Galatians Cross References - BSB

¹ Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead— ² and all the brothers with me, To the churches of Galatia: ³ Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴ who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, ⁵ to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. 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! ¹⁰ Am I now seeking the approval of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. ¹¹ For I certify to you, brothers, that the gospel I preached was not devised by man. ¹² I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. ¹³ For you have heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how severely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. ¹⁴ I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. ¹⁵ But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, was pleased ¹⁶ to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not rush to consult with flesh and blood, ¹⁷ nor did I go up to Jerusalem to the apostles who came before me, but I went into Arabia and later returned to Damascus. ¹⁸ Only after three years did I go up to Jerusalem to confer with Cephas, and I stayed with him fifteen days. ¹⁹ But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother. ²⁰ I assure you before God that what I am writing to you is no lie. ²¹ Later I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia. ²² I was personally unknown, however, to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. ²³ They only heard the account: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” ²⁴ And they glorified God because of me.

¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

¹⁹ So Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing by Himself, unless He sees the Father doing it. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does.

³⁰ I and the Father are one.”

²¹ Again Jesus said to them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so also I am sending you.”

¹⁶ “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit foretold through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus. ¹⁷ He was one of our number and shared in this ministry.” ¹⁸ (Now with the reward for his wickedness Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong and burst open in the middle, and all his intestines spilled out. ¹⁹ This became known to all who lived in Jerusalem, so they called that field in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) ²⁰ “For it is written in the book of Psalms: ‘May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,’ and, ‘May another take his position.’ ²¹ Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have accompanied us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, ²² beginning from John’s baptism until the day Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.” ²³ So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. ²⁴ And they prayed, “Lord, You know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two You have chosen ²⁵ to take up this ministry and apostleship, which Judas abandoned to go to his rightful place.” ²⁶ Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.

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. ²⁵ David says about Him: ‘I saw the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. ²⁶ Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will dwell in hope, ²⁷ because You will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay. ²⁸ You have made known to me the paths of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence.’ ²⁹ Brothers, I can tell you with confidence that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. ³⁰ But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that He would place one of his descendants on his throne. ³¹ Foreseeing this, David spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did His body see decay. ³² God has raised this Jesus to life, to which we are all witnesses.

¹⁵ You killed the Author of life, but God raised Him from the dead, and we are witnesses of the fact.

⁶ “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

¹⁵ “Go!” said the Lord. “This man is My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and their kings, and before the people of Israel. ¹⁶ I will show him how much he must suffer for My name.”

² While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” ³ And after they had fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on them and sent them off. ⁴ So Barnabas and Saul, sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.

¹⁰ Then I asked, ‘What should I do, Lord?’ ‘Get up and go into Damascus,’ He told me. ‘There you will be told all that you have been appointed to do.’

¹⁴ Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear His voice. ¹⁵ You will be His witness to everyone of what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and wash your sins away, calling on His name.’ ¹⁷ Later, when I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance ¹⁸ and saw the Lord saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem quickly, because the people here will not accept your testimony about Me.’ ¹⁹ ‘Lord,’ I answered, ‘they know very well that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in You. ²⁰ And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and watching over the garments of those who killed him.’ ²¹ Then He said to me, ‘Go! I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”

¹⁶ ‘But get up and stand on your feet. For I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen from Me and what I will show you. ¹⁷ I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them ¹⁸ to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in Me.’

¹ Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, and set apart for the gospel of God—

⁴ and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. ⁵ Through Him and on behalf of His name, we received grace and apostleship to call all those among the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.

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. ²⁵ He was delivered over to death for our trespasses and was raised to life for our justification.

⁹ that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

⁹ For this reason Christ died and returned to life, that He might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.

¹ Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,

¹ Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia:

¹ Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? ² You yourselves are our letter, inscribed on our hearts, known and read by everyone. ³ It is clear that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

¹¹ For I certify to you, brothers, that the gospel I preached was not devised by man. ¹² I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

¹⁷ nor did I go up to Jerusalem to the apostles who came before me, but I went into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.

