2 Corinthians Cross References - MSB

¹ Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia: ² Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. ⁵ For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. ⁶ If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation, which accomplishes in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we experience. ⁷ And our hope for you is sure; If we are comforted, it is for your comfort and salvation, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you will share in our comfort. ⁸ We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the hardships we encountered in the province of Asia. We were under a burden far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. ⁹ Indeed, we felt we were under the sentence of death, in order that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God, who raises the dead. ¹⁰ He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He continues to deliver us. In Him we have placed our hope that He will yet again deliver us, ¹¹ as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on your behalf for the favor shown us in answer to their prayers. ¹² And this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in relation to you, in the integrity and sincerity that are from God—not in worldly wisdom, but in the grace of God. ¹³ For we do not write you anything that is beyond your ability to read and understand. And I hope that you will understand us completely, ¹⁴ as you have already understood us in part, so that you may boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁵ Confident of this, I planned to visit you first, so that you might receive a double blessing. ¹⁶ I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia, and to return to you from Macedonia, and then to have you help me on my way to Judea. ¹⁷ When I planned this, did I do it carelessly? Or do I make my plans by human standards, so as to say “Yes, yes” when I really mean “No, no”? ¹⁸ But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you was not “Yes” and “No.” ¹⁹ For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was proclaimed among you by me and Silvanus and Timothy, was not “Yes” and “No,” but in Him it has always been “Yes.” ²⁰ For all the promises of God are “Yes” in Christ. And so in Him, our “Amen” is spoken to the glory of God. ²¹ Now it is God who establishes both us and you in Christ. He anointed us, ²² placed His seal on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a pledge of what is to come. ²³ I call God as my witness that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth. ²⁴ Not that we lord it over your faith, but we are fellow workers with you for your joy, because it is by faith that you stand firm.

¹ Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where he found a disciple named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish woman and a Greek father.

¹ After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. ² There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to visit them, ³ and he stayed and worked with them because they were tentmakers by trade, just as he was. ⁴ Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks alike. ⁵ And when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit, testifying to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. ⁶ But when they opposed and insulted him, he shook out his garments and told them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” ⁷ So Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Justus, a worshiper of God. ⁸ Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his whole household believed in the Lord. And many of the Corinthians who heard the message believed and were baptized. ⁹ One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking; do not be silent. ¹⁰ For I am with you and no one will lay a hand on you, because I have many people in this city.” ¹¹ So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching the word of God among the Corinthians. ¹² While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews coordinated an attack on Paul and brought him before the judgment seat.

¹ Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, and set apart for the gospel of God— ² the gospel He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, ³ regarding His Son, who was a descendant of David according to the flesh, ⁴ and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. ⁵ Through Him and on behalf of His name, we received grace and apostleship to call all those among the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.

²⁶ For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.

⁵ Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my beloved Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Achaia.

²¹ Timothy, my fellow worker, sends you greetings, as do Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my fellow countrymen.

¹ Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, ² To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:

¹¹ And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

³² Do not become a stumbling block, whether to Jews or Greeks or the church of God—

¹⁰ If Timothy comes, see to it that he has nothing to fear while he is with you, for he is doing the work of the Lord, just as I am.

¹⁵ You know that Stephanas and his household were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints. Now I urge you, brothers,

² For I know your eagerness to help, and I have been boasting to the Macedonians that since last year you in Achaia were prepared to give. And your zeal has stirred most of them to do likewise.

¹⁰ As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia.

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

¹ Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:

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

¹⁹ Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I learn how you are doing. ²⁰ I have nobody else like him who will genuinely care for your needs. ²¹ For all the others look after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. ²² But you know Timothy’s proven worth, that as a child with his father he has served with me to advance the gospel.

¹ Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, ² To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

¹ Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁷ As a result, you examples an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. ⁸ For not only did the message of the Lord ring out from you to Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone out to every place, so that we have no need to say anything more.

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

¹ Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the command of God our Savior and of the Lord Jesus Christ our hope,

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

¹ Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness,

²³ Be aware that our brother Timothy has been released. If he arrives soon, I will come with him to see you.

²⁰ In fact, you arrived only yesterday; should I make you wander around with us today while I do not know where I am going? Go back and take your brothers with you. May the LORD show you loving devotion and faithfulness.”

¹⁸ Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, the chief of the Thirty, and he said: “We are yours, O David! We are with you, O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, and peace to your helpers, for your God helps you.” So David received them and made them leaders of his troops.

¹ King Nebuchadnezzar, To the people of every nation and language who dwell in all the earth: May your prosperity be multiplied.

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

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

¹⁶ Peace and mercy to all who walk by this rule, even to the Israel of God.

²³ Peace to the brothers and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

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

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

² Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ³ Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁰ and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything.

¹⁰ Then David blessed the LORD in the sight of all the assembly and said: “May You be blessed, O LORD, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.

