Acts 17 Cross References - ISV

¹ Paul and Silas in ThessalonicaPaul and Silas traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. ² As usual, Paul entered there and on three Sabbaths discussed the Scriptures with them. ³ He explained and showed them that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead: “This very Jesus whom I proclaim to you is the Messiah.”
⁴ Some of them were persuaded and began to be associated with Paul and Silas, especially a large crowd of devout Greeks and the wives of many prominent men. ⁵ But the Jewish leaders became jealous, and they took some contemptible characters who used to hang out in the public square, formed a mob, and started a riot in the city. They attacked Jason’s home and searched it for Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the people. ⁶ When they didn’t find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials and shouted, “These fellows who have turned the world upside down have come here, too, ⁷ and Jason has welcomed them as his guests. All of them oppose the emperor’s decrees by saying that there is another king—Jesus!”
⁸ The crowd and the city officials were upset when they heard this, ⁹ but after they had gotten a bond from Jason and the others, they let them go.
¹⁰ Paul and Silas in BereaThat night the brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the Jewish synagogue. ¹¹ These people were more receptive than those in Thessalonica. They were very willing to receive the message, and every day they carefully examined the Scriptures to see if those things were so. ¹² Many of them believed, including a large number of prominent Greek women and men.
¹³ But when the Jewish leaders in Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul also in Berea, they went there to upset and incite the crowds. ¹⁴ Then the brothers immediately sent Paul away to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed there.
¹⁵ Paul in AthensThe men who escorted Paul took him all the way to Athens and, after receiving instructions to have Silas and Timothy join him as soon as possible, they left. ¹⁶ While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was deeply disturbed to see the city full of idols. ¹⁷ So he began holding discussions in the synagogue with the Jews and other worshipers, as well as every day in the public square with anyone who happened to be there. ¹⁸ Some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also debated with him. Some asked, “What is this blabbermouth trying to say?” while others said, “He seems to be preaching about foreign gods.” This was because Paul was telling the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.
¹⁹ Then they took him, brought him before the Areopagus, and asked, “May we know what this new teaching of yours is? ²⁰ It sounds rather strange to our ears, and we would like to know what it means.” ²¹ Now all the Athenians and the foreigners living there used to spend their time doing nothing else other than listening to the latest ideas or repeating them.
²² So Paul stood up in front of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious in every way. ²³ For as I was walking around and looking closely at the objects you worship, I even found an altar with this written on it: ‘To an unknown god.’ So I am telling you about the unknown object you worship. ²⁴ The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth. He doesn’t live in shrines made by human hands, ²⁵ and he isn’t served by people as if he needed anything. He himself gives everyone life, breath, and everything else. ²⁶ From one man he made every nation of humanity to live all over the earth, fixing the seasons of the year and the national boundaries within which they live, ²⁷ so that they might look for God, somehow reach for him, and find him. Of course, he is never far from any one of us. ²⁸ For we live, move, and exist because of him, as some of your own poets have said: ‘…Since we are his children, too.’ ²⁹ So if we are God’s children, we shouldn’t think that the divine being is like gold, silver, or stone, or is an image carved by humans using their own imagination and skill. ³⁰ Though God has overlooked those times of ignorance, he now commands everyone everywhere to repent, ³¹ because he has set a day when he is going to judge the world with justice through a man whom he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”
³² When they heard about a resurrection of the dead, some began joking about it, while others said, “We will hear you again about this.” ³³ And so Paul left the meeting. ³⁴ Some men joined him and became believers. With them were Dionysius, who was a member of the Areopagus, a woman named Damaris, and some others along with them.

¹ Paul and Barnabas in IconiumIn Iconium, Paul and Barnabas went into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed.

²¹ After all, Moses has had people to proclaim him in every city for generations, and on every Sabbath his books are read aloud in the synagogues.”

¹³ On the Sabbath day, we went out the city gate and walked along the river, where we thought there was a place of prayer. We sat down and began talking to the women who had gathered there.

¹¹ These people were more receptive than those in Thessalonica. They were very willing to receive the message, and every day they carefully examined the Scriptures to see if those things were so.

¹³ But when the Jewish leaders in Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul also in Berea, they went there to upset and incite the crowds.

⁴ He was accompanied by Sopater (the son of Pyrrhus) from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus from Asia.

² After boarding a ship from Adramyttium that was about to sail to the ports on the coast of Asia, we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, went with us.

¹⁶ Even while I was in Thessalonica, you provided for my needs not once, but twice.

¹ GreetingsFrom: Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy.
To: The church of the Thessalonians in union with God the Father and the Lord Jesus, the Messiah.
May grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, be yours!

¹ GreetingsFrom: Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy.
To: The church of the Thessalonians in union with God our Father and the Lord Jesus, the Messiah.

¹⁰ because Demas, having fallen in love with this present world, has abandoned me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.

⁷ Now stand up and I’ll pass judgment on you in light of the LORD’s righteous acts that he did for you and your ancestors.

¹⁸ “Please come, and let’s reason together,” implores the LORD. “Even though your sins are like scarlet, they’ll be white like snow. Though they’re like crimson, they’ll become like wool.

¹⁶ Jesus is Rejected at Nazareth
Then Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been raised. As was his custom, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day. When he stood up to read,

²⁰ Jesus answered him, “I have spoken publicly to the world. I have always taught in the synagogue or in the Temple, where all Jews meet together, and I have said nothing in secret.

³⁵ Then Philip began to speak, and, starting from this Scripture, he told him the good news about Jesus.

²⁰ He immediately started to preach about Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “This is the Son of God.”

⁵ Arriving in Salamis, they began to preach God’s word in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John to help them.

¹⁴ They left Perga and arrived in Antioch in Pisidia. On the Sabbath day, they went into the synagogue and sat down.

¹⁰ Paul and Silas in BereaThat night the brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the Jewish synagogue.

¹⁷ So he began holding discussions in the synagogue with the Jews and other worshipers, as well as every day in the public square with anyone who happened to be there.

⁴ Every Sabbath, he would speak in the synagogue, trying to persuade both Jews and Greeks.

⁸ He went into the synagogue and spoke there boldly for three months, holding discussions and persuading those who heard him about the kingdom of God.

²⁵ As Paul talked about righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became afraid and said, “For the present you may go. When I get a chance, I will send for you again.”

²³ So they set a day to meet with Paul and came out in large numbers to see him where he was staying.
From morning until evening, he continued to explain the kingdom of God to them, trying to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and the Prophets.

¹ The Messiah is Superior to MelchizedekNow this man Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of the Most High God, met Abraham and blessed him when he was returning from defeating the kings. ² Abraham gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything. In the first place, his name means “king of righteousness,” and then he is also king of Salem, that is, “king of peace.” ³ He has no father, mother, or genealogy, no birth date recorded for him, nor a date of death. Like the Son of God, he continues to be a priest forever.
⁴ Just look at how great this man was! Even Abraham—the patriarch himself—gave him a tenth of what he had captured! ⁵ The descendants of Levi who accept the priesthood have a commandment in the Law to collect a tenth from the people, that is, from their own brothers, even though they are also descendants of Abraham. ⁶ But this man, whose descent is not traced from them, collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the man who had received the promises. ⁷ It is beyond dispute that the less important person is blessed by the more important person. ⁸ Mortal men collect tithes, but we are informed by Scripture that Melchizedek keeps on living. ⁹ One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham, ¹⁰ because Levi was still inside his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

²⁶ The Messiah had to suffer these things and then enter his glory, didn’t he?” ²⁷ Then, beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them all the passages of Scripture about himself.

³² Then they asked each other, “Our hearts kept burning within us as he was talking to us on the road and explaining the Scriptures to us, didn’t they?”

⁴⁴ Then he told them, “These are the words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms had to be fulfilled.”

⁴⁶ He told them, “This is how it is written: the Messiah was to suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,

⁹ For they did not yet understand the Scripture that said that Jesus had to rise from the dead.

⁴ The Promise of the Holy SpiritWhile he was meeting with them, he ordered them, “Don’t leave Jerusalem. Instead, wait for what the Father has promised, about which you heard me speak,

¹⁶ Rather, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: ¹⁷ ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on everyone. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. ¹⁸ In those days I will even pour out my Spirit on my slaves, men and women alike, and they will prophesy. ¹⁹ I will display wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth below: blood, fire, and clouds of smoke. ²⁰ The sun will become dark, and the moon turn to blood, before the coming of the great and glorious Day of the Lord. ²¹ Then whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ ²² “Fellow Israelis, listen to these words: Jesus from Nazareth was a man authenticated to you by God through miracles, wonders, and signs that God performed through him among you, as you yourselves know. ²³ After he was arrested according to the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified this very man and killed him using the hands of lawless men. ²⁴ But God raised him up and put an end to suffering of death, since it was impossible for him to be held by it, ²⁵ since David says about him, ‘I always keep my eyes on the Lord, for he is at my right hand so that I cannot be shaken. ²⁶ That is why my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices, yes, even my body still rests securely in hope. ²⁷ For you will not abandon my soul to Hades or allow your Holy One to experience decay. ²⁸ You have made the ways of life known to me, and you will fill me with gladness in your presence.’
²⁹ “Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and that his tomb is among us to this day. ³⁰ Therefore, since he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him with an oath to put one of his descendants on his throne, ³¹ he looked ahead and spoke about the resurrection of the Messiah: ‘He was not abandoned to Hades, and his flesh did not experience decay.’ ³² “It was this very Jesus whom God raised—and we’re all witnesses of that. ³³ He has been exalted to the right hand of God, has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, and has caused you to experience what you are seeing and hearing. ³⁴ After all, David did not go up to heaven, but he said, ‘The Lord told my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, ³⁵ until I make your enemies your footstool.”’
³⁶ “Therefore, let all the people of Israel understand beyond a doubt that God made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah!”

