PREFACE

MATTHEW

MATTHEW CHAPTER 1

MATTHEW CHAPTER 2

MATTHEW CHAPTER 3

MATTHEW CHAPTER 4

MATTHEW CHAPTER 5

MATTHEW CHAPTER 6

MATTHEW CHAPTER 7

MATTHEW CHAPTER 8

MATTHEW CHAPTER 9

MATTHEW CHAPTER 10

MATTHEW CHAPTER 11

MATTHEW CHAPTER 12

MATTHEW CHAPTER 13

MATTHEW CHAPTER 14

MATTHEW CHAPTER 15

MATTHEW CHAPTER 16

MATTHEW CHAPTER 17

MATTHEW CHAPTER 18

MATTHEW CHAPTER 19

MATTHEW CHAPTER 20

MATTHEW CHAPTER 21

MATTHEW CHAPTER 22

MATTHEW CHAPTER 23

MATTHEW CHAPTER 24

MATTHEW CHAPTER 25

MATTHEW CHAPTER 26

MATTHEW CHAPTER 27

MATTHEW CHAPTER 28

MARK

MARK CHAPTER 1

MARK CHAPTER 2

MARK CHAPTER 3

MARK CHAPTER 4

MARK CHAPTER 5

MARK CHAPTER 6

MARK CHAPTER 7

MARK CHAPTER 8

MARK CHAPTER 9

MARK CHAPTER 10

MARK CHAPTER 11

MARK CHAPTER 12

MARK CHAPTER 13

MARK CHAPTER 14

MARK CHAPTER 15

MARK CHAPTER 16

LUKE

LUKE CHAPTER 1

LUKE CHAPTER 2

LUKE CHAPTER 3

LUKE CHAPTER 4

LUKE CHAPTER 5

LUKE CHAPTER 6

LUKE CHAPTER 7

LUKE CHAPTER 8

LUKE CHAPTER 9

LUKE CHAPTER 10

LUKE CHAPTER 11

LUKE CHAPTER 12

LUKE CHAPTER 13

LUKE CHAPTER 14

LUKE CHAPTER 15

LUKE CHAPTER 16

LUKE CHAPTER 17

LUKE CHAPTER 18

LUKE CHAPTER 19

LUKE CHAPTER 20

LUKE CHAPTER 21

LUKE CHAPTER 22

LUKE CHAPTER 23

LUKE CHAPTER 24

JOHN

JOHN CHAPTER 1

JOHN CHAPTER 2

JOHN CHAPTER 3

JOHN CHAPTER 4

JOHN CHAPTER 5

JOHN CHAPTER 6

JOHN CHAPTER 7

JOHN CHAPTER 8

JOHN CHAPTER 9

JOHN CHAPTER 10

JOHN CHAPTER 11

JOHN CHAPTER 12

JOHN CHAPTER 13

JOHN CHAPTER 14

JOHN CHAPTER 15

JOHN CHAPTER 16

JOHN CHAPTER 17

JOHN CHAPTER 18

JOHN CHAPTER 19

JOHN CHAPTER 20

JOHN CHAPTER 21

ACTS

ACTS CHAPTER 1

ACTS CHAPTER 2

ACTS CHAPTER 3

ACTS CHAPTER 4

ACTS CHAPTER 5

ACTS CHAPTER 6

ACTS CHAPTER 7

ACTS CHAPTER 8

ACTS CHAPTER 9

ACTS CHAPTER 10

ACTS CHAPTER 11

ACTS CHAPTER 12

ACTS CHAPTER 13

ACTS CHAPTER 14

ACTS CHAPTER 15

ACTS CHAPTER 16

ACTS CHAPTER 17

ACTS CHAPTER 18

ACTS CHAPTER 19

ACTS CHAPTER 20

ACTS CHAPTER 21

ACTS CHAPTER 22

ACTS CHAPTER 23

ACTS CHAPTER 24

ACTS CHAPTER 25

ACTS CHAPTER 26

ACTS CHAPTER 27

ACTS CHAPTER 28

ROMANS

ROMANS CHAPTER 1

ROMANS CHAPTER 2

ROMANS CHAPTER 3

ROMANS CHAPTER 4

ROMANS CHAPTER 5

ROMANS CHAPTER 6

ROMANS CHAPTER 7

ROMANS CHAPTER 8

ROMANS CHAPTER 9

ROMANS CHAPTER 10

ROMANS CHAPTER 11

ROMANS CHAPTER 12

ROMANS CHAPTER 13

ROMANS CHAPTER 14

ROMANS CHAPTER 15

ROMANS CHAPTER 16

CORINTHIANS (1)

FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 1

FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 2

FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 3

FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 4

FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 5

FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 6

FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 7

FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 8

FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 9

FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 10

FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 11

FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 12

FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 13

FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 14

FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 15

FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 16

CORINTHIANS (2)

SECOND CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 1

SECOND CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 2

SECOND CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 3

SECOND CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 4

SECOND CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 5

SECOND CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 6

SECOND CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 7

SECOND CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 8

SECOND CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 9

SECOND CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 10

SECOND CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 11

SECOND CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 12

SECOND CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 13

GALATIANS

GALATIANS CHAPTER 1

GALATIANS CHAPTER 2

GALATIANS CHAPTER 3

GALATIANS CHAPTER 4

GALATIANS CHAPTER 5

GALATIANS CHAPTER 6

EPHESIANS

EPHESIANS CHAPTER 1

EPHESIANS CHAPTER 2

EPHESIANS CHAPTER 3

EPHESIANS CHAPTER 4

EPHESIANS CHAPTER 5

EPHESIANS CHAPTER 6

PHILIPPIANS

PHILIPPIANS CHAPTER 1

PHILIPPIANS CHAPTER 2

PHILIPPIANS CHAPTER 3

PHILIPPIANS CHAPTER 4

COLOSSIANS

COLOSSIANS CHAPTER 1

COLOSSIANS CHAPTER 2

COLOSSIANS CHAPTER 3

COLOSSIANS CHAPTER 4

THESSALONIANS (1)

FIRST THESSALONIANS CHAPTER 1

FIRST THESSALONIANS CHAPTER 2

FIRST THESSALONIANS CHAPTER 3

FIRST THESSALONIANS CHAPTER 4

FIRST THESSALONIANS CHAPTER 5

THESSALONIANS (2)

SECOND THESSALONIANS CHAPTER 1

SECOND THESSALONIANS CHAPTER 2

SECOND THESSALONIANS CHAPTER 3

TIMOTHY (1)

FIRST TIMOTHY CHAPTER 1

FIRST TIMOTHY CHAPTER 2

FIRST TIMOTHY CHAPTER 3

FIRST TIMOTHY CHAPTER 4

FIRST TIMOTHY CHAPTER 5

FIRST TIMOTHY CHAPTER 6

TIMOTHY (2)

SECOND TIMOTHY CHAPTER 1

SECOND TIMOTHY CHAPTER 2

SECOND TIMOTHY CHAPTER 3

SECOND TIMOTHY CHAPTER 4

TITUS

TITUS CHAPTER 1

TITUS CHAPTER 2

TITUS CHAPTER 3

PHILEMON

PHILEMON CHAPTER 1

HEBREWS

HEBREWS CHAPTER 1

HEBREWS CHAPTER 2

HEBREWS CHAPTER 3

HEBREWS CHAPTER 4

HEBREWS CHAPTER 5

HEBREWS CHAPTER 6

HEBREWS CHAPTER 7

HEBREWS CHAPTER 8

HEBREWS CHAPTER 9

HEBREWS CHAPTER 10

HEBREWS CHAPTER 11

HEBREWS CHAPTER 12

HEBREWS CHAPTER 13

JAMES

JAMES CHAPTER 1

JAMES CHAPTER 2

JAMES CHAPTER 3

JAMES CHAPTER 4

JAMES CHAPTER 5

PETER (1)

FIRST PETER CHAPTER 1

FIRST PETER CHAPTER 2

FIRST PETER CHAPTER 3

FIRST PETER CHAPTER 4

FIRST PETER CHAPTER 5

PETER (2)

SECOND PETER CHAPTER 1

SECOND PETER CHAPTER 2

SECOND PETER CHAPTER 3

JOHN (1)

FIRST JOHN CHAPTER 1

FIRST JOHN CHAPTER 2

FIRST JOHN CHAPTER 3

FIRST JOHN CHAPTER 4

FIRST JOHN CHAPTER 5

JOHN (2)

SECOND JOHN CHAPTER 1

JOHN (3)

THIRD JOHN CHAPTER 1

JUDE

JUDE CHAPTER 1

REVELATION

REVELATION CHAPTER 1

REVELATION CHAPTER 2

REVELATION CHAPTER 3

REVELATION CHAPTER 4

REVELATION CHAPTER 5

REVELATION CHAPTER 6

REVELATION CHAPTER 7

REVELATION CHAPTER 8

REVELATION CHAPTER 9

REVELATION CHAPTER 10

REVELATION CHAPTER 11

REVELATION CHAPTER 12

REVELATION CHAPTER 13

REVELATION CHAPTER 14

REVELATION CHAPTER 15

REVELATION CHAPTER 16

REVELATION CHAPTER 17

REVELATION CHAPTER 18

REVELATION CHAPTER 19

REVELATION CHAPTER 20

REVELATION CHAPTER 21

REVELATION CHAPTER 22

Other Free Christian Books

The Father’s Life Version New Testament

A Grain OF Wheat ministries publication

4th Edition 2018

Other Free Christian Books

This New Testament translation is available free of charge along with many other writings on the website www.agrainofwheat.com

Christian books written by this translator:

THY KINGDOM COME

LET MY PEOPLE GO!

GENUINE SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY

BABYLON

ANTICHRIST

SIGNS OF THE END

REPENTANCE UNTO LIFE

SEEDS

SEEDS 2

FROM GLORY TO GLORY

THE HIDDEN GOSPEL

All available from the publisher without cost from our website:

www.agrainofwheat.com

Translators email: davidwdyer@yahoo.com

The Father’s Life Version New Testament

PREFACE

About this translation

This work of translation was begun with the purpose of clarifying the meaning of the word “life” as it is used in the New Testament. In English, the word “life” has so many meanings, covering an enormous spectrum of human experience, that it means at the same time almost everything and almost nothing specific.

For example, when someone asks, “How’s your life going?” they could mean “How’s your health?”, “How are your finances?”, “How are you emotionally?”, “How is your work?”, “How’s your family?”, and almost innumerable other things. Yet the Greeks were more precise in their vocabulary concerning what we know as “life.” They used several different words to express specific aspects of what our word “life” means.

One of the most important of these Greek words is the word ZOÊ, which the writers of the New Testament used almost exclusively to refer to God’s uncreated life. This translator considers this distinction extremely important and therefore began this translation as a means to highlight this truth as it appears in the scriptures.

In essence, when the New Testament refers to “eternal life,” it is not referring to our own life at all but to the life of God, who is eternal. Where this new translation is most evident is in the gospel of John.

In the process of translation, other interesting and important meanings of words, phrases, and even entire verses came to light as well, which the reader will discover as he or she reads through the text.

As a basis or point of beginning for this translation, the ASV or American Standard Version of 1901 was used. The first step was to modernize the language of that work to harmonize with today’s English. Those who compare this translation with that one may notice a very few verses which passed without any change at all.

