Luke 16 Cross References - MSB

¹ Jesus also said to His disciples, “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. ² So he called him in to ask, ‘What is this I hear about you? Turn in an account of your management, for you cannot be manager any longer.’ ³ The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking away my position? I am too weak to dig and too ashamed to beg. ⁴ I know what I will do, so that after my removal from management, people will welcome me into their homes.’ ⁵ And he called in each one of his master’s debtors. ‘How much do you owe my master?’ he asked the first. ⁶ ‘A hundred measures of olive oil,’ he answered. ‘Take your bill,’ said the manager. ‘Sit down quickly, and write fifty.’ ⁷ Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ ‘A hundred measures of wheat,’ he replied. ‘Take your bill and write eighty,’ he told him. ⁸ The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the sons of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the sons of light. ⁹ I tell you, use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves, so that when you fail, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings. ¹⁰ Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. ¹¹ So if you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will entrust you with true riches? ¹² And if you have not been faithful with the belongings of another, who will give you belongings of your own? ¹³ No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” ¹⁴ The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all of this and were scoffing at Jesus. ¹⁵ So He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is prized among men is detestable before God. ¹⁶ The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the gospel of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. ¹⁷ But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for a single stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law. ¹⁸ Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and everyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery. ¹⁹ Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, who lived each day in joyous splendor. ²⁰ And a beggar named Lazarus lay at his gate, covered with sores ²¹ and longing to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. ²² One day the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. And the rich man also died and was buried. ²³ In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side. ²⁴ So he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. For I am in agony in this fire.’ ²⁵ But Abraham answered, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things. But now he is comforted here, while you are in agony. ²⁶ And besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that even those who wish cannot cross from here to you, nor can anyone cross from there to us.’ ²⁷ ‘Then I beg you, father,’ he said, ‘send Lazarus to my father’s house, ²⁸ for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also end up in this place of torment.’ ²⁹ But Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let your brothers listen to them.’ ³⁰ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone is sent to them from the dead, they will repent.’ ³¹ Then Abraham said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”

² But Abram replied, “O Lord GOD, what can You give me, since I remain childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”

¹⁹ So they approached Joseph’s steward and spoke to him at the entrance to the house.

¹ Now David summoned all the leaders of Israel to Jerusalem: the leaders of the tribes, the leaders of the divisions in the king’s service, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and the officials in charge of all the property and cattle of the king and his sons, along with the court officials and mighty men—every mighty man of valor.

⁹ Whoever is slothful in his work is brother to him who destroys.

⁸ For she does not acknowledge that it was I who gave her grain, new wine, and oil, who lavished on her silver and gold—which they crafted for Baal.

²³ Because of this, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ As he began the settlements, a debtor was brought to him owing ten thousand talents.

¹⁴ For it is just like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted them with his possessions. ¹⁵ To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to another one talent—each according to his own ability. And he went on his journey. ¹⁶ The servant who had received the five talents went at once and put them to work and made five more talents. ¹⁷ Likewise, the one with the two talents gained two more. ¹⁸ But the servant who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money. ¹⁹ After a long time the master of those servants returned to settle accounts with them. ²⁰ The servant who had received the five talents came and presented five more. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more besides them.’ ²¹ His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’ ²² The servant who had received the two talents also came and said, ‘Master, you entrusted me with two talents. See, I have gained two more besides them.’ ²³ His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’ ²⁴ Finally, the servant who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Master, I knew that you are a hard man, reaping where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ²⁵ So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what belongs to you.’ ²⁶ ‘You wicked, lazy servant!’ replied his master. ‘You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed. ²⁷ Then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received it back with interest. ²⁸ Therefore take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents. ²⁹ For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. But the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. ³⁰ And throw that worthless servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

³ Joanna the wife of Herod’s household manager Chuza, Susanna, and many others. These women were ministering to them out of their own means.

⁴² And the Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their portion at the proper time?

¹³ After a few days, the younger son got everything together and journeyed to a distant country, where he squandered his wealth in wild living.

³⁰ But when this son of yours returns from squandering your wealth with prostitutes, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

¹⁹ Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, who lived each day in joyous splendor.

²⁰ Then another servant came and said, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I have laid away in a piece of cloth.

¹ So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. ² Now it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.

⁷ As God’s steward, an overseer must be above reproach—not self-absorbed, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not greedy for money.

³ And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures.

¹⁰ As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve one another.

⁹ But the LORD God called out to the man, “Where are you?” ¹⁰ “I heard Your voice in the garden,” he replied, “and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” ¹¹ “Who told you that you were naked?” asked the LORD God. “Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”

⁹ And the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I do not know!” he answered. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” ¹⁰ “What have you done?” replied the LORD. “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.

²⁰ Then the LORD said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great. Because their sin is so grievous, ²¹ I will go down to see if their actions fully justify the outcry that has reached Me. If not, I will find out.”

²³ “Why are you doing these things?” Eli said to his sons. “I hear about your wicked deeds from all these people. ²⁴ No, my sons; it is not a good report I hear circulating among the LORD’s people.

⁹ Rejoice, O young man, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment. ¹⁰ So banish sorrow from your heart, and cast off pain from your body, for youth and vigor are fleeting.

¹⁴ For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.

³⁶ But I tell you that men will give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.

²⁰ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’

²¹ For I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man. You withdraw what you did not deposit and reap what you did not sow.’ ²² His master replied, ‘You wicked servant, I will judge you by your own words. So you knew that I am a harsh man, withdrawing what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? ²³ Why then did you not deposit my money in the bank, and upon my return I could have collected it with interest?’ ²⁴ Then he told those standing by, ‘Take the mina from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’ ²⁵ ‘Master,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’ ²⁶ He replied, ‘I tell you that everyone who has will be given more; but the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.