¹⁸ This is how God fulfilled what he had predicted through the voice of all the prophets—that his Messiah would suffer.

²² In fact, Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to everything he tells you. ²³ Any person who will not listen to that prophet will be utterly destroyed from among the people.’
²⁴ “Indeed, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who followed him, also announced these days. ²⁵ You are the descendants of the prophets and the heirs of the covenant that God made with your ancestors when he told Abraham, ‘Through your descendant all the families of the earth will be blessed.’ ²⁶ When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning every one of you from your evil ways.”

²² But Saul grew more and more persuasive, and continued to confound the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that this man was the Messiah.

²⁶ “My brothers, descendants of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, it is to us that the message of this salvation has been sent. ²⁷ For the people who live in Jerusalem and their leaders, not knowing who Jesus was, condemned him and so fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. ²⁸ Although they found no reason to sentence him to death, they asked Pilate to have him executed. ²⁹ When they had finished doing everything that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and placed him in a tomb. ³⁰ But God raised him from the dead, ³¹ and for many days he appeared to those who had come with him to Jerusalem from Galilee. These are now his witnesses to the people. ³² We’re telling you the good news: What God promised our ancestors ³³ he has fulfilled for us, their descendants, by raising Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm, ‘You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.’ ³⁴ God raised him from the dead, never to experience decay, as he said, ‘I’ll give you the holy promises made to David.’ ³⁵ In another Psalm he says, ‘You will not let your Holy One experience decay.’ ³⁶ Now David, after he had served God’s purpose in his own generation, died and was buried with his ancestors, and so he experienced decay. ³⁷ However, the man whom God raised did not experience decay.
³⁸ “Therefore, brothers, you must understand that through him the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, ³⁹ and that everyone who believes in him is justified and freed from everything that kept you from being justified by the Law of Moses.

²⁸ He successfully refuted the Jews in public and proved by the Scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah.

³ For I passed on to you the most important points that I received: The Messiah died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ he was buried, he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures—and is still alive!—

¹ Believers are Approved by GodYou foolish Galatians! Who put you under a spell? Was not Jesus the Messiah clearly portrayed before your very eyes as having been crucified?

⁵ for the gospel we brought did not come to you in words only, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit, and with deep conviction. Indeed, you know what kind of people we proved to be while we were with you, acting on your behalf.
⁶ You became imitators of us and of the Lord. In spite of a great deal of suffering, you welcomed the word with the joy that the Holy Spirit produces.

⁶ Leave your naïve ways, and live. Walk in the path of understanding.”

²⁰ Whoever keeps company with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools suffers harm.

⁷ Tell me, you whom I love, where do you graze your flock? Where do you make your flock lie down at noon? Why should I be considered a veiled woman beside the flocks of your companions?
⁸ The LoverIf you don’t know, most beautiful of women, go out after the flock and graze your young goats beside the shepherd’s tents.

¹ The Young Women Where did your beloved go, most beautiful of women? Where did your beloved turn, so we may look for him with you?

¹¹ “Many nations will cling to the LORD at that time and will become my people. I will live in your midst, and you will know that the LORD of the Heavenly Armies has sent me to you.

²⁰ Future Visits by Nations to Jerusalem“This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘In the future, people will come, including residents of many cities, ²¹ and they will travel from one place to another place and say, “Let’s go quickly to pray in the presence of the LORD and to inquire of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.’ And I will go, too. ²² Many people and powerful nations will come to inquire of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies in Jerusalem, and to pray in the presence of the LORD.”’”
²³ “This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘In the future, ten men speaking all the languages of the nations will grab hold of one Jewish person by the hem of his garment and say, “Let us go up to Jerusalem with you, because we heard that God is with you.”’”

³⁵ Then the Jewish leaders asked one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we won’t be able to find him? Surely he’s not going to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks, is he?

⁴¹ So those who welcomed his message were baptized. That day about 3,000 people were added to their number.
⁴² Life among the BelieversThe believers continued to devote themselves to what the apostles were teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to times of prayer.

⁴⁴ All the believers were united and shared everything with one another.

²³ The Believers Pray for BoldnessAfter they were released, Peter and John went to their fellow believers and told them everything the high priests and the elders had said.

¹² The Apostles Perform Many MiraclesNow many signs and wonders were being performed by the apostles among the people, who were gathered together in Solomon’s Colonnade. ¹³ None of the others dared join them, although the rest of the people continued to hold them in high regard. ¹⁴ Nevertheless, believers were being added to the Lord in increasing numbers—both men and women.

⁴³ When the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who kept talking to them and urging them to continue in the grace of God.

⁵⁰ But the Jewish leaders stirred up devout women of high social standing and the officials in the city, started a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their territory.

⁴ But the people of the city were divided. Some were with the Jews, while others were with the apostles.

²² The Reply of the ChurchThen the apostles, the elders, and the whole church decided to choose some of their men to send with Paul and Barnabas to Antioch. These were Judas, who was called Barsabbas, and Silas, who were leaders among the brothers.

²⁷ We have therefore sent Judas and Silas to tell you the same things by word of mouth.

³² Then Judas and Silas, who were also prophets, said a lot to encourage and strengthen the brothers.

⁴⁰ while Paul chose Silas and left after the brothers had entrusted him to the grace of the Lord.

³ Paul wanted this man to go with him, so he took him and had him circumcised because of the Jews who lived in that region, since everyone knew that Timothy’s father was a Greek.

¹² Many of them believed, including a large number of prominent Greek women and men.

³⁴ Some men joined him and became believers. With them were Dionysius, who was a member of the Areopagus, a woman named Damaris, and some others along with them.

¹⁰ This went on for two years, so that all who lived in Asia, Jews and Greeks alike, heard the word of the Lord.

²⁸ yelling, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere to turn against our people, the Law, and this place. More than that, he has even brought Greeks into the Temple and desecrated this Holy Place.”

²⁴ Some of them were convinced by what he said, but others wouldn’t believe.

¹⁷ Therefore, “Get away from them and separate yourselves from them,” declares the Lord, “and don’t touch anything unclean. Then I will welcome you. ¹⁸ I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters,” declares the Lord Almighty.

⁵ We did not expect that! They gave themselves to the Lord first and then to us, since this was God’s will.

⁴ and they gave him 70 silver coins from the temple that they had built to Baal-berith. Abimelech hired some worthless and useless men, who followed him

¹ Job Describes His Current Status in Life“But now they mock me; men who are far younger than I, whose fathers I would have hated to entrust with my own sheep dogs. ² Furthermore, what could I have gained from men whose strength is gone? ³ Unproductive due to poverty and hunger, they could only scratch in parched soil, devastated and desolated. ⁴ “They would pluck off herbs from salt marshes to eat; and roots of the broom shrub for food. ⁵ Driven away from human company, they were shouted at as though they were thieves. ⁶ They lived in the most dangerous of ravines, in holes in the ground, and among rocks. ⁷ They bray like donkeys among the bushes and huddle together under the desert weeds. ⁸ Sons of fools and of uncertain reputation, they have been driven from the land by scourging.”
⁹ Job Presents the Actions of the Mockers“Now, I’ve become the object of their mocking melodies; I’m nothing but a fool’s proverb to them! ¹⁰ They abhor me—they keep their distance from me; but they don’t refrain from spitting at the sight of me.

¹⁵ But when I stumbled, they rejoiced and gathered together. They gathered together against me— attackers whom I did not know. They tore me apart and would not stop.

¹² The prominent people mock me, composing drinking songs.

³⁰ A tranquil mind brings life to one’s body, but jealousy causes one’s bones to rot.

¹¹ “LORD, your hand is lifted up, but they do not see it. And let them see your zeal for your people and be put to shame— yes, let the fire reserved for your enemies consume them!

¹⁸ He did this because he knew that they had handed him over out of jealousy.

⁹ “Joseph’s brothers became jealous of him and sold Joseph as a slave in Egypt. However, God was with him

⁴⁵ But when the Jewish leaders saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to object to the statements made by Paul and even to abuse him.

² But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.

¹⁹ Paul and Barnabas Return to Antioch in SyriaBut some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won over the crowds by persuasion. They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the town, thinking he was dead.

⁷ and Jason has welcomed them as his guests. All of them oppose the emperor’s decrees by saying that there is another king—Jesus!”

¹² While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jewish leaders gathered together, attacked Paul, and brought him before the judge’s seat.

²⁴ By making silver shrines of Artemis, a silversmith named Demetrius provided a large income for skilled workers. ²⁵ He called a meeting of these men and others who were engaged in similar trades and said, “Men, you well know that we get a good income from this business. ²⁶ You also see and hear that, not only in Ephesus, but almost all over Asia, this man Paul has won over and taken away a large crowd by telling them that gods made by human hands are not gods at all. ²⁷ There is a danger not only that our business will lose its reputation but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be brought into disrepute and that she will be robbed of her majesty that brought all Asia and the world to worship her.”
²⁸ When they heard this, they became furious and began to shout, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” ²⁹ The city was filled with confusion, and the people rushed into the theater together, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s fellow travelers from Macedonia. ³⁰ Paul wanted to go into the crowd, but the disciples wouldn’t let him. ³¹ Even some officials of the province of Asia who were his friends sent him a message urging him not to risk his life in the theater.
³² Meanwhile, some were shouting one thing and some another, since the crowd was confused, and most of them didn’t know why they were meeting. ³³ Some of the crowd concluded it was because of Alexander, since the Jews had pushed him to the front. So Alexander motioned for silence and tried to make a defense before the people. ³⁴ But when they found out that he was a Jew, they all started to shout in unison for about two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

⁴⁰ because we are in danger of being charged with rioting today, and there is no good reason we can give to justify this commotion.”

²¹ Final GreetingTimothy, my fellow worker, greets you, as do Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my fellow Jews.

³ That’s because you are still worldly. As long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, you are worldly and living by human standards, aren’t you?