⁵ Then the Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah—said, “Stand up and bless the LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting: Blessed be Your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise.

²¹ saying: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.”

⁴⁶ The LORD lives, and blessed be my Rock! And may the God of my salvation be exalted—

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

⁵ For You, O Lord, are kind and forgiving, rich in loving devotion to all who call on You.

¹⁵ But You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness.

³⁴ But at the end of those days I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven, and my sanity was restored to me. Then I praised the Most High, and I honored and glorified Him who lives forever: “For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation.

⁹ To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, even though we have rebelled against Him

¹⁸ Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance—who does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in loving devotion?

²² Furthermore, the Father judges no one, but has assigned all judgment to the Son, ²³ so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

³⁰ I and the Father are one.”

¹⁷ “Do not cling to Me,” Jesus said, “for I have not yet ascended to My Father. But go and tell My brothers, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’”

⁵ Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement grant you harmony with one another in Christ Jesus, ⁶ so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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

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

¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in your knowledge of Him.

¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ I was overjoyed to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father has commanded us.

⁹ Anyone who transgresses without remaining in the teaching of Christ does not have God. Whoever remains in the teaching of Christ has both the Father and the Son.

⁵ Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not hide my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah

⁷ You are my hiding place. You protect me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah

² My soul boasts in the LORD; let the oppressed hear and rejoice. ³ Magnify the LORD with me; let us exalt His name together. ⁴ I sought the LORD, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears. ⁵ Those who look to Him are radiant with joy; their faces shall never be ashamed. ⁶ This poor man called out, and the LORD heard him; He saved him from all his troubles.

¹⁶ Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will declare what He has done for me.

¹⁷ Show me a sign of Your goodness, that my enemies may see and be ashamed; for You, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.

¹ In that day you will say: “O LORD, I will praise You. Although You were angry with me, Your anger has turned away, and You have comforted me.

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

¹⁰ They will not hunger or thirst, nor will scorching heat or sun beat down on them. For He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.

³ For the LORD will comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; He will make her wilderness like Eden and her desert like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and melodious song.

¹² “I, even I, am He who comforts you. Why should you be afraid of mortal man, of a son of man who withers like grass?

⁹ Break forth in joy, sing together, O ruins of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted His people; He has redeemed Jerusalem.

¹² For this is what the LORD says: “I will extend peace to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flowing stream; you will nurse and be carried on her arm, and bounced upon her knees. ¹³ As a mother comforts her son, so will I comfort you, and you will be consoled over Jerusalem.” ¹⁴ When you see, you will rejoice, and you will flourish like grass; then the hand of the LORD will be revealed to His servants, but His wrath will be shown to His enemies.

¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to abide with you forever—

¹⁸ I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

²⁶ But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.

⁵ For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. ⁶ If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation, which accomplishes in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we experience.

⁶ But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the arrival of Titus, ⁷ and not only by his arrival, but also by the comfort he had received from you. He told us about your longing, your mourning, and your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced all the more.

¹³ On account of this, we are encouraged. In addition to our own encouragement, we were even more delighted by the joy of Titus. For his spirit has been refreshed by all of you.

¹⁴ And most of the brothers, confident in the Lord by my chains, now dare more greatly to speak the word without fear.

¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words.

¹¹ Therefore encourage and build one another up, just as you are already doing.

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

¹² Therefore strengthen your limp hands and weak knees.

²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

⁴ He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?”

¹⁰ We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, but we are dishonored. ¹¹ To this very hour we are hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clothed, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. ¹² We work hard with our own hands. When we are vilified, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; ¹³ when we are slandered, we answer gently. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world.

¹⁰ We always carry around in our body the death of the Lord Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. ¹¹ For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.

²³ Are they servants of Christ? I am speaking like I am out of my mind, but I am so much more: in harder labor, in worse beatings, in more imprisonments, in frequent danger of death. ²⁴ Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked. I spent a night and a day in the open sea. ²⁶ In my frequent journeys, I have been in danger from rivers and from bandits, in danger from my countrymen and from the Gentiles, in danger in the city and in the country, in danger on the sea and among false brothers, ²⁷ in labor and toil and often without sleep, in hunger and thirst and often without food, in cold and exposure. ²⁸ Apart from these external trials, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. ²⁹ Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not burn with grief? ³⁰ If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

²⁰ I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have complete boldness so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.

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

¹⁰ I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to Him in His death,

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

⁵ But when our time there had ended, we set out on our journey. All the disciples, with their wives and children, accompanied us out of the city and knelt down on the beach to pray with us.

³ Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.

²⁸ And we know that all things work together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.

²¹ Therefore, stop boasting in men. All things are yours, ²² whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future. All of them belong to you, ²³ and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

⁴ who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

¹⁵ All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is extending to more and more people may overflow in thanksgiving, to the glory of God. ¹⁶ Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet the inner self is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison. ¹⁸ So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

⁵ And God has prepared us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a pledge of what is to come.