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,

⁸ Though I am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,

¹¹ that agrees with the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted. ¹² I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, that He considered me faithful and appointed me to service. ¹³ I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man; yet because I had acted in ignorance and unbelief, I was shown mercy. ¹⁴ And the grace of our Lord overflowed to me, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

¹ Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus,

³ In His own time He has made His word evident in the proclamation entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior.

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 Through Him you believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him; and so your faith and hope are in God.

⁵ and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood,

¹⁸ the Living One. I was dead, and behold, now I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of Death and of Hades.

⁸ To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of the First and the Last, who died and returned to life.

³¹ Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria experienced a time of peace. It grew in strength and numbers, living in the fear of the Lord and the encouragement of the Holy Spirit.

⁴¹ And he traveled through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

⁵ So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers. ⁶ After the Holy Spirit had prevented them from speaking the word in the province of Asia, they traveled through the region of Phrygia and Galatia.

²³ After Paul had spent some time in Antioch, he traveled from place to place throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

¹ Now about the collection for the saints, you are to do as I directed the churches of Galatia:

²² But you know Timothy’s proven worth, that as a child with his father he has served with me to advance the gospel.

²¹ Greet all the saints in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me send you greetings.

⁷ To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ⁸ First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being proclaimed all over the world. ⁹ God, whom I serve with my spirit in preaching the gospel of His Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you ¹⁰ in my prayers at all times, asking that now at last by God’s will I may succeed in coming to you. ¹¹ For I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you, ¹² that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. ¹³ I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, how often I planned to come to you (but have been prevented from visiting until now), in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles. ¹⁴ I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. ¹⁵ That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.

³ Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

² Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁴ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

² Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

² Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

² To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.

¹ Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you. ² Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ³ Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, will be with us in truth and love.

⁸ I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart.”

¹⁷ For behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.

⁹ So then, this is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.

²⁸ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

²⁸ This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

⁴² A second time He went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cup cannot pass unless I drink it, may Your will be done.”

⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

¹⁹ And He took the bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body, given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

⁴² “Father, if You are willing, take this cup from Me. Yet not My will, but Yours be done.”

³⁰ I can do nothing by Myself; I judge only as I hear. And My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.

³⁸ For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me.

¹¹ I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.

¹⁷ The reason the Father loves Me is that I lay down My life in order to take it up again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from My Father.”

³¹ Now judgment is upon this world; now the prince of this world will be cast out.

³⁰ I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming, and he has no claim on Me. ³¹ But I do exactly what the Father has commanded Me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Get up! Let us go on from here.

¹⁸ If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first. 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.

⁷ To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁵ He was delivered over to death for our trespasses and was raised to life for our justification.

³ For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man, as an offering for sin. He thus condemned sin in the flesh,

²⁷ And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

³² He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things?

² Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

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.

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.

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.

² Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.

¹¹ In Him we were also chosen as God’s own, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything by the counsel of His will,

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.

² and walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant sacrificial offering to God.

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.

²⁰ To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

¹¹ Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you.

¹³ so that He may establish your hearts in blamelessness and holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints. Amen.

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,

⁶ who gave Himself as a ransom for all—the testimony that was given at just the right time.

¹⁴ He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.

⁵ For it is not to angels that He has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking.

⁵ who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age—

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!

⁴ because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. ⁵ Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You prepared for Me. ⁶ In burnt offerings and sin offerings You took no delight. ⁷ Then I said, ‘Here I am, it is written about Me in the scroll: I have come to do Your will, O God.’” 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. ¹⁰ And by that will, we have been sanctified through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

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.

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.”

¹⁸ For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit,

² He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

¹⁵ Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world. ¹⁷ The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.

¹⁶ By this we know what love is: Jesus laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

⁴ because everyone born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith. ⁵ Who then overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

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

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.

⁹ After this I looked and saw a multitude too large to count, from every nation and tribe and people and tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.

¹³ Now therefore, our God, we give You thanks, and we praise Your glorious name.

¹³ Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.

¹⁹ And blessed be His glorious name forever; may all the earth be filled with His glory. Amen and amen.

¹⁵ Therefore glorify the LORD in the east. Extol the name of the LORD, the God of Israel in the islands of the sea.

¹² Let them give glory to the LORD and declare His praise in the islands.

¹³ And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

²⁰ and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests!”

³⁶ For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen.

²⁷ to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.