Next, research was done into the meanings of words and phrases which stood out to the translator. Many individual words and phrases were compared with interlinear Greek texts, the definitions in Strong’s concordance, the work of W. E. Vine in his Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, and about 40 other English translations by a great variety of translators. One website which was found to be very helpful was www.studybible.info.

No perfect translation of the New Testament exists. This effort is no exception to that fact. It is impossible for the opinions of any translator not to enter into the text. For example, most Greek words have several (in some cases as many as twenty or more) possible translations. Any translator must choose his words from these possibilities.

But it is obvious that he will choose words which harmonize with his understanding of the Bible. It is impossible that he would select words for his text which disagree with his mindset and doctrine. Thus, the human element in translation is unavoidable.

This translation is the product of trying to balance two objectives: keeping the text as literal as possible while making it actually mean something in the English language.

With this in mind, an effort was made by this translator to make the New Testament understandable. He feels that in order to be of value, the words of the text must mean something and not be merely familiar “religious” words strung together in a grammatically correct way but which do not transmit any understanding.

To achieve this end, words were often added to the translation. These words appear in italics. Such words are those which are implied by the context but represent no words in the original Greek text. This practice is common in most New Testament translations.

Sometimes the “context” which this translator has chosen is not just that of the one particular verse in which the italicized words appear but that of the book or section of the book which contain the verse. More rarely, the “context” is taken from the New Testament as a whole. An example of this would be the word “one” found in Matthew 27:44 and Mark 15:32 which the translator has taken from Luke 23:39-43.

Occasionally, the translator added words which represent his own ideas and opinions but which are not implied by the Greek text. Such words are enclosed in brackets, like this [ ]. The reader should understand these words as merely opinion.

In contrast to this, the words in these braces { } indicate legitimate, alternative translations or explanations. Words within parentheses () are part of the original Greek text and are often used in other New Testament translations also.

Most of the verses herein are translated very literally according to the Greek text. Yet, as a result of the translator’s effort to make the text understandable, a few verses ended up being more like a paraphrase of the original.

This is because the Greek text can be rather sparse and compact, leaving out some implied thoughts or understanding. In some cases, whole connecting thoughts are left out of a discourse. In these cases, the translator has added words in italics or in brackets [ ] for clarity.

The reader should be aware that this translation work was not undertaken without a healthy dose of the fear of the Lord and a sincere effort to accurately transmit the pure revelation of God. Yet, without a doubt, due to the translator’s desire to transmit understanding, it is possible that some verses miss the mark or even obscure other possible interpretations. Because of this risk, it is likely that this work does contain some such imperfections.

However, the translator felt that it was more important to communicate than to fear error. If this were the only translation available, perhaps the risk would be greater. But due to the proliferation of translations and other helps available to the English-reading student of the New Testament, it was felt that the danger of misleading the Christian public with this one small offering was slight.

In some cases, especially in the writings of Paul, the New Testament authors often write long sentences with many subordinate clauses and phrases which continue without any pauses, thus making it difficult to grasp the meaning. Too often when a sentence goes on and on, changing subjects four or five times, the reader tires, loses

focus, and misses some important revelation. To combat this, this translator has broken these giant sentences up into more manageable segments and added a few “introductory” words at the beginning of each new sentence to keep the continuity of the message. Such words are placed in italics. This may be most noticeable in the first chapter of Ephesians.

An effort was made by this translator to avoid some common words which appear in most New Testament translations which are really “transliterations” and not translations at all. A transliteration occurs when you take a Greek word and transform it into an English one thus creating a new English word.

Some examples of such words are “apostle” and “deacon.” Such non-translations frequently recall to the readers’ minds a set of preconceived ideas which are not necessarily in harmony with the Greek text, other passages of the New Testament, or the thoughts of God.

To counter this problem, the translator has used actual translations of these words in place of transliterations. For example, “apostle” now reads “sent ones” and “deacon” becomes “servant.” These are the actual meanings of these Greek words. While at first this terminology may be new to the reader, he or she will find that with time, these translations become normal and even enlightening in their respective contexts.

Another essential term which came into more focus during this translation was the word “Christ.” To believers, this is a very important and even sacred word.

Unfortunately, to many in the English speaking world it has become merely a swearword. In fact, it is one of the most common words used for cursing in our society, resulting in a denigration of this Name which, on the contrary, should command our reverence.

The actual translation of this Greek word “CHRISTOS” is “the Anointed One” which, as well as conveying important meaning for us, also sidesteps today’s irreverent usage of the word. Therefore, this translator thought it important to use this translation in the text.

It seems as if “and” was a very popular word in ancient Greek. Since there is no punctuation or division of sentences in the original Greek, perhaps this word was used as a way to divide sentences. The result is that very many of the verses in the New Testament begin with “and,” especially in the gospels. To avoid tedium and repetition, this translator has changed some of these to “Yet,” “But,” “So,” “Then,” and “When” when it seemed appropriate and did not affect the meaning of the sentence.

As we strive to constantly improve this text, input from the readers in the form of ideas, suggestions, opinions and even corrections will be accepted. However, the translator refuses as of now, and will continue to refuse in the future, to become involved in arguments, debates, acrimonious discussions, etc. If your contribution is helpful, that’s good. If you have a bone to pick and want to fight about some particular dogma, doctrine, or position, your input is already rejected. Nothing of that sort is edifying to anyone. Don’t bother to become involved.

This translation should not be considered as a completely finished work but as a work in progress. Without a doubt as time goes on and the translator receives suggestions, thoughts, ideas, and more revelation, the text will undergo some changes. However, these modifications will probably be minor ones and such a possibility should not hinder the reader from extracting the maximum benefit possible from this present translation.

It is the prayer of this translator that everyone who reads this text will find edification, revelation, and a deeper relationship with our God and Savior, Jesus Christ {the Anointed One}.

David W. Dyer

The Good News According To

MATTHEW

MATTHEW CHAPTER 1

1:1The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Anointed One, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

1:2Abraham fathered Isaac; and Isaac fathered Jacob; and Jacob fathered Judah and his brethren; 1:3and Judah fathered Perez and Zerah with Tamar; and Perez fathered Hezron; and Hezron fathered Ram; 1:4and Ram fathered Amminadab; and Amminadab fathered Nahshon; and Nahshon fathered Salmon; 1:5and Salmon fathered Boaz with Rahab; and Boaz fathered Obed of Ruth; and Obed fathered Jesse; 1:6and Jesse fathered David the king. And David fathered Solomon with her who had been the wife of Uriah; 1:7and Solomon fathered Rehoboam; and Rehoboam fathered Abijah; and Abijah fathered Asa; 1:8and Asa fathered Jehoshaphat; and Jehoshaphat fathered Joram; and Joram fathered Uzziah; 1:9and Uzziah fathered Jotham; and Jotham fathered Ahaz; and Ahaz fathered Hezekiah; 1:10and Hezekiah fathered Manasseh; and Manasseh fathered Amon; and Amon fathered Josiah; 1:11and Josiah fathered Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the carrying away to Babylon.

1:12And after the carrying away to Babylon, Jechoniah fathered Shealtiel; and Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel; 1:13and Zerubbabel fathered Abiud; and Abiud fathered Eliakim; and Eliakim fathered Azor; 1:14and Azor fathered Sadoc; and Sadoc fathered Achim; and Achim fathered Eliud; 1:15and Eliud fathered Eleazar; and Eleazar fathered Matthan; and Matthan fathered Jacob; 1:16and Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called the Anointed One.

1:17So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the carrying away to Babylon fourteen generations; and from the carrying away to Babylon to the Anointed One, fourteen generations.

1:18Now the birth of Jesus the Anointed One was as follows: While his mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, before they had been intimate, she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit. 1:19And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not willing to expose her publicly was planning to put her away quietly. 1:20But while he was thinking about these things, suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying, “Joseph, you son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 1:21And she will have a son and you shall call his name JESUS, for it is he who will save his people from their sins.”

1:22Now all this has happened so that which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled saying, 1:23”Behold, a virgin will conceive and will give birth to a son. And they will call his name Immanuel, which is, being interpreted, ‘God with us’“ (Is 7:14). 1:24So Joseph rose up from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took her as his wife. 1:25But he did not have intimate relations with her until she had given birth to a son, and he called his name JESUS.

MATTHEW CHAPTER 2

2:1Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, men from the east who studied the heavens came to Jerusalem saying, 2:2”Where is he who is born to be the King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” 2:3And when Herod the king heard it, he was troubled along with all Jerusalem.

2:4Then, gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Anointed One would be born. 2:5And they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea,” for this is what was written through the prophet, 2:6”And you Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are in no way least among the princes of Judah. For a leader will come out of you who will shepherd my people Israel” (Micah 5:2).

2:7So Herod privately called the men who studied the heavens and learned from them exactly when the star had appeared. 2:8So he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search out carefully concerning the young child and when you have found him, report back to me so that I may come and worship him also.”

2:9Then they, having heard the king, went on their way. And look, the star which they saw in the east went in front of them, until it came and stopped over the place where the young child was. 2:10And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 2:11When they came into the house and saw the young child with Mary his mother, they prostrated themselves and worshipped him. And opening up their treasures, they offered him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 2:12But being warned by God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they left for their own country by another route.

2:13Now when they had left, look, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream saying, “Arise and take the young child and his mother, flee to Egypt and stay there until I tell you, for Herod will seek for the young child to destroy him.” 2:14So he arose and took the young child and his mother at night and left for Egypt 2:15and was there until the death of Herod, so that which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled saying, “I have called my son out of Egypt” (Hosea 11:1).

2:16Then Herod, when he saw that he had been deceived by the men who studied the heavens, was very angry and sent his men and killed all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all the surrounding regions, who were two years old and younger, according to the time about which he had specifically asked the men who studied the heavens. 2:17Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled saying, 2:18”A sound of weeping and loud mourning was heard in Ramah – Rachel weeping for her children, and she refused to be comforted, because they are not” (Jer 31:15).

2:19But when Herod was dead, look, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt saying, 2:20”Arise and take the young child and his mother and return to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young child’s life are dead.” 2:21So he arose and took the young child and his mother and came to the land of Israel. 2:22But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in the place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he withdrew to the regions of Galilee 2:23and came and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that that which was spoken by the prophets would be fulfilled; “He will be called a Nazarene.”

MATTHEW CHAPTER 3

3:1And in those days John the baptizer came proclaiming in the wilderness of Judea saying, 3:2”Repent, for the kingdom which comes from the heavens is near!” 3:3For this is he who was spoken about through Isaiah the prophet saying, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight” (Is 40:3).

3:4Now John himself had clothing made from camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist. And his food was locusts and wild honey. 3:5Then people from Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region of the Jordan went out to hear him. 3:6And they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

3:7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees* coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 3:8Therefore, produce fruit which is evidence of repentance. 3:9And don’t imagine it is good enough to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children of Abraham from these stones. 3:10And even now the axe has begun to cut at the roots of the trees. Therefore, every tree that does not bring forth good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

3:11“I truly baptize you in water for repentance, but he who comes after me is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize {immerse} you in the Holy Spirit and in fire, 3:12whose winnowing fan is in his hand and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing

*The Pharisees were extremely legalistic, religious leaders while the Sadducees were more “intellectually” religious.

floor. He will gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn up with fire which can’t be extinguished.”