¹⁵ And for the sake of your souls, I will most gladly spend my money and myself. If I love you more, will you love me less?

¹³ So I ask you not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.

¹⁹ because I know that through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, my distress will turn out for my deliverance.

¹⁰ For this reason I endure all things for the sake of the elect, so that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.

¹⁰ Our fathers disciplined us for a short time as they thought best, but God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness. ¹¹ No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who have been trained by it.

¹¹ Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say every evil thing against you because of Me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.

²⁸ You are the ones who have stood by Me in My trials. ²⁹ And I bestow on you a kingdom, just as My Father has bestowed one on Me, ³⁰ so that you may eat and drink at My table and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

¹⁷ And if we are children, then we are heirs: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him. ¹⁸ I consider that our present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us.

¹³ No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide an escape, so that you can stand up under it.

¹⁴ as you have already understood us in part, so that you may boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus.

⁹ And now I rejoice, not because you were made sorrowful, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you felt the sorrow that God had intended, and so were not harmed in any way by us.

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

⁶ being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. ⁷ It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart. For in my chains and in my defense and confirmation of the gospel, you are all partners in grace with me.

³ and continually recalling before our God and Father your work of faith, your labor of love, and your enduring hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁴ Brothers who are beloved by God, we know that He has chosen you,

⁴ That is why we boast among God’s churches about your perseverance and faith in the face of all the persecution and affliction you are enduring. ⁵ All this is clear evidence of God’s righteous judgment. And so you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. ⁶ After all, it is only right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, ⁷ and to grant relief to you who are oppressed and to us as well. This will take place when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels

¹² if we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He will also deny us;

² Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. ⁴ Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

¹² Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

³ But David again vowed, “Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said, ‘Jonathan must not know of this, or he will be grieved.’ As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, there is but a step between me and death.”

¹ David, however, said to himself, “One of these days now I will be swept away by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will stop searching for me all over Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.”

²³ About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way. ²⁴ It began with a silversmith named Demetrius who made silver shrines of Artemis, bringing much business to the craftsmen. ²⁵ Demetrius assembled the craftsmen, along with the workmen in related trades. “Men,” he said, “you know that this business is our source of prosperity. ²⁶ And you can see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in nearly the whole province of Asia, Paul has persuaded a great number of people to turn away. He says that man-made gods are no gods at all. ²⁷ There is danger not only that our business will fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited and her majesty deposed—she who is worshiped by all the province of Asia and the whole world.” ²⁸ When the men heard this, they were enraged and began shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” ²⁹ Soon the whole city was in disarray. They rushed together into the theatre, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia. ³⁰ Paul wanted to go before the assembly, but the disciples would not allow him. ³¹ Even some of Paul’s friends who were officials of the province of Asia sent word to him, begging him not to venture into the theatre. ³² Meanwhile the assembly was in turmoil. Some were shouting one thing and some another, and most of them did not even know why they were there. ³³ The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander forward, and he motioned for silence so he could make his defense to the people. ³⁴ But when they realized that he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” ³⁵ Finally the city clerk quieted the crowd and declared, “Men of Ephesus, doesn’t everyone know that the city of Ephesus is guardian of the temple of the great goddess Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven?

⁸ Already you have all you want. Already you have become rich. Without us, you have become kings. How I wish you really were kings, so that we might be kings with you!

³² If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for human motives, what did I gain? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”

⁹ because a great door for effective work has opened to me, even though many oppose me.

⁷ Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us. ⁸ We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed. ¹⁰ We always carry around in our body the death of the Lord Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. ¹¹ For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body. ¹² So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

¹⁴ Then I will confess to you that your own right hand can save you.

²⁹ All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before Him—even those unable to preserve their lives.

⁵ Through You we repel our foes; through Your name we trample our enemies. ⁶ For I do not trust in my bow, nor does my sword save me. ⁷ For You save us from our enemies; You put those who hate us to shame.

²⁶ He who trusts in himself is a fool, but one who walks in wisdom will be safe.

²³ This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches. ²⁴ But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, who exercises loving devotion, justice and righteousness on the earth—for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.

⁵ This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes the flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD. ⁶ He will be like a shrub in the desert; he will not see when prosperity comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. ⁷ But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him.

¹³ If I tell the righteous man that he will surely live, but he then trusts in his righteousness and commits iniquity, then none of his righteous works will be remembered; he will die because of the iniquity he has committed.