²¹ envy, murder, drunkenness, wild partying, and things like that. I am telling you now, as I have told you in the past, that people who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²⁶ Let’s stop being arrogant, provoking one another and envying one another.

¹⁴ For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Judea that are in union with the Messiah Jesus. You suffered the same persecutions from the people of your own country as they did from those Jews ¹⁵ who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, who have persecuted us, and who please neither God nor any group of people, ¹⁶ as they try to keep us from telling the gentiles how they can be saved. As a result, they are constantly adding to the number of sins they have committed. However, wrath has overtaken them at last!

⁵ Or do you think the Scripture means nothing when it says that the Spirit that God caused to live in us jealously yearns for us?

⁸ so I have come down to deliver them from their domination by the Egyptians and to bring them out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the territory of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. ⁹ Now, listen carefully! The cry of the Israelis has come to my attention about how severely the Egyptians have been oppressing them.

¹⁷ When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab asked him, “Is it really you, you destroyer of Israel?”
¹⁸ But Elijah replied, “I’m no destroyer of Israel. But you and your ancestor’s household have been doing that, because you have abandoned the LORD’s commandments and have followed the Baals.

² “This is what the LORD says: ‘Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, by famine, and by the plague, but the one who goes over to the Chaldeans will live. His life will be spared, and he will live.’ ³ This is what the LORD says: ‘This city will surely be given to the army of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.’”
⁴ Then the officials told the king, “Let this man be put to death because he’s undermining the efforts of the soldiers who remain in this city and that of all the people by speaking words like these to them. Indeed, this man is not seeking the well-being of this people, but rather their harm.”

¹⁰ A Rebuke for AmaziahSo Amaziah priest of Bethel sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel. It said, “Amos has been conspiring against you in the very heart of the house of Israel! The land cannot bear everything he has to say,

¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

⁵ But they kept insisting, “He is stirring up the people with what he teaches all over Judea, from where he started in Galilee to this place.”

¹² They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes. Then they rushed at Stephen, grabbed him, and brought him before the Council.
¹³ They had false witnesses stand up and say, “This man never stops saying things against this Holy Place and against the Law.

¹⁹ When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities who met together in the public square. ²⁰ They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are stirring up a lot of trouble in our city. They are Jews ²¹ and are advocating customs that we’re not allowed to accept or practice as Romans.”

¹² While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jewish leaders gathered together, attacked Paul, and brought him before the judge’s seat. ¹³ They said, “This man is persuading people to worship God in ways that are contrary to the Law.”

²⁸ yelling, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere to turn against our people, the Law, and this place. More than that, he has even brought Greeks into the Temple and desecrated this Holy Place.” ²⁹ For they had earlier seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him and assumed that Paul had taken him into the Temple. ³⁰ The whole city was in chaos. The people rushed together, grabbed Paul, dragged him out of the Temple, and at once the doors were sealed shut.
³¹ The crowd was trying to kill Paul when a report reached the tribune of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.

²² Up to this point they listened to him, but then they began to shout, “Away with such a fellow from the earth! He’s not fit to go on living!” ²³ While they were yelling, tossing their coats around, and throwing dirt into the air,

⁵ For we have found this man a perfect pest and an agitator among all Jews throughout the world. He is a ringleader in the sect of the Nazarenes

²² However, we’d like to hear from you what you believe, because people are talking against this sect everywhere.”

¹² May the king be advised that the Jews who came from you to us have reached Jerusalem and are rebuilding a rebellious and wicked city, having completed its walls and repaired its foundations. ¹³ May the king be further advised that if this city is rebuilt and its walls erected, its citizens will refuse to pay tributes, taxes, and tariffs, thereby restricting royal revenues. ¹⁴ Now, because we are royal employees and are committed to preserving the reputation of the king, we have written to the king and have declared its contents to be true, ¹⁵ urging that a search may be made in the official registers of your predecessors. You will discover in the registers that this city is a rebellious city, that it is damaging to both kings and provinces, that it has been moved to sedition from time immemorial, and that because of this it was destroyed.

¹² “Certain influential Jewish men whom you appointed to manage the city of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—have neither paid attention to you, your majesty, nor served your gods. And they won’t worship the golden statue that you set up.”

¹³ Then they told the king, “Daniel, who is one of the Judean exiles, pays no attention to you, your majesty, or to the written decree, since he is still praying three times a day.”

² They began to accuse him, “We found this man corrupting our nation, forbidding us to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that he is the Messiah, a king.”

¹² From then on, Pilate tried to release him, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you release this fellow, you’re not a friend of Caesar! Anyone who claims to be a king is defying Caesar!”

²¹ and are advocating customs that we’re not allowed to accept or practice as Romans.”

⁸ Paul said in his defense, “I have done nothing wrong against the Law of the Jews, or of the Temple, or of the emperor.”
⁹ Then Festus, wanting to do the Jewish leaders a favor, asked Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem to be tried there before me on these charges?”
¹⁰ But Paul said, “I am standing before the emperor’s judgment seat where I ought to be tried. I haven’t done anything wrong to the Jewish leaders, as you know very well. ¹¹ If I’m guilty and have done something that deserves death, I’m willing to die. But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can hand me over to them as a favor. I appeal to the emperor!”

¹⁵ For it is God’s will that by doing right you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.

³ When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, as was all of Jerusalem.

⁴⁸ If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our Temple and our nation.”

⁵ But the Jewish leaders became jealous, and they took some contemptible characters who used to hang out in the public square, formed a mob, and started a riot in the city. They attacked Jason’s home and searched it for Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the people.

¹⁵ So she let them down by a rope through the window, since her house was built into the town wall where she lived. ¹⁶ She told them, “Go out to the hill country, so the search party won’t find you, and hide for three days. After that, you may go on your own way.”

¹² So Michal let David down through the window, and he escaped and fled. ¹³ Then Michal took the household idol and laid it on the bed with a cover of goat hair placed at its head. Then she covered it with clothes.
¹⁴ When Saul sent the messengers to take David, Michal said, “He’s sick.”
¹⁵ Then Saul sent messengers to check on David. He told them, “Bring him to me on the bed so I may kill him.” ¹⁶ The messengers went in, and there was the household idol in the bed with the cover of goat hair at its head!
¹⁷ Then Saul told Michal, “Why did you deceive me like this and let my enemy go so he could escape?”
Michal told Saul, “He told me, ‘Let me go or I’ll kill you!’”

⁴² Jonathan told David, “Go in peace since both of us swore in the name of the LORD: ‘May the LORD be between me and you, and between my descendants and your descendants forever.’”
Then David got up and left, while Jonathan went to the city.

²⁵ but his disciples took him one night and let him down through the city wall by lowering him in a basket.

⁶ Paul and Barnabas found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian towns of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding territory. ⁷ There they kept talking about the good news.

² As usual, Paul entered there and on three Sabbaths discussed the Scriptures with them.

¹³ But when the Jewish leaders in Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul also in Berea, they went there to upset and incite the crowds. ¹⁴ Then the brothers immediately sent Paul away to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed there.

²³ Then he summoned two centurions and ordered, “Get 200 soldiers ready to leave for Caesarea at nine o’clock tonight, along with 70 mounted soldiers and 200 soldiers with spears. ²⁴ Provide a mount for Paul to ride, and take him safely to Governor Felix.”

² As you know, we suffered persecution and were mistreated in Philippi. Yet we were encouraged by our God to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition.

¹² I haven’t wandered away from the commands that he has spoken; I’ve treasured what he has said more than my own meals.”

² But he delights in the LORD’s instruction, and meditates in his instruction day and night. ³ He will be like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in its season, and whose leaf does not wither. He will prosper in everything he does.

⁹⁷ Mem
Loving God’s WordHow I love your instruction! Every day it is my meditation.

¹⁰⁰ I have more common sense than the elders, for I observe your precepts.

¹⁴⁸ I look forward to the night watches, when I may meditate on what you have said.

⁵ Let the wise listen and increase their learning; let the person of understanding receive guidance

¹ The Benefits of Embracing Wisdom My son, if you accept my words, and treasure my instructions— ² making your ear attentive to wisdom, and turning your heart to understanding— ³ if, indeed, you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, ⁴ if you seek it like silver and search for it like hidden treasure, ⁵ then you will understand the fear of the LORD and learn to know God.

¹⁰ Grab hold of my instruction in lieu of money and knowledge instead of the finest gold,

⁹ Counsel a wise man, and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man, and he will add to his learning.

²⁰ for instruction and for testimony? Surely they are speaking like this because the truth hasn’t dawned on them.

¹⁶ The Certainty of God’s Deliverance“Study and read from the book of the LORD: And not one will be missing, each will not long for its mate. For it is the mouth of the LORD that has issued the order, and it is his Spirit that has gathered them.

²¹ I planted you myself as a choice vine, from the very best seed. How did you turn against me into a degenerate and foreign vine?

²³ But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the person who hears the word, understands it, and produces a crop that yields 100, 60, or 30 times what was sown.”

²⁹ “Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets. They should listen to them!’

⁴⁵ Philip found Nathaniel and told him, “We have found the man about whom Moses in the Law and the Prophets wrote—Jesus, the son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”
⁴⁶ Nathaniel asked him, “From Nazareth? Can anything good come from there?”
Philip told him, “Come and see!”
⁴⁷ Jesus saw Nathaniel coming toward him and said about him, “Look, a genuine Israeli, in whom there is no deceit!”
⁴⁸ Nathaniel asked him, “How do you know me?”
Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, while you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
⁴⁹ Nathaniel replied to him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

²¹ But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may become evident that his actions have God’s approval.”

³⁹ You examine the Scriptures carefully because you suppose that in them you have eternal life. Yet they testify about me.

⁴¹ So those who welcomed his message were baptized. That day about 3,000 people were added to their number.

³³ So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. All of us are here now in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has ordered you to say.”