¹² in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, would be for the praise of His glory.

¹⁷ Now to the King eternal, immortal, and invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

¹⁸ And the Lord will rescue me from every evil action and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

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.

¹¹ To Him be the power forever and ever. Amen.

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.

²⁵ to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord before all time, and now, and for all eternity. Amen.

⁹ And whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the One seated on the throne who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰ the twenty-four elders fall down before the One seated on the throne, and they worship Him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying: ¹¹ “Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things; by Your will they exist and came to be.”

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!”

¹² saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

⁷ And he said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come. Worship the One who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and the springs of waters.”

¹³ Yet they soon forgot His works and failed to wait for His counsel.

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.

¹² Be stunned by this, O heavens; be shocked and utterly appalled,” declares the LORD. ¹³ “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug their own cisterns—broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

⁶ And He was amazed at their unbelief. And He went around from village to village, teaching the people.

³⁰ “That is remarkable indeed!” the man said. “You do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes.

¹¹ On the contrary, we believe it is through the grace of the Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”

² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

³ Because they were ignorant of God’s righteousness and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.

¹⁵ Even if you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.

⁴ For if someone comes and proclaims a Jesus other than the One we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit than the One you received, or a different gospel than the one you accepted, you put up with it way too easily.

¹ O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. ² I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law, or by hearing with faith? ³ Are you so foolish? After starting in the Spirit, are you now finishing in the flesh? ⁴ Have you suffered so much for nothing, if it really was for nothing? ⁵ Does God lavish His Spirit on you and work miracles among you because you practice the law, or because you hear and believe?

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. ¹³ You know that it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you. ¹⁴ And although my illness was a trial to you, you did not despise or reject me. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus Himself. ¹⁵ What then has become of your blessing? For I can testify that, if it were possible, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me.

⁴ You who are trying to be justified by the law have been severed from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.

⁷ You were running so well. Who has obstructed you from obeying the truth? ⁸ Such persuasion does not come from the One who calls you.

¹⁴ To this He called you through our gospel, so that you may share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

³ As I urged you on my departure to Macedonia, you should stay on at Ephesus to instruct certain men not to teach false doctrines

¹⁴ And the grace of our Lord overflowed to me, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

⁹ He has saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but by His own purpose and by the grace He granted us in Christ Jesus before time began.

¹ You therefore, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

¹⁵ But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do,

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.

²¹ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.

²⁶ How long will this continue in the hearts of these prophets who prophesy falsehood, these prophets of the delusion of their own minds?

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.

¹⁰ and said, “O child of the devil and enemy of all righteousness, you are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery! Will you never stop perverting the straight ways of the Lord?

¹ Then some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” ² And after engaging these men in sharp debate, Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. ³ Sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, recounting the conversion of the Gentiles and bringing great joy to all the brothers. ⁴ On their arrival in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and apostles and elders, to whom they reported all that God had done through them. ⁵ But some believers from the party of the Pharisees stood up and declared, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.”

²⁴ It has come to our attention that some went out from us without our authorization and unsettled you, troubling your minds by what they said.

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

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. 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.

¹⁷ For we are not like so many others, who peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as men sent from God.

² Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful ways. We do not practice deceit, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by open proclamation of the truth, we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.

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.

¹⁷ Those people are zealous for you, but not in a good way. Instead, they want to isolate you from us, so that you may be zealous for them.

¹⁰ I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is troubling you will bear the judgment, whoever he may be.

¹² As for those who are agitating you, I wish they would proceed to emasculate themselves!

¹² Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. They only do this to avoid persecution for the cross of Christ. ¹³ For the circumcised do not even keep the law themselves, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast in your flesh.

¹⁷ From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.

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. 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.

¹⁸ who have deviated from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already occurred, and they undermine the faith of some.

⁸ Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth. They are depraved in mind and disqualified from the faith. ⁹ But they will not advance much further. For just like Jannes and Jambres, their folly will be plain to everyone.

³ For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires. ⁴ So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

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 Now there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. ² Many will follow in their depravity, and because of them the way of truth will be defamed. ³ In their greed, these false teachers will exploit you with deceptive words. The longstanding verdict against them remains in force, and their destruction does not sleep.