¹ The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me out by His Spirit and set me down in the middle of the valley, and it was full of bones. ² He led me all around among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, and indeed, they were very dry. ³ Then He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones come to life?” “O Lord GOD,” I replied, “only You know.” ⁴ And He said to me, “Prophesy concerning these bones and tell them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! ⁵ This is what the Lord GOD says to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you will come to life. ⁶ I will attach tendons to you and make flesh grow upon you and cover you with skin. I will put breath within you so that you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’” ⁷ So I prophesied as I had been commanded. And as I prophesied, there was suddenly a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone. ⁸ As I looked on, tendons appeared on them, flesh grew, and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them. ⁹ Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and tell the breath that this is what the Lord GOD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, so that they may live!” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as He had commanded me, and the breath entered them, and they came to life and stood on their feet—a vast army. ¹¹ Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Look, they are saying, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope has perished; we are cut off.’ ¹² Therefore prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘O My people, I will open your graves and bring you up from them, and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. ¹³ Then you, My people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. ¹⁴ I will put My Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.’”

⁹ To some who trusted in their own righteousness and viewed others with contempt, He also told this parable:

¹⁷ As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the presence of God, in whom he believed, the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being what does not yet exist. ¹⁸ Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” ¹⁹ Without weakening in his faith, he acknowledged neither the decrepitness of his body (since he was about a hundred years old) nor the lifelessness of Sarah’s womb. ²⁰ Yet he did not waver through disbelief in the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, ²¹ being fully persuaded that God was able to do what He had promised. ²² This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” ²³ Now the words “it was credited to him” were written not only for Abraham, ²⁴ but also for us, to whom righteousness will be credited—for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. ²⁵ He was delivered over to death for our trespasses and was raised to life for our justification.

⁵ Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything comes from us, but our competence comes from God.

⁷ Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.

¹³ And in keeping with what is written: “I believed, therefore I have spoken,” we who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak, ¹⁴ knowing that the One who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us through Jesus and present us with you in His presence.

⁷ or because of these surpassingly great revelations. So to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. ⁸ Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹ But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

¹⁹ Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and in a sense, he did receive Isaac back from death.

¹² Afterward, Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.”

³⁷ David added, “The LORD, who delivered me from the claws of the lion and the bear, will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” “Go,” said Saul, “and may the LORD be with you.”

¹⁷ Blessed indeed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. ¹⁸ For He wounds, but He also binds; He strikes, but His hands also heal. ¹⁹ He will rescue you from six calamities; no harm will touch you in seven. ²⁰ In famine He will redeem you from death, and in battle from the stroke of the sword. ²¹ You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and will not fear havoc when it comes. ²² You will laugh at destruction and famine, and need not fear the beasts of the earth.

¹⁹ Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him from them all.

³ “Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been sustained from the womb, carried along since birth.

²¹ For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me.

³¹ Pray that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there,

¹⁰ To this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of everyone, and especially of those who believe.

¹⁷ But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message would be fully proclaimed, and all the Gentiles would hear it. So I was delivered from the mouth of the lion.

⁹ if all this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.

⁴ Perhaps the LORD your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to defy the living God, and He will rebuke him for the words that the LORD your God has heard. Therefore lift up a prayer for the remnant that still survives.”

⁶ On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD shall take no rest for yourselves, ⁷ nor give Him any rest until He establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.

⁵ So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

³⁰ Now I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. ³¹ Pray that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there, ³² so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed.

¹⁵ All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is extending to more and more people may overflow in thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

¹¹ You will be enriched in every way to be generous on every occasion, so that through us your giving will produce thanksgiving to God. ¹² For this ministry of service is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanksgiving to God.

¹⁴ And their prayers for you will express their affection for you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you.

¹⁸ Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints. ¹⁹ Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will boldly make known the mystery of the gospel,

³ as you pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.

²⁵ Brothers, pray for us.

¹ Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may spread quickly and be held in honor, just as it was with you.

²² In the meantime, prepare a guest room for me, because I hope that through your prayers I will be restored to you.

¹⁸ Pray for us; we are convinced that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way.

¹⁶ Confess your trespasses to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail. ¹⁷ Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. ¹⁸ Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth yielded its crops.

¹⁴ Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; cast aside the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.

¹⁵ Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. I will still defend my ways to His face.

¹⁰ Yet He knows the way I have taken; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold. ¹¹ My feet have followed in His tracks; I have kept His way without turning aside. ¹² I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread.

⁵ I will never say that you are right; I will maintain my integrity until I die. ⁶ I will cling to my righteousness and never let go. As long as I live, my conscience will not accuse me.