¹ Peter Reports to the Church in JerusalemNow the apostles and the brothers who were in Judea heard that the gentiles had also accepted the word of God.

¹ Paul and Silas in ThessalonicaPaul and Silas traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.

⁶ You became imitators of us and of the Lord. In spite of a great deal of suffering, you welcomed the word with the joy that the Holy Spirit produces.

¹³ How the Thessalonians Welcomed the GospelHere is another reason why we constantly give thanks to God: When you received God’s word, which you heard from us, you did not accept it as the word of humans but for what it really is—the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.

¹⁰ and every type of evil to deceive those who are dying, those who refused to love the truth that would save them.

¹⁵ From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures that are able to give you the wisdom you need for salvation through faith in the Messiah Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good action.

²¹ Therefore, rid yourselves of everything impure and every expression of wickedness, and with a gentle spirit welcome the word planted in you that can save your souls.

¹⁰ Even the prophets, who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours, carefully researched and investigated this salvation. ¹¹ They tried to find out what era or specific time the Spirit of the Messiah in them kept referring to when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. ¹² It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you in regard to the things that have now been announced to you by those who brought you the good news through the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. These are things that even the angels desire to look into.

² Like newborn babies, thirst for the pure milk of the word so that by it you may grow in your salvation.

¹⁹ Therefore we regard the message of the prophets as confirmed beyond doubt, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp that is shining in a gloomy place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. ²⁰ First of all, you must understand this: No prophecy in Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, ²¹ because no prophecy ever originated through a human decision. Instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

⁵ These people belong to the world. That is why they speak from the world’s perspective, and the world listens to them. ⁶ We belong to God. The person who knows God listens to us. Whoever does not belong to God does not listen to us. This is how we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit.

⁸ The LORD is good and just; therefore he will teach sinners concerning the way. ⁹ He will guide the humble to justice; he will teach the humble his way.

¹⁷ If anyone wants to do his will, he’ll know whether this teaching is from God or whether I’m speaking on my own.

⁴⁶ Then Paul and Barnabas boldly declared, “We had to speak God’s word to you first, but since you reject it and consider yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we are now going to turn to the gentiles.

² As usual, Paul entered there and on three Sabbaths discussed the Scriptures with them. ³ He explained and showed them that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead: “This very Jesus whom I proclaim to you is the Messiah.”
⁴ Some of them were persuaded and began to be associated with Paul and Silas, especially a large crowd of devout Greeks and the wives of many prominent men.

²⁶ Brothers, think about your own calling. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.

¹⁴ for the light is making everything visible. That is why it says, “Wake up, sleeper! Arise from the dead, and the Messiah will shine on you.’’

¹⁰ and a rich person in his having been humbled, because he will fade away like a wild flower.

²⁵ It can be truly said that no one else sold himself to practice what the LORD considered to be evil quite like the way Ahab did, because his wife Jezebel incited him.

¹⁸ The quickly angered man stirs up contention, but anyone who controls his temper calms a dispute.

²⁵ An arrogant man stirs up dissension, but anyone who trusts in the LORD prospers.

¹³ “How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door to the kingdom from heaven in people’s faces. You don’t go in yourselves, and you don’t allow those who are trying to enter to go in.

⁵¹ Do you think that I came to bring peace on earth? Not at all, I tell you, but rather division!

¹² They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes. Then they rushed at Stephen, grabbed him, and brought him before the Council.

²⁷ When the seven days were almost over, the Jews from Asia, seeing Paul in the Temple, stirred up a large crowd. They grabbed Paul,

¹⁶ She told them, “Go out to the hill country, so the search party won’t find you, and hide for three days. After that, you may go on your own way.”

²³ So when they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, because I tell all of you with certainty that you will not have gone through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

³⁰ When the brothers found out about the plot, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus.

¹ Timothy Joins Paul in LystraPaul also went to Derbe and Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish wife whose husband was a Greek.

²² Then he sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he himself stayed in Asia a while longer.

³ and stayed there for three months. When he was about to sail for Syria, a plot was initiated against him by the Jews, so he decided to go back through Macedonia.

³ A Warning against False TeachersWhen I was on my way to Macedonia, I urged you to stay in Ephesus so that you could instruct certain people to stop teaching false doctrine

⁵ Qualifications for Leaders in the ChurchThe reason I left you in Crete was to complete what still needed to be done and to appoint elders in every city, as I myself commanded you.

³ They were sent on their way by the church, and as they were going through Phoenicia and Samaria they told of the conversion of the gentiles and brought great joy to all the brothers.

¹⁶ While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was deeply disturbed to see the city full of idols.

²¹ Now all the Athenians and the foreigners living there used to spend their time doing nothing else other than listening to the latest ideas or repeating them.

¹ Paul in CorinthAfter this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.

⁵ But when Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself entirely to the word as he emphatically assured the Jews that Jesus is the Messiah.

¹ Therefore, when we could stand it no longer, we decided to remain alone in Athens

¹⁰ because Demas, having fallen in love with this present world, has abandoned me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. ¹¹ Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful in my ministry.

²⁰ Erastus stayed in Corinth, and I left Trophimus in Miletus because he was sick. ²¹ Do your best to come to me before winter. Eubulus sends you greetings, as do Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers.

¹² Final Instructions to TitusAs soon as I send Artemas to you, or perhaps Tychicus, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there.

¹⁹ As Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, he became angry. He threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the base of the mountain. ²⁰ He took the calf that they had made, burned it with fire, and ground it into powder. He scattered it on the water and made the Israelis drink it.

⁶ That very moment, one of the Israelis arrived, bringing to his brothers one of the Midianite women, right in front of Moses and the entire community of Israel, while they were weeping at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting! ⁷ When Eleazar’s son Phinehas, grandson of Aaron the priest saw this, he jumped up from the middle of the community, grabbed a javelin in his hand, ⁸ followed the Israeli man inside his tent, and impaled the two of them—the Israeli man and the woman—right through both of them and into her abdomen. Then the plague infecting the Israelis was brought to a halt. Nevertheless, ⁹ 24,000 people died because of the plague.
¹⁰ God Commends PhinehasThe LORD told Moses, ¹¹ “Eleazar’s son Phinehas, grandson of Aaron the priest, has turned my wrath away from Israel. Because his zealousness reflected my own zeal for them, I didn’t consume Israel in my jealousy.

¹⁰ “I’ve been very zealous for the LORD God of the Heavenly Armies,” he replied. “The Israelis have abandoned your covenant, demolished your altars, executed your prophets with swords, and I—that’s right, just me!—am the only one left. Now they’re seeking my life, to get rid of me!”

¹⁴ “I’ve been very zealous for the LORD God of the Heavenly Armies,” he replied. “The Israelis have abandoned your covenant, demolished your altars, executed your prophets with swords, and I—that’s right, just me!—am the only one left. Now they’re seeking my life, to get rid of me!”

² But then Barachel’s son Elihu from Buz, one of Ram’s descendants, got really angry. He was furious with Job because he had been declaring himself righteous instead of vindicating God. ³ Furthermore, he was furious with his three friends because they had not answered Job, but instead had condemned him.

¹⁸ because I’m filled with things to say, and my spirit within me compels me to speak. ¹⁹ My insides feel like unvented wine, like it’s about to burst like a new wineskin. ²⁰ “Let me speak! I need relief! Let me open my lips and respond.

⁹ Zeal for your house consumes me, and the mockeries of those who insult you fall on me.

¹³⁶ My eyes shed rivers of tears, when others do not obey your instruction.

¹⁵⁸ I watch the treacherous, and despise them, because they do not do what you have said.

⁹ When I say, “I won’t remember the LORD, nor will I speak in his name anymore, then there is this burning fire in my heart. It is bound up in my bones, I grow weary of trying to hold it in, and I cannot do it!

⁸ The Message of God’s Prophet“As for me, I am truly filled with power by the Spirit of the LORD, filled with judgment and power to announce to Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.

⁵ Jesus looked around at them in anger, deeply hurt because of their hard hearts. Then he told the man, “Hold out your hand.” The man held it out, and his hand was restored to health.

¹³ Confrontation in the Temple over Money
The Jewish Passover was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

²³ For as I was walking around and looking closely at the objects you worship, I even found an altar with this written on it: ‘To an unknown god.’ So I am telling you about the unknown object you worship.

⁷ and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man who was greatly distressed by the immoral conduct of lawless people—

²⁰ The Benefits of Choosing WisdomWisdom cries out in the street; she raises her voice in the public squares. ²¹ She calls out at the busiest part of the noisy streets, and at the entrance to the gates of the city she utters her words: ²² “You naïve ones, how long will you love naiveté? And how long will scoffers delight in scoffing or fools hate knowledge?”

¹ Wisdom Calls for an Audience Isn’t wisdom calling out; isn’t understanding raising her voice? ² On top of the highest places along the road she stands where the roads meet. ³ Beside the gates, at the city entrance— at the entrance to the portals she cries aloud: ⁴ “I’m calling to you, men! What I have to say pertains to all mankind!

³⁴ Blessed is the person who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at my doorways—

¹¹ I’m full of the wrath of the LORD, and I’m tired of holding it back. Pour it out on the children in the street and on the groups of young men gathered together. Indeed, both husband and wife will be caught in it, the old and the very old.

¹ Jesus Teaches about the KingdomWhen Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on the hill. After taking his seat, his disciples came to him, ² and he began to teach them:

¹⁵ Then he told them, “As you go into all the world, proclaim the gospel to everyone.

³ Therefore, what you have said in darkness will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in private rooms will be shouted from the housetops.”

² Devout men buried Stephen as they mourned loudly for him.

² He was a devout man who feared God, as did everyone in his home. He gave many gifts to the poor among the people and always prayed to God.

¹⁶ Then Paul stood up, motioned with his hand, and said:
“Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen!

