Colossians 2 Cross References - BSB

¹ For I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me face to face, ² that they may be encouraged in heart, knit together in love, and filled with the full riches of complete understanding, so that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ, ³ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. ⁴ I say this so that no one will deceive you by smooth rhetoric. ⁵ For although I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, and I delight to see your orderly condition and firm faith in Christ. ⁶ Therefore, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in Him, ⁷ rooted and built up in Him, established in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. ⁸ See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ. ⁹ For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity dwells in bodily form. ¹⁰ And you have been made complete in Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority. ¹¹ In Him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of your sinful nature, with the circumcision performed by Christ and not by human hands. ¹² And having been buried with Him in baptism, you were raised with Him through your faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead. ¹³ When you were dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our trespasses, ¹⁴ having canceled the debt ascribed to us in the decrees that stood against us. He took it away, nailing it to the cross! ¹⁵ And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. ¹⁶ Therefore let no one judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a feast, a New Moon, or a Sabbath. ¹⁷ These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts it belongs to Christ. ¹⁸ Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you with speculation about what he has seen. Such a person is puffed up without basis by his unspiritual mind. ¹⁹ He has lost connection to the head, from whom the whole body, supported and knit together by its joints and ligaments, grows as God causes it to grow. ²⁰ If you have died with Christ to the spiritual forces of the world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its regulations: ²¹ “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!”? ²² These will all perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. ²³ Such restrictions indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-prescribed worship, their false humility, and their harsh treatment of the body; but they are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.

⁸ Then Rachel said, “In my great struggles, I have wrestled with my sister and won.” So she named him Naphtali.

²⁴ So Jacob was left all alone, and there a man wrestled with him until daybreak. ²⁵ When the man saw that he could not overpower Jacob, he struck the socket of Jacob’s hip and dislocated it as they wrestled. ²⁶ Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” ²⁷ “What is your name?” the man asked. “Jacob,” he replied. ²⁸ Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men, and you have prevailed.” ²⁹ And Jacob requested, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed Jacob there. ³⁰ So Jacob named the place Peniel, saying, “Indeed, I have seen God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

³ In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel, and in his vigor he wrestled with God. ⁴ Yes, he struggled with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought His favor; he found Him at Bethel and spoke with Him there—

⁴⁴ And in His anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.

²⁵ Now I know that none of you among whom I have preached the kingdom will see my face again.

³⁸ They were especially grieved by his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.

¹⁹ My children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,

³⁰ since you are encountering the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.

²⁴ Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, which is the church.

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

⁵ For although I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, and I delight to see your orderly condition and firm faith in Christ.

¹² Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, so that you may stand mature and fully assured in the full will of God. ¹³ For I testify about him that he goes to great pains for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis.

¹⁵ Greet the brothers in Laodicea, as well as Nympha and the church that meets at her house. ¹⁶ After this letter has been read among you, make sure that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea.

² As you are aware, we had already endured suffering and shameful treatment in Philippi. But in the face of strong opposition, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God.

⁷ During the days of Jesus’ earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence.

⁸ Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy,

¹¹ saying, “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

¹⁴ To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Originator of God’s creation. ¹⁵ I know your deeds; you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were one or the other! ¹⁶ So because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to vomit you out of My mouth! ¹⁷ You say, ‘I am rich; I have grown wealthy and need nothing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. ¹⁸ I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, white garments so that you may be clothed and your shameful nakedness not exposed, and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. ¹⁹ Those I love, I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent. ²⁰ Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him, and he with Me. ²¹ To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. ²² He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

¹ A song of ascents. Of David. Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony!

¹⁷ The work of righteousness will be peace; the service of righteousness will be quiet confidence forever.

¹ “Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God.

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

²⁴ But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, who exercises loving devotion, justice and righteousness on the earth—for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.

²⁵ At that time Jesus declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.

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

²¹ At that time Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was well-pleasing in Your sight. ²² All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.”

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made.

¹⁷ But Jesus answered them, “To this very day My Father is at His work, and I too am working.”

²³ so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

⁶⁹ We believe and know that You are the Holy One of God.”

³⁰ I and the Father are one.”

³⁸ But if I am doing them, even though you do not believe Me, believe the works themselves, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father.”

⁹ Jesus replied, “Philip, I have been with you all this time, and still you do not know Me? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words I say to you, I do not speak on My own. Instead, it is the Father dwelling in Me, performing His works. ¹¹ Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me—or at least believe on account of the works themselves.

¹⁵ Everything that belongs to the Father is Mine. That is why I said that the Spirit will take from what is Mine and disclose it to you.

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

²¹ that all of them may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You. May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. ²² I have given them the glory You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one— ²³ I in them and You in Me—that they may be perfectly united, so that the world may know that You sent Me and have loved them just as You have loved Me.

³² The multitude of believers was one in heart and soul. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they owned.

¹³ Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

²⁵ Now to Him who is able to strengthen you by my gospel and by the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery concealed for ages past

¹² We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.

⁴ who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. ⁵ For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. ⁶ If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which accomplishes in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we experience.

²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in your knowledge of Him. ¹⁸ I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and the surpassing greatness of His power to us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength,

⁹ and to illuminate for everyone the stewardship of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. ¹⁰ His purpose was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,

²² I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know about us, and that he may encourage your hearts.

¹ Therefore if you have any encouragement in Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,

⁸ More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ

⁹ For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

¹⁵ The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

²⁷ To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which is the bond of perfect unity.

⁸ I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know about us, and that he may encourage your hearts.

⁵ because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with great conviction—just as you know we lived among you for your sake.

² We sent Timothy, our brother and fellow worker for God in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith,

¹⁴ And we urge you, brothers, to admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, and be patient with everyone.

¹⁶ Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who by grace has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope, ¹⁷ encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good word and deed.

¹⁶ By common confession, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was proclaimed among the nations, was believed in throughout the world, was taken up in glory.

¹¹ We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure.

²² let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

³ His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

¹⁰ Therefore, brothers, strive to make your calling and election sure. For if you practice these things you will never stumble,

¹⁸ But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. ¹⁹ And by this we will know that we belong to the truth, and will assure our hearts in His presence:

¹² No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God remains in us, and His love is perfected in us. ¹³ By this we know that we remain in Him, and He in us: He has given us of His Spirit.

⁷ For there are three that testify:

²¹ It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing and concealed from the birds of the air.

⁴ if you seek it like silver and search it out like hidden treasure,

² The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD.

²⁶ So do not be afraid of them. For there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, and nothing hidden that will not be made known.

³³ O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways!

²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

³⁰ It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.

⁶ Among the mature, however, we speak a message of wisdom—but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. ⁷ No, we speak of the mysterious and hidden wisdom of God, which He destined for our glory before time began. ⁸ None of the rulers of this age understood it. For if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

⁸ that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.

¹⁹ For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him,

³ For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

¹⁶ Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

¹⁵ From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.

¹⁷ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will give the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone inscribed with a new name, known only to the one who receives it.

⁴ Jesus answered, “See to it that no one deceives you.