¹² So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

¹¹ My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you.

² Now it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.

⁵ Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.

¹⁰ For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.

¹⁴ Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given you through the prophecy spoken over you at the laying on of the hands of the elders.

²⁴ The sins of some men are obvious, going ahead of them to judgment; but the sins of others do not surface until later.

⁵ But they will have to give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

¹² And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And there were open books, and one of them was the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their deeds, as recorded in the books.

⁶ Haman entered, and the king asked him, “What should be done for the man whom the king is delighted to honor?” Now Haman thought to himself, “Whom would the king be delighted to honor more than me?”

⁴ The slacker craves yet has nothing, but the soul of the diligent is fully satisfied.

¹⁹ The way of the slacker is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway.

¹⁵ Laziness brings on deep sleep, and an idle soul will suffer hunger.

⁴ The slacker does not plow in season; at harvest time he looks, but nothing is there.

²⁵ The craving of the slacker kills him because his hands refuse to work. ²⁶ All day long he covets more, but the righteous give without restraint.

³⁰ I went past the field of a slacker and by the vineyard of a man lacking judgment. ³¹ Thorns had grown up everywhere, thistles had covered the ground, and the stone wall was broken down. ³² I observed and took it to heart; I looked and received instruction: ³³ A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, ³⁴ and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and need like a bandit.

¹³ The slacker says, “A lion is in the road! A fierce lion roams the public square!” ¹⁴ As a door turns on its hinges, so the slacker turns on his bed. ¹⁵ The slacker buries his hand in the dish; it wearies him to bring it back to his mouth. ¹⁶ The slacker is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer discreetly.

²³ Be sure to know the state of your flocks, and pay close attention to your herds; ²⁴ for riches are not forever, nor does a crown endure to every generation. ²⁵ When hay is removed and new growth appears and the grain from the hills is gathered, ²⁶ the lambs will provide you with clothing, and the goats with the price of a field. ²⁷ You will have plenty of goats’ milk to feed you—food for your household and nourishment for your maidservants.

²¹ A servant pampered from his youth will bring grief in the end.

³ What will you do on the day of reckoning when devastation comes from afar? To whom will you flee for help? Where will you leave your wealth?

³¹ The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it so, but what will you do in the end?

⁵ What will you do on the appointed day, on the day of the LORD’s feast?

⁴⁶ Next, they came to Jericho. And as Jesus and His disciples were leaving Jericho with a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting beside the road.

¹⁷ So he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, since I have nowhere to store my crops?’

²⁰ And a beggar named Lazarus lay at his gate, covered with sores

²² One day the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. And the rich man also died and was buried.

⁴ For a while he refused, but later he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect men,

⁸ At this, his neighbors and those who had formerly seen him blind began to ask, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?”

² And a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those entering the temple courts.

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

¹¹ Yet we hear that some of you are leading undisciplined lives and accomplishing nothing but being busybodies.

⁹ Otherwise, I may have too much and deny You, saying, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, profaning the name of my God.

²² “For My people are fools; they have not known Me. They are foolish children, without understanding. They are skilled in doing evil, but they know not how to do good.”

¹⁵ Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.

²⁴ As he began the settlements, a debtor was brought to him owing ten thousand talents.

⁴¹ “Two men were debtors to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. ⁴² When they were unable to repay him, he forgave both of them. Tell Me, which one, then, will love him more?”

⁹ I tell you, use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves, so that when you fail, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings.

¹² And if you have not been faithful with the belongings of another, who will give you belongings of your own?

¹⁰ not stealing from them, but showing all good faith, so that in every respect they will adorn the teaching about God our Savior.

¹¹ Solomon had a vineyard in Baal-hamon. He leased it to the tenants. For its fruit, each was to bring a thousand shekels of silver. ¹² But my own vineyard is mine to give; the thousand shekels are for you, O Solomon, and two hundred are for those who tend its fruit.

⁹ Then He proceeded to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it out to some tenants, and went away for a long time.

¹² Then he sent a third, but they wounded him and threw him out.

¹ Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’”

¹⁰ Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase even more; and if a war breaks out, they may join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country.”

³ Now Amnon had a friend named Jonadab, the son of David’s brother Shimeah. Jonadab was a very shrewd man,

¹⁹ Now, therefore, summon to me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests. See that no one is missing, for I have a great sacrifice for Baal. Whoever is missing will not live.” But Jehu was acting deceptively in order to destroy the servants of Baal.

¹⁴ from such men, O LORD, by Your hand—from men of the world whose portion is in this life. May You fill the bellies of Your treasured ones and satisfy their sons, so they leave their abundance to their children.

¹⁰ For it is clear that wise men die, and the foolish and the senseless both perish and leave their wealth to others. ¹¹ Their graves are their eternal homes—their dwellings for endless generations—even though their lands were their namesakes. ¹² But a man, despite his wealth, cannot endure; he is like the beasts that perish. ¹³ This is the fate of the self-confident and their followers who endorse their sayings. Selah ¹⁴ Like sheep they are destined for Sheol. Death will be their shepherd. The upright will rule them in the morning, and their form will decay in Sheol, far from their lofty abode. ¹⁵ But God will redeem my life from Sheol, for He will surely take me to Himself. Selah ¹⁶ Do not be amazed when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his house increases. ¹⁷ For when he dies, he will carry nothing away; his abundance will not follow him down. ¹⁸ Though in his lifetime he blesses his soul—and men praise you when you prosper— ¹⁹ he will join the generation of his fathers, who will never see the light of day.