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. ¹⁹ They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of them belonged to us.

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.

¹⁰ If anyone comes to you but does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your home or even greet him.

⁴ For certain men have crept in among you unnoticed—ungodly ones who were designated long ago for condemnation. They turn the grace of our God into a license for immorality, and they deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

² I know your deeds, your labor, and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate those who are evil, and you have tested and exposed as liars those who falsely claim to be apostles.

⁶ But you have this to your credit: You hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

¹⁴ But I have a few things against you, because some of you hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality. ¹⁵ In the same way, some of you also hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

²⁰ But I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads My servants to be sexually immoral and to eat food sacrificed to idols.

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.

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.

²⁰ But the beast was captured along with the false prophet, who on its behalf had performed signs deceiving those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. Both the beast and the false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.

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.

²⁵ he said, “Cursed be Canaan! A servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.”

¹⁵ ‘Cursed is the man who makes a carved idol or molten image—an abomination to the LORD, the work of the hands of a craftsman—and sets it up in secret.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ ¹⁶ ‘Cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ ¹⁷ ‘Cursed is he who moves his neighbor’s boundary stone.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ ¹⁸ ‘Cursed is he who lets a blind man wander in the road.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ ¹⁹ ‘Cursed is he who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ ²⁰ ‘Cursed is he who sleeps with his father’s wife, for he has violated his father’s marriage bed.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ ²¹ ‘Cursed is he who lies with any animal.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ ²² ‘Cursed is he who sleeps with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ ²³ ‘Cursed is he who sleeps with his mother-in-law.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ ²⁴ ‘Cursed is he who strikes down his neighbor in secret.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ ²⁵ ‘Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to kill an innocent person.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ ²⁶ ‘Cursed is he who does not put the words of this law into practice.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

²³ Now therefore you are under a curse and will perpetually serve as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”

¹⁹ Now please, may my lord the king hear the words of his servant: If the LORD has stirred you up against me, then may He accept an offering. But if men have done it, may they be cursed in the presence of the LORD! For today they have driven me away from sharing in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’

²⁵ I rebuked them and called down curses on them. I beat some of these men and pulled out their hair. Then I made them take an oath before God and said, “You must not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters as wives for your sons or for yourselves!

⁴¹ Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

⁷¹ But he began to curse and swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak!”

¹⁴ They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have bound ourselves with a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul.

³ For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my own flesh and blood,

³ Therefore I inform you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

²² If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be under a curse. Come, O Lord!

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.

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!

¹⁰ All who rely on works of the law are under a curse. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”

¹³ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”

¹⁹ holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and thereby shipwrecked their faith. ²⁰ Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.

¹⁰ Reject a divisive man after a first and second admonition,

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.

¹⁸ I testify to everyone who hears the words of prophecy in this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. ¹⁹ And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and the holy city, which are described in this book.

² You must not add to or subtract from what I command you, so that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I am giving you.

³² See that you do everything I command you; do not add to it or subtract from it.

⁶ Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you and prove you a liar.

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.

¹⁷ When I planned this, did I do it carelessly? Or do I make my plans by human standards, so as to say “Yes, yes” when I really mean “No, no”?

¹ This is the third time I am coming to you. “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” ² I already warned you the second time I was with you. So now in my absence I warn those who sinned earlier and everyone else: If I return, I will not spare anyone,

¹ Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

⁷ Now one of Saul’s servants was there that day, detained before the LORD. And his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief shepherd for Saul.

¹⁶ They sent their disciples to Him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that You are honest and that You teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You seek favor from no one, because You pay no attention to external appearance.

¹⁴ If this report reaches the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.”

¹⁹ But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than God. ²⁰ For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

²⁹ But Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men.

²⁰ Now Herod was in a furious dispute with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they convened before him. Having secured the support of Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their region depended on the king’s country for food.

⁸ But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow wickedness, there will be wrath and anger.

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.

¹ We who are strong ought to bear with the shortcomings of the weak and not to please ourselves. ² Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.

³³ as I also try to please everyone in all I do. For I am not seeking my own good, but the good of many, that they may be saved.