²⁴ For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders that would deceive even the elect, if that were possible.

²² For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders that would deceive even the elect, if that were possible.

³⁰ Even from your own number, men will rise up and distort the truth to draw away disciples after them.

¹⁸ For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. ¹⁹ Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice over you. But I want you to be wise about what is good and innocent about what is evil.

⁴ My message and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,

³ I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ.

¹¹ Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do! ¹² But I will keep on doing what I am doing, in order to undercut those who want an opportunity to be regarded as our equals in the things of which they boast. ¹³ For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ.

⁴ This issue arose because some false brothers had come in under false pretenses to spy on our freedom in Christ Jesus, in order to enslave us.

¹⁴ Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming.

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

⁸ See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ.

¹⁸ Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you with speculation about what he has seen. Such a person is puffed up without basis by his unspiritual mind.

⁹ The coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the working of Satan, with every kind of power, sign, and false wonder, ¹⁰ and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them. ¹¹ For this reason God will send them a powerful delusion so that they believe the lie,

¹ Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, ² influenced by the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences are seared with a hot iron.

¹⁶ But avoid irreverent, empty chatter, which will only lead to more ungodliness,

¹³ while evil men and imposters go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

¹⁰ For many are rebellious and full of empty talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision, ¹¹ who must be silenced. For the sake of dishonorable gain, they undermine entire households and teach things they should not.

¹ Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander. ² Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, ³ now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

¹⁸ Children, it is the last hour; and just as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. This is how we know it is the last hour.

²⁶ I have written these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you.

¹ Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world.

⁷ For many deceivers have gone out into the world, refusing to confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.

⁹ And the great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

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

³ And he threw him into the Abyss, shut it, and sealed it over him, so that he could not deceive the nations until the thousand years were complete. After that, he must be released for a brief period of time.

⁸ and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to assemble them for battle. Their number is like the sand of the seashore.

¹⁸ When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped trying to persuade her.

³⁵ Furthermore, the burnt offerings were abundant, along with the fat of the peace offerings and the drink offerings for the burnt offerings. So the service of the house of the LORD was established.

⁸ Then they will not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose heart was not loyal, whose spirit was not faithful to God.

³⁷ Their hearts were disloyal to Him, and they were unfaithful to His covenant.

⁴² They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

³ Although I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, and I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. ⁴ When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, along with the power of the Lord Jesus,

³⁴ If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you come together it will not result in judgment. And when I come, I will give instructions about the remaining matters.

⁴⁰ But everything must be done in a proper and orderly manner.

⁵⁸ Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and immovable. Always excel in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

¹³ Be on the alert. Stand firm in the faith. Be men of courage. Be strong.

¹ For I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me face to face,

¹⁷ Brothers, although we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in heart), our desire to see you face to face was even more intense.

⁸ For now we can go on living, as long as you are standing firm in the Lord.

¹⁴ We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly to the end the assurance we had at first.

¹⁹ We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,

⁹ Resist him, standing firm in your faith and in the knowledge that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.

¹⁷ Therefore, beloved, since you already know these things, be on your guard so that you will not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure standing. ¹⁸ But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

⁵ Come, O house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the LORD.

² And many nations will come and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways, so that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

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

¹² But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God— ¹³ children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God.

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

⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

⁷ For we walk by faith, not by sight.

²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

¹ As a prisoner in the Lord, then, I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received:

¹ Be imitators of God, therefore, as beloved children, ² and walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant sacrificial offering to God.

²⁷ Nevertheless, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending side by side for the faith of the gospel,

¹⁰ so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,

¹⁷ And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

¹ Finally, brothers, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to live in a way that is pleasing to God, just as you have received from us. This is how you already live, so you should do so all the more.

⁶ Whoever claims to abide in Him must walk as Jesus walked.

¹¹ And this is that testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. ¹² Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

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

⁸ Watch yourselves, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be fully rewarded. ⁹ Anyone who runs ahead without remaining in the teaching of Christ does not have God. Whoever remains in His teaching has both the Father and the Son.

³ Beloved, although I made every effort to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt it necessary to write and urge you to contend earnestly for the faith entrusted once for all to the saints.

³ He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does.

¹³ Planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God.

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

⁸ He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor does it cease to produce fruit.

²³ I will plant it on the mountain heights of Israel so that it will bear branches; it will yield fruit and become a majestic cedar. Birds of every kind will nest under it, taking shelter in the shade of its branches. ²⁴ Then all the trees of the field will know that I am the LORD. I bring the tall tree down and make the low tree tall. I dry up the green tree and make the withered tree flourish. I, the LORD, have spoken, and I have done it.’”

²⁴ Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because its foundation was on the rock.

⁴⁸ He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid his foundation on the rock. When the flood came, the torrent crashed against that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.

⁴ Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. ⁵ I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing.

¹⁷ Now if some branches have been broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others to share in the nourishment of the olive root, ¹⁸ do not boast over those branches. If you do, remember this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.

⁹ For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. ¹⁰ By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one must be careful how he builds. ¹¹ For no one can lay a foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹² If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, ¹³ his workmanship will be evident, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will prove the quality of each man’s work. ¹⁴ If what he has built survives, he will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If it is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as if through the flames.

²¹ Now it is God who establishes both us and you in Christ. He anointed us,

²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone. ²¹ In Him the whole building is fitted together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord. ²² And in Him you too are being built together into a dwelling place for God in His Spirit.

¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Then you, being rooted and grounded in love,

²¹ Surely you heard of Him and were taught in Him—in keeping with the truth that is in Jesus—

²⁰ always giving thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. ¹³ He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son,

²³ if indeed you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope of the gospel you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

¹⁸ Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

¹⁷ encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good word and deed.

¹⁵ Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that confess His name.

⁴ As you come to Him, the living stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight, ⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For it stands in Scripture: “See, I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen and precious cornerstone; and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”

¹⁰ And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore you, secure you, strengthen you, and establish you.

¹² These men are hidden reefs in your love feasts, shamelessly feasting with you but shepherding only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried along by the wind; fruitless trees in autumn, twice dead after being uprooted.

²⁰ But you, beloved, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,

²⁴ Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy—

¹² be careful not to forget the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

¹⁵ Catch for us the foxes—the little foxes that ruin the vineyards—for our vineyards are in bloom.

⁸ For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Do not be deceived by the prophets and diviners among you, and do not listen to the dreams you elicit from them.

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

¹⁷ But beware of men; for they will hand you over to their councils and flog you in their synagogues.

² “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat.” ³ Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? ⁴ For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’ ⁵ But you say that if anyone says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’ ⁶ he need not honor his father or mother with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. ⁷ You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you: ⁸ ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. ⁹ They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’”

⁶ “Watch out!” Jesus told them. “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

³ Now in holding to the tradition of the elders, the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat until they wash their hands ceremonially. ⁴ And on returning from the market, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions for them to observe, including the washing of cups, pitchers, kettles, and couches for dining. ⁵ So the Pharisees and scribes questioned Jesus: “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders? Instead, they eat with defiled hands.” ⁶ Jesus answered them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. ⁷ They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’ ⁸ You have disregarded the commandment of God to keep the tradition of men.” ⁹ He went on to say, “You neatly set aside the command of God to maintain your own tradition. ¹⁰ For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’ ¹¹ But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is Corban’ (that is, a gift devoted to God), ¹² he is no longer permitted to do anything for his father or mother. ¹³ Thus you nullify the word of God by the tradition you have handed down. And you do so in many such matters.”