¹ Paul and Barnabas in IconiumIn Iconium, Paul and Barnabas went into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed. ² But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. ³ They stayed there a considerable time and continued to speak boldly for the Lord, who kept affirming his word of grace and granting signs and wonders to be done by them. ⁴ But the people of the city were divided. Some were with the Jews, while others were with the apostles.

² People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,

⁵ They will hold to an outward form of godliness but deny its power. Stay away from such people.

⁹ Don’t speak when a fool is listening, because he’ll despise your wise words.

¹² Do you see a man who is wise in his own opinion? There’s more hope for a fool than for him.

¹⁴ Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon
As they approached the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and some scribes arguing with them.

⁵³ As Jesus was leaving, the scribes and the Pharisees began to oppose him fiercely, interrogating him about many things.

² They were greatly disturbed that Peter and John were teaching the people and announcing that Jesus had been resurrected from the dead.

⁹ But some men who belonged to the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), as well as some Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and men from Cilicia and Asia, stood up and began to debate with Stephen.

³¹ because he has set a day when he is going to judge the world with justice through a man whom he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”
³² When they heard about a resurrection of the dead, some began joking about it, while others said, “We will hear you again about this.”

²³ that the Messiah would suffer and be the first to rise from the dead and would bring light both to our people and to the gentiles.”

²² Though claiming to be wise, they became fools

⁹ For this reason the Messiah died and returned to life, so that he might become the Lord of both the dead and the living.
¹⁰ Why, then, do you criticize your brother? Or why do you despise your brother? For all of us will stand before the judgment seat of God.

²⁰ Where is the wise person? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? God has turned the wisdom of the world into nonsense, hasn’t he? ²¹ For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not know God, God was pleased to save those who believe through the nonsense of our preaching.

¹⁸ True WisdomLet no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks he is wise in the ways of this world, he must become a fool to become really wise.

¹⁰ We are fools for the Messiah’s sake, but you are wise in the Messiah. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, but we are dishonored.

⁸ See to it that no one enslaves you through philosophy and empty deceit according to human tradition, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to the Messiah,

¹⁸ You will be brought before governors and kings because of me, to testify to them and to unbelievers.

²⁷ All the people were so stunned that they kept saying to each other, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He tells even the unclean spirits what to do, and they obey him!”

³⁴ I’m giving you a new commandment…to love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.

²⁰ It sounds rather strange to our ears, and we would like to know what it means.”

²² So Paul stood up in front of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious in every way.

²⁴ Some days later, Felix arrived with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him talk about faith in Jesus the Messiah.

²² Agrippa told Festus, “I would like to hear the man.”
“Tomorrow,” he said, “you will hear him.”

¹ Paul Presents His Case to AgrippaThen Agrippa told Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” So Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense.

⁷ We Must Obey God’s CommandmentsDear friends, I am not writing to you a new commandment, but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning. This old commandment is the word you have heard. ⁸ On the other hand, I am writing to you a new commandment that is truly in him and in you. For the darkness is fading away, and the true light is already shining.

¹² I prescribed great things from my Law for them, but they considered them profane.

²³ Salvation and Reward
Then Jesus told his disciples, “I tell all of you with certainty, it will be hard for a rich person to get into the kingdom from heaven. ²⁴ Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into the kingdom of God.”
²⁵ When the disciples heard this, they were completely astonished. “Who, then, can be saved?” they asked.

¹⁰ They kept the matter to themselves but argued about what “rising from the dead” meant.

²⁴ The disciples were startled by these words, but Jesus told them again, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in their wealth to get into the kingdom of God! ²⁵ It’s easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into the kingdom of God.”
²⁶ The disciples were utterly amazed and asked one another, “Then who can be saved?”

⁶⁰ The Words of Eternal LifeWhen many of his disciples heard this, they said, “This is a difficult statement. Who can accept it?”

³⁵ Then the Jewish leaders asked one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we won’t be able to find him? Surely he’s not going to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks, is he? ³⁶ What does this statement mean that he said, ‘You’ll look for me but won’t find me,’ and, ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”

¹² All of them continued to be stunned and puzzled, and they kept asking one another, “What can this mean?”

¹⁷ While Peter was still at a loss to know what the vision he had seen could mean, the men sent by Cornelius asked for Simon’s house and went to the gate.

¹⁸ The Messiah is God’s Power and WisdomFor the message about the cross is nonsense to those who are being destroyed, but it is God’s power to us who are being saved.

²³ but we preach the Messiah crucified. He is a stumbling block to Jews and nonsense to gentiles,

¹⁴ A person who isn’t spiritual doesn’t accept the things of God’s Spirit, for they are nonsense to him. He can’t understand them because they are spiritually evaluated.

¹¹ You Still Need Someone to Teach YouWe have much to say about this, but it is difficult to explain because you have become too lazy to understand.

⁴ They insult you now because they are surprised that you are no longer joining them in the same excesses of wild living.

¹⁶ making the best use of your time because the times are evil.

⁵ Behave wisely toward outsiders, making the best use of your time.

¹¹ We hear that some of you are living in idleness. You are not busy working—you are busy interfering in other people’s lives! ¹² We order and encourage such people by the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.

¹³ At the same time, they also learn how to be lazy while going from house to house. Not only this, but they even become gossips and keep busy by interfering in other people’s lives, saying things they should not say.

¹⁶ However, avoid pointless discussions. For people will become more and more ungodly, ¹⁷ and what they say will spread everywhere like gangrene. Hymenaeus and Philetus are like that.

² This is what the LORD says: “Don’t learn the way of the nations, and don’t be terrified by signs in the heavens, though the nations are terrified of them. ³ For the practices of the people are worthless. Indeed, a tree is cut down from the forest; it’s the work of the hands of a craftsman with an ax.

³⁸ A drought against her waters. They’ll dry up. For it’s a land of idols, and they go mad over their terrifying images.

³⁵ When the city recorder had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who in the world doesn’t know that this city of Ephesus is the keeper of the temple of the great Artemis and of the statue that fell down from heaven?

¹⁹ Instead, they had several arguments with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus who had died—but Paul kept asserting he was alive.

²¹ These things you did, and I kept silent, because you assumed that I was like you. But now I am going to rebuke you, and I will set forth my case before your very own eyes.”

²⁰ He has not dealt with any other nation like this; they never knew his decrees. Hallelujah!

⁹ Their worship of me is empty, because they teach human rules as doctrines.’”

²² You don’t know what you’re worshiping. We Jews know what we’re worshiping, because salvation comes from the Jews.

⁵⁴ Jesus answered, “If I were trying to glorify myself, my glory would mean nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’

³ And this is eternal life: to know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent—Jesus the Messiah.

²⁵ “Righteous Father, the world has never known you. Yet I have known you, and these men have known that you sent me.

³⁰ Though God has overlooked those times of ignorance, he now commands everyone everywhere to repent,

²⁰ For since the creation of the world God’s invisible attributes—his eternal power and divine nature—have been understood and observed by what he made, so that people are without excuse. ²¹ For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him. Instead, their thoughts turned to worthless things, and their senseless hearts were darkened. ²² Though claiming to be wise, they became fools ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images that looked like mortal human beings, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles.
²⁴ For this reason, God delivered them to sexual impurity as they followed the lusts of their hearts and dishonored their bodies with one another. ²⁵ They exchanged God’s truth for a lie and worshipped and served the creation rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

²⁸ Furthermore, because they did not think it worthwhile to keep knowing God fully, God delivered them to degraded minds to perform acts that should not be done.

²¹ For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not know God, God was pleased to save those who believe through the nonsense of our preaching.

⁵ For even if there are “gods” in heaven and on earth (as indeed there are many so-called “gods” and “lords”),

⁴ In their case, the god of this world has blinded the minds of those who do not believe to keep them from seeing the light of the glorious gospel of the Messiah, who is the image of God.
⁵ For we do not preach ourselves, but rather Jesus the Messiah as Lord, and ourselves as merely your servants for Jesus’ sake. ⁶ For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Jesus the Messiah.

⁸ However, in the past, when you did not know God, you were slaves to things that are not really gods at all. ⁹ But now that you know God, or rather have been known by God, how can you turn back again to those powerless and bankrupt basic principles? Why do you want to become their slaves all over again?

¹² At that time you were without the Messiah, excluded from citizenship in Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise. You had no hope and were in the world without God.

⁴ He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god and object of worship. As a result, he seats himself in the sanctuary of God and himself declares that he is God.

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

²⁰ We also know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know the true God. We are in union with the one who is true, his Son Jesus the Messiah, who is the true God and eternal life.

¹⁹ Melchizedek blessed Abram and said, “Abram is blessed by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,

²² But Abram answered the king of Sodom, “I have made an oath to the LORD God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,

¹⁴ You see, heaven—even the highest heavens—belongs to the LORD, along with the earth and all that is in it,

²⁷ and yet, will God truly reside on earth? Look! Neither the sky nor the highest heaven can contain you! How much less this Temple that I have built!

¹⁵ Then Hezekiah prayed in the presence of the LORD, “LORD God of Israel! You live between the cherubim! You alone are the God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have fashioned the heavens and the earth.

⁶ But who can build a temple for him, since neither heaven nor the highest of the heavens can contain him? So who am I, that I should build a temple to him, except to burn incense in his presence?

¹⁸ and yet, will God truly reside on earth with human beings? Look! Neither the sky nor the highest heaven can contain you! How much less this Temple that I have built!

¹ A Davidic Psalm.
A Song for the King of Glory The earth and everything in it exists for the LORD— the world and those who live in it.

¹⁶ The highest heavens belong to the LORD, but he gave the earth to human beings.

⁵ Happy is the one whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God,

¹³ Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is lifted up; his majesty transcends earth and heaven.

¹² Who is Like the LORD?“Who has measured the waters of the sea in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens by the width of his hand? Who has enclosed the dust of the earth in a measuring bowl, or weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?