3:13Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan river to John, to be baptized by him. 3:14But John resisted him saying, “I need to be baptized by you and you come to me?” 3:15But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it now, for this is the right way for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed him. 3:16And Jesus, having been baptized, came up out of the water, and look, the heavens were opened above him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, coming upon him. 3:17And a voice came out of the heavens saying, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am very pleased.”

MATTHEW CHAPTER 4

4:1Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil. 4:2And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterwards he was hungry. 4:3And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4:4But he answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word {rhema, Gk} that proceeds out of the mouth of God’“ (Deut 8:3).

4:5Then the devil took him to the holy city, set him on the pinnacle of the temple 4:6and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and, ‘They will carry you in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone’” (Ps 91:11,12).

4:7Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not test the Lord your God.’” 4:8Again, the devil took him to an exceedingly high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 4:9Then he said to him, “I will give you all these things if you will fall down and worship me.” 4:10Then Jesus replied, “Get away from here, Satan, for it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and you shall only serve him’” (Deut 6:13). 4:11Then the devil left him, and look, angels came and took care of his needs.

4:12Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. 4:13And leaving Nazareth, he came and stayed in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali 4:14so that which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled saying, 4:15”The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, toward the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles – 4:16the people who sat in darkness saw a great light and to those who sat in the region and shadow of death, light has dawned” (Is 9:1,2).

4:17From that time Jesus began to preach saying: “Repent, for the kingdom which comes from the heavens is near!”

4:18And walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers: Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 4:19And he said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” 4:20And they immediately left their nets and followed him. 4:21And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. And he called them. 4:22And they immediately left the boat and their father and followed him.

4:23And Jesus went about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of diseases and all varieties of sickness among the people. 4:24And the news about him went out into all Syria and they brought to him all who were sick, suffering with various diseases and afflictions, possessed with demons, people with mental problems, and paralytics and he healed them. 4:25And large crowds followed him from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from the other side of the Jordan.

MATTHEW CHAPTER 5

5:1And seeing the crowds, he went up into the mountain. And when he had sat down, his disciples came to him, 5:2and he opened his mouth and taught them saying, 5:3”Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom which comes from the heavens. 5:4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5:5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 5:6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. 5:7Blessed are the merciful, for they will obtain mercy.

5:8“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will know God through experience. 5:9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the mature sons of God. 5:10Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom which comes from the heavens.

5:11“Blessed are you when men criticize you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil things about you falsely for my sake. 5:12Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for your reward in the heavens is great. For this is the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

5:13”You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its flavor, how will it be salted? It is then good for nothing, but to be thrown out and walked on by men. 5:14You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

5:15“Neither do men light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lamp stand so that it shines its light to all who are in the house. 5:16In the same way, let your light shine before men so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in the heavens.

5:17”Do not think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill. 5:18For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle will in any way pass away from the law, until all things are fulfilled.* 5:19Therefore, whoever breaks one of these least commandments and teaches other men to do so, will be called least in the kingdom which comes from the heavens. But whoever will practice and teach them, he will be called great in the kingdom which comes from the heavens. 5:20For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and

*Fulfilling the law is not the same thing as keeping the law. Jesus did not come to empower us to keep the law. Instead, he fulfilled it. The law is just a type and a shadow of his true righteousness. Once he had come, his life fulfilled all the law. By living a truly righteous life, he completed what God the Father had foreshadowed though the law. In the same way, when we allow his life to fill us and live through us, we too fulfill the law.

Pharisees, you will by no means enter into the kingdom which comes from the heavens.*

5:21”You have heard that it was said to them in the past, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ 5:22But I say to you, that every one who is angry with his brother will be in danger of the judgment, and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca, {stupid, idiot, etc.}’ will be in danger of the council, and whoever says, ‘you fool,’ will be in danger of Gehenna.** 5:23Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there you remember that your brother has anything against you, 5:24leave your gift there at the altar and go on your way. First be reconciled to your brother and then come back and offer your gift.

5:25“Be disposed to agree with your adversary while you are with him in the way, so that it does not happen that your adversary delivers you to the judge and the judge delivers you to the officer and you are thrown into prison. 5:26Truly I say to you, you will never get out of there until you have paid the last little bit of money.

5:27”You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 5:28But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 5:29If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. For it is better for you that one of your members perishes than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna.

5:30“And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away from you. For it is better for you that one of your members perishes than for your whole body to go into Gehenna.

5:31“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 5:32But I say to you, that every one who divorces his wife, except for the motive of sexual unfaithfulness, is himself guilty of making her an adulteress. And whoever marries her who is divorced [in order to remarry (see Mk 10:11,12)] commits adultery.

*The only way our lives could be more righteous than these men who scrupulously followed the law is to have God’s life live in us and through us.

**Gehenna was the place outside of Jerusalem where the inhabitants burned their garbage. There was a continual flame and smoke emanating from this place. Thus, it became a symbol of the future, fiery judgment of God.

5:33”Again, you have heard that it was said to those in the past, ‘You shall not make false promises, but shall perform your vows to the Lord.’ 5:34But I say to you, don’t swear any vows at all: neither swearing a vow by heaven, for it is the throne of God; 5:35nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 5:36Neither shall you swear a vow by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 5:37But let your word ‘yes’ mean yes and your ‘no’ mean no. And anything beyond this is of the evil one.

5:38”You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 5:39But I say to you, do not resist someone who is evil, but whoever strikes you on the right side of your face, turn the other to him also. 5:40And if anyone would take you to court in order to take away your coat, let him have your inner garment also. 5:41And whoever compels you to go one mile {Gk “milion”}, go with him two. 5:42Give to him who asks from you and don’t turn away the one who wants to borrow from you.

5:43”You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 5:44But I say to you, ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,’ 5:45so that you may be mature sons of your Father who is in the heavens. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and the unjust.

5:46“For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same thing? 5:47And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same thing? 5:48You, therefore, should be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

MATTHEW CHAPTER 6

6:1”Be careful not to do your righteous deeds in front of men in order to be seen by them or else you will have no reward with your Father who is in the heavens. 6:2Therefore, when you give to others, don’t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites* do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may receive honor from men. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward. 6:3But when you give to others, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 6:4so that your gifts may be in secret and your Father who sees in secret will recompense you.

*An actor in a Greek play who is pretending to be something he is not.

6:5“And when you pray, you should not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they will be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward. 6:6But you, when you pray, enter into your inner chamber and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

6:7“When praying don’t use useless repetitions as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because they use a lot of words. 6:8Don’t be like them, for your Father knows the things you need even before you ask him.

6:9“Therefore, this is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in the heavens, may your name be revered as holy. 6:10May your kingdom come. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 6:11Give us bread sufficient for today. 6:12And forgive us our offenses as we also have forgiven those who have offended us. 6:13And do not lead us into situations where we might have temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever, amen.’

6:14”For if you forgive men their offences, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 6:15But if you don’t forgive men their offences, neither will your Father forgive your offences.

6:16”Furthermore, when you fast, don’t be like the hypocrites, having a sad look. For they distort their faces so that men can see that they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward. 6:17But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 6:18so that men will not notice that you are fasting. But your Father who is in secret will notice and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

6:19”Don’t store up wealth for yourselves on the earth, where moth larva and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal. 6:20But store up wealth for yourselves in heaven, where neither moth larva nor rust consume and where thieves do not break in and steal, 6:21because where your wealth is, that is where your heart will be also.”

6:22”The ‘lamp’ of the whole being is the eye {vision, understanding, Gk}. If, therefore, your spiritual vision is clear, your whole being will be full of light. 6:23But if your spiritual vision is faulty*, your whole being will be full of darkness. If, therefore, the “light” that is in you is really darkness, how great is that darkness!

6:24“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon {the riches and glory of this present world}.

6:25“Therefore, I say to you, do not be anxious about your soul life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Isn’t the soul life more than food and the body more than clothing?

6:26“Contemplate the birds of the air. They don’t sow, neither do they reap nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable then they are? 6:27Which of you by being anxious can add one small amount to the measure of his life?

6:28“Why are you anxious concerning clothing? Contemplate the lilies of the field, how they grow. They don’t work, neither do they spin, 6:29yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these.

6:30“But if God clothes the grass of the field in this glorious way, which today is there and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, won’t he much more clothe you, oh you of little faith? 6:31Therefore, don’t be anxious saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘How will we be clothed?’ 6:32For the Gentiles seek after all these things, yet your heavenly Father knows about all that you need.

6:33“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. Then all these things will be supplied for you. 6:34Therefore, don’t be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious about itself. The evil of today is sufficient.”

*This means not clearly seeing Jesus and understanding his will.

MATTHEW CHAPTER 7

7:1“Don’t judge others so that you will not be judged. 7:2For with the judgment you judge, you will be judged, and the standard you use to judge others will be applied to you also. 7:3And why do you notice the speck that is in your brother’s eye but don’t consider the beam that is in your own eye?

7:4“Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ but yet you have a beam in your own eye? 7:5You hypocrite, first remove the beam from your own eye and then you will see clearly how to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

7:6“Don’t give that which is holy to dogs, neither throw your pearls before swine, so that they don’t trample them under their feet and then turn around and tear into you.

7:7”Ask, and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you. 7:8For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. 7:9Or, which of you, who if his son asks him for a loaf of bread, will give him a stone, 7:10or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?

7:11“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in the heavens give good things to those who ask him? 7:12Therefore, however you want men to treat you, treat them in the same way, for this is the summation of the law and the prophets.

7:13”Enter in by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction and many are entering in that way. 7:14On the other hand, the gate is restricted and the way is increasingly narrow that leads to God’s own life, and those who find it are few.

7:15”Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are hungry wolves. 7:16You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles? 7:17In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but the corrupt tree produces bad fruit. 7:18A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, neither can a corrupt tree produce good fruit. 7:19Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 7:20Therefore, you will know them by their fruit.

7:21“Not every one who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom which comes from the heavens, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in the heavens. 7:22Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord,’ did we not prophesy by your name, cast out demons by your name and by your name do many mighty works? 7:23And then will I say to them, ‘I was never in close fellowship with you {Gk, know intimately}, depart from me you who do rebellious, independent works.’*

7:24“Everyone, therefore, who hears these words of mine and does them, will be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. 7:25Then when the rain fell, the floods came and the winds blew, beating against that house, it didn’t fall because it was founded upon the rock.

7:26”And everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn’t do them will be compared to a foolish man, who built his house on the sand. 7:27But when the rain fell, the floods came and the winds blew striking that house, it fell and its fall was catastrophic.”

7:28It happened, when Jesus had finished these words, that the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 7:29for he taught them as one who had authority and not like their scribes.”**

MATTHEW CHAPTER 8

8:1When he had come down from the mountain, large crowds followed him. 8:2And look, a leper came to him and worshipped him saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” 8:3So he stretched out his hand and touched him saying, “I am willing, be made clean.” And at that moment his leprosy was cleansed. 8:4Then Jesus said to him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go and show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded for a testimony to them.”

*Jesus promises us this in chapter 10, verse 33. **These were the Jewish legal scholars.

8:5When he had entered into Capernaum, a centurion came to him, begging him 8:6saying, “Lord, my servant is lying in the house a paralytic, being terribly tormented.” 8:7And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8:8Then the centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy for you to come under my roof but only say the word and my servant will be healed. 8:9For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

8:10And when Jesus heard it, he marveled and said to those that followed him, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith, no, not in all Israel.