¹⁸ Some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others said, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was proclaiming the good news of Jesus and the resurrection.

³² When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some began to mock him, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this topic.”

²¹ For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts. ²² Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools,

¹⁷ Now I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Turn away from them.

¹⁹ For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” ²⁰ Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹ For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. ²² Jews demand signs and Greeks search for wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,

¹⁸ Let no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks he is wise in this age, he should become a fool, so that he may become wise. ¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.”

³⁵ But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” ³⁶ You fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.

⁵ We tear down arguments and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God; and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

¹⁴ I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

³ So also, when we were children, we were enslaved under the basic principles of the world.

⁹ But now that you know God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you are turning back to those weak and worthless principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?

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

²⁰ But this is not the way you came to know Christ.

² Watch out for those dogs, those workers of evil, those mutilators of the flesh!

²⁰ If you have died with Christ to the spiritual forces of the world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its regulations:

²² These will all perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings.

²⁰ O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Avoid irreverent, empty chatter and the opposing arguments of so-called “knowledge,”

¹⁷ and the talk of such men will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, ¹⁸ who have deviated from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already occurred, and they undermine the faith of some.

⁹ Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace and not by foods of no value to those devoted to them.

¹⁸ For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,

¹⁷ Therefore, beloved, since you already know these things, be on your guard so that you will not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure standing.

⁸ Watch yourselves, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be fully rewarded.

¹⁴ Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.

²³ “Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means, “God with us”).

²² and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in a bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”

¹⁴ The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

²¹ But Jesus was speaking about the temple of His body.

⁹ Jesus replied, “Philip, I have been with you all this time, and still you do not know Me? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words I say to you, I do not speak on My own. Instead, it is the Father dwelling in Me, performing His works.

²⁰ On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you.

²¹ that all of them may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You. May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.

¹⁹ that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s trespasses against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

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

¹³ as we await the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

¹⁶ From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace.

³⁰ It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. ³¹ Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”

²⁶ You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁷ For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. ²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.

²⁰ which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, ²¹ far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. ²² And God put everything under His feet and made Him head over everything for the church, ²³ which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

¹⁹ of the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

¹⁵ Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ Himself, who is the head. ¹⁶ From Him the whole body, fitted and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love through the work of each individual part.

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

¹⁶ For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. ¹⁸ And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and firstborn from among the dead, so that in all things He may have preeminence.

¹¹ Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and is in all.

⁹ And having been made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him

²² who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to Him.

⁹ And they sang a new song: “Worthy are You to take the scroll and open its seals, because You were slain, and by Your blood You purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. ¹⁰ You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign upon the earth.” ¹¹ Then I looked, and I heard the voices of many angels and living creatures and elders encircling the throne, and their number was myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands. ¹² In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing!” ¹³ And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power forever and ever!”

¹⁶ Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and stiffen your necks no more.

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

⁴ Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and remove the foreskins of your hearts, O men of Judah and people of Jerusalem. Otherwise, My wrath will break out like fire and burn with no one to extinguish it, because of your evil deeds.”

⁵⁸ “We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this man-made temple, and in three days I will build another that is made without hands.’”

²¹ When the eight days until His circumcision had passed, He was named Jesus, the name the angel had given Him before He had been conceived.

⁴⁸ However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says:

²⁴ The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples made by human hands.

²⁹ No, a man is a Jew because he is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise does not come from men, but from God.

⁶ We know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.

¹ Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.

¹⁷ Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!

⁴ But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵ to redeem those under the law, that we might receive our adoption as sons.

²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

¹⁰ For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life. ¹¹ Therefore remember that formerly you who are Gentiles in the flesh and called uncircumcised by the so-called circumcision (that done in the body by human hands)— ¹² remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has torn down the dividing wall of hostility ¹⁵ by abolishing in His flesh the law of commandments and decrees. He did this to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace ¹⁶ and reconciling both of them to God in one body through the cross, by which He extinguished their hostility. ¹⁷ He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. ¹⁸ For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

²² to put off your former way of life, your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;

³ For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—

⁸ But now you must put aside all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. ⁹ Do not lie to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices,

¹¹ But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come, He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made by hands and is not a part of this creation.

²⁴ For Christ did not enter a man-made copy of the true sanctuary, but He entered heaven itself, now to appear on our behalf in the presence of God.

⁵ The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

³ Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” ⁴ “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time to be born?” ⁵ Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit. ⁷ Do not be amazed that I said, ‘You must be born again.’

²⁴ But God raised Him from the dead, releasing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for Him to be held in its clutches.

²⁷ When they arrived, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them, and how He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.

²⁴ but also for us, to whom righteousness will be credited—for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.

³ Or aren’t you aware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? ⁴ We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may walk in newness of life. ⁵ For if we have been united with Him like this in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection.

⁸ Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him. ⁹ For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has dominion over Him. ¹⁰ The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God. ¹¹ So you too must count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

⁴ Therefore, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.

¹³ For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free, and we were all given one Spirit to drink.

²⁰ But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

²⁷ For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

¹⁹ and the surpassing greatness of His power to us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength, ²⁰ which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms,

⁴ But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved! ⁶ And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,

⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God,

⁷ I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace, given me through the working of His power.

⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism;

¹⁴ So it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

²⁹ For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him,

¹ Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

⁵ He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. ⁶ This is the Spirit He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,

² instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.

² Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

²⁰ Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, ²¹ equip you with every good thing to do His will. And may He accomplish in us what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

¹⁶ Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. ¹⁷ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.

²¹ And this water symbolizes the baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

¹ Therefore, since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves with the same resolve, because anyone who has suffered in his body is done with sin. ² Consequently, he does not live out his remaining time on earth for human passions, but for the will of God. ³ For you have spent enough time in the past carrying out the same desires as the Gentiles: living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and detestable idolatry.

¹ Of David. A Maskil. Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.

²⁰ Though You have shown me many troubles and misfortunes, You will revive me once again. Even from the depths of the earth You will bring me back up.

⁵⁰ This is my comfort in affliction, that Your promise has given me life.

¹⁸ “Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool.

⁷ Let the wicked man forsake his own way and the unrighteous man his own thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion, and to our God, for He will freely pardon.

³⁴ No longer will each man teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.”