¹ “I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I gaze with desire at a virgin? ² For what is the allotment of God from above, or the heritage from the Almighty on high? ³ Does not disaster come to the unjust and calamity to the workers of iniquity? ⁴ Does He not see my ways and count my every step? ⁵ If I have walked in falsehood or my foot has rushed to deceit, ⁶ let God weigh me with honest scales, that He may know my integrity. ⁷ If my steps have turned from the path, if my heart has followed my eyes, or if impurity has stuck to my hands, ⁸ then may another eat what I have sown, and may my crops be uprooted. ⁹ If my heart has been enticed by my neighbor’s wife, or I have lurked at his door, ¹⁰ then may my own wife grind grain for another, and may other men sleep with her. ¹¹ For that would be a heinous crime, an iniquity to be judged. ¹² For it is a fire that burns down to Abaddon; it would root out my entire harvest. ¹³ If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or maidservant when they made a complaint against me, ¹⁴ what will I do when God rises to judge? How will I answer when called to account? ¹⁵ Did not He who made me in the womb also make them? Did not the same One form us in the womb? ¹⁶ If I have denied the desires of the poor or allowed the widow’s eyes to fail, ¹⁷ if I have eaten my morsel alone, not sharing it with the fatherless— ¹⁸ though from my youth I reared him as would a father, and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow— ¹⁹ if I have seen one perish for lack of clothing, or a needy man without a cloak, ²⁰ if his heart has not blessed me for warming him with the fleece of my sheep, ²¹ if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless because I saw that I had support in the gate, ²² then may my arm fall from my shoulder and be torn from its socket. ²³ For calamity from God terrifies me, and His splendor I cannot overpower. ²⁴ If I have put my trust in gold or called pure gold my security, ²⁵ if I have rejoiced in my great wealth because my hand had gained so much, ²⁶ if I have beheld the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor, ²⁷ so that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand threw a kiss from my mouth, ²⁸ this would also be an iniquity to be judged, for I would have denied God on high. ²⁹ If I have rejoiced in my enemy’s ruin, or exulted when evil befell him— ³⁰ I have not allowed my mouth to sin by asking for his life with a curse— ³¹ if the men of my house have not said, ‘Who is there who has not had his fill?’— ³² but no stranger had to lodge on the street, for my door has been open to the traveler— ³³ if I have covered my transgressions like Adam by hiding my guilt in my heart, ³⁴ because I greatly feared the crowds and the contempt of the clans terrified me, so that I kept silent and would not go outside— ³⁵ (Oh, that I had one to hear me! Here is my signature. Let the Almighty answer me; let my accuser compose an indictment. ³⁶ Surely I would carry it on my shoulder and wear it like a crown. ³⁷ I would give account of all my steps; I would approach Him like a prince.)— ³⁸ if my land cries out against me and its furrows weep together, ³⁹ if I have devoured its produce without payment or broken the spirit of its tenants, ⁴⁰ then let briers grow instead of wheat and stinkweed instead of barley.” Thus conclude the words of Job.

³ O LORD my God, if I have done this, if injustice is on my hands, ⁴ if I have rewarded my ally with evil, if I have plundered my foe without cause, ⁵ then may my enemy pursue me and overtake me; may he trample me to the ground and leave my honor in the dust. Selah

¹⁷ All this has come upon us, though we have not forgotten You or betrayed Your covenant. ¹⁸ Our hearts have not turned back; our steps have not strayed from Your path. ¹⁹ But You have crushed us in the lair of jackals; You have covered us with deepest darkness. ²⁰ If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, ²¹ would not God have discovered, since He knows the secrets of the heart?

³ saying, “Please, O LORD, remember how I have walked before You faithfully and with wholehearted devotion; I have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

¹ Paul looked directly at the Sanhedrin and said, “Brothers, I have conducted myself before God in all good conscience to this day.”

¹⁶ In this hope, I strive always to maintain a clear conscience before God and man.

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

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

⁴ My message and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, ⁵ so that your faith would not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.

¹³ And this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Holy Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.

⁴ My conscience is clear, but that does not vindicate me. It is the Lord who judges me.

⁸ Therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old bread, leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and of truth.

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

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

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

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

⁸ I am not making a demand, but I am testing the sincerity of your love in comparison to the earnestness of others.

² I beg you that when I come I may not need to be as bold as I expect toward those who presume that we live according to the flesh. ³ For though we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh. ⁴ The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the world. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

³ I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may be led astray from the simplicity that is in Christ.

¹⁵ And for the sake of your souls, I will most gladly spend my money and myself. If I love you more, will you love me less? ¹⁶ Be that as it may, I was not a burden to you; but crafty as I am, I caught you by trickery. ¹⁷ Did I exploit you by anyone I sent you? ¹⁸ I urged Titus to visit you, and I sent our brother with him. Did Titus exploit you in any way? Did we not walk in the same Spirit and follow in the same footsteps? ¹⁹ Have you been thinking all along that we were making a defense to you? We speak before God in Christ, and all of this, beloved, is to build you up.

⁴ Each one should test his own work. Then he will have reason to boast in himself alone, and not in someone else.

¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed,

¹⁰ so that you may be able to test and prove what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,

¹⁰ You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous, and blameless our conduct was among you who believed.