8:11“And I say to you that many will come from the east and the west and will recline at the feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom which comes from the heavens, 8:12but some of the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness. There they will be weeping and gnashing their teeth.” 8:13Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go on your way. As you have believed, so it will be done to you.” And the servant was healed at that time.

8:14When Jesus had come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother lying sick with a fever. 8:15He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and served them.

8:16When evening came, they brought many who were possessed with demons to him and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick, 8:17so that which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled saying: “He himself took our infirmities and bore our diseases” (Is 53:4).

8:18Now when Jesus saw great crowds around him, he gave the order to depart to the other side. 8:19And there a scribe came and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 8:20And Jesus replied, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man does not have a place to lay his head down.” 8:21Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father.” 8:22But Jesus answered him saying, “Follow me and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”

8:23Then, when he had entered into a boat, his disciples followed him. 8:24And look, a great storm arose on the sea, so much so that the boat was covered with the waves, but he was asleep. 8:25So they came to him and woke him up saying, “Save us Lord! We are going to die!”

8:26Then he said to them, “Why are you fearful, oh you of little faith?” So he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea and there was a great calm. 8:27Then the men were astonished and said, “What kind of man is this that even the winds and the sea obey him?”

8:28When he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, he encountered two men possessed with demons coming out of the tombs. They were extremely fierce, so much so that no one could pass by that way. 8:29And they cried out saying, “What do we have to do with you, you Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”

8:30Now there was a herd of many swine feeding some distance away from them. 8:31So the demons pleaded with him saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of swine.” 8:32And he said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the swine. Then the whole herd rushed over a precipice into the sea, perishing in the water.

8:33Then those who fed them fled, went away into the city and told everything about what had happened to those who were possessed with demons. 8:34So the whole city came out to meet Jesus. When they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their territory.

MATTHEW CHAPTER 9

9:1Afterwards, he entered into a boat and crossed over, coming to his own city. 9:2There, they brought a paralyzed man to him, lying on a pallet. Then Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the man who was paralyzed, “Son, be reassured, your sins are forgiven.” 9:3But some of the scribes said within themselves, “This man blasphemes.”

9:4Then Jesus, knowing their thoughts said, “Why do you think evil thoughts in your hearts? 9:5For which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or to say, ‘Rise up and walk?’ 9:6But so that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins (then he said to the paralyzed man), ‘Get up, take up your pallet, and go up to your house.’“ 9:7And he got up and went to his house.

9:8But when the crowds saw it, they were astonished and glorified God who had given such authority to this man. 9:9As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the place where taxes were collected, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose up and followed him.

9:10It happened, as he sat down to eat in the house, that many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples. 9:11When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 9:12But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician but those who are sick. 9:13But go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous but the sinners to repentance.”

9:14Then the disciples of John came to him saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples don’t fast?” 9:15Jesus said to them, “Can those who are part of the bridegroom’s party mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom will be taken away from them. Then they will fast.

9:16”No one sews a piece of new, unshrunken cloth on an old garment because the new piece shrinks on the garment and a worse tear is made. 9:17Neither do men put new wine into old wine skins, or else the skins burst. Then the wine is spilled and the skins are wasted. But people put new wine into fresh wine skins and both are preserved.”

9:18While he spoke these things to them a ruler came and worshipped him saying, “My daughter is even now dying, but come and lay your hand on her and she will live.” 9:19So Jesus got up and followed him and so did his disciples.

9:20Just then, a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve years came behind him and touched the border of his garment, 9:21for she said within herself, “If I can just touch his garment, I will be made well.”

9:22But Jesus turning and seeing her said, “Daughter, be reassured, your faith has made you well.” And the woman was cured from that time. 9:23When Jesus came into the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a lot of noise, 9:24he said, “Go away. The little girl is not dead, but sleeping.” And they laughed at him with scorn.

9:25But when the crowd was put out, he entered in, took her by the hand, and the young girl arose. 9:26Consequently, his fame spread out into all that land.

9:27As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, crying out and saying, “Have mercy on us, you son of David!” 9:28And when he had come into the house, the blind men came to him and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They answered him, “Yes, Lord.”

9:29Then he touched their eyes saying, “It will be done to you according to your faith.” 9:30And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus strictly commanded them saying, “Don’t let anyone know about this.” 9:31But they went out and spread his fame abroad in that whole area.

9:32As they went out, just then a dumb man possessed with a demon was brought to him. 9:33When the demon was cast out, the dumb man spoke. Then the crowds were amazed saying, “Nothing like this was ever seen in Israel.” 9:34But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of the demons.”

9:35So Jesus went about in all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, healing all kinds of diseases and all varieties of sicknesses. 9:36But when he saw the crowds, he was moved with compassion for them because they were distressed and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd.

9:37Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 9:38Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest asking that he would send out laborers into his ripened harvest.”

MATTHEW CHAPTER 10

10:1Then he called his twelve disciples to himself and gave them authority over unclean spirits to cast them out and to heal all kinds of diseases and all varieties of sicknesses.

10:2Now the names of the twelve sent ones are as follows: The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee and John his brother; 10:3Philip and Bar-Tholomew {son of Tholomew}; Thomas and Matthew, the tax collector; James the son of Alpheus, and Thaddeus; 10:4Simon the Cananaean and Judas Iscariot who also betrayed him.

10:5These twelve Jesus sent out and charged them saying, “Don’t go among the Gentiles and don’t enter into any city of the Samaritans, 10:6but instead go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 10:7And as you go, preach saying, ‘The kingdom which comes from the heavens is near!’

10:8“Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You have received without cost; give without charging. 10:9Don’t take any gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, 10:10no wallet for your journey, neither two coats, nor shoes, nor staff, for the laborer is worthy of his food. 10:11And into whatever city or village you enter, search out someone in it who is worthy and stay there until you leave that place.

10:12“As you enter into the house, make your greetings. 10:13And if the household is worthy, let your peace come upon that house, but if they are not worthy, let your peace return to you. 10:14Whoever doesn’t receive you, or hear your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake off the dust from your feet. 10:15Truly I say to you it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.

10:16”See here, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; therefore, be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. 10:17But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and they will beat you in their synagogues [the religious meeting places]. 10:18You will be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. 10:19But when they deliver you up, do not be anxious about how or what you should say, for what you should say will be given to you at that moment. 10:20For it will not be you who will speak, but the Spirit of your Father will speak through you.

10:21”And brother will deliver up brother to death and the father his child. Children will rise up against their parents and cause them to be put to death. 10:22You will be hated by all men for my name’s sake, but he who endures to the end, that one will preserved. 10:23But when they persecute you in one city, flee to the next, for truly I say to you, you will not have finished your task all the towns of Israel before the Son of man comes.

10:24”A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his lord. 10:25It is sufficient for the disciple to become the same as his teacher and the servant to become like his lord. If they have called the master of the house ‘Beelzebub,’ how much more will they denigrate those of his household! 10:26Therefore, don’t be afraid of them, for there is nothing covered that will not be revealed or hidden that will not be exposed.

10:27“What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light and what you hear in the ear, proclaim from the housetops. 10:28Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul, but instead fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.

10:29”Aren’t two sparrows sold for a very small coin? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father allowing it. 10:30But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 10:31Therefore, don’t be fearful. You are more valuable than many sparrows.

10:32“Everyone, therefore, who confesses me before men, I will also confess before my Father who is in the heavens. 10:33But whoever denies me before men, I will also disown before my Father who is in the heavens.

10:34”Don’t think that I came to send peace on the earth. I did not come to send peace but a sword. 10:35For I came to put a man in conflict with his father, the daughter with her mother, and the daughter-in-law with her mother-in-law. 10:36A man’s enemies will be those from his own household. 10:37“He who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me and he who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 10:38He who does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. 10:39He who seeks out and lives by his soul life will have it utterly destroyed, but he who declares that his soul life must put to death for my sake will be finding himself [discover in God who he was really created to be].

10:40”He who receives you receives me and he who receives me receives him who sent me. 10:41He who receives a prophet as being a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward and he who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. 10:42Whoever gives even a drink of cold water to one of these least esteemed because they are a disciple, truly I say to you he will never lose his reward.”

MATTHEW CHAPTER 11

11:1Afterwards, when Jesus had finished explaining everything to his twelve disciples, he left there to teach and preach in their cities.

11:2Now when John, while he was in prison, heard about the works of the Anointed One, he sent his disciples 11:3who said to him, “Are you the coming One, or should we look for another?” 11:4Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: 11:5the blind receive their sight; the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed; the deaf hear; the dead are raised up; and the poor have good news proclaimed to them. 11:6Blessed are you if you are not offended with me.”

11:7As these men went on their way, Jesus began to say to the crowds concerning John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 11:8But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in expensive clothing? Look, those who wear fine clothes are in king’s houses. 11:9But what did you go out to see? To see a prophet? Yes, I say to you and much more than a prophet.

11:10“This is he of whom it is written, ‘Look, I will send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you’ (Mal 3:1). 11:11Truly I say to you, among all those who have been born of women there has not arisen a greater person than John the baptizer. Yet even someone who is little in the kingdom which comes from the heavens is greater than he. 11:12From the days of John the baptizer until now, the kingdom which comes from the heavens is there to be seized and those who are eager take hold of it. 11:13For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 11:14And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come (Mal 4:5). 11:15He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

11:16“But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces, who call to their friends 11:17saying, ‘We played our music for you and you didn’t dance [i.e. you didn’t take part in our fun]; we wailed [about the unfortunate things of this world] and you did not mourn with us.’* 11:18John came neither eating nor drinking and they said, ‘He has a demon.’ 11:19The Son of man came both eating and drinking and they say, ‘Look, a gluttonous man and a drinker, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is vindicated by the children it produces.”

*Jesus’ true followers will not have the time or the interest in involving themselves in the celebrations or in the troubles of this present fallen, worldly system.

11:20Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works were done, because they had not repented. 11:21“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 11:22But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. 11:23And will you, Capernaum, be exalted to heaven? You will go down into Hades. For if the mighty works had been done in Sodom which were done in you, it would have remained until this day. 11:24But I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.”

11:25At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you hid these things from the wise and intelligent men and have revealed them to infants, 11:26yes, Father, because it pleased you to do things in this way. 11:27All things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows the Son, except the Father, neither does anyone know the Father, except the Son and he to whom the Son wants to reveal him.

11:28“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened and I will give you rest. 11:29Come under my double yoke together with me and learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 11:30For my yoke is gentle and my burden is light.”

MATTHEW CHAPTER 12

12:1At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath day and since his disciples were hungry, they began to pluck the ripe heads and eat the grain. 12:2But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing something which it is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.”

12:3But he said to them, “Haven’t you read what David and those that were with him did, when they were hungry, 12:4how he entered into the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for those who were with him, but only for the priests?

12:5Or haven’t you read in the law that on the Sabbath day the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? 12:6But I say to you that One greater than the temple is here. 12:7But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 12:8For the Son of man is lord of the Sabbath.”

12:9And leaving there, he came to one of their synagogues. 12:10As it happened, a man who had a withered hand was there. So they questioned him saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?” because they were looking for an excuse to accuse him. 12:11So he said to them, “Who is there among you, who having one sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath day will not grab it and lift it out? 12:12Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep! Therefore, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day.” 12:13Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out and it was restored whole as the other one. 12:14But the Pharisees left and spoke against him among themselves, plotting how they might destroy him.

