers of the law will be justified.[fn]
If those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made empty and the promise nullified,
But the gift is not like the trespass. For if by the one man's trespass the many died, how much more have the grace of God and the gift which comes through the grace of the one man Jesus Christ overflowed to the many.
If by the one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
For just as through one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.
For those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their minds set on the things of the Spirit.
Now it is not as though the word of God has failed, because not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.
And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful[fn] are the feet of those who bring good news.
What then? Israel did not find what it was looking for, but the elect did find it. The rest were hardened,
Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
and their backs be bent continually.
Now if the firstfruits are holy, so is the whole batch. And if the root is holy, so are the branches.
For if you were cut off from your native wild olive tree and against nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these — the natural branches — be grafted into their own olive tree?
in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another.
So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God's command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves.
For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Do what is good, and you will have its approval.
Now we who are strong have an obligation to bear the weaknesses of those without strength, and not to please ourselves.
For even Christ did not please himself. On the contrary, as it is written, The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.
because such people do not serve our Lord Christ but their own appetites.[fn] They deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting with smooth talk and flattering words.
Timothy, my coworker, and Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my fellow countrymen, greet you.
Or don't you know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the trivial cases?
Don't you know that anyone joined to a prostitute is one body with her? For Scripture says, The two will become one flesh.
This is what I mean, brothers and sisters: The time is limited, so from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none,
those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they didn't own anything,
and those who use the world as though they did not make full use of it. For this world in its current form is passing away.
Don't we have the right to be accompanied by a believing wife[fn] like the other apostles, the Lord's brothers, and Cephas?
Don't you know that those who perform the temple services eat the food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the offerings of the altar?
Don't you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way to win the prize.
Now I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, all passed through the sea,
Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, since all of us share the one bread.
Consider the people of Israel.[fn] Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar?
Indeed, it is necessary that there be factions among you, so that those who are approved may be recognized among you.
Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers and sisters at one time; most of them are still alive, but some have fallen asleep.
But each in his own order: Christ, the firstfruits; afterward, at his coming, those who belong to Christ.
But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have when they come? ”
Like the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; like the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven.
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed.
All the brothers and sisters send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
For we do not market the word of God for profit like so many.[fn] On the contrary, we speak with sincerity in Christ, as from God and before God.
For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus's sake, so that Jesus's life may also be displayed in our mortal flesh.
Indeed, we groan while we are in this tent, burdened as we are, because we do not want to be unclothed but clothed, so that mortality may be swallowed up by life.
For the love of Christ compels us, since we have reached this conclusion, that one died for all, and therefore all died.
And he died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the one who died for them and was raised.
When I was present with you and in need, I did not burden anyone, since the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my needs. I have kept myself, and will keep myself, from burdening you in any way.
For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
So it is no great surprise if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will be according to their works.
Look, I am ready to come to you this third time. I will not burden you, since I am not seeking what is yours, but you. For children ought not save up for their parents, but parents for their children.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.[fn]
not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.
When James, Cephas,[fn] and John — those recognized as pillars — acknowledged the grace that had been given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to me and Barnabas, agreeing that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.
Then the rest of the Jews joined his hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.
envy,[fn] drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. I am warning you about these things — as I warned you before — that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Brothers and sisters, if someone is overtaken in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual, restore such a person with a gentle spirit,[fn] watching out for yourselves so that you also won't be tempted.
For even the circumcised don't keep the law themselves, and yet they want you to be circumcised in order to boast about your flesh.
We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also.
So, then, remember that at one time you were Gentiles in the flesh — called “the uncircumcised” by those called “the circumcised,” which is done in the flesh by human hands.
until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God's Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ's fullness.
In the same way, husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.
To sum up, each one of you is to love his wife as himself, and the wife is to respect her husband.
the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, thinking that they will cause me trouble in my imprisonment.
For we are the circumcision, the ones who worship by the Spirit of God, boast in Christ Jesus, and do not put confidence in the flesh —
Their end is destruction; their god is their stomach; their glory is in their shame; and they are focused on earthly things.
All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar's household.
and so does Jesus who is called Justus. These alone of the circumcised are my coworkers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me.