²⁸ Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard? The LORD is the eternal God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not grow tired or weary; and his understanding cannot be fathomed.

⁵ God Speaks about the ServantThis is what God says— the God who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its produce, who gives breath to the people on it and life to those who walk in it:

¹⁸ For this is what the LORD says, who created the heavens— he is God, and the one who formed the earth and made it, and he is the one who established it; he didn’t create it for chaos, but formed it to be inhabited— “I am the LORD and there is no other.

¹ The Worship that God Commands This is what the LORD says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house that you would build for me, and where will my resting place be?

¹¹ Tell this to them: “The gods who didn’t make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from these heavens.”

²⁴ If a person hides himself in secret places, will I not see him?” declares the LORD. “I fill the heavens and the earth, do I not?” declares the LORD.

¹⁷ ‘LORD! Look, you made the heavens and the earth with your great power and your outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for you!

³⁵ All who live on the earth are nothing compared to him. He does what he wishes with the heavenly armies and with those who live on earth. No one can hold back his power or say to him, ‘What did you do?’

¹ The LORD will Deliver JerusalemA declaration: a message from the LORD to Israel. “The LORD, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who frames the spirit of man within himself, declares,

³⁴ But I tell you not to swear at all, neither by heaven, because it is God’s throne,

²⁵ Jesus Praises the Father and Invites the Disciples to Come to Him
At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from wise and intelligent people and have revealed them to infants.

²¹ Jesus Praises the Father
At that moment, the Holy Spirit made Jesus extremely joyful, so Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from wise and intelligent people and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, because this is what was pleasing to you.

¹ The Word and CreationIn the beginning, the Word existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.

²² You don’t know what you’re worshiping. We Jews know what we’re worshiping, because salvation comes from the Jews. ²³ Yet the time is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. Indeed, the Father is looking for people like that to worship him. ²⁴ When they heard this, they all raised their voices to God and said, “Master, you made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them.

⁴⁸ However, the Most High does not live in buildings made by human hands. As the prophet says,

¹⁵ “Men, why are you doing this? We are merely human beings with natures like yours. We are telling you the good news so you’ll turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them.

²⁶ From one man he made every nation of humanity to live all over the earth, fixing the seasons of the year and the national boundaries within which they live, ²⁷ so that they might look for God, somehow reach for him, and find him. Of course, he is never far from any one of us. ²⁸ For we live, move, and exist because of him, as some of your own poets have said: ‘…Since we are his children, too.’

² has in these last days spoken to us by a Son whom he appointed to be the heir of everything and through whom he also made the universe.

⁴ After all, every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.

¹¹ The Vision of the White Throne JudgmentThen I saw a large, white throne and the one who was sitting on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and no place was found for them.

⁷ So the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground, breathed life into his lungs, and the man became a living being.

²² Then they fell on their faces and said, “God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, will you be angry at the entire congregation on account of one man’s sin?”

¹⁶ “May the LORD God of the spirits of all living creatures appoint a man over the community

¹⁰ and that the life of every living thing rests in his control, along with the breath of every living human being?

² “Can a human being be useful to God, since he, who is wise, is sufficient to himself?

³ As long as I can breathe; as long as God’s breath is in my nostrils,

⁴ “The spirit of God fashioned me; and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

¹⁴ If he were to decide to do so, that is, to take back to himself his spirit and breath of life,

⁶ If you sin, what will that do to harm him? If you add transgression to transgression what will it do to him? ⁷ If you are righteous, what will you add to him? What can God receive from your efforts?

² I told the LORD, “You are my master, I have nothing good apart from you.”

⁸ I do not rebuke you because of your sacrifices; indeed, your burnt offerings are continuously before me. ⁹ I will no longer accept a sacrificial bull from your household; nor goats from your pens. ¹⁰ Indeed, every animal of the forest is mine, even the cattle on a thousand hills. ¹¹ I know all the birds in the mountains; indeed, everything that moves in the field is mine. ¹² “If I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the world is mine along with everything in it. ¹³ Why should I eat the flesh of oxen or drink the blood of goats?

²⁷ All of them look to you to provide them their food at the proper time. ²⁸ They receive what you give them; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. ²⁹ When you withdraw your favor, they are disappointed; Take away their breath, and they die and return to dust. ³⁰ When you send your spirit, they are created, and you replenish the surface of the earth.

¹⁶ For I won’t accuse forever, nor will I always be angry; for then the human spirit would grow faint before me— even the souls that I have created.

²⁰ Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: “I’m about to pour out my anger and my wrath on this place, on people and animals, on the trees of the field, and on the fruit of the ground. It will burn, and it won’t be put out.”
²¹ This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat the meat. ²² Indeed, when I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt, I didn’t speak or command them about burnt offering and sacrifice, ²³ but I did give them this command: ‘Obey me and I’ll be your God, and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways that I command you so it will go well for you.’

²¹ Let Justice Roll On“I hate—I despise—your festival days, and your solemn convocations stink. ²² And if you send up burnt offerings to me as well as your grain offerings, I will not accept them, nor will I consider your peace offerings of fattened cattle. ²³ Spare me your noisy singing— I will not listen to your musical instruments.

⁴⁵ so that you will become children of your Father in heaven, because he makes his sun rise on both evil and good people, and he lets rain fall on the righteous and the unrighteous.

¹³ Go and learn what this means: ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice,’ because I did not come to call righteous people, but sinners.”

¹⁷ yet he has not abandoned his witness: he continues to do good, to give you rain from heaven, to give you fruitful seasons, and to fill you with food and your hearts with joy.”

²⁸ For we live, move, and exist because of him, as some of your own poets have said: ‘…Since we are his children, too.’

³⁵ Or who has given him something only to have him pay it back?”

¹⁷ Advice for the WealthyTell those who are rich in this age not to be arrogant and not to place their confidence in anything as uncertain as riches. Instead, let them place their confidence in God, who lavishly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

²⁰ Now Adam had named his wife “Eve,” because she was to become the mother of everyone who was living.

¹⁹ These three were Noah’s sons, and from these men the whole earth was repopulated.

⁷ An Exhortation to Remember God’s WorkRemember the days of old, reflect on the years of previous generations. Ask your father, and he’ll tell you; your elders will inform you. ⁸ When the Most High gave nations as their inheritance, when he separated the human race, he set boundaries for the people according to the number of the children of God.

²³ He makes nations great, and then destroys them; he enlarges nations, but then sends them away to captivity.

⁵ Since his days have been determined, the number of his months is known to you. You’ve set his limit and he cannot exceed it.

¹⁵ My times are in your hands. Deliver me from the hands of my enemies and from those who pursue me.

³¹ Wail, you gate! Cry out, you city! Melt away, all you Philistines! For smoke comes from the north, and there’s no one to take measure in its festivals.

²¹ Explain and present a case! Yes, let them take counsel together. Who announced this long ago, who declared it from the distant past? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides me, a righteous God and Savior; and there is none besides me.

²⁷ Now as for the two kings, their intentions will be evil, and they’ll promote deception at their dinner table, but none of this will succeed, because the end won’t have come yet.

³⁵ Some of the insightful will fall so they may be refined, purged, and purified until the time of the end, since it will surely come about.’”

¹⁰ A Plea and a Prayer from MalachiDo we not have one father? Has not one God created us? Why does each of us act deceitfully, each man against his own brother, to profane the covenant of our ancestors?

¹⁸ that have been known from long ago.’

¹² Death in Adam, Life in the MessiahJust as sin entered the world through one man, and death resulted from sin, therefore everyone dies, because everyone has sinned. ¹³ Certainly sin was in the world before the Law was given, but no record of sin is kept when there is no Law. ¹⁴ Nevertheless, death ruled from the time of Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin in the same way Adam did when he disobeyed. He is a foreshadowing of the one who would come.
¹⁵ But God’s free gift is not like Adam’s offense. For if many people died as the result of one man’s offense, how much more have God’s grace and the free gift given through the kindness of one man, Jesus the Messiah, been showered on many people! ¹⁶ Nor can the free gift be compared to what came through the man who sinned. For the sentence that followed one man’s offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift brought justification, even after many offenses. ¹⁷ For if, through one man, death ruled because of that man’s offense, how much more will those who receive such overflowing grace and the gift of righteousness rule in life because of one man, Jesus the Messiah!
¹⁸ Consequently, just as one offense resulted in condemnation for everyone, so one act of righteousness results in justification and life for everyone. ¹⁹ For just as through one man’s disobedience many people were made sinners, so also through one man’s obedience many people will be made righteous.

²² For as in Adam all die, so also in the Messiah will all be made alive.

⁴⁷ The first man came from the dust of the earth; the second man came from heaven.

³ how will we escape if we neglect a salvation as great as this? It was first proclaimed by the Lord himself, and then it was confirmed to us by those who heard him,

⁷ For what great nation has a god so near like the LORD our God whenever we call on him?

¹ To the Director: A Davidic Psalm.
God’s Revelation in the Heavens The heavens are declaring the glory of God, and their expanse shows the work of his hands. ² Day after day they pour forth speech, night after night they reveal knowledge. ³ There is no speech nor are there words— their voice is not heard— ⁴ yet their message goes out into all the world, and their words to the ends of the earth. He has set up a tent for the sun in the heavens, ⁵ which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, or like a champion who rejoices at the beginning of a race. ⁶ Its circuit is from one end of the sky to the other, and nothing is hidden from its heat.