⁶ Walk in the manner of the ant, O slacker; observe its ways and become wise. ⁷ Without a commander, without an overseer or ruler, ⁸ it prepares its provisions in summer; it gathers its food at harvest.

²⁶ “From others,” Peter answered. “Then the sons are exempt,” Jesus declared.

⁴ I know what I will do, so that after my removal from management, people will welcome me into their homes.’

¹⁰ Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.

⁶ And the Lord said, “Listen to the words of the unjust judge.

³⁴ Jesus answered, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.

³⁶ While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of light.” After Jesus had spoken these things, He went away and was hidden from them.

¹⁸ Let no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks he is wise in this age, he should become a fool, so that he may become wise.

⁸ For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,

¹⁹ Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things.

⁵ You are all sons of the light and sons of the day; we do not belong to the night or to the darkness.

⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

¹⁰ By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

²⁶ My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

¹⁷ Kindness to the poor is a loan to the LORD, and He will repay the lender.

⁵ When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.

¹ Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again.

³ on the day the keepers of the house tremble and the strong men stoop, when those grinding cease because they are few and those watching through windows see dimly, ⁴ when the doors to the street are shut and the sound of the mill fades away, when one rises at the sound of a bird and all the daughters of song grow faint, ⁵ when men fear the heights and dangers of the road, when the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper loses its spring, and the caper berry shrivels—for then man goes to his eternal home and mourners walk the streets. ⁶ Remember Him before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is crushed, before the pitcher is shattered at the spring and the wheel is broken at the well, ⁷ before the dust returns to the ground from which it came and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

¹⁶ For I will not accuse you forever, nor will I always be angry; for then the spirit of man would grow weak before Me, with the breath of those I have made.

⁷ Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your home, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? ⁸ Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will come quickly. Your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.

²⁷ Therefore, may my advice be pleasing to you, O king. Break away from your sins by doing what is right, and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed. Perhaps there will be an extension of your prosperity.”

¹⁹ Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

²⁴ No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

²¹ Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”

³⁵ For 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 took Me in, ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me.’ ³⁷ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? ³⁹ When did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’ ⁴⁰ And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’

⁴¹ But give as alms the things that are within you, and you will see that everything is clean for you.

³³ Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves with purses that will not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.

¹⁴ and you will be blessed. Since they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

¹¹ So if you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will entrust you with true riches?

¹³ No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

⁴ Cornelius stared at him in fear and asked, “What is it, Lord?” The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have ascended as a memorial offering before God.

³¹ and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your gifts to the poor have been remembered before God.

¹⁷ For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.

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. ¹³ Because of the proof this ministry provides, the saints will glorify God for your obedient confession of the gospel of Christ, and for the generosity of your contribution to them and to all the others. ¹⁴ And their prayers for you will express their affection for you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. ¹⁵ Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

⁹ Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

¹⁷ Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in the living God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy. ¹⁸ Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, and to be generous and ready to share, ¹⁹ treasuring up for themselves a firm foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of eternal life.

¹⁶ May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he has often refreshed me and was unashamed of my chains. ¹⁷ Indeed, when he arrived in Rome, he searched very diligently until he found me. ¹⁸ May the Lord grant Onesiphorus His mercy on that day. You know very well how much he ministered to me in Ephesus.

²¹ keep yourselves in the love of God as you await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you eternal life.

²¹ His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’

²³ His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’

¹¹ So if you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will entrust you with true riches? ¹² And if you have not been faithful with the belongings of another, who will give you belongings of your own?

¹⁷ His master replied, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very small matter, you shall have authority over ten cities.’

⁶ Judas did not say this because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. As keeper of the money bag, he used to take from what was put into it.

² The evening meal was underway, and the devil had already put into the heart of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.

²⁷ And when Judas had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus said to Judas, “What you are about to do, do quickly.”

² He was faithful to the One who appointed Him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house.

¹⁸ With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and righteousness. ¹⁹ My fruit is better than gold, pure gold, and my harvest surpasses choice silver.

²² On hearing this, Jesus told him, “You still lack one thing: Sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”

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,

⁵ Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?

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.

¹⁴ But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? For everything comes from You, and from Your own hand we have given to You. ¹⁵ For we are foreigners and strangers in Your presence, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. ¹⁶ O LORD our God, from Your hand comes all this abundance that we have provided to build You a house for Your holy Name, and all of it belongs to You.

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.”

¹⁶ You took some of your garments and made colorful high places for yourself, and on them you prostituted yourself. Such things should not have happened; never should they have occurred! ¹⁷ You also took the fine jewelry of gold and silver I had given you, and you made male idols with which to prostitute yourself. ¹⁸ You took your embroidered garments to cover them, and you set My oil and incense before them. ¹⁹ And you set before them as a pleasing aroma the food I had given you—the fine flour, oil, and honey that I had fed you. That is what happened, declares the Lord GOD. ²⁰ You even took the sons and daughters you bore to Me and sacrificed them as food to idols. Was your prostitution not enough? ²¹ You slaughtered My children and delivered them up through the fire to idols.

¹⁴ For it is just like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted them with his possessions. ¹⁵ To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to another one talent—each according to his own ability. And he went on his journey. ¹⁶ The servant who had received the five talents went at once and put them to work and made five more talents. ¹⁷ Likewise, the one with the two talents gained two more. ¹⁸ But the servant who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money. ¹⁹ After a long time the master of those servants returned to settle accounts with them. ²⁰ The servant who had received the five talents came and presented five more. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more besides them.’ ²¹ His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’ ²² The servant who had received the two talents also came and said, ‘Master, you entrusted me with two talents. See, I have gained two more besides them.’ ²³ His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’ ²⁴ Finally, the servant who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Master, I knew that you are a hard man, reaping where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ²⁵ So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what belongs to you.’ ²⁶ ‘You wicked, lazy servant!’ replied his master. ‘You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed. ²⁷ Then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received it back with interest. ²⁸ Therefore take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents. ²⁹ For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. But the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.