12:15Then Jesus, perceiving it, withdrew from there. But many followed him and he healed them all 12:16and ordered them not to reveal where he was. 12:17In this way, that which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet was fulfilled saying, 12:18”Look, my servant whom I have chosen, my Beloved in whom my soul is very pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. 12:19He will not strive, nor shout loudly, neither will anyone hear his voice seeking attention in the public squares. 12:20A bruised reed he will not break and smoking flax he will not quench until he victoriously removes the sentence of condemnation. 12:21And the Gentiles will hope in his name” (Is 42:1-4).

12:22Then someone both blind and dumb who was possessed with a demon was brought to him and he healed him, with the result that the dumb man spoke and saw. 12:23So all the crowds were amazed and said, “Can this be the son of David?” 12:24But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “This man casts out demons by Beelzebub the prince of the demons.”

12:25But knowing their thoughts he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself cannot stand. 12:26If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? 12:27And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges.

12:28“But if I, by the Spirit of God, cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 12:29Or how can someone enter into the house of the strong man and steal his goods unless he first binds the strong man and then he will plunder his house? 12:30He who is not with me is against me and he that does not gather with me, scatters.

12:31”Therefore, I say to you: every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 12:32And whosoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it will be forgiven him, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit it will not be forgiven him, neither in this age, nor in that which is to come.*

12:33”Either the tree must be good and its fruit good, or the tree must be worthless and its fruit worthless, for a tree is known by its fruit. 12:34You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks. 12:35The good man out of his good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and the evil man out of his evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil things.

12:36“And I say to you that every idle word that a man speaks, he will give account for it on the day of judgment. 12:37For by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned.”

12:38Then some of the scribes and the Pharisees answered him saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” 12:39But he answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, but no sign will be given it but the sign of Jonah the prophet. 12:40For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the large fish, so the Son of man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

12:41“The men of Nineveh will stand up to testify at the judgment of this generation and will condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, but look, someone greater than Jonah is here. 12:42The queen of the south will stand up to testify at the judgment of this generation and will condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and look, someone greater than Solomon is here.

12:43”But when an unclean spirit has gone out of a man, it passes through waterless places, seeking rest, but cannot find it. 12:44Then he says, ‘I will return to my house where I came from.’ And when he returns, he finds it empty, swept, and decorated. 12:45Then he goes and brings with him seven other spirits more evil than himself and they enter in and live there. So the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. This is just how it will be with this evil generation.”

*The age “which is to come” is the kingdom age or the “Millennium,” not eternity.

12:46While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers stood outside, seeking to speak to him. 12:47And someone said to him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak with you.” 12:48But he answered and said to him who told him, “Who is my mother and who are my brothers?” 12:49Then he stretched out his hand towards his disciples and said, “Look, my mother and my brothers! 12:50For whoever does the will of my Father who is in the heavens, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

MATTHEW CHAPTER 13

13:1On that day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the seaside. 13:2And large crowds gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat and sat, and all the crowds stood on the beach. 13:3Then he spoke many things to them in parables saying, “Look, the sower went out to sow, 13:4and as he sowed, some seeds fell on the hard packed pathway and the birds came and devoured them.

13:5“Others fell on rocky places where they did not have much soil. They sprung up quickly because they had no depth of soil, 13:6but when the sun rose they were scorched, and because they had no root, they withered away. 13:7Others fell among thorns and the thorns grew up and choked them.

13:8“Still others fell on good ground and produced fruit, some one hundred times more, some sixty and some thirty. 13:9He who has hearing ears, let him hear.”

13:10Later the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 13:11So he answered and said to them, “It is granted to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom which comes from the heavens, but it is not granted to them.

13:12“For whoever holds securely onto what he has received from God, more will be given to him and he will have an abundance, but whoever does not hold onto what God has revealed to him, even what he has will be taken away from him.

13:13“Therefore, I speak to them in parables because seeing they do not see and hearing they do not hear, neither do they understand. 13:14And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled which says, ‘By hearing you will hear, yet will in no way understand, and seeing you will see, yet will in no way perceive. 13:15For this people’s heart has become calloused, their ears are hard of hearing and they have closed their eyes. Therefore, they cannot perceive with their eyes, hear with their ears, or understand with their heart, so that they would turn around and I could heal them’ (Is 6:9,10).

13:16“But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 13:17For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things which you see and didn’t see them and to hear the things which you hear and didn’t hear them. 13:18You, then, understand the parable of the sower.

13:19”When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, then the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the word that was sown on the hard packed pathway.

13:20“And that which was sown on the rocky places, this is he who hears the word and right away receives it with joy, 13:21but he has no root in himself. So he persists for a while, but when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, he stumbles very quickly.

13:22“And the word that was sown among the thorns, this is he who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of pursuing wealth choke the word and he becomes unfruitful. 13:23And the word that was sown upon the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it. This one genuinely bears fruit, some producing one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.”

13:24He set before them another parable saying, “The kingdom which comes from the heavens is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 13:25But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat and went away. 13:26But when the first blades sprang up and produced fruit, then the tares also appeared. 13:27And the servants of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Why then does it have tares?’ 13:28And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’

“So the servants said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them up?’ 13:29But he replied, ‘No, since while you are gathering up the tares, you might pull up the wheat together with them. 13:30Let both grow together until the harvest. At the harvest time I will say to the reapers, “Gather the tares up first and bind them in bundles in order to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’“

13:31He set another parable before them saying, “The kingdom which comes from the heavens is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field. 13:32This is one of the smallest of all seeds, but when it is grown, it is larger than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the heaven come and live in its branches.”

13:33He spoke another parable to them: “The kingdom which comes from the heavens is like some yeast, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal until it was all leavened.” 13:34All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables. And he spoke nothing to them without using a parable, 13:35so that which was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled: “I will open my mouth in parables. I will utter things which have been hidden from the foundation of the world” (Ps 78:2).

13:36Then he left the crowds and went into the house and his disciples came to him saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares in the field.” 13:37So he answered and said, “He who sows the good seed is the Son of man, 13:38and the field is the world. The good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom and the tares are the sons of the evil one. 13:39The enemy who sowed them is the devil and the harvest is at the end of the age. The reapers are angels.

13:40“Therefore, as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 13:41The Son of man will send out his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all the ones who lead others into sin and those who practice sin themselves 13:42and will throw them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 13:43Then the righteous will shine brightly like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has hearing ears, let him hear.

13:44”The kingdom which comes from the heavens is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and rehid. And in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field. 13:45Again, the kingdom which comes from the heavens is like a man who is a merchant seeking the best pearls, 13:46and having found one pearl of extremely great value, he went and sold all he had and bought it.

13:47”Again, the kingdom which comes from the heavens is like a net that was cast into the sea and gathered up many different kinds of fish. 13:48When it was filled, they drew it up on the beach. Then they sat down and separated the good ones into containers, but the bad ones they threw away. 13:49So will it be in the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the morally derelict from among the righteous 13:50and will throw them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

13:51“Have you understood all these things?” They replied to him, “Yes.” 13:52Then he said to them, “Therefore, every student of the scriptures who has been made a disciple of the kingdom which comes from the heavens is like a man who is the master of a household, who brings forth out of his treasury both new things and old.”

13:53Afterward, when Jesus had finished these parables, he left there. 13:54And coming to his own hometown he taught them in their synagogue in such a way that they were astonished and said, “Where has this man gotten this wisdom and these mighty works? 13:55Isn’t this the woodworker’s son? Isn’t his mother called Mary and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? 13:56And his sisters, aren’t they all here with us? Where then has this man gotten all these things?”

13:57And they were offended with him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own hometown and in his own house.” 13:58And he did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

MATTHEW CHAPTER 14

14:1At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the report concerning Jesus, 14:2and said to his servants, “This must be John the baptizer. He must have risen from the dead and, therefore, these powers work in him.” 14:3For Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. 14:4For John said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 14:5But when Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowds because they thought of John as a prophet.

14:6But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced in front of the guests and pleased Herod. 14:7Consequently, he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked of him. 14:8And she, being influenced by her mother said, “Give me the head of John the baptizer on a platter.”

14:9Now the king was grieved, but for the sake of his oaths and because of those who had dined with him, he commanded it to be given to her. 14:10So he sent a soldier and beheaded John in the prison. 14:11And his head was brought on a platter and given to the young woman and she brought it to her mother. 14:12Then his disciples came, took the corpse and buried him. And they went and told Jesus.

14:13Now when Jesus heard it, he withdrew from there in a boat to a remote, deserted place. But when the crowds heard about it, they followed him on foot from the cities. 14:14When he came out and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

14:15Then when evening had come, the disciples came to him saying, “This place is uninhabited and the day has already passed. Send the crowds away, so that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.” 14:16But Jesus said to them, “They don’t need to go away. You give them something to eat.” 14:17But they replied, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” 14:18And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 14:19So he commanded the crowds to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and the two fish and looking up towards heaven, he blessed them, broke them in pieces, and gave the loaves to the disciples and the disciples in turn gave them to the multitudes.

14:20And they all ate and were filled. Afterwards, they took up from what was left over from the broken pieces twelve full baskets. 14:21And those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

14:22And immediately afterwards, he insisted that the disciples enter into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side while he sent the crowds away.

14:23And after he had sent the crowds away, he went up into the mountain alone to pray. When evening came, he was there alone. 14:24But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, in trouble because of the waves, for the wind was against them.

14:25And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 14:26And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled saying, “It’s a ghost!” And they cried out with fear. 14:27But just then Jesus spoke to them saying, “Be courageous, I am he. Don’t be afraid.” 14:28And Peter answered him and said, “Lord, if it is you, tell me to come to you on the water.” 14:29And he said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water to come to Jesus. 14:30But when he noticed the wind, he became afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out saying, “Lord, save me!”

14:31Immediately, Jesus stretched out his hand, took hold of him and said to him, “Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 14:32And when they had gotten into the boat, the wind stopped. 14:33Then those who were in the boat worshipped him saying, “Truly, you are the Son of God.”

14:34And when they had crossed over, they came to the land, to Gennesaret. 14:35And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent messengers into all the neighboring region and brought everyone who was sick to him, 14:36and they called out to him, asking that they could just touch the hem of his garment. And everyone who touched him was healed.

MATTHEW CHAPTER 15

15:1Then some of the Pharisees and scribes who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus saying, 15:2”Why do your disciples violate the tradition of the elders by not washing their hands before they eat bread?”

15:3And he answered and said to them, “Why do you then violate the commandment of God because of your tradition? 15:4For God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of his father or mother, should be put to death.’ 15:5But you say that whoever says to his father or his mother, ‘Any way in which you might have been benefitted by me is given to God,’ 15:6this person no longer needs to honor his father. In so doing, you have made the word of God void because of your tradition.

15:7”You hypocrites, Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you saying, 15:8‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. 15:9Their worship of me is futile, teaching as their doctrines rules which men invent’” (Is 29:13).

15:10And he called the crowd to him and said to them, “Hear, and understand! 15:11Nothing which enters into the mouth defiles a man, but that which comes out of his mouth, that’s what defiles the man.”

15:12Then the disciples came and said to him, “Don’t you realize that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” 15:13But he answered and said, “Every plant which my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted. 15:14Leave them alone. They are blind guides. And if the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit.”