⁵ The goal of our instruction is the love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith.

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

⁷ In everything, show yourself to be an example by doing good works. In your teaching show integrity, dignity, incorruptibility,

¹³ Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good conduct, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. ¹⁴ But if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast in it or deny the truth. ¹⁵ Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. ¹⁶ For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice. ¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere. ¹⁸ Peacemakers who sow in peace reap the fruit of righteousness.

⁶ But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

¹⁶ keeping a clear conscience, so that those who slander you as evildoers may be put to shame by your good behavior in Christ.

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

¹⁹ And by this we will know that we belong to the truth, and will assure our hearts in His presence: ²⁰ Even if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts, and He knows all things. ²¹ Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God, ²² and we will receive from Him whatever we ask, because we keep His commandments and do what is pleasing in His sight.

¹¹ Therefore, since we know what it means to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is clear to God, and I hope it is clear to your conscience as well.

⁶ And I hope you will realize that we have not failed the test.

⁶ I pray that your partnership in the faith may become effective as you fully acknowledge every good thing that is ours in Christ Jesus.

²⁵ I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not be conceited: A hardening in part has come to Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.

⁸ He will sustain you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁸ First of all, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it.

³¹ I face death every day, as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord.

⁵ Now if anyone has caused grief, he has not grieved me but all of you—to some degree, not to overstate it.

¹² For we are not commending ourselves to you again. Instead, we are giving you an occasion to be proud of us, so that you can answer those who take pride in appearances rather than in the heart.

⁶ being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

²⁶ so that through my coming to you again your exultation in Christ Jesus will resound on account of me.

¹⁶ as you hold forth the word of life, in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.

¹ Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you must stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.

¹⁹ After all, who is our hope, our joy, our crown of boasting, if it is not you yourselves in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming? ²⁰ You are indeed our glory and our joy.

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

²³ Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your entire spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹¹ For I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you,

²⁹ I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.

¹⁹ But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only what these arrogant people are saying, but what power they have.

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

¹ As God’s fellow workers, then, we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.

²⁵ Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, ²⁶ so that through my coming to you again your exultation in Christ Jesus will resound on account of me.

²¹ After these things had happened, Paul resolved in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem after he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia. “After I have been there,” he said, “I must see Rome as well.” ²² He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he stayed for a time in the province of Asia.

⁵ After I go through Macedonia, however, I will come to you; for I will be going through Macedonia. ⁶ Perhaps I will stay with you awhile, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey, wherever I go. ⁷ For I do not want to see you now only in passing; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits.

⁴ So they gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-berith, with which Abimelech hired some worthless and reckless men to follow him.

³² “Indeed,” declares the LORD, “I am against those who prophesy false dreams and retell them to lead My people astray with their reckless lies. It was not I who sent them or commanded them, and they are of no benefit at all to these people,” declares the LORD.

⁴ Her prophets are reckless, faithless men. Her priests profane the sanctuary; they do violence to the law.

³⁷ Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ Anything more comes from the evil one.

¹⁵ You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.

¹² And this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in relation to you, in the integrity and sincerity that are from God—not in worldly wisdom, but in the grace of God.

¹⁸ But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you was not “Yes” and “No.” ¹⁹ For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was proclaimed among you by me and Silvanus and Timothy, was not “Yes” and “No,” but in Him it has always been “Yes.” ²⁰ For all the promises of God are “Yes” in Christ. And so in Him, our “Amen” is spoken to the glory of God.

² I beg you that when I come I may not need to be as bold as I expect toward those who presume that we live according to the flesh. ³ For though we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh.

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

² I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I spoke privately to those recognized as leaders, for fear that I was running or had already run in vain.

¹⁸ Therefore we wanted to come to you—indeed I, Paul, tried again and again—but Satan obstructed us.

¹² Above all, my brothers, do not swear, not by heaven or earth or by any other oath. Simply let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, so that you will not fall into hypocrisy.

²⁸ Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “You know Me, and you know where I am from. I have not come of My own accord, but He who sent Me is true. You do not know Him,

²⁶ “I have much to say about you and much to judge. But the One who sent Me is truthful, and what I have heard from Him, I tell the world.”

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

²³ I call God as my witness that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth.

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

⁷ To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of the One who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What He opens no one can shut (except Him who opens) and no one can open.

¹⁴ To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Originator of God’s creation.

¹⁴ God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

⁷ I will proclaim the decree spoken to Me by the LORD: “You are My Son; today I have become Your Father.

¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!”

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven.

⁵ While Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!”

³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.

⁶³ But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to Him, “I charge You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God.” ⁶⁴ “You have said it yourself,” Jesus answered. “But I say to all of you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

⁴⁰ and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross!”

⁵⁴ When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified and said, “Truly this was the Son of God.”

¹ This is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

³⁵ The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.