¹ To the Music Director: A Davidic Song
God’s Knowledge and Presence LORD, you have examined me; you have known me. ² You know when I rest and when I am active. You understand what I am thinking when I am distant from you. ³ You scrutinize my life and my rest; you are familiar with all of my ways. ⁴ Even before I have formed a word with my tongue, you, LORD, know it completely! ⁵ You encircle me from back to front, placing your hand upon me. ⁶ Knowledge like this is too amazing for me. It is beyond my reach, and I cannot fathom it.
⁷ The Magnitude of GodWhere can I flee from your spirit? Or where will I run from your presence? ⁸ If I rise to heaven, there you are! If I lay down with the dead, there you are! ⁹ If I take wings with the dawn and settle down on the western horizon ¹⁰ your hand will guide me there, too, while your right hand keeps a firm grip on me. ¹¹ If I say, “Darkness will surely conceal me, and the light around me will become night,” ¹² even darkness isn’t dark to you, darkness and light are the same to you. ¹³ It was you who formed my internal organs, fashioning me within my mother’s womb.

²³ “Am I a God who is near,” declares the LORD, “rather than a God who is far away? ²⁴ If a person hides himself in secret places, will I not see him?” declares the LORD. “I fill the heavens and the earth, do I not?” declares the LORD.

¹⁷ so that the rest of the people may search for the Lord, including all the gentiles who are called by my name,’ declares the Lord. ‘He is the one who has been doing these things

²⁰ For since the creation of the world God’s invisible attributes—his eternal power and divine nature—have been understood and observed by what he made, so that people are without excuse.

⁴ Or are you unaware of his rich kindness, forbearance, and patience, that it is God’s kindness that is leading you to repent?

²⁹ If anyone should arise to pursue you and seek your life, may the life of your majesty be bound up with the LORD your God in a bundle of the living, and may he sling out the lives of your enemies from the pocket of a sling.

⁹ For with you is a fountain of life, and in your light we will see light.

⁹ He gives us life and does not permit our feet to slip.

²³ “You’ve exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven.
“You’ve had the vessels from his Temple brought into your presence.
“And you, your officials, and your wives and mistresses drank wine from them.
“You praised gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which can’t see, hear, or demonstrate knowledge.
“But you didn’t honor God, who holds in his power your very life and all your ways.

³⁸ the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

³⁸ He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, because he considers all people to be alive to him.”

²⁶ Just as the Father has life in himself, so also he has granted the Son to have life in himself,

²⁵ Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The person who believes in me, even though he dies, will live.

¹⁷ He himself existed before anything else did, and he holds all things together.

¹² One of their very own prophets said, “Liars ever, men of Crete, savage brutes that live to eat.”

³ He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact likeness of his being, and he holds everything together by his powerful word. After he had provided a cleansing from sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Highest Majesty

⁹ Furthermore, we had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them for it. We should submit even more to the Father of our spirits and live, shouldn’t we?

⁴ “You are not to make for yourselves an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above, or on earth below, or in the water under the earth.

⁴ He took them from them and, using a tool, fashioned them into a molten calf. The people said, “This, Israel, is your god who brought you out of the land of Egypt.”

⁷ They say, “The LORD cannot see, and the God of Jacob will not notice.” ⁸ Pay attention, you dull ones among the crowds! You fools! Will you ever become wise? ⁹ The one who formed the ear can hear, can he not? The one who made the eyes can see, can he not?

²⁰ They exchanged their glory with the image of a grass-eating bull.

⁴ Their idols are silver and gold, crafted by human hands. ⁵ They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see. ⁶ They have ears, but cannot hear; they have noses, but cannot smell. ⁷ They have hands, but cannot touch; feet, but cannot walk; they cannot even groan with their throats. ⁸ Those who craft them will become like them, as will all those who trust in them.

¹² Who is Like the LORD?“Who has measured the waters of the sea in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens by the width of his hand? Who has enclosed the dust of the earth in a measuring bowl, or weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? ¹³ Who has fathomed the Spirit of the LORD, or as his counselor has taught him? ¹⁴ With whom did he consult to enlighten and instruct him on the path of justice? Or who taught him knowledge and showed him the way of wisdom? ¹⁵ “Look! The nations are like a drop in a bucket, and are reckoned as dust on the scales. Look! He even lifts up the islands like powder! ¹⁶ Lebanon would not provide enough fuel, nor are its animals enough for a burnt offering. ¹⁷ All the nations are as nothing before him— they are reckoned by him as nothing and chaos. ¹⁸ “To whom, then, will you compare me, the One who is God? Or to what image will you liken me? ¹⁹ To an idol? A craftsman makes the image, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts silver chains. ²⁰ To the impoverished person? He prepares an offering— wood that won’t rot— Or to the one who chooses a skilled craftsman and seeks to erect an idol that won’t topple?”

²⁵ “To whom, then, will you compare me, and to whom should I be equal?” asks the Holy One.

⁹ A Rebuke to Idol WorshipNow, all the forming of images means nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Their own witnesses cannot see, and they know nothing. So they will be put to shame.
¹⁰ Who would shape a god or cast an image that profits nothing? ¹¹ To be sure, all who associate with it will be put to shame; and as for the craftsmen, they are only human. Let them all gather together and take their stand. Then let them be terrified—they will be humiliated together.
¹² The blacksmith prepares a tool and works in the coals, then fashions an idol with hammers, working by the strength of his arm. He even becomes hungry and loses his strength; he drinks no water and grows faint.
¹³ The carpenter measures it with a line; he traces its shape with a stylus, then fashions it with planes and shapes it with a compass. He makes the idol like a human figure, with human beauty, to be at home in a shrine. ¹⁴ He cuts down cedars, or chooses a cypress tree or an oak, and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. Or he plants a cedar, and the rain makes it grow. ¹⁵ He divides it up for people to burn. Taking part of it, he warms himself, makes a fire, and bakes bread. Or perhaps he constructs a god and worships it. He makes it an idol and bows down to it. ¹⁶ Half the wood he burns in the fire, and over that half he places meat so he can eat. He sits by its coals, warms himself, and says, “Ah! I am warm in front of the fire.” ¹⁷ And the rest of it he makes into a god. To blocks of wood he bows down, worships, prays, and says, “Save me, since you are my god.”
¹⁸ They don’t realize; they don’t understand, because their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds, too, so they cannot understand. ¹⁹ No one stops to think. No one has the knowledge or understanding to think—yes to think!—“Half of it I burned in the fire. I even baked bread on its coals, and I roasted meat and ate it. And am I about to make detestable things from what is left? Am I about to bow down to blocks of wood?” ²⁰ He tends ashes. A deceived mind has lead him astray. It cannot be his life, nor can he say, “There’s a lie in my right hand.”

⁵ “To whom will you compare me, count me equal, or liken me, so that I may be compared? ⁶ Those who pour out gold in a purse, weigh silver in a balance, hire a goldsmith in order to make a god, and then they bow down and even worship it.

⁴ They decorate it with silver and gold. They secure it with nails and hammers so it won’t totter. ⁵ Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field. They can’t speak! They must always be carried because they can’t walk! Don’t be afraid of them because they can do no harm, nor can they do any good.” ⁶ There is no one like you, LORD. You are great, and your name is great and powerful. ⁷ Who wouldn’t fear you, king of the nations? This is what you deserve! Indeed, among all the wise men of the nations, and throughout all their kingdoms, there is no one like you! ⁸ Everyone is stupid and senseless. They follow worthless instruction from a piece of wood! ⁹ Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz. The idols are the work of a craftsman and of the hands of a goldsmith. Their clothing is violet and purple. The idols are all the work of skilled craftsmen. ¹⁰ The LORD is the true God; he’s the living God and the everlasting king. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation.

¹⁹ “Woe to the one who says to a tree, ‘Wake up!’ or ‘Arise!’ to a speechless stone. Idols like this can’t teach, can they? Look, even though it is overlaid with gold and silver, there’s no breath in it at all.”
²⁰ The LORD’s Final Counsel to Habakkuk“The LORD is in his holy Temple. All the earth—be quiet in his presence.”

²⁰ For since the creation of the world God’s invisible attributes—his eternal power and divine nature—have been understood and observed by what he made, so that people are without excuse. ²¹ For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him. Instead, their thoughts turned to worthless things, and their senseless hearts were darkened. ²² Though claiming to be wise, they became fools ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images that looked like mortal human beings, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles.

² “Repent, because the kingdom from heaven is near!”

¹⁷ From then on, Jesus began to announce, “Repent, because the kingdom from heaven is near!”

¹⁵ He said, “The time is now! The kingdom of God is near! Repent, and keep believing the gospel!”

¹² So they went and preached that people should repent.

⁵ Absolutely not, I tell you! But if you don’t repent, then you, too, will all die.”

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

⁴⁷ and then repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

¹⁹ Therefore, repent and turn to him to have your sins blotted out,

¹⁸ When they heard this, they calmed down, and praised God by saying, “So God has given repentance that leads to life even to gentiles.”

¹⁶ In past generations he allowed all the nations to go their own ways,

²¹ I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance to God and faith in our Lord Jesus.

¹⁷ I’ll continue to rescue you from your people and from the gentiles to whom I’m sending you. ¹⁸ You will help them understand and turn them from darkness to light and from Satan’s control to God, so that their sins will be forgiven and they will receive a share among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
¹⁹ “And so, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. ²⁰ Instead, I first told the people in Damascus and Jerusalem, then all the people in Judea—and after that the gentiles—to repent, turn to God, and perform deeds that are consistent with such repentance.

²³ since all have sinned and continue to fall short of God’s glory.

²⁵ whom God offered as a place where atonement by the Messiah’s blood would occur through faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because he had waited patiently to deal with sins committed in the past.

¹⁰ For having sorrow in a godly way results in repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regrets. But the sorrow of the world produces death.