⁴² But only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, and it will not be taken away from her.”

¹³ Beforehand, he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Conduct business with this until I return,’ he said. ¹⁴ But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want this man to rule over us.’ ¹⁵ When he returned from procuring his kingship, he summoned the servants to whom he had given the money, to find out what each one had earned. ¹⁶ The first servant came forward and said, ‘Master, your mina has produced ten more minas.’ ¹⁷ His master replied, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very small matter, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ ¹⁸ The second servant came and said, ‘Master, your mina has made five minas.’ ¹⁹ And to this one he said, ‘You shall have authority over five cities.’ ²⁰ Then another servant came and said, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I have laid away in a piece of cloth.

³ For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ, who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

⁴ and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you, ⁵ who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

¹⁵ But if it is unpleasing in your sight to serve the LORD, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD!”

¹⁰ “Get behind Me, Satan!” Jesus declared. “For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”

⁵⁰ “Do not stop him,” Jesus replied, “for whoever is not against us is for us.”

²³ He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

²⁶ “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be My disciple.

¹⁶ Do you not know that when you offer yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves to the one you obey, whether you are slaves to sin leading to death, or to obedience leading to righteousness? ¹⁷ But thanks be to God that, though you once were slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were committed. ¹⁸ You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. ¹⁹ I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to escalating wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. ²⁰ For when you were slaves to sin, you were free of obligation to righteousness. ²¹ What fruit did you reap at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? The outcome of those things is death. ²² But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the fruit you reap leads to holiness, and the outcome is eternal life.

⁵ Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh; but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. ⁶ The mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace, ⁷ because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. ⁸ Those controlled by the flesh cannot please God.

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

¹⁵ Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.

¹⁵ But when I stumbled, they assembled in glee; they gathered together against me. Assailants I did not know slandered me without ceasing. ¹⁶ Like godless jesters at a feast, they gnashed their teeth at me.

⁵¹ The arrogant utterly deride me, but I do not turn from Your law.

³ He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.

¹¹ Like ravenous dogs, they are never satisfied. They are shepherds with no discernment; they all turn to their own way, each one seeking his own gain:

¹³ “For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all practice deceit.

¹⁰ Therefore I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all practice deceit.

⁷ You have deceived me, O LORD, and I was deceived. You have overcome me and prevailed. I am a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me. ⁸ For whenever I speak, I cry out; I proclaim violence and destruction. For the word of the LORD has become to me a reproach and derision all day long.

²⁵ The conspiracy of the princes in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing its prey. They devour the people, seize the treasures and precious things, and multiply the widows within her. ²⁶ Her priests do violence to My law and profane My holy things. They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they fail to distinguish between the clean and the unclean. They disregard My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. ²⁷ Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for dishonest gain. ²⁸ Her prophets whitewash these deeds by false visions and lying divinations, saying, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says,’ when the LORD has not spoken. ²⁹ The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy and have exploited the foreign resident without justice.

³¹ So My people come to you as usual, sit before you, and hear your words; but they do not put them into practice. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest gain.

¹³ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You defraud widows of their houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.

⁵³ And they laughed at Him, knowing that she was dead.

¹⁵ And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

⁴⁷ They defraud widows of their houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will receive greater condemnation.”

³⁵ The people stood watching, and the rulers with them sneered at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the Chosen One of God.”

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

³⁶ Still others endured mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.

² Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

⁷ But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or height, for I have rejected him; the LORD does not see as man does. For man sees the outward appearance, but the LORD sees the heart.”

¹⁷ I know, my God, that You test the heart and delight in uprightness. All these things I have given willingly and with an upright heart, and now I have seen Your people who are present here giving joyfully and willingly to You.

³⁰ be heard by You from heaven, Your dwelling place. And may You forgive and repay each man according to all his ways, since You know his heart—for You alone know the hearts of men—

⁹ Put an end to the evil of the wicked, but establish the righteous, O righteous God who searches hearts and minds.

³ For the wicked man boasts in the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.

¹³ This is the fate of the self-confident and their followers who endorse their sayings. Selah

¹⁸ Though in his lifetime he blesses his soul—and men praise you when you prosper—

¹ For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O LORD, You have searched me and known me. ² You know when I sit and when I rise; You understand my thoughts from afar.

⁵ Everyone who is proud in heart is detestable to the LORD; be assured that he will not go unpunished.

⁶ Many a man proclaims his loving devotion, but who can find a trustworthy man?

² All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart.

¹⁰ Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah! ¹¹ “What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am full from the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I take no delight in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. ¹² When you come to appear before Me, who has required this of you—this trampling of My courts? ¹³ Bring your worthless offerings no more; your incense is detestable to Me—your New Moons, Sabbaths, and convocations. I cannot endure iniquity in a solemn assembly. ¹⁴ I hate your New Moons and your appointed feasts. They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them.

¹⁰ I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.

²¹ “I hate, I despise your feasts! I cannot stand the stench of your solemn assemblies. ²² Even though you offer Me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; for your peace offerings of fattened cattle I will have no regard.

¹⁵ So now we call the arrogant blessed. Not only do evildoers prosper, they even test God and escape.’”

² So when you give to the needy, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.

⁵ And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.

¹⁶ When you fast, do not be somber like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.

⁵ All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.

²⁵ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and unrighteousness. ²⁶ Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well. ²⁷ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity.