¹ The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me out by His Spirit and set me down in the middle of the valley, and it was full of bones. ² He led me all around among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, and indeed, they were very dry. ³ Then He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones come to life?” “O Lord GOD,” I replied, “only You know.” ⁴ And He said to me, “Prophesy concerning these bones and tell them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! ⁵ This is what the Lord GOD says to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you will come to life. ⁶ I will attach tendons to you and make flesh grow upon you and cover you with skin. I will put breath within you so that you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’” ⁷ So I prophesied as I had been commanded. And as I prophesied, there was suddenly a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone. ⁸ As I looked on, tendons appeared on them, flesh grew, and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them. ⁹ Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and tell the breath that this is what the Lord GOD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, so that they may live!” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as He had commanded me, and the breath entered them, and they came to life and stood on their feet—a vast army.

⁶⁰ But Jesus told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead. You, however, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

²⁴ For this son of mine was dead and is alive again! He was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate.

³² But it was fitting to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

²¹ For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He wishes.

⁶³ The Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.

³⁸ Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. ³⁹ Through Him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.

¹⁷ As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the presence of God, in whom he believed, the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being what does not yet exist.

¹³ Do not present the parts of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and present the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness.

¹¹ And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.

³⁶ You fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.

⁴⁵ So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being;” the last Adam a life-giving spirit.

⁶ And He has qualified us as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

¹⁴ For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that One died for all, therefore all died. ¹⁵ And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and was raised again.

¹ And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,

¹¹ Therefore remember that formerly you who are Gentiles in the flesh and called uncircumcised by the so-called circumcision (that done in the body by human hands)—

⁶ But she who lives for pleasure is dead even while she is still alive.

¹³ I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who made the good confession in His testimony before Pontius Pilate:

¹ Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith in God,

¹⁰ For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. I will put My laws in their minds and inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people. ¹¹ No longer will each one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest. ¹² For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.”

¹⁴ how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, purify our consciences from works of death, so that we may serve the living God!

¹⁷ So too, faith by itself, if it does not result in action, is dead.

²⁰ O foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is worthless?

²⁶ As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

⁷ But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. ⁸ If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

¹² I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven through His name.

²³ And the priest shall write these curses on a scroll and wash them off into the bitter water.

⁵ Do not cover up their iniquity or let their sin be blotted out from Your sight, for they have provoked the builders.

¹² On the thirteenth day of the first month, the royal scribes were summoned and the order was written exactly as Haman commanded the royal satraps, the governors of each province, and the officials of each people, in the script of each province and the language of every people. It was written in the name of King Xerxes and sealed with the royal signet ring.

⁸ Now you may write in the king’s name as you please regarding the Jews, and seal it with the royal signet ring. For a decree that is written in the name of the king and sealed with the royal signet ring cannot be revoked.”

¹ For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. When Nathan the prophet came to him after his adultery with Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your loving devotion; according to Your great compassion, blot out my transgressions.

⁹ Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities.

²⁵ I, yes I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake and remembers your sins no more.

²² I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like a mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.

¹⁴ And it will be said, “Build it up, build it up, prepare the way, take every obstacle out of the way of My people.”

⁷ The king called out for the enchanters, astrologers, and diviners to be brought in, and he said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this inscription and tells me its interpretation will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.” ⁸ So all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the inscription or interpret it for him.

⁶ Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and decrees of the Lord.

¹⁹ Repent, then, and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped away,

¹ What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he is the owner of everything. ² He is subject to guardians and trustees until the date set by his father. ³ So also, when we were children, we were enslaved under the basic principles of the world. ⁴ But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

¹⁴ For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has torn down the dividing wall of hostility ¹⁵ by abolishing in His flesh the law of commandments and decrees. He did this to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace ¹⁶ and reconciling both of them to God in one body through the cross, by which He extinguished their hostility.

⁷ For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the one who now restrains it will continue until he is taken out of the way.

¹⁸ So the former commandment is set aside because it was weak and useless

¹³ By speaking of a new covenant, He has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.

⁹ It is an illustration for the present time, because the gifts and sacrifices being offered were unable to cleanse the conscience of the worshiper. ¹⁰ They consist only in food and drink and special washings—external regulations imposed until the time of reform.

⁸ In the passage above He says, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings You did not desire, nor did You delight in them” (although they are offered according to the law). ⁹ Then He adds, “Here I am, I have come to do Your will.” He takes away the first to establish the second.

²⁴ He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.”

¹⁵ And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

¹⁸ You have ascended on high; You have led captives away. You have received gifts from men, even from the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there.

²⁴ Can the plunder be snatched from the mighty, or the captives of a tyrant be delivered? ²⁵ Indeed, this is what the LORD says: “Even the captives of the mighty will be taken away, and the plunder of the tyrant will be retrieved; I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children.

¹² Therefore I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the spoils with the strong, because He has poured out His life unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors. Yet He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.

²⁹ Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and steal his possessions, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.

¹⁸ So He told them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

²² But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted, and then he divides up his plunder.

³⁹ One of the criminals who hung there heaped abuse on Him. “Are You not the Christ?” he said. “Save Yourself and us!” ⁴⁰ But the other one rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same judgment? ⁴¹ We are punished justly, for we are receiving what our actions deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” ⁴² Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!” ⁴³ And Jesus said to him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

³¹ Now judgment is upon this world; now the prince of this world will be cast out. ³² And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw everyone to Myself.”

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

³⁰ When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished.” And bowing His head, He yielded up His spirit.

²³ He was delivered up by God’s set plan and foreknowledge, and you, by the hands of the lawless, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross. ²⁴ But God raised Him from the dead, releasing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for Him to be held in its clutches.

³² God has raised this Jesus to life, to which we are all witnesses. ³³ Exalted, then, to the right hand of God, He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. ³⁴ For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand ³⁵ until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”’ ³⁶ Therefore let all Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ!”

⁴ The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

⁸ This is why it says: “When He ascended on high, He led captives away, and gave gifts to men.”

¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

¹⁶ For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him.

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

² He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. ³ And he threw him into the Abyss, shut it, and sealed it over him, so that he could not deceive the nations until the thousand years were complete. After that, he must be released for a brief period of time.

¹⁰ And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, into which the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