We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.
For we say this to you by a word from the Lord: We who are still alive at the Lord's coming will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout,[fn] with the archangel's voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are still alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
So then, let us not sleep, like the rest, but let us stay awake and be self-controlled.
so that all will be condemned — those who did not believe the truth but delighted in unrighteousness.
For those who have served well as deacons acquire a good standing for themselves and great boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.
The elders who are good leaders are to be considered worthy of double honor,[fn] especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.
Let those who have believing masters not be disrespectful to them because they are brothers, but serve them even better, since those who benefit from their service are believers and dearly loved.[fn]
Teach and encourage these things.
But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction.
You know that all those in the province of Asia have deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.
For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, demeaning, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,
For among them are those who worm their way into households and deceive gullible women overwhelmed by sins and led astray by a variety of passions,
Make every effort to come before winter. Eubulus greets you, as do Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers and sisters.
For there are many rebellious people, full of empty talk and deception, especially those from the circumcision party.
This saying is trustworthy. I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed God might be careful to devote themselves to good works. These are good and profitable for everyone.
Let our people learn to devote themselves to good works for pressing needs, so that they will not be unfruitful.
All those who are with me send you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with all of you.
And:
In the beginning, Lord,
you established the earth,
and the heavens are the works of your hands;
For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father.[fn] That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters,
For we who have believed enter the rest, in keeping with what[fn] he has said,
So I swore in my anger,
“They will not enter my rest,”
even though his works have been finished since the foundation of the world.
Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news did not enter because of disobedience,
so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us.
The sons of Levi who receive the priestly office have a command according to the law to collect a tenth from the people — that is, from their brothers and sisters — though they have also descended from Abraham.
but he became a priest with an oath made by the one who said to him:
The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind,
“You are a priest forever.”
Now many have become Levitical priests, since they are prevented by death from remaining in office.
He doesn't need to offer sacrifices every day, as high priests do — first for their own sins, then for those of the people. He did this once for all time when he offered himself.
With these things prepared like this, the priests enter the first room repeatedly, performing their ministry.
Therefore, he is the mediator of a new covenant,[fn] so that those who are called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance, because a death has taken place for redemption from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.
By faith they crossed the Red Sea as though they were on dry land. When the Egyptians attempted to do this, they were drowned.
For they disciplined us for a short time based on what seemed good to them, but he does it for our benefit, so that we can share his holiness.
to the blast of a trumpet, and the sound of words. Those who heard it begged that not another word be spoken to them,
See to it that you do not reject the one who speaks. For if they did not escape when they rejected him who warned them on earth, even less will we if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven.
Don't be led astray by various kinds of strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be established by grace and not by food regulations, since those who observe them have not benefited.
We have an altar from which those who worship at the tabernacle do not have a right to eat.
Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those who are from Italy send you greetings.
Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who prophesied about the grace that would come to you, searched and carefully investigated.
So honor will come to you who believe; but for the unbelieving,
The stone that the builders rejected —
this one has become the cornerstone,
Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Yet do this with gentleness and reverence, keeping a clear conscience, so that when you are accused,[fn] those who disparage your good conduct in Christ will be put to shame.
So then, let those who suffer according to God's will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator while doing what is good.
saying, “Where is his ‘coming' that he promised? Ever since our ancestors fell asleep, all things continue as they have been since the beginning of creation.”
By the same word, the present heavens and earth are stored up for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
He speaks about these things in all his letters. There are some things hard to understand in them. The untaught and unstable will twist them to their own destruction, as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures.
The elder:
To the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth — and not only I, but also all who know the truth —
Many deceivers have gone out into the world; they do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.
For some people, who were designated for this judgment long ago,[fn] have come in by stealth; they are ungodly, turning the grace of our God into sensuality and denying Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord.
These people are dangerous reefs[fn] at your love feasts as they eat with you without reverence. They are shepherds who only look after themselves. They are waterless clouds carried along by winds; trees in late autumn — fruitless, twice dead and uprooted.
Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep[fn] what is written in it, because the time is near.
The hair of his head was white as wool — white as snow — and his eyes like a fiery flame.