²⁹ But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

³⁹ “Now then,” said the Lord, “you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.

¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like the other men—swindlers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.

²¹ “All these I have kept from my youth,” he said.

²⁰ So they watched Him closely and sent spies who pretended to be sincere. They were hoping to catch Him in His words in order to hand Him over to the rule and authority of the governor.

²⁵ He did not need any testimony about man, for He knew what was in a man.

¹⁷ Jesus asked a third time, “Simon son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was deeply hurt that Jesus had asked him a third time, “Do you love Me?” “Lord, You know all things,” he replied. “You know I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.

¹⁸ (Now with the reward for his wickedness Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong and burst open in the middle, and all his intestines spilled out.

⁸ And God, who knows the heart, showed His approval by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as He did to us.

²⁰ Therefore no one will be justified in His sight by works of the law. For the law merely brings awareness of sin.

²¹ Was not our father Abraham justified by what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see that his faith was working with his actions, and his faith was perfected by what he did. ²³ And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a friend of God. ²⁴ As you can see, then, a man is justified by his deeds and not by faith alone. ²⁵ In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute justified by her actions when she welcomed the spies and sent them off on another route?

⁴ but from the inner disposition of your heart, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in God’s sight.

⁵ Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility, being subject to one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

²³ Then I will strike her children dead, and all the churches will know that I am the One who searches minds and hearts, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.

² and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

¹⁷ From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

²³ Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.

⁷ As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’

⁹ What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ¹⁰ For this is the one about whom it is written: ‘Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way before You.’ ¹¹ Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹² From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subject to violence, and the violent lay claim to it. ¹³ For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. ¹⁴ And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.

³² For John came to you in a righteous way and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

¹⁴ After the arrest of John, Jesus went into Galilee and proclaimed the gospel of the kingdom of God.

⁴⁵ But the man went out and openly began to proclaim and spread the news. Consequently, Jesus could no longer enter a town in plain view, but He stayed out in solitary places. Yet people came to Him from every quarter.

²⁶ What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ²⁷ This is the one about whom it is written: ‘Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way before You.’ ²⁸ For I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater prophet than John the Baptist, yet even the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” ²⁹ All the people who heard this, even the tax collectors, acknowledged God’s justice. For they had received the baptism of John.

² And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

⁹ Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’

¹¹ ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to us, we wipe off as a testimony against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near to you.’

²⁹ But Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let your brothers listen to them.’

³¹ Then Abraham said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”

⁴⁵ Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law, the One the prophets foretold—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

⁴⁸ If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

¹⁹ Then the Pharisees said to one another, “You can see that this is doing you no good. Look how the whole world has gone after Him!”

¹⁸ But in this way God has fulfilled what He foretold through all the prophets, saying that His Christ would suffer.

²⁴ Indeed, all the prophets from Samuel on, as many as have spoken, have proclaimed these days. 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.’

²⁵ In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. ²⁶ They will perish, but You remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing You will change them, and they will be passed on. ²⁷ But You remain the same, and Your years will never end.

⁸ The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”

⁶ Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth below; for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and its people will die like gnats. But My salvation will last forever, and My righteousness will never fail.

¹⁸ For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

³³ Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.

³¹ Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Certainly not! Instead, we uphold the law.

²⁵ but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.

¹⁰ But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be burned up.

¹¹ Then I saw a great white throne and the One seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them.

¹ Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

⁴ ‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,’ and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.”

³¹ It has also been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ ³² But I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, brings adultery upon her. And he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

⁹ Now I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman, commits adultery. And he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

¹¹ So He told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. ¹² And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”

⁴ The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife.

¹⁰ To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. ¹¹ But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife. ¹² To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If a brother has an unbelieving wife and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her.

²⁶ The weight of the gold earrings he had requested was 1,700 shekels, in addition to the crescent ornaments, the pendants, the purple garments of the kings of Midian, and the chains from the necks of their camels.

¹⁵ Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal garments of blue and white, with a large gold crown and a purple robe of fine linen. And the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced.

¹¹ They send forth their little ones like a flock; their children skip about, ¹² singing to the tambourine and lyre and making merry at the sound of the flute. ¹³ They spend their days in prosperity and go down to Sheol in peace. ¹⁴ Yet they say to God: ‘Leave us alone! For we have no desire to know Your ways. ¹⁵ Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, and what would we gain if we pray to Him?’

³ For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. ⁴ They have no struggle in their death; their bodies are well-fed. ⁵ They are free of the burdens others carry; they are not afflicted like other men. ⁶ Therefore pride is their necklace; a garment of violence covers them. ⁷ From their prosperity proceeds iniquity; the imaginations of their hearts run wild.

¹³ So you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was made of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil. You became very beautiful and rose to be queen.

⁴⁹ Now this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed, and complacent; they did not help the poor and needy.

⁷ Of embroidered fine linen from Egypt they made your sail, which served as your banner. Of blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah they made your awning.

⁴ You lie on beds inlaid with ivory, and lounge upon your couches. You dine on lambs from the flock and calves from the stall. ⁵ You improvise songs on the harp like David and invent your own musical instruments. ⁶ You drink wine by the bowlful and anoint yourselves with the finest oils, but you fail to grieve over the ruin of Joseph.

¹⁷ They dressed Him in a purple robe, twisted together a crown of thorns, and set it on His head.

²⁰ After they had mocked Him, they removed the purple robe and put His own clothes back on Him. Then they led Him out to crucify Him.

¹⁶ Then He told them a parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced an abundance. ¹⁷ So he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, since I have nowhere to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and will build bigger ones, and there I will store up all my crops and my goods. ¹⁹ Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’ ²¹ This is how it will be for anyone who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich toward God.”