² “Say to the Israelites, ‘Of all the beasts of the earth, these ones you may eat: ³ You may eat any animal that has a split hoof completely divided and that chews the cud. ⁴ But of those that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof, you are not to eat the following: The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. ⁵ The rock badger, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. ⁶ The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. ⁷ And the pig, though it has a split hoof completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. ⁸ You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you. ⁹ Of all the creatures that live in the water, whether in the seas or in the streams, you may eat anything with fins and scales. ¹⁰ But the following among all the teeming life and creatures in the water are detestable to you: everything in the seas or streams that does not have fins and scales. ¹¹ They shall be an abomination to you; you must not eat their meat, and you must detest their carcasses. ¹² Everything in the water that does not have fins and scales shall be detestable to you. ¹³ Additionally, you are to detest the following birds, and they must not be eaten because they are detestable: the eagle, the bearded vulture, the black vulture, ¹⁴ the kite, any kind of falcon, ¹⁵ any kind of raven, ¹⁶ the ostrich, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, ¹⁷ the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, ¹⁸ the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey, ¹⁹ the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat. ²⁰ All flying insects that walk on all fours are detestable to you. ²¹ However, you may eat the following kinds of flying insects that walk on all fours: those having jointed legs above their feet for hopping on the ground. ²² Of these you may eat any kind of locust, katydid, cricket, or grasshopper. ²³ All other flying insects that have four legs are detestable to you. ²⁴ These creatures will make you unclean. Whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean until evening, ²⁵ and whoever picks up one of their carcasses must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean until evening. ²⁶ Every animal with hooves not completely divided or that does not chew the cud is unclean for you. Whoever touches any of them will be unclean. ²⁷ All the four-footed animals that walk on their paws are unclean for you; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean until evening, ²⁸ and anyone who picks up a carcass must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean until evening. They are unclean for you. ²⁹ The following creatures that move along the ground are unclean for you: the mole, the mouse, any kind of great lizard, ³⁰ the gecko, the monitor lizard, the common lizard, the skink, and the chameleon. ³¹ These animals are unclean for you among all the crawling creatures. Whoever touches them when they are dead shall be unclean until evening. ³² When one of them dies and falls on something, that article becomes unclean; any article of wood, clothing, leather, sackcloth, or any implement used for work must be rinsed with water and will remain unclean until evening; then it will be clean. ³³ If any of them falls into a clay pot, everything in it will be unclean; you must break the pot. ³⁴ Any food coming into contact with water from that pot will be unclean, and any drink in such a container will be unclean. ³⁵ Anything upon which one of their carcasses falls will be unclean. If it is an oven or cooking pot, it must be smashed; it is unclean and will remain unclean for you. ³⁶ Nevertheless, a spring or cistern containing water will remain clean, but one who touches a carcass in it will be unclean. ³⁷ If a carcass falls on any seed for sowing, the seed is clean; ³⁸ but if water has been put on the seed and a carcass falls on it, it is unclean for you. ³⁹ If an animal that you may eat dies, anyone who touches the carcass will be unclean until evening. ⁴⁰ Whoever eats from the carcass must wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening, and anyone who picks up the carcass must wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening. ⁴¹ Every creature that moves along the ground is detestable; it must not be eaten. ⁴² Do not eat any creature that moves along the ground, whether it crawls on its belly or walks on four or more feet; for such creatures are detestable. ⁴³ Do not defile yourselves by any crawling creature; do not become unclean or defiled by them. ⁴⁴ For I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, because I am holy. You must not defile yourselves by any creature that crawls along the ground. ⁴⁵ For I am the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt so that I would be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy. ⁴⁶ This is the law regarding animals, birds, all living creatures that move in the water, and all creatures that crawl along the ground. ⁴⁷ You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between animals that may be eaten and those that may not.’”

³¹ It is a Sabbath of complete rest for you, that you may humble yourselves; it is a permanent statute.

¹⁰ If anyone from the house of Israel or a foreigner living among them eats any blood, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from among his people. ¹¹ For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for your souls upon the altar; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul. ¹² Therefore I say to the Israelites, ‘None of you may eat blood, nor may any foreigner living among you eat blood.’ ¹³ And if any Israelite or foreigner living among them hunts down a wild animal or bird that may be eaten, he must drain its blood and cover it with dirt. ¹⁴ For the life of all flesh is its blood. Therefore I have told the Israelites, ‘You must not eat the blood of any living thing, because the life of all flesh is its blood; whoever eats it must be cut off.’ ¹⁵ And any person, whether native or foreigner, who eats anything found dead or mauled by wild beasts must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening; then he will be clean.

¹ Then the LORD said to Moses, ² “Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘These are My appointed feasts, the feasts of the LORD that you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies. ³ For six days work may be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, a day of sacred assembly. You must not do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the LORD. ⁴ These are the LORD’s appointed feasts, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times. ⁵ The Passover to the LORD begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. ⁶ On the fifteenth day of the same month begins the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD. For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. ⁷ On the first day you are to hold a sacred assembly; you are not to do any regular work. ⁸ For seven days you are to present an offering made by fire to the LORD. On the seventh day there shall be a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work.’” ⁹ And the LORD said to Moses, ¹⁰ “Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘When you enter the land that I am giving you and you reap its harvest, you are to bring to the priest a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest. ¹¹ And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD so that it may be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath. ¹² On the day you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a year-old lamb without blemish as a burnt offering to the LORD, ¹³ along with its grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil—an offering made by fire to the LORD, a pleasing aroma—and its drink offering of a quarter hin of wine. ¹⁴ You must not eat any bread or roasted or new grain until the very day you have brought this offering to your God. This is to be a permanent statute for the generations to come, wherever you live. ¹⁵ From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, you are to count off seven full weeks. ¹⁶ You shall count off fifty days until the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the LORD. ¹⁷ Bring two loaves of bread from your dwellings as a wave offering, each made from two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour, baked with leaven, as the firstfruits to the LORD. ¹⁸ Along with the bread you are to present seven unblemished male lambs a year old, one young bull, and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to the LORD, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings—an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. ¹⁹ You shall also prepare one male goat as a sin offering and two male lambs a year old as a peace offering. ²⁰ The priest is to wave the lambs as a wave offering before the LORD, together with the bread of the firstfruits. The bread and the two lambs shall be holy to the LORD for the priest. ²¹ On that same day you are to proclaim a sacred assembly, and you must not do any regular work. This is to be a permanent statute wherever you live for the generations to come. ²² When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap all the way to the edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the foreign resident. I am the LORD your God.’” ²³ The LORD also said to Moses, ²⁴ “Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly announced by trumpet blasts. ²⁵ You must not do any regular work, but you are to present an offering made by fire to the LORD.’” ²⁶ Again the LORD said to Moses, ²⁷ “The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. You shall hold a sacred assembly and humble yourselves, and present an offering made by fire to the LORD. ²⁸ On this day you are not to do any work, for it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the LORD your God. ²⁹ If anyone does not humble himself on this day, he must be cut off from his people. ³⁰ I will destroy from among his people anyone who does any work on this day. ³¹ You are not to do any work at all. This is a permanent statute for the generations to come, wherever you live. ³² It will be a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you shall humble yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to keep your Sabbath.” ³³ And the LORD said to Moses, ³⁴ “Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Feast of Tabernacles to the LORD begins, and it continues for seven days. ³⁵ On the first day there shall be a sacred assembly. You must not do any regular work. ³⁶ For seven days you are to present an offering made by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you are to hold a sacred assembly and present an offering made by fire to the LORD. It is a solemn assembly; you must not do any regular work. ³⁷ These are the LORD’s appointed feasts, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for presenting offerings by fire to the LORD—burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its designated day. ³⁸ These offerings are in addition to the offerings for the LORD’s Sabbaths, and in addition to your gifts, to all your vow offerings, and to all the freewill offerings you give to the LORD. ³⁹ On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the produce of the land, you are to celebrate a feast to the LORD for seven days. There shall be complete rest on the first day and also on the eighth day. ⁴⁰ On the first day you are to gather the fruit of majestic trees, the branches of palm trees, and the boughs of leafy trees and of willows of the brook. And you are to rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days. ⁴¹ You are to celebrate this as a feast to the LORD for seven days each year. This is a permanent statute for the generations to come; you are to celebrate it in the seventh month. ⁴² You are to dwell in booths for seven days. All the native-born of Israel must dwell in booths, ⁴³ so that your descendants may know that I made the Israelites dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.’” ⁴⁴ So Moses announced to the Israelites the appointed feasts of the LORD.