⁹ So we aspire to please Him, whether we are here in this body or away from it. ¹⁰ For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad. ¹¹ Therefore, since we know what it means to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is clear to God, and I hope it is clear to your conscience as well.

¹⁹ Have you been thinking all along that we were making a defense to you? We speak before God in Christ, and all of this, beloved, is to build you up.

⁶ And do this not only to please them while they are watching, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.

²² Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything, not only to please them while they are watching, but with sincerity of heart and fear of the Lord.

⁴ Instead, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, not in order to please men but God, who examines our hearts.

⁹ Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin, because God’s seed abides in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.

¹⁶ on the day when God will judge men’s secrets through Christ Jesus, as proclaimed by my gospel.

⁹ Rather, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.” ¹⁰ But God has revealed it to us by the Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.

²³ For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread,

¹ Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, and in which you stand firm. ² By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. ³ For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

¹ Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead—

³ that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. ⁴ In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, ⁵ which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. ⁶ This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus. ⁷ I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace, given me through the working of His power. ⁸ Though I am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,

¹⁰ But God has revealed it to us by the Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.

¹ I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to gain, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord.

¹⁶ to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not rush to consult with flesh and blood,

¹ And Saul was there, giving approval to Stephen’s death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.

³ But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.

¹ Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord. He approached the high priest ² and requested letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women belonging to the Way, he could bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

¹³ But Ananias answered, “Lord, many people have told me about this man and all the harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And now he is here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on Your name.”

²¹ All who heard him were astounded and asked, “Isn’t this the man who wreaked havoc in Jerusalem on those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?”

²⁶ When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple.

³ “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but raised in this city. I was educated at the feet of Gamaliel in strict conformity to the law of our fathers. I am just as zealous for God as any of you here today. ⁴ I persecuted this Way even to the death, detaining both men and women and throwing them into prison, ⁵ as the high priest and the whole Council can testify about me. I even obtained letters from them to their brothers in Damascus, and I was on my way to apprehend these people and bring them to Jerusalem to be punished.

⁴ Surely all the Jews know how I have lived from the earliest days of my youth, among my own people and in Jerusalem. ⁵ They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I lived as a Pharisee, adhering to the strictest sect of our religion.

⁹ So then, I too was convinced that I ought to do all I could to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. ¹⁰ And that is what I did in Jerusalem. With authority from the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were condemned to death, I cast my vote against them. ¹¹ I frequently had them punished in the synagogues, and I tried to make them blaspheme. In my raging fury against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.

⁹ For I am the least of the apostles and am unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

⁶ as to zeal, persecuting the church; as to righteousness in the law, faultless.

¹³ I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man; yet because I had acted in ignorance and unbelief, I was shown mercy.

¹² I will expose your righteousness and your works, and they will not profit you.

¹⁴ Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts and gone after the Baals, as their fathers taught them.”

² If they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ you are to tell them that this is what the LORD says: ‘Those destined for death, to death; those destined for the sword, to the sword; those destined for famine, to famine; and those destined for captivity, to captivity.’

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?

⁶ he need not honor his father or mother with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.

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.”

³ “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but raised in this city. I was educated at the feet of Gamaliel in strict conformity to the law of our fathers. I am just as zealous for God as any of you here today.

⁵ They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I lived as a Pharisee, adhering to the strictest sect of our religion.

⁹ So then, I too was convinced that I ought to do all I could to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth.

⁴ though I myself could have such confidence. If anyone else thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more: ⁵ circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin; a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶ as to zeal, persecuting the church; as to righteousness in the law, faultless.

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.

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,

⁷ The LORD did not set His affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than the other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. ⁸ But because the LORD loved you and kept the oath He swore to your fathers, He brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

²² Indeed, for the sake of His great name, the LORD will not abandon His people, because He was pleased to make you His own.

⁴ Yet the LORD, the God of Israel, chose me out of all my father’s house to be king over Israel forever. For He chose Judah as leader, and from the house of Judah He chose my father’s household, and from my father’s sons He was pleased to make me king over all Israel. ⁵ And of all my sons—for the LORD has given me many sons—He has chosen Solomon my son to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel.

¹ Listen to Me, O islands; pay attention, O distant peoples: The LORD called Me from the womb; from the body of My mother He named Me.