His feet were like fine bronze as it is fired in a furnace, and his voice like the sound of cascading[fn] waters.
“Write to the angel of the church in Thyatira: Thus says the Son of God, the one whose eyes are like a fiery flame and whose feet are like fine bronze:
the twenty-four elders fall down before the one seated on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne and say,
When he took the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and golden bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
So they were each given a white robe, and they were told to rest a little while longer until the number would be completed of their fellow servants and their brothers and sisters, who were going to be killed just as they had been.
the stars[fn] of heaven fell to the earth as a fig tree drops its unripe figs when shaken by a high wind;
Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the generals, the rich, the powerful, and every slave and free person hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.
All the angels stood around the throne, and along with the elders and the four living creatures they fell facedown before the throne and worshiped God,
Then one of the elders asked me, “Who are these people in white robes, and where did they come from? ”
I said to him, “Sir,[fn] you know.”
Then he told me: These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Then locusts came out of the smoke on to the earth, and power[fn] was given to them like the power that scorpions have on the earth.
In those days people will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, but death will flee from them.
So the four angels who were prepared for the hour, day, month, and year were released to kill a third of the human race.
The rest of the people, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands to stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see, hear, or walk.
Those who live on the earth will gloat over them and celebrate and send gifts to one another because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.
Then they heard[fn] a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” They went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies watched them.
At that moment a violent earthquake took place, a tenth of the city fell, and seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake. The survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
The twenty-four elders, who were seated before God on their thrones, fell facedown and worshiped God,
Then war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels also fought,
So the great dragon was thrown out — the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the one who deceives the whole world. He was thrown to earth, and his angels with him.
The beast I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth. The dragon gave the beast his power, his throne, and great authority.
They sang[fn] a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders, but no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.
These are the ones who have not defiled themselves with women, since they remained virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were redeemed[fn] from humanity as the firstfruits for God and the Lamb.
“and the smoke of their torment will go up forever and ever. There is no rest[fn] day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or anyone who receives the mark of its name.
“This calls for endurance from the saints, who keep God's commands and their faith in Jesus.”[fn]
Then I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”
“Yes,” says the Spirit, “so they will rest from their labors, since their works follow them.”
Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues, dressed in pure, bright linen, with golden sashes wrapped around their chests.
and people were scorched by the intense heat. So they blasphemed the name of God, who has the power[fn] over these plagues, and they did not repent and give him glory.
Enormous hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds,[fn] fell from the sky on people, and they blasphemed God for the plague of hail because that plague was extremely severe.
“The kings of the earth committed sexual immorality with her, and those who live on the earth became drunk on the wine of her sexual immorality.”
“The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up from the abyss and go to destruction. Those who live on the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast that was, and is not, and is to come.
“Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he comes, he must remain for only a little while.
“These will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings. Those with him are called, chosen, and faithful.”
“For God has put it into their hearts to carry out his plan by having one purpose and to give their kingdom[fn] to the beast until the words of God are fulfilled.
For all the nations have drunk[fn]
the wine of her sexual immorality,
which brings wrath.
The kings of the earth
have committed sexual immorality with her,
and the merchants of the earth
have grown wealthy from her sensuality and excess.
The kings of the earth who have committed sexual immorality and shared her sensual and excessive ways will weep and mourn over her when they see the smoke from her burning.
The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo any longer —
The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand far off in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning,
They threw dust on their heads and kept crying out, weeping, and mourning,
Woe, woe, the great city,
where all those who have ships on the sea
became rich from her wealth;
for in a single hour she was destroyed.
the light of a lamp
will never shine in you again;
and the voice of a groom and bride
will never be heard in you again.
All this will happen
because your merchants
were the nobility of the earth,
because all the nations were deceived
by your sorcery.
Then the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who is seated on the throne, saying,
Amen! Hallelujah!
Then he[fn] said to me, “Write: Blessed are those invited to the marriage feast of the Lamb! ” He also said to me, “These words of God are true.”
His eyes were like a fiery flame, and many crowns[fn] were on his head. He had a name written that no one knows except himself.
But the beast was taken prisoner, and along with it the false prophet, who had performed the signs in its presence. He deceived those who accepted the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image with these signs. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.