¹⁰ And on your joyous occasions, your appointed feasts, and the beginning of each month, you are to blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to serve as a reminder for you before your God. I am the LORD your God.”

¹ Then the LORD said to Moses, ² “Command the Israelites and say to them: See that you present to Me at its appointed time the food for My offerings by fire, as a pleasing aroma to Me. ³ And tell them that this is the offering made by fire you are to present to the LORD as a regular burnt offering each day: two unblemished year-old male lambs. ⁴ Offer one lamb in the morning and the other at twilight, ⁵ along with a tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a grain offering, mixed with a quarter hin of oil from pressed olives. ⁶ This is a regular burnt offering established at Mount Sinai as a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD. ⁷ The drink offering accompanying each lamb shall be a quarter hin. Pour out the offering of fermented drink to the LORD in the sanctuary area. ⁸ And offer the second lamb at twilight, with the same grain offering and drink offering as in the morning. It is an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. ⁹ On the Sabbath day, present two unblemished year-old male lambs, accompanied by a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, as well as a drink offering. ¹⁰ This is the burnt offering for every Sabbath, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its drink offering. ¹¹ At the beginning of every month, you are to present to the LORD a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old, all unblemished, ¹² along with three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering with each bull, two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering with the ram, ¹³ and a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering with each lamb. This is a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD. ¹⁴ Their drink offerings shall be half a hin of wine with each bull, a third of a hin with the ram, and a quarter hin with each lamb. This is the monthly burnt offering to be made at each new moon throughout the year. ¹⁵ In addition to the regular burnt offering with its drink offering, one male goat is to be presented to the LORD as a sin offering. ¹⁶ The fourteenth day of the first month is the LORD’s Passover. ¹⁷ On the fifteenth day of this month, there shall be a feast; for seven days unleavened bread is to be eaten. ¹⁸ On the first day there is to be a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work. ¹⁹ Present to the LORD an offering made by fire, a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old, all unblemished. ²⁰ The grain offering shall consist of fine flour mixed with oil; offer three-tenths of an ephah with each bull, two-tenths of an ephah with the ram, ²¹ and a tenth of an ephah with each of the seven lambs. ²² Include one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for you. ²³ You are to present these in addition to the regular morning burnt offering. ²⁴ Offer the same food each day for seven days as an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. It is to be offered with its drink offering and the regular burnt offering. ²⁵ On the seventh day you shall hold a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work. ²⁶ On the day of firstfruits, when you present an offering of new grain to the LORD during the Feast of Weeks, you are to hold a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work. ²⁷ Present a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old as a pleasing aroma to the LORD, ²⁸ together with their grain offerings of fine flour mixed with oil—three-tenths of an ephah with each bull, two-tenths of an ephah with the ram, ²⁹ and a tenth of an ephah with each of the seven lambs.

³ You must not eat any detestable thing. ⁴ These are the animals that you may eat: The ox, the sheep, the goat, ⁵ the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the mountain sheep. ⁶ You may eat any animal that has a split hoof divided in two and that chews the cud. ⁷ But of those that chew the cud or have a completely divided hoof, you are not to eat the following: the camel, the rabbit, or the rock badger. Although they chew the cud, they do not have a divided hoof. They are unclean for you, ⁸ as well as the pig; though it has a divided hoof, it does not chew the cud. It is unclean for you. You must not eat its meat or touch its carcass. ⁹ Of all the creatures that live in the water, you may eat anything with fins and scales, ¹⁰ but you may not eat anything that does not have fins and scales; it is unclean for you. ¹¹ You may eat any clean bird, ¹² but these you may not eat: the eagle, the bearded vulture, the black vulture, ¹³ the red kite, the falcon, any kind of kite, ¹⁴ any kind of raven, ¹⁵ the ostrich, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, ¹⁶ the little owl, the great owl, the white owl, ¹⁷ the desert owl, the osprey, the cormorant, ¹⁸ the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe, or the bat. ¹⁹ All flying insects are unclean for you; they may not be eaten. ²⁰ But you may eat any clean bird. ²¹ You are not to eat any carcass; you may give it to the foreigner residing within your gates, and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a holy people belonging to the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.

¹ Observe the month of Abib and celebrate the Passover to the LORD your God, because in the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night. ² You are to offer to the LORD your God the Passover sacrifice from the herd or flock in the place the LORD will choose as a dwelling for His Name. ³ You must not eat leavened bread with it; for seven days you are to eat with it unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left the land of Egypt in haste—so that you may remember for the rest of your life the day you left the land of Egypt. ⁴ No leaven is to be found in all your land for seven days, and none of the meat you sacrifice in the evening of the first day shall remain until morning. ⁵ You are not to sacrifice the Passover animal in any of the towns that the LORD your God is giving you. ⁶ You must only offer the Passover sacrifice at the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for His Name. Do this in the evening as the sun sets, at the same time you departed from Egypt. ⁷ And you shall roast it and eat it in the place the LORD your God will choose, and in the morning you shall return to your tents. ⁸ For six days you must eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day you shall hold a solemn assembly to the LORD your God, and you must not do any work. ⁹ You are to count off seven weeks from the time you first put the sickle to the standing grain. ¹⁰ And you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God with a freewill offering that you give in proportion to how the LORD your God has blessed you, ¹¹ and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God in the place He will choose as a dwelling for His Name—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite within your gates, as well as the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widows among you. ¹² Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and carefully follow these statutes. ¹³ You are to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor and your winepress. ¹⁴ And you shall rejoice in your feast—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite, as well as the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widows among you. ¹⁵ For seven days you shall celebrate a feast to the LORD your God in the place He will choose, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that your joy will be complete. ¹⁶ Three times a year all your men are to appear before the LORD your God in the place He will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. No one should appear before the LORD empty-handed. ¹⁷ Everyone must appear with a gift as he is able, according to the blessing the LORD your God has given you.

⁵ So David told him, “Look, tomorrow is the New Moon, and I am supposed to dine with the king. Instead, let me go and hide in the field until the third evening from now.

¹⁸ Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon, and you will be missed if your seat is empty.

²³ “Why would you go to him today?” he replied. “It is not a New Moon or a Sabbath.” “Everything is all right,” she said.

³¹ Whenever burnt offerings were presented to the LORD on the Sabbaths, New Moons, and appointed feasts, they were to serve regularly before the LORD in the numbers prescribed for them.

⁹ Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to all of them, “This day is holy to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the Law.