¹⁷ The Old Life and the NewTherefore, I tell you and insist on in the Lord not to live any longer like the gentiles live, thinking worthless thoughts. ¹⁸ They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of their ignorance and hardness of heart. ¹⁹ Since they have lost all sense of shame, they have abandoned themselves to sensuality and practice every kind of sexual perversion without restraint. ²⁰ However, that is not the way you came to know the Messiah. ²¹ Surely you have listened to him and have been taught by him, since truth is in Jesus. ²² Regarding your former way of life, you were taught to strip off your old nature, which is being ruined by its deceptive desires, ²³ to be renewed in your mental attitude, ²⁴ and to clothe yourselves with the new nature, which was created according to God’s image in righteousness and true holiness.
²⁵ Therefore, stripping off falsehood, “let each of us speak the truth to his neighbor,” for we belong to one another. ²⁶ “Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set while you are still angry, ²⁷ and do not give the devil an opportunity to work. ²⁸ The thief must no longer steal but must work hard and do what is good with his own hands, so that he might earn something to give to the needy.
²⁹ Let no filthy talk be heard from your mouths, but only what is good for building up people and meeting the need of the moment. This way you will administer grace to those who hear you. ³⁰ Do not grieve the Holy Spirit, by whom you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. ³¹ Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, quarreling, and slander be put away from you, along with all hatred. ³² And be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another just as God has forgiven you in the Messiah.

⁶ Living in the LightDo not let anyone deceive you with meaningless words, for it is because of these things that God becomes angry with those who disobey. ⁷ So do not be partners with them. ⁸ For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light,

¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. ¹² It trains us to renounce ungodly living and worldly passions so that we might live sensible, honest, and godly lives in the present age

¹⁴ As obedient children, do not be shaped by the desires that used to influence you when you were ignorant. ¹⁵ Instead, be holy in every aspect of your life, just as the one who called you is holy.

³ For you spent enough time in the past doing what the gentiles like to do, living in sensuality, sinful desires, drunkenness, wild celebrations, drinking parties, and detestable idolatry.

⁸ He will judge the world righteously and make just decisions for the people.

¹³ in the LORD’s presence, because he is coming; indeed, he will come to judge the earth. He will judge the world fairly and its people reliably.

⁹ in the LORD’s presence, who comes to judge the earth; He’ll judge the world righteously; and its people fairly.

¹⁵ I tell all of you with certainty, it will be more bearable for the region of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town!”

³¹ The Judgment of the Nations“When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels are with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be assembled in front of him, and he will cull them out, one from another, like a shepherd separates sheep from goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right but the goats on his left.
³⁴ “Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who have been blessed by my Father! Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, ³⁵ because I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you welcomed me. ³⁶ I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you took care of me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
³⁷ “Then the righteous will say to him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and give you something to eat, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you as a stranger and welcome you, or see you naked and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison, and visit you?’
⁴⁰ The king will answer them, ‘I tell all of you with certainty, since you did it for one of the least important of these brothers of mine, you did it for me.’
⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Get away from me, you who are accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels! ⁴² Here’s why: I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink. ⁴³ I was a stranger, and you didn’t welcome me. I was naked, and you didn’t clothe me. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
⁴⁴ “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or as a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and didn’t help you?’
⁴⁵ Then he will say to them, ‘I tell all of you with certainty, since you didn’t do it for one of the least important of these, you didn’t do it for me.’ ⁴⁶ These people will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”

⁴⁶ He told them, “This is how it is written: the Messiah was to suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷ and then repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things.

²² The Father judges no one, but has given all authority to judge to the Son, ²³ so that everyone may honor the Son as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

²³ After he was arrested according to the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified this very man and killed him using the hands of lawless men. ²⁴ But God raised him up and put an end to suffering of death, since it was impossible for him to be held by it,

³² “It was this very Jesus whom God raised—and we’re all witnesses of that.

¹⁵ and you killed the source of life, whom God raised from the dead. We are witnesses to that. ¹⁶ It is his name—that is, by faith in his name—that has healed this man whom you see and know. Yes, the faith that comes through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you.

¹⁰ you and all the people of Israel must understand that this man stands healthy before you because of the name of Jesus from Nazareth, whom you crucified, but whom God raised from the dead.

³⁰ The God of our ancestors raised Jesus to life after you killed him by hanging him on a tree. ³¹ God has exalted to his right hand this very man as our Leader and Savior in order to extend repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. ³² We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who keep on obeying him.”

³⁹ We are witnesses of everything Jesus did in the land of the Jews, including Jerusalem.
“They hung him on a tree and killed him, ⁴⁰ but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear— ⁴¹ not to all the people, but to us who were chosen by God to be witnesses and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. ⁴² He also ordered us to preach to the people and to testify solemnly that this is the one appointed by God to be the judge of the living and the dead.

³⁰ But God raised him from the dead, ³¹ and for many days he appeared to those who had come with him to Jerusalem from Galilee. These are now his witnesses to the people.

¹⁸ Some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also debated with him. Some asked, “What is this blabbermouth trying to say?” while others said, “He seems to be preaching about foreign gods.” This was because Paul was telling the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.

⁵ But because of your stubborn and unrepentant heart you are reserving wrath for yourself on the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

¹⁶ on that day when God, through Jesus the Messiah, will judge people’s secrets according to my gospel.

⁵ Therefore, stop judging prematurely, before the Lord comes, for he will bring to light what is now hidden in darkness and reveal the motives of our hearts. Then each person will receive his praise from God.

³ For I passed on to you the most important points that I received: The Messiah died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ he was buried, he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures—and is still alive!— ⁵ and he was seen by Cephas, and then by the Twelve. ⁶ After that, he was seen by more than 500 brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. ⁷ Next he was seen by James, then by all the apostles, ⁸ and finally he was seen by me, as though I were born abnormally late.

¹⁰ For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of the Messiah, so that each of us may receive what he deserves for what he has done in his body, whether good or worthless.

¹ Complete the Task Entrusted to YouIn the presence of God and the Messiah Jesus, who is going to judge those who are living and those who are dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly appeal to you

⁷ Now by that same word, the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire and are being kept for the day when ungodly people will be judged and destroyed.

¹⁴ Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied about these people when he said, “Look! The Lord has come with countless thousands of his holy ones. ¹⁵ He will judge all people and convict everyone of all the ungodly things that they have done in such an ungodly way, including all the harsh things that these ungodly sinners have said about him.”

¹⁴ Lot then went out and told his sons-in-law (they had married his daughters), “Get out of here! The LORD is going to destroy this city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.

⁹ If you return to the LORD, your relatives and children will receive compassion from those who took them away captive, and they’ll return to this land, because the LORD is both gracious and compassionate—he will not turn away from you if you return to him.”
¹⁰ Couriers crossed from city to city throughout the territories of Ephraim and Manasseh as far as Zebulun, but those people just mocked them and laughed at them. ¹¹ Nevertheless, a few men from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and traveled to Jerusalem.

¹⁶ but they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until there was no remedy for the wrath of the LORD that arose to punish his people.

¹⁸ Every single one of them began asking to be excused. The first told him, ‘I bought a field, and I need to go out and inspect it. Please excuse me.’

⁶³ Jesus is Insulted and Beaten
Then the men who were holding Jesus in custody began to make fun of him while they beat him.

¹¹ Even Herod and his soldiers treated him with contempt and made fun of him. He put a magnificent robe on Jesus and sent him back to Pilate.

³⁶ The soldiers also made fun of Jesus by coming up and offering him sour wine,

¹³ But others kept saying in derision, “They’re drunk on sweet wine!”

⁴¹ ‘Look, you mockers! Be amazed and die! Since I am performing an action in your days, one that you would not believe even if someone told you!’”

³¹ because he has set a day when he is going to judge the world with justice through a man whom he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

⁸ Why is it thought incredible by all of you that God should raise the dead?

²⁴ As he continued his defense, Festus shouted, “You’re out of your mind, Paul! Too much education is driving you crazy!”
²⁵ But Paul said, “I’m not out of my mind, Your Excellency Festus. I’m reporting what is absolutely true.

² For he says, “At the right time I heard you, and on a day of salvation I helped you.” Listen, now is really the “right time”! Now is the “day of salvation”!

⁷ A Rest for the People of GodTherefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, ⁸ do not harden your hearts as they did when they provoked me during the time of testing in the wilderness.

³⁶ Still others endured taunts and floggings, and even chains and imprisonment.

¹³ Therefore go to him outside the camp and endure the insults he endured.

¹⁰ “For just as the rain and snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, yielding seed for the sower and bread for eating, ¹¹ so will my message be that goes out of my mouth— it won’t return to me empty. Instead, it will accomplish what I desire, and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

¹⁶ “In the same way, the last will be first, and the first will be last, because many are called, but few are chosen.”

⁴⁸ None of the authorities or Pharisees has believed in him, have they? ⁴⁹ But this mob that does not know the Law—they’re under a curse!”
⁵⁰ One of their own, Nicodemus (the man who had previously met with Jesus), asked them, ⁵¹ “Surely our Law does not condemn a person without first hearing from him and finding out what he is doing, does it?”
⁵² They answered him, “You aren’t from Galilee, too, are you? Search and see that no prophet comes from Galilee.”

³⁸ Jesus is Buried
Later on, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus (though a secret one because he was afraid of the Jewish leaders), asked Pilate to let him remove the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission, and he came and removed his body. ³⁹ Nicodemus, the man who had first come to Jesus at night, also arrived, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about 100 litra. ⁴⁰ They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it in linen cloths along with spices, according to the burial custom of the Jews. ⁴¹ A garden was located in the place where he was crucified, and in that garden was a new tomb in which no one had yet been placed. ⁴² Because it was the Jewish Preparation Day, and because the tomb was nearby, they put Jesus there.

⁴⁸ When the gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord. Meanwhile, all who had been destined to eternal life believed,

⁴ Some of them were persuaded and began to be associated with Paul and Silas, especially a large crowd of devout Greeks and the wives of many prominent men.

¹⁹ Then they took him, brought him before the Areopagus, and asked, “May we know what this new teaching of yours is?

⁵ So it is at the present time: there is a remnant, chosen by grace. ⁶ But if this is by grace, then it is no longer on the basis of actions. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace.

²² All the saints, especially those of the emperor’s household, greet you.