⁵ And now says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Jacob back to Him, that Israel might be gathered to Him—for I am honored in the sight of the LORD, and My God is My strength—

⁵ “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

²⁶ Yes, Father, for this was well-pleasing in Your sight.

¹⁵ for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He shall never take wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb. ¹⁶ Many of the sons of Israel he will turn back to the Lord their God.

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.

¹⁵ “Go!” said the Lord. “This man is My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and their kings, and before the people of Israel.

² While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

¹⁴ Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear His voice. ¹⁵ You will be His witness to everyone of what you have seen and heard.

⁵ Through Him and on behalf of His name, we received grace and apostleship to call all those among the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.

³⁰ And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.

²⁴ including us, whom He has called not only from the Jews, but also from the Gentiles?

⁹ God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

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

¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

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—

⁵ He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will,

⁹ And He has made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ

¹¹ according to the eternal purpose that He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.

¹³ But we should always thank God for you, brothers who are loved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning to be saved by the sanctification of the Spirit and by faith in the truth. ¹⁴ To this He called you through our gospel, so that you may share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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.

⁹ He said of his father and mother, ‘I do not consider them.’ He disregarded his brothers and did not know his own sons, for he kept Your word and maintained Your covenant.

¹⁷ Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven.

⁴¹ “Watch and pray so that you will not enter into temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

²³ Then Jesus said to all of them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. ²⁴ For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. ²⁵ What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet lose or forfeit his very self?

⁵⁹ Then He said to another man, “Follow Me.” The man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰ But Jesus told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead. You, however, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹ Still another said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first let me bid farewell to my family.” ⁶² Then Jesus declared, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and then looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

²¹ Then He said to me, ‘Go! I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”

¹⁷ I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them ¹⁸ to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in Me.’ ¹⁹ So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. ²⁰ First to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, then to everyone in the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I declared that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds worthy of their repentance.

¹³ I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, how often I planned to come to you (but have been prevented from visiting until now), in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles. ¹⁴ I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish.

¹³ I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry

¹⁶ to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁷ Therefore I exult in Christ Jesus in my service to God. ¹⁸ I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obedience by word and deed, ¹⁹ by the power of signs and wonders, and by the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.

⁹ Rather, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.” ¹⁰ But God has revealed it to us by the Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. ¹¹ For who among men knows the thoughts of man except his own spirit within him? So too, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 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. ¹³ And this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.

⁵⁰ Now I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

⁶ For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

¹⁶ So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh. Although we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.

¹ Fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem, accompanied by Barnabas. I took Titus along also.

⁶ But as for the highly esteemed—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism—those leaders added nothing to me. ⁷ On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted to preach the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised. ⁸ For the One who was at work in Peter’s apostleship to the circumcised was also at work in my apostleship to the Gentiles. ⁹ And recognizing the grace that I had been given, James, Cephas, and John—those reputed to be pillars—gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised.

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,

¹ For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles...

⁵ which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. ⁶ This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus. ⁷ I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace, given me through the working of His power. ⁸ Though I am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 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,

²⁵ I became its servant by the commission God gave me to fully proclaim to you the word of God, ²⁶ the mystery that was hidden for ages and generations but is now revealed to His saints. 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.

¹⁶ hindering us from telling the Gentiles how they may be saved. As a result, they continue to heap up their sins to full capacity; the utmost wrath has come upon them.

⁷ For this reason I was appointed as a preacher, an apostle, and a faithful and true teacher of the Gentiles. I am telling the truth; I am not lying about anything.

¹¹ to which I was appointed as a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher.

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,

²⁰ Saul promptly began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, declaring, “He is the Son of God.” ²¹ All who heard him were astounded and asked, “Isn’t this the man who wreaked havoc in Jerusalem on those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” ²² But Saul was empowered all the more, and he confounded the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ. ²³ After many days had passed, the Jews conspired to kill him, ²⁴ but Saul learned of their plot. Day and night they watched the city gates in order to kill him. ²⁵ One night, however, his disciples took him and lowered him in a basket through a window in the wall.

³² In Damascus, the governor under King Aretas secured the city of the Damascenes in order to arrest me. ³³ But I was lowered in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his grasp.