¹ Jesus also said to His disciples, “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.

²⁴ Seeing the man’s sadness, Jesus said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ Indeed, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

¹ Come now, you who are rich, weep and wail over the misery to come upon you. ² Your riches have rotted and moths have eaten your clothes. ³ Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and consume your flesh like fire. You have hoarded treasure in the last days. ⁴ Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts. ⁵ You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts as in the day of slaughter.

⁴ The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls. She held in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality.

⁷ As much as she has glorified herself and lived in luxury, give her the same measure of torment and grief. In her heart she says, ‘I sit as queen; I am not a widow and will never see grief.’

¹⁶ saying: “Woe, woe to the great city, clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls!

⁸ He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap. He seats them among princes and bestows on them a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s, and upon them He has set the world.

⁷ So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and infected Job with terrible boils from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.

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

¹⁴ For I am afflicted all day long and punished every morning.

⁶ From the sole of your foot to the top of your head, there is no soundness—only wounds and welts and festering sores neither cleansed nor bandaged nor soothed with oil.

²² Is there no balm in Gilead? Is no physician there? Why then has the health of the daughter of my people not been restored?

²¹ and longing to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

³⁵ As Jesus drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting beside the road, begging. ³⁶ When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. ³⁷ “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by,” they told him. ³⁸ So he called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” ³⁹ Those who led the way admonished him to be silent, but he cried out all the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁰ Jesus stopped and directed that the man be brought to Him. When he had been brought near, Jesus asked him, ⁴¹ “What do you want Me to do for you?” “Lord,” he said, “let me see again.” ⁴² “Receive your sight!” Jesus replied. “Your faith has healed you.” ⁴³ Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, glorifying God. And all the people who saw this gave praise to God.

¹ At this time a man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

⁹ The brother in humble circumstances should exult in his high position.

²⁷ “Yes, Lord,” she said, “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

²⁸ “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “for even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

¹² And when everyone was full, He said to His disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over, so that nothing will be wasted.”

¹¹ To this very hour we are hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clothed, we are brutally treated, we are homeless.

²⁷ in labor and toil and often without sleep, in hunger and thirst and often without food, in cold and exposure.

³⁴ Then Jehu went in and ate and drank. “Take care of this cursed woman,” he said, “and bury her, for she was the daughter of a king.” ³⁵ But when they went out to bury her, they found nothing but her skull, her feet, and the palms of her hands.

¹³ For now I would be lying down in peace; I would be asleep and at rest ¹⁴ with kings and counselors of the earth, who built for themselves cities now in ruins, ¹⁵ or with princes who had gold, who filled their houses with silver. ¹⁶ Or why was I not hidden like a stillborn child, like an infant who never sees daylight? ¹⁷ There the wicked cease from raging, and there the weary find rest. ¹⁸ The captives enjoy their ease; they do not hear the voice of the oppressor. ¹⁹ Both small and great are there, and the slave is freed from his master.

¹³ They spend their days in prosperity and go down to Sheol in peace.

³⁰ Indeed, the evil man is spared from the day of calamity, delivered from the day of wrath. ³¹ Who denounces his behavior to his face? Who repays him for what he has done? ³² He is carried to the grave, and watch is kept over his tomb.

⁶ They trust in their wealth and boast in their great riches. ⁷ No man can possibly redeem his brother or pay his ransom to God. ⁸ For the redemption of his soul is costly, and never can payment suffice, ⁹ that he should live on forever and not see decay. ¹⁰ For it is clear that wise men die, and the foolish and the senseless both perish and leave their wealth to others. ¹¹ Their graves are their eternal homes—their dwellings for endless generations—even though their lands were their namesakes. ¹² But a man, despite his wealth, cannot endure; he is like the beasts that perish.

¹⁸ Surely You set them on slick ground; You cast them down into ruin. ¹⁹ How suddenly they are laid waste, completely swept away by terrors! ²⁰ Like one waking from a dream, so You, O Lord, awaken and despise their form.

¹¹ For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. ¹² They will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

³² The wicked man is thrown down by his own sin, but the righteous man has a refuge even in death.

¹⁰ Then too, I saw the burial of the wicked who used to go in and out of the holy place, and they were praised in the city where they had done so. This too is futile.

¹⁸ All the kings of the nations lie in state, each in his own tomb.

¹⁶ What are you doing here, and who authorized you to carve out a tomb for yourself here—to chisel your tomb in the height and cut your resting place in the rock?

¹ The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; devout men are swept away, while no one considers that the righteous are guided from the presence of evil. ² Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest, lying down in death.

¹¹ I say to you that many will come from the east and the west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

³⁸ The field is the world, and the good seed represents the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, ³⁹ and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. ⁴⁰ As the weeds are collected and burned in the fire, so will it be at the end of this age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will weed out of His kingdom every cause of sin and all who practice lawlessness. ⁴² And they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³ Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

¹⁰ See that you do not look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven.

³¹ And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

³⁶ What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world yet forfeits his soul?

²³ One of His disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, was reclining at His side.

²⁰ Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them. He was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper to ask, “Lord, who is going to betray You?”

¹⁴ Are not the angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

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

¹¹ For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its flower falls and its beauty is lost. So too, the rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

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

¹³ And I heard a voice from heaven telling me to write, “Blessed are the dead—those who die in the Lord from this moment on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors, and their deeds will follow them.”

¹⁷ The wicked will return to Sheol—all the nations who forget God.

¹⁰ For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay.

¹⁵ But God will redeem my life from Sheol, for He will surely take me to Himself. Selah

¹³ For great is Your loving devotion to me; You have delivered me from the depths of Sheol.

⁵ Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to Sheol.