15:15Peter answered and said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” 15:16So he said, “Are you also without understanding? 15:17Don’t you see that whatever goes into the mouth passes through the stomach and is evacuated into the drain? 15:18But the things which come out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile the man. 15:19For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sex outside of marriage, thefts, false testimony, and slander. 15:20These are the things which defile the man. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”

15:21And Jesus left there and withdrew into the regions of Tyre and Sidon. 15:22And look, a Canaanite woman from that area came and cried out saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, you son of David. My daughter is horribly possessed by a demon!” 15:23But he didn’t answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him saying, “Send her away. She keeps crying out back there behind us.”

15:24But he answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 15:25But she came and worshipped him saying, “Lord, help me!” 15:26And he answered and said, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”

15:27But she said, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the small pieces which fall from their masters’ table.” 15:28Then Jesus answered and said to her, “Oh woman, your faith is great. It will be done to you just as you desire.” And her daughter was healed at that time.

15:29Then Jesus left there, came near the sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat there. 15:30And large crowds came to him bringing with them the lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and they laid them down at his feet, and he healed them. 15:31This caused the crowd to be amazed when they saw the dumb speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.

15:32Then Jesus called his disciples to himself and said, “I have compassion on the large crowd because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away fasting. Some might faint on the way.” 15:33And the disciples replied, “Where could we find enough loaves in an uninhabited place to feed so large a crowd?”

15:34So Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They replied, “Seven and a few small fish.” 15:35Then he instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground. 15:36He took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks and broke them in pieces, and gave them to the disciples. The disciples in turn gave them to the multitudes.

15:37They all ate and were filled. Afterwards they gathered up seven baskets full of the broken pieces which were left over. 15:38The number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children. 15:39And he sent the crowds away, entered into the boat, and came to the borders of Magadan.

MATTHEW CHAPTER 16

16:1Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came and, testing him, asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 16:2But he answered and said to them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ 16:3And in the morning, ‘It will be bad weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but you can’t discern the signs of the times. 16:4An evil and adulterous generation anxiously seeks to see a sign, but no sign will be given to it, except the sign of Jonah.” And he left them and went away.

16:5And the disciples came to the other side but forgot to bring bread. 16:6And Jesus said to them, “Be on your guard and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 16:7So they reasoned among themselves saying, “We didn’t bring any bread.”

16:8And Jesus perceiving it said, “Oh you of little faith. Why do you reason among yourselves because you don’t have bread? 16:9Don’t you understand yet, or don’t you remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered up? 16:10Neither do you remember the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many baskets you gathered up?

16:11“How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the yeast [the corrupting elements] of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 16:12Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the yeast of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

16:13Now when Jesus came to the regions of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples saying, “Who do men say that the Son of man is?” 16:14And they said, “Some say John the baptizer; some, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 16:15He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16:16Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Anointed One, the Son of the living God.” 16:17And Jesus answered and said to him, “You are blessed, Simon Bar-Jonah {son of Jonah}, for flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in the heavens.

16:18“And I also say to you that you are Peter and upon this rock* I will build my community of the called-out ones, and the gates of Hades will not succeed in resisting it. 16:19I will give you the keys of the kingdom which comes from the heavens, and whatever binding agreements you make on earth will be bound in the heavens, and whatever binding agreements you reverse on earth will be loosed in the heavens.” 16:20Then he warned the disciples that they should tell no one that he was the Anointed One.

*The “rock” upon which the church is built is not the person Peter, but upon the faith in Jesus the Anointed One which he exhibited.

16:21From that time Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and scribes, be killed, and the third day be raised up. 16:22So Peter took him and began to rebuke him saying, “May God be merciful to you Lord; this will never happen to you.” 16:23But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan. You are a stumbling-block to me, for your mind is not attuned to the things of God but to the things of men.”

16:24Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to come after me, let him totally reject himself, take up his cross, and follow me. 16:25For whoever wants to preserve his soul life will have it utterly destroyed and whoever will declare that his soul life must be put to death for my sake will find himself [discover in God who he was created to be].

16:26For how will a man be benefitted if he gains the whole world and loses his soul life? Or what could a man give in exchange for his soul life? 16:27For the Son of man will come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will recompense every man according to his actions.

16:28 “Truly I say to you, there are some standing here who under no circumstances will taste death until they understand the reality of the Son of man appearing in his kingdom.”

MATTHEW CHAPTER 17

17:1Six days later Jesus took Peter, James and John his brother with him and brought them up to a high mountain privately. 17:2There he was transfigured in front of them, and his face radiated light like the sun and his garments became brilliant white, like light. 17:3And suddenly, they also saw Moses and Elijah with him conversing together.

17:4So Peter responded and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, we can make three shrines here: one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 17:5While he was still speaking, all at once a cloud radiating light enveloped them and a voice came out of the cloud saying, “This is my Son, the Beloved, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him!” 17:6And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were extremely afraid.

17:7But Jesus came and touched them and said, “Get up and don’t be afraid.” 17:8And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus only. 17:9And as they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them saying, “Don’t tell the vision to anyone until the Son of man has risen from the dead.”

17:10And his disciples asked him saying, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” 17:11And he answered and said, “Elijah certainly is coming and will restore all things. 17:12But I say to you that Elijah has already come, but they did not recognize him and treated him however they wished.* In the same way the Son of man will also suffer at their hands.” 17:13Then the disciples understood that he spoke to them of John the baptizer.

*Notice that there are two “comings” of Elijah mentioned here. One, in verse 12 is in the past, and the other one, in verse 11 is yet in the future.

17:14And when they had come to the crowd, a man came to him kneeling and saying, 17:15”Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is epileptic and suffers severely, for he frequently falls into the fire and into the water. 17:16I brought him to your disciples but they could not cure him.”

17:17And Jesus answered and said, “Oh unbelieving and perverse generation, how long will I be with you? How long must I endure you? Bring him here to me.” 17:18And Jesus rebuked the demon and it came out of him. And the boy was cured from that time on.

17:19Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and asked, “Why couldn’t we cast it out?” 17:20And he said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to over there’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you. 17:21But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

17:22And while they stayed in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of man will be delivered up into the hands of men 17:23and they will kill him and the third day he will be raised up.” And they were very sad.

17:24And when they had come to Capernaum, those who received the double drachma tax came to Peter and said, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the double drachma tax?” 17:25He answered, “Yes.” So when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth receive toll or tribute? From their sons or from foreigners?”

17:26And when he said, “From foreigners,” Jesus said to him, “Therefore, the sons are free. 17:27But, so that we don’t offend them, go to the sea, throw in a hook, and take the first fish which comes up. When you have opened his mouth, you will find a stater coin. Take that and give it to them for me and you.”

MATTHEW CHAPTER 18

18:1At that time the disciples came to Jesus asking, “Who then will be the greatest in the kingdom which comes from the heavens?” 18:2So he called a little child to him, set him in the middle of them, 18:3and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you change direction and become as little children, you will by no means enter into the kingdom which comes from the heavens.

18:4“Whoever, therefore, will humble himself like this little child – he is the greatest in the kingdom which comes from the heavens. 18:5And whoever receives one little child like this in my name receives me. 18:6But whoever baits a trap for one of these little ones that believe into me, causing them to stumble – he would be better off having an upper millstone hung around his neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.

18:7”Woe to the world because of the things which cause stumbling! It is necessary that these situations which cause stumbling happen [for our testing], but woe to that person through whom the cause for stumbling comes! 18:8If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter into God’s life maimed or crippled rather than having two hands or two feet and being thrown into the fire of the eternal One.

18:9“And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter into God’s life with one eye instead of having two eyes and being thrown into the fire of the eternal One.

18:10Be careful not to despise one of these least esteemed ones, for I say to you that in the heavens their angels always look upon the face of my Father who is in the heavens.*

*Matthew 18:11 does not exist in the older, more reliable, Greek manuscripts.

18:12”What do you think? If someone has one hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, doesn’t he leave the ninety nine, go into the mountains and seek the one which has gone astray? 18:13And if he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety nine which have not gone astray. 18:14Even so, it is not the will of your Father who is in the heavens that one of these little ones perishes.

18:15”If your brother sins against you, go, explain to him his error between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have regained your brother. 18:16But if he doesn’t hear you, take with you one or two more, so that from the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be confirmed. 18:17If he refuses to hear them, tell it to the gathering of the called-out ones. But if he refuses to hear the gathering of the called-out ones also, you are free to treat him as a Gentile or as a tax collector.

18:18“Truly I say to you, whenever you enter into a binding agreement on earth it is bound in heaven also. And whenever you free someone from a binding agreement on earth, it is released in heaven also.

18:19“Further, I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about something for which they ask, it will be done for them by my Father who is in the heavens. 18:20For where two or three are gathered together in my name {in the reality of my presence}, there I am in the midst of them.”

18:21Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, how often should I forgive my brother who sins against me? Up to seven times?” 18:22Jesus said to him, “I don’t say to you, ‘Up to seven times,’ but, ‘Up to seventy times seven.’

18:23“Therefore, the kingdom which comes from the heavens is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 18:24And when he began to examine the accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 18:25But because he was not able to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold along with his wife, children, and all that he had so that payment could be made.

18:26“The servant then fell down and did obeisance to him saying, ‘Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 18:27And the lord of that servant, being moved with compassion, released him and forgave him the debt. 18:28But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants, who owed him one hundred denarii. And he grabbed hold of him and, taking him by the throat said, ‘Pay me what you owe.’ 18:29So his fellow servant fell down and begged him saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will pay you.’ 18:30But he would not listen. Instead he went and had him thrown into prison until he paid what he owed.

18:31“So when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were extremely grieved and came and told their lord all that had happened. 18:32Then his lord called him to come forward and said to him, ‘You wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 18:33Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ 18:34And his lord became angry and delivered him to the tormentors until he paid all that was due. 18:35My heavenly Father will also deal with you in this same way if every one of you doesn’t forgive your brother from your heart.”

MATTHEW CHAPTER 19

19:1After Jesus had finished these words, he left Galilee and came to the regions of Judea beyond the Jordan. 19:2Large crowds followed him and he healed them there. 19:3And some of the Pharisees came to him, testing him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?”

19:4And he answered and said, “Haven’t you read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female 19:5and said, ‘For this reason a man leaves his father and mother and is joined {cemented or glued, Gk} to his wife, and the two will become one flesh?’ 19:6Consequently, they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, man should not separate.”

19:7They responded to him saying, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce when a man dismissed his wife?” 19:8He responded to them, “Moses allowed you to divorce your wives because of the hardness of your hearts, but from the beginning it was not so. 19:9And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife for any reason besides sexual unfaithfulness and marries another commits adultery.”

19:10The disciples replied to him, “If this is the case with the man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” 19:11But he said to them, “Not all men have the openness to receive this word, but those to whom it is given. 19:12For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb. There are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom which comes from the heavens. He who is able to receive it, let him receive it.”

19:13Then some little children were brought to him for him to lay his hands on them and pray. But the disciples rebuked them. 19:14Yet Jesus said, “Allow the little children to come to me and don’t forbid them, for the kingdom which comes from the heavens belongs to such as these.” 19:15So he laid his hands on them and left there.

19:16And then someone came to him and said, “Teacher, what good deed must I do so that I may have eternal life?” 19:17And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about that which is good? There is One who is good. But if you wish to enter into the life of God, keep the commandments.”