³¹ When the people of the land bring merchandise or any kind of grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we will not buy from them on a Sabbath or holy day. Every seventh year we will let the fields lie fallow, and will cancel every debt.

³³ for the showbread, for the regular grain offerings and burnt offerings, for the Sabbath offerings, for the New Moons and appointed feasts, for the holy offerings, for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and for all the duties of the house of our God.

⁴ These things come to mind as I pour out my soul: how I walked with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God with shouts of joy and praise.

³ Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon, and at the full moon on the day of our Feast.

¹³ Bring your worthless offerings no more; your incense is detestable to Me—your New Moons, Sabbaths, and convocations. I cannot endure iniquity in a solemn assembly.

¹⁴ “Ah, Lord GOD,” I said, “I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have not eaten anything found dead or mauled by wild beasts. No unclean meat has ever entered my mouth.”

¹⁷ And it shall be the prince’s part to provide the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings for the feasts, New Moons, and Sabbaths—for all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel. He will provide the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings to make atonement for the house of Israel.

¹ “This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘The gate of the inner court that faces east must be kept shut during the six days of work, but on the Sabbath day and on the day of the New Moon it shall be opened. ² The prince is to enter from the outside through the portico of the gateway and stand by the gatepost, while the priests sacrifice his burnt offerings and peace offerings. He is to bow in worship at the threshold of the gate and then depart, but the gate must not be shut until evening. ³ On the Sabbaths and New Moons the people of the land are also to bow in worship before the LORD at the entrance to that gateway.

⁵ asking, “When will the New Moon be over, that we may sell grain? When will the Sabbath end, that we may market wheat? Let us reduce the ephah and increase the shekel; let us cheat with dishonest scales.

¹¹ A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it.”

²⁷ Then Jesus declared, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. ²⁸ Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

¹⁹ because it does not enter his heart, but it goes into the stomach and then is eliminated.” (Thus all foods are clean.)

³ and said, “You visited uncircumcised men and ate with them.” ⁴ But Peter began and explained to them the whole sequence of events: ⁵ “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision of something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came right down to me. ⁶ I looked at it closely and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds of the air. ⁷ Then I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter, kill and eat.’ ⁸ ‘No, Lord,’ I said, ‘for nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ ⁹ But the voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’ ¹⁰ This happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into heaven. ¹¹ Just then three men sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. ¹² The Spirit told me to accompany them without hesitation. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s home. ¹³ He told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. ¹⁴ He will convey to you a message by which you and all your household will be saved.’ ¹⁵ As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, just as He had fallen upon us at the beginning. ¹⁶ Then I remembered the word of the Lord, as He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷ So if God gave them the same gift He gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to hinder the work of God?” ¹⁸ When they heard this, their objections were put to rest, and they glorified God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.”

²⁰ Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals, and from blood.

² For one person has faith to eat all things, while another, who is weak, eats only vegetables. ³ The one who eats everything must not belittle the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted him.

⁵ One person regards a certain day above the others, while someone else considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. ⁶ He who observes a special day does so to the Lord; he who eats does so to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.

¹⁰ Why, then, do you judge your brother? Or why do you belittle your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.

¹³ Therefore let us stop judging one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. ¹⁴ I am convinced and fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. ¹⁵ If your brother is distressed by what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother, for whom Christ died. ¹⁶ Do not allow what you consider good, then, to be spoken of as evil. ¹⁷ For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

²⁰ Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to let his eating be a stumbling block. ²¹ It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything to cause your brother to stumble.

⁷ But not everyone has this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that they eat such food as if it were sacrificed to an idol. And since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. ⁸ But food does not bring us closer to God: We are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do. ⁹ Be careful, however, that your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. ¹⁰ For if someone with a weak conscience sees you who are well informed eating in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged to eat food sacrificed to idols? ¹¹ So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. ¹² By sinning against your brothers in this way and wounding their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. ¹³ Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to stumble.

²⁸ But if someone tells you, “This food was offered to idols,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake of conscience— ²⁹ the other one’s conscience, I mean, not your own. For why should my freedom be determined by someone else’s conscience? ³⁰ If I partake in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks? ³¹ So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.

¹² For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself, for fear of those in the circumcision group. ¹³ The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.

¹⁰ You are observing special days and months and seasons and years!

³ They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from certain foods that God has created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. ⁴ For every creation of God is good, and nothing that is received with thanksgiving should be rejected, ⁵ because it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

¹⁰ They consist only in food and drink and special washings—external regulations imposed until the time of reform.

¹¹ Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. And if you judge the law, you are not a practitioner of the law, but a judge of it.

²⁸ Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

¹ Therefore, while the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be deemed to have fallen short of it. ² For we also received the good news just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, since they did not share the faith of those who comprehended it. ³ Now we who have believed enter that rest. As for the others, it is just as God has said: “So I swore on oath in My anger, ‘They shall never enter My rest.’” And yet His works have been finished since the foundation of the world. ⁴ For somewhere He has spoken about the seventh day in this manner: “And on the seventh day God rested from all His works.” ⁵ And again, as He says in the passage above: “They shall never enter My rest.” ⁶ Since, then, it remains for some to enter His rest, and since those who formerly heard the good news did not enter because of their disobedience, ⁷ God again designated a certain day as “Today,” when a long time later He spoke through David as was just stated: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” ⁸ For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. ⁹ There remains, then, a Sabbath rest for the people of God. ¹⁰ For whoever enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from His. ¹¹ Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following the same pattern of disobedience.

⁵ The place where they serve is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”

⁹ It is an illustration for the present time, because the gifts and sacrifices being offered were unable to cleanse the conscience of the worshiper.

¹ For the law is only a shadow of the good things to come, not the realities themselves. It can never, by the same sacrifices offered year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.

¹³ Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied, “and I ate.”

¹⁸ For they assailed you deceitfully when they seduced you in the matter of Peor and their sister Cozbi, the daughter of the Midianite leader, the woman who was killed on the day the plague came because of Peor.”

²⁹ The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, so that we may follow all the words of this law.

² “Who is this who obscures My counsel by words without knowledge?

¹ Of David. I give You thanks with all my heart; before the gods I sing Your praises. ² I bow down toward Your holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your loving devotion and Your faithfulness; You have exalted Your name and Your word above all else.

⁹ You went to Molech with oil and multiplied your perfumes. You have sent your envoys a great distance; you have descended even to Sheol itself.

³ This is what the Lord GOD says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, yet have seen nothing.

³⁸ And in their place, he will honor a god of fortresses—a god his fathers did not know—with gold, silver, precious stones, and riches.

²⁵ They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is forever worthy of praise! Amen.

⁶ The mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace, ⁷ because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. ⁸ Those controlled by the flesh cannot please God.

¹⁸ For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.

³ for you are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and dissension among you, are you not worldly? Are you not walking in the way of man?

¹⁸ Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you.

¹ Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.

⁵ For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many so-called gods and lords), ⁶ yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we exist. And there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we exist.

²⁴ Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way as to take the prize.

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

²⁰ For I am afraid that when I come, I may not find you as I wish, and you may not find me as you wish. I fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, rage, rivalry, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorder.