²⁷ Her house is the road to Sheol, descending to the chambers of death.

¹⁸ But they do not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

²⁴ The path of life leads upward for the wise, that he may avoid going down to Sheol.

⁹ Sheol beneath is eager to meet you upon your arrival. It stirs the spirits of the dead to greet you—all the rulers of the earth. It makes all the kings of the nations rise from their thrones.

¹⁵ But you will be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit.

²² But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother without cause will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to the fire of hell.

²⁹ If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

¹¹ I say to you that many will come from the east and the west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. ¹² But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

²⁹ “What do You want with us, Jesus, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have You come here to torture us before the appointed time?”

²³ And you, Capernaum, which is lifted up to heaven, will be brought down to Hades! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day.

⁹ And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

³³ You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape the sentence of hell?

²⁸ When the man saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before Him, shouting in a loud voice, “What do You want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You not to torture me!”

²⁸ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves are thrown out. ²⁹ People will come from east and west and north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God.

²⁸ for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also end up in this place of torment.’

⁵⁵ “Where, O Death, is your sting? Where, O Hades, is your victory?”

⁴ For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them deep into hell, placing them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment;

¹⁰ he too will drink the wine of God’s anger, poured undiluted into the cup of His wrath. And he will be tormented in fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. ¹¹ And the smoke of their torment rises forever and ever. Day and night there is no rest for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”

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

¹³ The sea gave up its dead, and Death and Hades gave up their dead, and each one was judged according to his deeds. ¹⁴ Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire.

¹⁶ “Why do you consult me,” asked Samuel, “since the LORD has turned away from you and become your enemy?

¹¹ When its limbs are dry, they are broken off. Women come and use them for kindling; for this is a people without understanding. Therefore their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no favor.

¹⁷ The poor and needy seek water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. ¹⁸ I will open rivers on the barren heights, and fountains in the middle of the valleys. I will turn the desert into a pool of water, and the dry land into flowing springs.

¹³ Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: “My servants will eat, but you will go hungry; My servants will drink, but you will go thirsty; My servants will rejoice, but you will be put to shame. ¹⁴ My servants will shout for joy with a glad heart, but you will cry out with a heavy heart and wail with a broken spirit.

²⁴ “As they go forth, they will see the corpses of the men who have rebelled against Me; for their worm will never die, their fire will never be quenched, and they will be a horror to all mankind.”

¹² And this will be the plague with which the LORD strikes all the peoples who have warred against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.

⁹ And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.

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

⁴³ If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two hands and go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, ⁴⁴ where ‘their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.’ ⁴⁵ If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into hell, into the unquenchable fire, ⁴⁶ where ‘their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.’ ⁴⁷ And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell, ⁴⁸ where ‘their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.’ ⁴⁹ For everyone will be salted with fire, and every sacrifice will be salted with salt.

⁸ Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.

³⁰ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone is sent to them from the dead, they will repent.’

¹⁰ Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

¹⁴ But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”

³⁷ On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.

³³ “We are Abraham’s descendants,” they answered. “We have never been slaves to anyone. How can You say we will be set free?” ³⁴ Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. ³⁵ A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son belongs to it forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. ³⁷ I know you are Abraham’s descendants, but you are trying to kill Me because My word has no place within you. ³⁸ I speak of what I have seen in the presence of My Father, and you do what you have seen from your father.” ³⁹ “Abraham is our father,” they replied. “If you were children of Abraham,” said Jesus, “you would do the works of Abraham.

⁵³ Are You greater than our father Abraham? He died, as did the prophets. Who do You claim to be?” ⁵⁴ Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory means nothing. The One who glorifies Me is My Father, of whom you say ‘He is our God.’ ⁵⁵ You do not know Him, but I know Him. If I said I did not know Him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know Him, and I keep His word. ⁵⁶ Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see My day. He saw it and was glad.”

¹² And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

⁷ Nor because they are Abraham’s descendants are they all his children. On the contrary, “Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.” ⁸ So it is not the children of the flesh who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as offspring.

⁸ in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

¹³ For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

⁶ The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

¹⁶ ‘Never again will they hunger, and never will they thirst; nor will the sun beat down upon them, nor any scorching heat.’ ¹⁷ For the Lamb in the center of the throne shepherds them. ‘He will lead them to springs of living water,’ and ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”

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

¹⁵ And if anyone was found whose name was not written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

¹ Then the angel showed me a pure river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb

¹³ They spend their days in prosperity and go down to Sheol in peace. ¹⁴ Yet they say to God: ‘Leave us alone! For we have no desire to know Your ways.

¹⁸ But it was He who filled their houses with good things; so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked.

³⁵ I have seen a wicked, ruthless man flourishing like a well-rooted native tree, ³⁶ yet he passed away and was no more; though I searched, he could not be found.

¹¹ Their graves are their eternal homes—their dwellings for endless generations—even though their lands were their namesakes.

⁷ From their prosperity proceeds iniquity; the imaginations of their hearts run wild.

¹² Behold, these are the wicked—always carefree as they increase their wealth. ¹³ Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure; in innocence I have washed my hands. ¹⁴ For I am afflicted all day long and punished every morning. ¹⁵ If I had said, “I will speak this way,” then I would have betrayed Your children. ¹⁶ When I tried to understand all this, it was troublesome in my sight ¹⁷ until I entered God’s sanctuary; then I discerned their end. ¹⁸ Surely You set them on slick ground; You cast them down into ruin. ¹⁹ How suddenly they are laid waste, completely swept away by terrors!

⁷ In the days of her affliction and wandering Jerusalem remembers all the treasures that were hers in days of old. When her people fell into enemy hands she received no help. Her enemies looked upon her, laughing at her downfall.