The rest were killed with the sword that came from the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds ate their fill of their flesh.
The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed.
This is the first resurrection.
I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books.
Then the one seated on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new.” He also said, “Write, because these words[fn] are faithful and true.”
The foundations of the city wall were adorned with every kind of jewel: the first foundation is jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,
The twelve gates are twelve pearls; each individual gate was made of a single pearl. The main street[fn] of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass.
The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.[fn]
Nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those written in the Lamb's book of life.
and there will no longer be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will worship him.
“Blessed are those who wash their robes,[fn] so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates.
“Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers! '[fn]
“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever takes an oath by the temple, it means nothing. But whoever takes an oath by the gold of the temple is bound by his oath.'[fn]
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
“Then he will also say to those on the left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels!
Then looking up at his disciples, he said:
Blessed are you who are poor,
because the kingdom of God is yours.
Blessed are you who are hungry now,
because you will be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now,
because you will laugh.
“Woe to you who are now full,
for you will be hungry.
Woe to you[fn] who are now laughing,
for you will mourn and weep.
Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them, “Fellow Jews and all you residents of Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and pay attention to my words.
Paul stood up and motioned with his hand and said, “Fellow Israelites, and you who fear God, listen!
“Brothers and sisters, children of Abraham's race, and those among you who fear God, it is to us that the word of this salvation has been sent.
“Look, you scoffers,
marvel and vanish away,
because I am doing a work in your days,
a work that you will never believe,
even if someone were to explain it to you.”
Then Festus said, “King Agrippa and all men present with us, you see this man. The whole Jewish community has appealed to me concerning him, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he should not live any longer.
Fathers, don't stir up anger in your children, but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
Slaves, obey your human[fn] masters with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as you would Christ.
And masters, treat your slaves the same way, without threatening them, because you know that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.
Slaves, obey your human masters in everything. Don't work only while being watched, as people-pleasers, but work wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord.
Masters, deal with your slaves justly and fairly, since you know that you too have a Master in heaven.
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.”
Household slaves, submit to your masters with all reverence not only to the good and gentle ones but also to the cruel.
Husbands, in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker partner, showing them honor as coheirs of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.
Therefore rejoice, you heavens,
and you who dwell in them!
Woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has come down to you
with great fury,
because he knows his time is short.
Rejoice over her, heaven,
and you saints, apostles, and prophets,
because God has pronounced on her the judgment she passed on you!
|
Line-By-Line Order:
Verse-ReferenceReference-VerseSeparate LineVerse OnlyReference Only |
Reference Delimiters:
None — Jhn 1:1 KJVSquare — [Jhn 1:1 KJV]Curly — {Jhn 1:1 KJV}Parens — (Jhn 1:1 KJV) |
|
Paragraph Order:
Verse-ReferenceReference-VerseReference-Only |
Number Delimiters:*
No NumberNo Delimiter — 15Square — [15]Curly — {15}Parens — (15) |
|
Other Options:
Abbreviate BooksUse SBL Abbrev.En dash not Hyphen |
Quotes Around VersesRemove Square BracketsSort Canonically |
* 'Number Delimiters' only apply to 'Paragraph Order'
Translations available: King James Version, New King James Version, New Living Translation, New International Version, English Standard Version, Christian Standard Bible, New American Standard Bible 2020, New American Standard Bible 1995, Legacy Standard Bible 2021, New English Translation, Revised Standard Version, American Standard Version, Young's Literal Translation, Darby Translation, Webster's Bible, Hebrew Names Version, Reina-Valera 1960, Latin Vulgate, Westminster Leningrad Codex, Septuagint, Morphological Greek New Testament, and Textus Receptus.
Note: MLA no longer requires the URL as part of their citation standard. Individual instructors or editors may still require the use of URLs.
Loading
Loading
| Interlinear |
| Bibles |
| Cross-Refs |
| Commentaries |
| Dictionaries |
| Miscellaneous |
Blue Letter Bible study tools make reading, searching and studying the Bible easy and rewarding.
Blue Letter Bible is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
©2024 Blue Letter Bible | Privacy Policy