19:18He asked him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not testify falsely. 19:19Honor your father and mother. And, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

19:20The young man said to him, “All these things I have kept. What do I still lack?” 19:21Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in the heavens. Then come, follow me.” 19:22But when the young man heard that word he went away full of sorrow, for he was one who had many possessions.

19:23And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I say to you: It is hard for a rich man to enter into the kingdom which comes from the heavens. 19:24And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”

19:25And when the disciples heard it, they were exceedingly astonished saying, “Who then can be saved?” 19:26And Jesus looking at them said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 19:27Then Peter answered and said to him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you. What will we have?”

19:28And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that you who have followed me, in the Messianic restoration – when the Son of man sits on the throne of his glory – you also will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 19:29And every one who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive at that time many times more and will inherit the eternal life of God. 19:30However, many who are the most prominent now will be of the lowest rank, and many who are the lowliest now, will be the most important.”

MATTHEW CHAPTER 20

20:1”For the kingdom which comes from the heavens is like a man who was a landowner, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 20:2And when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 20:3And he went out about nine o’clock and saw others standing in the marketplace idle. 20:4So he said to them, ‘You go to work in the vineyard also and whatever is right I will give you.’ And they went. 20:5Again he went out about twelve o’clock and three o’clock and did the same thing.

20:6“And about an hour before sunset he went out and found others standing there. He said to them, ‘Why are you here all day idle?’ 20:7They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ 20:8So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning from the last and progressing to the first.’ 20:9And when those who were hired about an hour before sunset came, everyone received a denarius. 20:10And when the first came, they thought that they would receive more. Yet they too received a denarius each.

20:11“When they received it, they murmured against the landowner 20:12saying, ‘These last ones have worked only one hour and you have made them equal to us, who have worked hard all day and in the scorching heat.’

20:13“But he answered and said to one of them, ‘Friend, I don’t wrong you. Didn’t you agree with me for a denarius? 20:14Take that which is yours and go your way. It is my will to give to these last just as I gave to you. 20:15Isn’t it permitted for me to do what I want with what is mine? Or are you having ungenerous, selfish thoughts because I am good?’ 20:16So some of the last will be first and the first last.” 20:17And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem he took the twelve disciples aside and on the way he said to them, 20:18”Look, we are going up to Jerusalem and the Son of man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes. They will condemn him to death 20:19and will deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, to beat with whips, and to crucify, and on the third day he will be raised up.”

20:20Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, doing obeisance to him and asking a favor of him. 20:21And he said to her, “What do you want?” She answered, “Command that these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right hand and one on your left hand, in your kingdom.”

20:22But Jesus answered and said, “You do not understand what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” 20:23He said to them, “You will, in fact, drink my cup, but to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”

20:24And when the ten heard it, they became indignant with the two brothers. 20:25But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them and their great ones exercise authority over them. 20:26It must never be like this among you! Instead, whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant, 20:27and whoever wants to be first among you will be your slave. 20:28In the same way, the Son of man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many.”

20:29And as they left Jericho, a large crowd followed him. 20:30And it happened that two blind men were sitting by the wayside, when they heard that Jesus was passing by cried out saying, “Lord, have mercy on us, you son of David!” 20:31And the crowd rebuked them, telling them that they should be quiet. But they cried even more saying, “Lord, have mercy on us, you son of David!” 20:32And Jesus stood still and called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” 20:33They said to him, “Lord, we want our eyes opened.” 20:34And Jesus, being filled with compassion, touched their eyes and immediately they received their sight and followed him.

MATTHEW CHAPTER 21

21:1And when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 21:2saying to them, “Go into that nearby village and right away you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 21:3And if any one asks you anything, you should say, ‘The Lord needs them’ and right away he will send them.”

21:4Now this happened so that which was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled saying, 21:5”Tell the daughter of Zion, look, your King comes to you meek and riding on a donkey, even on a colt the foal of a donkey” (Zech 9:9).

21:6And the disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them. 21:7They brought the donkey and the colt and put their garments on them and he sat on them. 21:8A very large crowd spread their garments on the road while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

21:9And the crowds who went in front of him and those who followed cried out saying, “Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 21:10And when he had come into Jerusalem, all the city was stirred up saying, “Who is this?” 21:11And the crowds answered, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee.”

21:12And Jesus entered into the temple of God, threw out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold the doves. 21:13And he said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of thieves.” 21:14And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple and he healed them.

21:15But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did and the children who were crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the son of David,” they were filled with indignation 21:16and said to him, “Don’t you hear what they are saying?” And Jesus responded to them, “Yes. Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babies and nursing infants you have perfected praise?’” (Ps 8:2). 21:17Then he left them, went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.

21:18Now in the morning as he returned to the city, he felt hungry. 21:19And seeing a fig tree beside the road, he came to it but found nothing on it except leaves. And he said to it, “May you never, ever, have any fruit.” And immediately the fig tree withered up. 21:20And when the disciples saw it, they were amazed saying, “How did the fig tree wither up so quickly?” 21:21And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have conviction of God’s leading in this and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will be done. 21:22And all things, whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

21:23And when he had come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority do you do these things?” And, “Who gave you this authority?” 21:24Jesus answered and said to them, “I will also ask you one question, which if you answer me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things. 21:25The baptism of John, what was its source, was it from heaven or from men?”

So they reasoned among themselves saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then didn’t you believe him?’ 21:26But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all believe that John was a prophet.” 21:27So they answered Jesus and said, “We don’t know.” He also said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

21:28”But what do you think? A man had two sons. And he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ 21:29And he answered and said, ‘I will not.’ But afterward he repented and went. 21:30And he came to the second and said the same thing. And he answered and said, ‘I will go, sir.’ But he didn’t go. 21:31Which of the two did the will of his father?” They answered, “The first.”

Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that the tax collectors and the prostitutes will enter into the kingdom of God before you. 21:32For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And you, when you saw it, did not even repent afterward so that you might believe him.

21:33”Hear another parable: There was a man who was a land owner, who planted a vineyard, built a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a guard tower. Then he rented it out to vineyard workers and went to another country. 21:34When the harvest season drew near, he sent his slaves to the workers to receive his share of the fruits. 21:35But the workers took his slaves, beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 21:36Again, he sent other slaves, more than at first, and they did the same things to them.

21:37“But afterward he sent his son to them saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 21:38But when the vineyard workers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ 21:39So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 21:40Therefore, when the lord of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those workers?”

21:41They answered him, “He will harshly destroy those evil men and will rent out the vineyard to other workers, who will give him his share of the fruits in their seasons.” 21:42Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the scriptures, ‘The stone which the builders rejected has been made the keystone. The Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’ (Ps 118:22,23).

21:43”Therefore, I say to you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and will be given to a people producing the fruits of it. 21:44And he who falls on this stone will be broken in pieces, but on whomever it falls, he will be pulverized.”

21:45And when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he spoke about them. 21:46But although they wanted to arrest him, they feared the crowds because everyone thought of him as a prophet.

MATTHEW CHAPTER 22

22:1And Jesus answered and spoke again in parables to them saying, 22:2”The kingdom which comes from the heavens is like a certain king who made a marriage feast for his son 22:3and sent out his slaves to call those who were invited to the wedding feast. But they did not want to come. 22:4Again he sent forth other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, look, I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and my specially fed young cattle are killed. All things are ready, come to the marriage feast.’

22:5“But they were indifferent and went on their own ways, one to his farm, another to his business. 22:6The rest took his slaves, mistreated them and even killed them. 22:7So the king was furious and, sending his armies, he destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 22:8Then said he to his slaves, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.

22:9“Therefore, go to the road intersections and as many as you find, invite to the marriage feast.’ 22:10And those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all that they found, both bad and good. And the wedding feast was filled with guests.

22:11“But when the king came in to see those sitting at the feast, he saw a man who did not have on a wedding garment. 22:12And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without having a wedding garment?” And the man was speechless. 22:13Then the king said to the slaves, ‘Bind him hand and foot and throw him out into the outer darkness, where there will be wailing and the gnashing of teeth.’ 22:14For many are called but few chosen.”

22:15Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might trap him in his words. 22:16And so they sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians* saying, “Teacher, we know that you speak the truth and teach the way of God in truth without being concerned about what others think, for you are not afraid of offending them. 22:17Tell us, therefore, what do you think? Is it permitted by our law to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”

*Influential Jews aligned with Herod the king.

22:18But Jesus perceived their maliciousness and said, “Why do you test me, you hypocrites? 22:19Show me the tax money.” So they brought a denarius to him. 22:20And he said to them, “Whose image and superscription is this?” 22:21They replied to him, “Caesar’s.” Then said he to them, “Therefore, give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22:22And when they heard it they were amazed, left him, and went away.

22:23On that same day the Sadducees came to him – those who say that there is no resurrection – and they asked him 22:24saying, “Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies having no children, his brother should marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. 22:25Now there were among us seven brothers. The first married, died, and having no children left his wife to his brother. 22:26The same thing happened to the second also and then the third, all the way to the seventh. 22:27And last of all, the woman died. 22:28Therefore, in the resurrection whose wife will she be of the seven, for they all had her as a wife.”

22:29But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are in error, not understanding the scriptures, nor the power of God. 22:30For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels in heaven. 22:31But concerning the resurrection of the dead, haven’t you read what was spoken to you by God saying, 22:32‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?’ God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” 22:33And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his teaching.

22:34But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. 22:35And one of them, someone who studied the law, asked him a question, testing him. 22:3“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?” 22:37And he said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 22:38This is the first and greatest commandment. 22:39And a second one is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 22:40The whole law is supported by these two commandments, as are the prophets.”

22:41Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question 22:42saying, “What do you think about the Anointed One? Whose son is he?” They replied to him, “The son of David.” 22:43He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord,’ saying, 22:44‘The Lord said to my Lord, sit here in this place of honor and authority, until I put your enemies underneath your feet?’ (Ps 110:1).

22:45”If David then calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” 22:46And no one was able to answer him a word, neither did anyone dare to ask him any more questions from that day on.

MATTHEW CHAPTER 23

23:1Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples 23:2saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat, 23:3therefore, all the things that they tell you, these do and observe but don’t imitate their works, for they don’t practice what they teach. 23:4Yes, they make up heavy religious burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves won’t move them with one finger.

23:5“But they do all their works to impress others. They make their phylacteries wide [scripture texts worn on their clothing] and enlarge the decorative borders of their garments [identifying them as religious leaders]. 23:6They love the best place at feasts, the prominent seats in the synagogues [religious meeting places] 23:7and the special greetings in public places, having men call them, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi’ {teacher}.

23:8“But don’t any of you be called ‘Rabbi,’ for One is your Teacher and you are all brethren. 23:9And don’t call any man on this earth ‘father,’ because your Father is heavenly. 23:10Neither should you be called ‘leaders,’ for One is your Leader, even the Anointed One. 23:11In fact, the greatest among you will be your slave. 23:12Whoever exalts himself will be humbled and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

23:13“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites, because you prey on widows by taking their money, and look for any excuse to make long public prayers [to be noticed]! Therefore, you will receive a greater judgment.

23:14”But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites, because you shut men out of the kingdom which comes from the heavens! Not only do you not enter in yourselves, you hinder those who are entering.