³⁴ I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”

⁴⁹ “Rabbi,” Nathanael answered, “You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

³⁵ The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in His hands. ³⁶ Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”

⁶⁹ We believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

⁵⁸ “Truly, truly, I tell you,” Jesus declared, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

⁷ “We have a law,” answered the Jews, “and according to our law He must die, because He declared Himself to be the Son of God.”

²⁸ Thomas replied, “My Lord and my God!”

³¹ But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.

³⁶ As they traveled along the road and came to some water, the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is there to prevent me from being baptized?”

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

²² Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to select men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas called Barsabbas and Silas, two leaders among the brothers,

⁵ And when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit, testifying to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ.

³ regarding His Son, who was a descendant of David according to the flesh, ⁴ and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.

¹¹ They will perish, but You remain; they will all wear out like a garment.

⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

¹⁷ For He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to Him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

³ We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And this fellowship of ours is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.

⁹ Even if we accept human testimony, the testimony of God is greater. For this is the testimony that God has given about His Son. ¹⁰ Whoever believes in the Son of God has this testimony within him; whoever does not believe God has made Him out to be a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given about His Son. ¹¹ And this is that testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. ¹² Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. ¹³ I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life and that you may believe in the name of the Son of God.

⁸ “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and was and is to come—the Almighty.

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

¹⁷ When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. But He placed His right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last,

¹⁸ To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like a blazing fire and whose feet are like polished bronze.

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

¹⁸ And through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

¹⁰ The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his.

¹⁷ May his name endure forever; may his name continue as long as the sun shines. In him may all nations be blessed; may they call him blessed.

¹⁶ For the LORD will rebuild Zion; He has appeared in His glory.

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

⁶ For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ⁷ Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from that time and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will accomplish this.

¹⁶ Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the God of truth, and whoever takes an oath in the land will swear by the God of truth. For the former troubles will be forgotten and hidden from My sight.

¹³ And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’

⁶⁸ “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has visited and redeemed His people. ⁶⁹ He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David, ⁷⁰ as He spoke through His holy prophets, those of ages past, ⁷¹ salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, ⁷² to show mercy to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, ⁷³ the oath He swore to our father Abraham, to grant us ⁷⁴ deliverance from the hands of our enemies, that we may serve Him without fear,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will among men!”

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

⁵ Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.

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

²⁵ And you are sons of the prophets and of the covenant God made with our fathers when He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all the families of the earth will be blessed.’ ²⁶ When God raised up His Servant Jesus, He sent Him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.”

³² And now we proclaim to you the good news: What God promised our fathers ³³ He has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: ‘You are My Son; today I have become Your Father.’ ³⁴ In fact, God raised Him from the dead, never to see decay. As He has said: ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.’ ³⁵ So also, He says in another Psalm: ‘You will not let Your Holy One see decay.’ ³⁶ For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep. His body was buried with his fathers and saw decay. ³⁷ But the One whom God raised from the dead did not see decay. ³⁸ Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. ³⁹ Through Him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.

²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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

⁷ Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring glory to God. ⁸ Now I tell you that Christ Jesus has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs, ⁹ so that the Gentiles may glorify God for His mercy. As it is written: “Therefore I will praise You among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to Your name.”

¹⁶ Otherwise, if you speak a blessing in spirit, how can someone who is uninstructed say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying?

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

¹⁶ The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say, “and to seeds,” meaning many, but “and to your seed,” meaning One, who is Christ. ¹⁷ What I mean is this: The law that came 430 years later does not revoke the covenant previously established by God in Christ, so as to nullify the promise. ¹⁸ For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God freely granted it to Abraham through a promise.

²² But the Scripture pronounces all things confined by sin, so that by faith in Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe.

⁶ to the praise of His glorious grace, by which he has bestowed favor upon us in the Beloved One.

¹² in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, would be for the praise of His glory. ¹³ And in Him, having heard and believed the word of truth—the gospel of your salvation—you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴ who is the pledge of our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession, to the praise of His glory.

⁷ in order that in the coming ages He might display the surpassing riches of His grace, demonstrated by His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

⁸ Though I am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given me: to preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, ⁹ and to illuminate for everyone the stewardship of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ. ¹⁰ His purpose was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,

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

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

¹² Then you will not be sluggish, but will imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. ¹³ When God made His promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater to swear by, He swore by Himself, ¹⁴ saying, “I will surely bless you and multiply your descendants.” ¹⁵ And so Abraham, after waiting patiently, obtained the promise. ¹⁶ Men indeed swear by someone greater than themselves, and their oath serves as a confirmation to end all argument. ¹⁷ So when God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of the promise, He guaranteed it with an oath. ¹⁸ Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged. ¹⁹ We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,

⁶ But Melchizedek, who did not trace his descent from Levi, collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.