¹⁸ Only after three years did I go up to Jerusalem to confer with Cephas, and I stayed with him fifteen days.

²² But Saul was empowered all the more, and he confounded the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ. ²³ After many days had passed, the Jews conspired to kill him,

²⁶ When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. ²⁷ Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and described how Saul had seen the Lord, who spoke to him on the road to Damascus, and how Saul had spoken boldly in that city in the name of Jesus. ²⁸ So Saul stayed with them, moving about freely in Jerusalem and speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. ²⁹ He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews, but they tried to kill him.

¹⁷ Later, when I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance ¹⁸ and saw the Lord saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem quickly, because the people here will not accept your testimony about Me.’

³ Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;

⁴⁶ While Jesus was still speaking to the crowds, His mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to Him.

⁵⁵ “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t His mother’s name Mary, and aren’t His brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?

¹⁸ Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot,

³ Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? Aren’t His sisters here with us as well?” And they took offense at Him.

¹⁵ Matthew and Thomas; James son of Alphaeus and Simon called the Zealot;

¹³ When they arrived, they went to the upper room where they were staying: Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.

¹⁷ Peter motioned with his hand for silence, and he described how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. “Send word to James and to the brothers,” he said, and he left for another place.

⁵ Have we no right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas?

¹ James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes of the Dispersion: Greetings.

¹ Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who are called, loved by God the Father, and kept in Jesus Christ:

¹ I speak the truth in Christ; I am not lying, as confirmed by my conscience in the Holy Spirit.

¹⁰ As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia. ¹¹ Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!

³¹ The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is forever worthy of praise, knows that I am not lying.

⁹ But resistance arose from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and men from the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. They began to argue with Stephen,

³⁰ When the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

²⁵ Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, ²⁶ and when he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. So for a full year they met together with the church and taught large numbers of people. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.

¹ Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch), and Saul.

²³ and sent them with this letter: The apostles and the elders, your brothers, To the brothers among the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings.

¹⁸ Paul remained in Corinth for quite some time before saying goodbye to the brothers. He had his head shaved in Cenchrea to keep a vow he had made, and then he sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila.

³ After sighting Cyprus and passing south of it, we sailed on to Syria and landed at Tyre, where the ship was to unload its cargo.

³⁹ But Paul answered, “I am a Jew from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city. Now I beg you to allow me to speak to the people.”

³⁴ The governor read the letter and asked what province Paul was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia,

⁷ Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow countrymen and fellow prisoners. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.

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.

¹ Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:

¹⁴ For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Judea that are in Christ Jesus. You suffered from your own countrymen the very things they suffered from the Jews,

¹ Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

⁷ So the word of God continued to spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem grew rapidly, and a great number of priests became obedient to the faith.

¹³ But Ananias answered, “Lord, many people have told me about this man and all the harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem.

²⁰ Saul promptly began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, declaring, “He is the Son of God.”

⁸ And last of all He appeared to me also, as to one of untimely birth. ⁹ For I am the least of the apostles and am unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

¹³ I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man; yet because I had acted in ignorance and unbelief, I was shown mercy. ¹⁴ And the grace of our Lord overflowed to me, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ This is a trustworthy saying, worthy of full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst. ¹⁶ But for this very reason I was shown mercy, so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His perfect patience as an example to those who would believe in Him for eternal life.

²³ For there is no spell against Jacob and no divination against Israel. It will now be said of Jacob and Israel, ‘What great things God has done!’

⁸ When the crowds saw this, they were filled with awe and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

¹⁶ A sense of awe swept over all of them, and they glorified God. “A great prophet has appeared among us!” they said. “God has visited His people!”

¹⁰ In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”

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.’”

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.”

¹⁹ Paul greeted them and recounted one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. ²⁰ When they heard this, they glorified God. Then they said to Paul, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law.

¹³ Because of the proof this ministry provides, the saints will glorify God for your obedient confession of the gospel of Christ, and for the generosity of your contribution to them and to all the others.

³ We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, ⁴ because we have heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all the saints—

¹⁰ on the day He comes to be glorified in His saints and regarded with wonder by all who have believed, including you who have believed our testimony.

¹² so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.