¹⁹ The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; ²⁰ idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions,

¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.

⁴ I say this so that no one will deceive you by smooth rhetoric.

²³ Such restrictions indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-prescribed worship, their false humility, and their harsh treatment of the body; but they are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.

⁷ They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not understand what they are saying or that which they so confidently assert.

¹ Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons,

¹⁴ But if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast in it or deny the truth. ¹⁵ Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. ¹⁶ For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice.

¹ What causes conflicts and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from the passions at war within you? ² You crave what you do not have; you kill and covet, but are unable to obtain it. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask. ³ And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures. ⁴ You adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God. ⁵ Or do you think the Scripture says without reason that the Spirit He caused to dwell in us yearns with envy? ⁶ But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

¹⁴ Their eyes are full of adultery; their desire for sin is never satisfied; they seduce the unstable. They are accursed children with hearts trained in greed.

¹ Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world. ² By this you will know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,

⁷ For many deceivers have gone out into the world, refusing to confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. ⁸ Watch yourselves, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be fully rewarded. ⁹ Anyone who runs ahead without remaining in the teaching of Christ does not have God. Whoever remains in His teaching has both the Father and the Son. ¹⁰ If anyone comes to you but does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your home or even greet him. ¹¹ Whoever greets such a person shares in his evil deeds.

¹¹ I am coming soon. Hold fast to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.

¹⁴ Because of the signs it was given to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived those who dwell on the earth, telling them to make an image to the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet had lived.

¹⁰ So I fell at his feet to worship him. But he told me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who rely on the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

⁸ And I am John, who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had shown me these things. ⁹ But he said to me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!”

⁹ He has stripped me of my honor and removed the crown from my head. ¹⁰ He tears me down on every side until I am gone; He uproots my hope like a tree. ¹¹ His anger burns against me, and He counts me among His enemies. ¹² His troops advance together; they construct a ramp against me and encamp around my tent.

¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. ¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body; all my days were written in Your book and ordained for me before one of them came to be.

⁴ Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. ⁵ I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing. ⁶ If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are gathered up, thrown into the fire, and burned.

¹⁷ Now if some branches have been broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others to share in the nourishment of the olive root,

⁴ Just as each of us has one body with many members, and not all members have the same function, ⁵ so in Christ we who are many are one body, and each member belongs to one another.

¹⁰ I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree together, so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be united in mind and conviction.

⁶ I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.

¹⁶ Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? ¹⁷ Because there is one loaf, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one loaf.

¹² The body is a unit, though it is composed of many parts. And although its parts are many, they all form one body. So it is with Christ. ¹³ For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free, and we were all given one Spirit to drink. ¹⁴ For the body does not consist of one part, but of many. ¹⁵ If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸ But in fact, God has arranged the members of the body, every one of them, according to His design. ¹⁹ If they were all one part, where would the body be? ²⁰ As it is, there are many parts, but one body. ²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you.” Nor can the head say to the feet, “I do not need you.” ²² On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³ and the parts we consider less honorable, we treat with greater honor. And our unpresentable parts are treated with special modesty, ²⁴ whereas our presentable parts have no such need. But God has composed the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, ²⁵ so that there should be no division in the body, but that its members should have mutual concern for one another. ²⁶ If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. ²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ, and each of you is a member of it.

⁶ I am amazed how quickly you are deserting the One who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— ⁷ which is not even a gospel. Evidently some people are troubling you and trying to distort the gospel of Christ. ⁸ But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be under a curse! ⁹ As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be under a curse!

² Take notice: I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. ³ Again I testify to every man who gets himself circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. ⁴ You who are trying to be justified by the law have been severed from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.

²² And God put everything under His feet and made Him head over everything for the church,

³ and with diligence to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

²⁹ Indeed, no one ever hated his own body, but he nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church.

² then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being united in spirit and purpose. ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves. ⁴ Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. ⁵ Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus:

¹⁸ And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and firstborn from among the dead, so that in all things He may have preeminence.

² that they may be encouraged in heart, knit together in love, and filled with the full riches of complete understanding, so that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ,

⁶ Therefore, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in Him, ⁷ rooted and built up in Him, established in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. ⁸ See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ. ⁹ For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity dwells in bodily form.

¹² And may the Lord cause you to increase and overflow with love for one another and for everyone else, just as our love for you overflows,

¹⁰ And you are indeed showing this love to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to excel more and more

³ We are obligated to thank God for you all the time, brothers, as is fitting, because your faith is growing more and more, and your love for one another is increasing.

⁴ who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. ⁵ For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who gave Himself as a ransom for all—the testimony that was given at just the right time.

⁸ Finally, all of you, be like-minded and sympathetic, love as brothers, be tenderhearted and humble.

¹⁹ If you were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the world hates you, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.

¹⁴ I have given them Your word and the world has hated them; for they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁵ I am not asking that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

² Certainly not! How can we who died to sin live in it any longer? ³ Or aren’t you aware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? ⁴ We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may walk in newness of life. ⁵ For if we have been united with Him like this in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection. ⁶ We know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. ⁷ For anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

⁴ Therefore, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. ⁵ For when we lived according to the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, bearing fruit for death. ⁶ But now, having died to what bound us, we have been released from the law, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

³ For though we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh.

¹⁹ For through the law I died to the law so that I might live to God. ²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

⁹ But now that you know God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you are turning back to those weak and worthless principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? ¹⁰ You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! ¹¹ I fear for you, that my efforts for you may have been in vain. ¹² I beg you, brothers, become like me, for I became like you. You have done me no wrong.

¹⁴ But as for me, may I never boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

¹⁵ by abolishing in His flesh the law of commandments and decrees. He did this to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace

¹⁴ having canceled the debt ascribed to us in the decrees that stood against us. He took it away, nailing it to the cross!

¹⁶ Therefore let no one judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a feast, a New Moon, or a Sabbath.

⁴ You adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God.

¹⁹ We know that we are of God, and that the whole world is under the power of the evil one.

³ but about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You must not eat of it or touch it, or you will die.’”

¹¹ Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing; come out from it, purify yourselves, you who carry the vessels of the LORD.

¹⁷ “Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”

³ They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from certain foods that God has created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.

¹³ Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught by men.

¹⁸ On that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of the deep darkness the eyes of the blind will see.

³⁷ He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers, nor for the one desired by women, nor for any other god, because he will magnify himself above them all.

¹⁸ “Are you still so dull?” He asked. “Do you not understand? Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him, ¹⁹ because it does not enter his heart, but it goes into the stomach and then is eliminated.” (Thus all foods are clean.)

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

¹³ “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food,” but God will destroy them both. The body is not intended for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.

¹⁴ and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of men who have rejected the truth.

¹⁸ And the woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”

⁵ “For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” ⁶ When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.

²⁷ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity. ²⁸ In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

¹³ For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. ¹⁴ And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. ¹⁵ It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their actions.

⁸ For physical exercise is of limited value, but godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for the present life and for the one to come.