¹⁰ They consist only in food and drink and special washings—external regulations imposed until the time of reform. ¹¹ But when Christ came as high priest of the good things to come, He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made by hands and is not a part of this creation. ¹² He did not enter by the blood of goats and calves, but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, thus securing eternal redemption. ¹³ For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that their bodies are clean, ¹⁴ how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, purify your consciences from works of death, so that we may serve the living God! ¹⁵ Therefore Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, now that He has died to redeem them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

¹³ All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

³⁹ These were all commended for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised. ⁴⁰ God had planned something better for us, so that together with us they would be made perfect.

¹² It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, when they foretold the things now announced by those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.

²⁴ As for you, then, let what you have heard from the beginning remain in you. If it does, you will also remain in the Son and in the Father. ²⁵ And this is the promise that He Himself made to us: eternal life.

¹¹ And this is that testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.

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

²³ The steps of a man are ordered by the LORD who takes delight in his journey. ²⁴ Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, for the LORD is holding his hand.

⁷ You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you above your companions with the oil of joy.

⁵ And it will be said of Zion: “This one and that one were born in her, and the Most High Himself will establish her.”

⁴ ‘I will establish your offspring forever and build up your throne for all generations.’” Selah

⁷ Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from that time and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will accomplish this.

⁸ This is what the LORD says: “In the time of favor I will answer You, and in the day of salvation I will help You; I will keep You and appoint You to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land, to apportion its desolate inheritances,

²¹ “As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the LORD. “My Spirit will not depart from you, and My words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children and grandchildren, from now on and forevermore,” says the LORD.

¹ The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners,

⁷ nor give Him any rest until He establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.

³⁴ For the One whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.

³⁸ how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.

⁹ You, however, are controlled not by the flesh, but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

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

⁷ rooted and built up in Him, established in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. ⁸ And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will consume with the breath of His mouth and annihilate by the majesty of His arrival.

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

³ But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.

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

²⁰ You, however, have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.

²⁷ And as for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But just as His true and genuine anointing teaches you about all things, so remain in Him as you have been taught.

⁶ who has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and power forever and ever! Amen.

¹⁸ I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, white garments so that you may be clothed and your shameful nakedness not exposed, and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.

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

¹¹ And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but are not circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.

¹⁴ For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. ¹⁵ For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” ¹⁶ The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

²³ Not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

³⁰ And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

¹⁹ Nevertheless, God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord must turn away from iniquity.”

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

³ “Do not harm the land or sea or trees until we have sealed the foreheads of the servants of our God.”

⁴ They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

⁹ God, whom I serve with my spirit in preaching the gospel of His Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you

²¹ Which do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and with a gentle spirit?

⁵ hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the Day of the Lord Jesus.

¹⁸ But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you was not “Yes” and “No.”

¹ So I made up my mind not to make another painful visit to you. ² For if I grieve you, who is left to cheer me but those whom I have grieved? ³ I wrote to you as I did so that on my arrival I would not be saddened by those who ought to make me rejoice. I had confidence in all of you, that you would share my joy.

² I beg you that when I come I may not need to be as bold as I expect toward those who presume that we live according to the flesh.

⁶ And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, as soon as your obedience is complete. ⁷ You are looking at outward appearances. If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should remind himself that we belong to Christ just as much as he does. ⁸ For even if I boast somewhat excessively about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than tearing you down, I will not be ashamed. ⁹ I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you by my letters. ¹⁰ For some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but his physical presence is unimpressive, and his speaking is of no account.” ¹¹ Such people should consider that what we are in our letters when absent, we will be in our actions when present.

¹¹ Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!

² I already warned you the second time I was with you. So now in my absence I write to warn those who sinned earlier and everyone else: If I return, I will not spare anyone,

¹⁰ This is why I write these things while absent, so that when I am present I will not need to be severe in my use of the authority that the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.

²⁰ I assure you before God that what I am writing to you is no lie.

⁸ God is my witness how I long for all of you with the affection of Jesus Christ.

⁵ As you know, we never used words of flattery or any pretext for greed. God is our witness!

²⁰ Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.

⁸ But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brothers. ⁹ And do not call anyone on earth your father, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. ¹⁰ Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Christ.

⁴⁹ And he begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards.

¹² that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.

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

²⁰ That is correct: They were broken off because of unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid.

⁵ Who then is Paul? And who is Apollos? They are servants through whom you believed, as the Lord has assigned to each his role.

¹ Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, and in which you stand firm.

⁵ For we do not proclaim ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.

⁷ For we walk by faith, not by sight.

¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

²⁴ And a servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, and forbearing. ²⁵ He must gently reprove those who oppose him, in the hope that God may grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth. ²⁶ Then they will come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, who has taken them captive to his will.

³ not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

⁸ Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. ⁹ Resist him, standing firm in your faith and in the knowledge that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.