²² But you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this. ²³ Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. The vessels from His house were brought to you, and as you drank wine from them with your nobles, wives, and concubines, you praised your gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you have failed to glorify the God who holds in His hand your very breath and all your ways.

³⁰ That very night Belshazzar king of the Chaldeans was slain,

⁴⁵ If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into hell, into the unquenchable fire,

²⁴ But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.

²³ In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side.

³³ I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!”

²² strengthening the souls of the disciples and encouraging them to continue in the faith. “We must endure many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.

⁷ because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.

³ so that none of you would be shaken by these trials. For you know that we are destined for this.

²⁵ He chose to suffer oppression with God’s people rather than to experience the fleeting enjoyment of sin.

¹⁵ Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

¹⁴ “Sir,” I answered, “you know.” So he replied, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

³⁶ When Abigail returned to Nabal, there he was in the house, holding a feast fit for a king, in high spirits and very drunk. So she told him nothing until morning light.

¹⁴ Like sheep they are destined for Sheol. Death will be their shepherd. The upright will rule them in the morning, and their form will decay in Sheol, far from their lofty abode.

²² Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you:

²⁴ For the people of Israel will no longer face a pricking brier or a painful thorn from all around them who treat them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.’

¹⁸ So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”

⁴⁶ And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

⁵⁹ I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the very last penny.”

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.”

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 ⁸ in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. ⁹ They will suffer the penalty of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His might, 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. ¹¹ For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its flower falls and its beauty is lost. So too, the rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits. 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.

¹ Come now, you who are rich, weep and wail over the misery to come upon you. ² Your riches have rotted and moths have eaten your clothes. ³ Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and consume your flesh like fire. You have hoarded treasure in the last days. ⁴ Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts. ⁵ You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts as in the day of slaughter. ⁶ You have condemned and murdered the righteous, who did not resist you. ⁷ Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer awaits the precious fruit of the soil—how patient he is for the fall and spring rains.

¹¹ Let the unrighteous continue to be unrighteous, and the vile continue to be vile; let the righteous continue to practice righteousness, and the holy continue to be holy.”

¹² But a man, despite his wealth, cannot endure; he is like the beasts that perish. ¹³ This is the fate of the self-confident and their followers who endorse their sayings. Selah

⁴⁰ With many other words he testified, and he urged them, “Be saved from this corrupt generation.”

²³ I only know that in town after town the Holy Spirit warns me that chains and afflictions await me.

⁶ and no one should ever violate or exploit his brother in this regard, because the Lord will avenge all such acts, as we have already told you and solemnly warned you.

²⁰ To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.

¹⁶ Search and read the scroll of the LORD: Not one of these will go missing, not one will lack her mate, because He has ordered it by His mouth, and He will gather them by His Spirit.

² “But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and leap like calves from the stall. ³ Then you will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day I am preparing,” says the LORD of Hosts. ⁴ “Remember the law of My servant Moses, the statutes and ordinances I commanded him for all Israel at Horeb.

¹⁷ the scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it was written:

¹⁶ The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the gospel of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.

²⁷ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was written in all the Scriptures about Himself.

³⁹ You pore over the Scriptures because you presume that by them you possess eternal life. These are the very words that testify about Me, ⁴⁰ yet you refuse to come to Me to have life. ⁴¹ I do not accept glory from men, ⁴² but I know you, that you do not have the love of God within you. ⁴³ I have come in My Father’s name, and you have not received Me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will receive him. ⁴⁴ How can you believe if you accept glory from one another, yet do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? ⁴⁵ Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, in whom you have put your hope. ⁴⁶ If you had believed Moses, you would believe Me, because he wrote about Me. ⁴⁷ But since you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?”

²¹ For Moses has been proclaimed in every city from ancient times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”

¹¹ Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true. ¹² As a result, many of them believed, along with quite a few prominent Greek women and men.

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

¹⁹ We also have the word of the prophets as confirmed beyond doubt. And you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. ²⁰ Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture comes from one’s own interpretation. ²¹ For no such prophecy was ever brought forth by the will of man, but holy men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

³ No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.

⁵ No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

²⁴ So he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. For I am in agony in this fire.’

⁹ And the people were scorched by intense heat, and men cursed the name of God, who had authority over these plagues; yet they did not repent and give Him glory. ¹⁰ And the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness, and men began to gnaw their tongues in anguish ¹¹ and curse the God of heaven for their pains and sores; yet they did not repent of their deeds.

²⁷ May God expand the territory of Japheth; may he dwell in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be his servant.”

⁴³ After Jesus had said this, He called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴ The man who had been dead came out with his hands and feet bound in strips of linen, and his face wrapped in a cloth. “Unwrap him and let him go,” Jesus told them. ⁴⁵ Therefore many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in Him. ⁴⁶ But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. ⁴⁷ Then the chief priests and Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we to do? This man is performing many signs. ⁴⁸ If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” ⁴⁹ But one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all! ⁵⁰ You do not realize that it is better for us that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” ⁵¹ Caiaphas did not say this on his own. Instead, as high priest that year, he was prophesying that Jesus would die for the nation, ⁵² and not only for the nation, but also for the scattered children of God, to gather them together into one. ⁵³ So from that day on they plotted to kill Him.

¹⁰ So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, ¹¹ for on account of him many of the Jews were deserting them and believing in Jesus.

⁸ Then Paul went into the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God.

²⁸ Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Can you persuade me in such a short time to become a Christian?”

²³ So they set a day to meet with Paul, and many people came to the place he was staying. He expounded to them from morning to evening, testifying about the kingdom of God and persuading them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and the Prophets.

³ And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.

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.