23:15”Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! For you travel sea and land to make one convert. But when he becomes one, you make him twice the son of Gehenna than you are yourselves.

23:16”Woe to you, you blind guides who say, ‘When someone swears an oath by the temple, his promise is not binding, but whoever swears an oath by the gold of the temple, he must fulfill his word.’ 23:17You are fools and blind. For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has sanctified the gold? 23:18And, ‘When someone swears an oath by the altar, his promise is not binding. But whoever swears an oath by the gift that is on it, he must fulfill his word.’ 23:19You are blind. For which is greater, the gift or the altar which sanctifies the gift?

23:20“He, therefore, who swears an oath by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it. 23:21And he who swears on oath by the temple, swears by it and by him who dwells in it. 23:22And he who swears an oath by the heavens, swears by the throne of God and by him who sits on it.

23:23”Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! For you carefully tithe from the mint, dill, and cumin you receive, but you have ignored the more essential matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. These you should have practiced while not neglecting the others. 23:24You blind guides! You strain out the gnat and swallow the camel!

23:25”Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are full of grasping for money and self-indulgence. 23:26You blind Pharisees, clean up first the inside of the cup and the dish so that the outside may become clean also. 23:27Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men’s bones and of all kinds of uncleanness. 23:28In the same way, you also appear superficially righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and sin.

23:29”Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, 23:30and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers we would not have participated with them in killing the prophets.’ 23:31Therefore, you testify against yourselves that you are the sons of those that killed the prophets. 23:32The truth is that you are just finishing up the works of your fathers. 23:33You serpents, you offspring of vipers, how will you escape the judgment of Gehenna?

23:34”Therefore, look, I will send you prophets, wise men, and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify. Some of them you will beat with whips in your synagogues and persecute from city to city. 23:35Consequently, you will become responsible for all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom you killed between the sanctuary and the altar. 23:36Truly I say to you, this generation will be responsible for all these things.

23:37”Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I would have gathered your children together, just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you didn’t want it! 23:38Look, you will be left alone by yourself. 23:39For I say to you, you will not see me any more until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord’” (Ps 118:26).

MATTHEW CHAPTER 24

24:1As Jesus went out of the temple and was going on his way, his disciples came to him to point out the buildings of the temple. 24:2But he answered and said to them, “You see all these things? Truly I say to you, there will not be one stone left upon another here that will not be thrown down.” 24:3And as he sat on the mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately saying, “Tell us, when will these things be and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 24:4And Jesus answered and said to them, “Be careful that no one leads you into error. 24:5For many will come in my name saying, ‘I am the Anointed One,’ and will lead many astray.

24:6“And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Don’t be disturbed by this. It is inevitable that these things happen, but they do not signal the end. 24:7For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many places. 24:8But all these things are just the beginning of birth pangs.

24:9At that time [the time of the end] they will hand you over to persecution and will kill you. And you will be hated by all the nations because of my name.

24:10”At that time also, many will become offended [because of the persecution] and will turn each other in to the authorities and will hate each other. 24:11And many false prophets will be raised up and will lead many into error.

24:12And because sin will become rampant, the love of the great majority will grow cold. 24:13But he who perseveres to the end, that one will be rescued. 24:14And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the inhabited earth for a testimony to all the nations, and that is the time the end will come.

24:15”Therefore, when you see the false god which gives incentive to plunder, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let him who reads understand), 24:16then those who are in Judea should flee to the mountains. 24:17He who is on the housetop should not go down to take anything out of his house. 24:18He who is in the field should not return to get his coat. 24:19But woe to those that are pregnant and to those who are nursing in those days!

24:20“And pray that your flight does not happen in the winter, neither on a Sabbath. 24:21For at that time tremendous, widespread persecution will come, the likes of which has not happened from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever will happen again. 24:22And if those days were not shortened, no one would survive, but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.

24:23“At that time, if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Anointed One,’ or, ‘He is over there,’ don’t believe it. 24:24For false “Anointed Ones” and false prophets will be raised up and will show great signs and wonders, causing even the chosen to err, if this were possible. 24:25See, I have told you beforehand. 24:26If, therefore, they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ don’t go out there, or ‘See here, he is in a secret room’ don’t believe it. 24:27For just as the lightning comes out of the east and shines to the west, this is the way the coming of the Son of man will be. 24:28Wherever the carcass is, there the vultures will gather together.*

*Don’t be offended by Jesus’ use of vultures in this illustration. This sight – vultures circling over a dead carcass – is common in many parts of the world and is the best possible illustration of what he wanted to say.

24:29“And after the persecution of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give her light, the stars will fall from the heavens, for the powers of the heavens will be overthrown. 24:30Then the sign of the Son of man will appear in the heavens and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of the heavens with power and great glory. 24:31Then he will send out his angels with a great trumpet blast and they will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from one extremity of heaven to the other.

24:32“Now learn the parable of the fig tree. When its branch has become full of sap and puts out its leaves, you know that the summer is near. 24:33In the same way you also, when you see all these things, you will know that it is near, even at the door. 24:34Truly I say to you, the generation [which sees these things] will not pass away, until all these things take place.

24:35“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 24:36But with respect to which day and hour it will be, no one knows, not even the angels of the heavens, but only the Father.

24:37”The time of the coming of the Son of man will be just like the days of Noah. 24:38For as they behaved in those days which were before the flood – eating, drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark 24:39and they had no idea of the coming judgment until the flood came and took them all away – it will be just like that before the coming of the Son of man.

24:40“Then two men will be in the field: one will be received and the other one left. 24:41Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be received and the other one left. 24:42Be very attentive, therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord comes.

24:43“But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 24:44Therefore, you be ready also, for at a time that you do not expect it, the Son of man will come.

24:45”Who then is the faithful and wise slave, whom his lord has appointed to care for his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 24:46Blessed is that slave, whom his lord will find doing so when he comes. 24:47Truly I say to you, that he will appoint him to administrate all that he has.

24:48“But if, being a worthless slave, he says in his heart, ‘My lord delays,’ 24:49and begins to repeatedly abuse his fellow slaves and begins eating and drinking with the drunkards, 24:50the lord of that slave will come on a day when he doesn’t expect him and at a time when he is unaware 24:51and will beat him severely and assign his share of the inheritance with the hypocrites.* There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

*Actors in a Greek play who were pretending to be something they were not.

MATTHEW CHAPTER 25

25:1“Then the kingdom which comes from the heavens will be compared to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 25:2Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 25:3The foolish, when they took their lamps, took no extra oil with them. 25:4But the wise took extra oil in their ‘vessels’ along with their lamps.

25:5“Now while the bridegroom delayed, they all fell asleep and slept. 25:6But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Look, the bridegroom! Go out to meet him!’ 25:7Then all those virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 25:8Then the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 25:9But the wise answered saying, ‘Perhaps there will not be enough for us and you. Instead go to those who sell and buy some for yourselves.’

25:10“And while they went away to buy, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast. And the door was shut. 25:11Afterward, the other virgins also came saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open up for us.’ 25:12But he answered and said, ‘Truly I say to you, I don’t acknowledge knowing you.’* 25:13Keep watch, therefore, for you do not know the day or the hour.

*This is one of Jesus’ promises. He says, “But whoever denies me before men, I will also disown before my Father who is in the heavens” (Mt 10:33).

25:14”For it will be similar to when a man, going to another country, called some of his own slaves and delivered to them his goods to administrate. 25:15To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his own ability. And he went on his journey.

25:16“Right away the one who received the five talents went and did business and made five more talents. 25:17In a similar way, the one who received the two talents gained two more. 25:18But he who received the one talent went away and dug in the earth and hid his lord’s money.

25:19”Now after a long time the lord of those slaves returned and made an accounting with them. 25:20So he who received the five talents came and brought another five talents saying, ‘Lord, you delivered five talents to me. Look, I have made another five talents.’ 25:21His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You have been faithful with small things, I will set you over important things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

25:22“And he also who received the two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered two talents to me. Look, I have made another two talents.’ 25:23His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You have been faithful with small things, I will set you over important things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

25:24“Then he who had received the one talent also came and said, ‘Lord, I perceive you as a hard man, reaping where you didn’t sow and gathering where you didn’t scatter, 25:25and I was afraid. So I went away and hid your talent in the earth. Look here, I am giving you back what is yours.’ 25:26But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You problematic and lazy slave. You say you saw me as one who reaps where they didn’t sow and gathers where they did not scatter. 25:27Therefore, you should have at least invested my money with the bankers so that at my coming I would have received my money back with interest.’

25:28“‘Therefore, take the talent away from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 25:29For to every one who uses what he has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance. But with respect to him who does not use what he has, even that which he has will be taken away. 25:30And throw out that useless slave into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

25:31”But when the Son of man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then will he sit on the throne of his glory. 25:32All the people groups* will be gathered before him and he will separate them one from another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 25:33He will set the sheep on his right side, but the goats on the left.

*Notice the time that this occurs: at the coming of Jesus. (Mt 19:28, Mk 10:37). Therefore, these can only be God’s people, since no unbelievers will be resurrected or judged until 1,000 years later. (Rev 20:11-15).

25:34“Then the King will say to those on his right side, ‘Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 25:35For 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, 25:36naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to see me.’

25:37“Then the righteous will answer him saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 25:38And when did we see you as a stranger and take you in, or naked and clothe you? 25:39And when did we see you sick, or in prison and come to you?’

25:40“And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, just as you did it to one of the least important of these brethren of mine here present, you did it to me.’

25:41“Then he will also say to those on the left side, ‘Depart from me, you who are now cursed, into the fire of the eternal One which is prepared for the devil and his messengers. 25:42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. 25:43I was a stranger and you didn’t take me in, naked and you didn’t clothe me, sick and in prison and you didn’t visit me.’

25:44“Then they will also answer saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison and did not minister to you?’ 25:45Then he will answer them saying, ‘Truly I say to you, just as you didn’t do it to one of these least here present, you didn’t do it to me.’ 25:46And these will go away to age-lasting corrective punishment, but the righteous into the eternal life of God.”

MATTHEW CHAPTER 26

26:1And it happened, when Jesus had finished all these words, he said to his disciples, 26:2“You know that in two days the passover is coming and the Son of man will be handed over to be crucified.”

26:3At that time the chief priests gathered together, along with the elders of the people, in the court of the high priest who was called Caiaphas. 26:4There they plotted together about how they might catch Jesus by subtlety and kill him. 26:5But they said, “Not during the feast, so that it doesn’t cause a disturbance among the people.”

26:6Now while Jesus was in Bethany, at the house of Simon the leper, 26:7a woman came to him with an alabaster flask of extremely valuable ointment which she poured on his head while he was sitting down to eat. 26:8But when the disciples saw it, they were indignant saying, “What is the purpose for this waste? 26:9For this ointment could have been sold for a lot of money and given to the poor.”

26:10But Jesus perceiving it said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? She has done something good to me. 26:11For you will always have the poor with you, but you won’t always have me with you. 26:12For in pouring this ointment on my body she did it to prepare me for burial. 26:13Truly I say to you, wherever this good news message is proclaimed in the whole world, that which this woman has done will also be told for a memorial to her.”

26:14Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 26:15and said, “How much are you willing to give me if I deliver him to you?” And they established a price of thirty pieces of silver for him. 26:16From that time he sought an opportunity to deliver him to them.

26:17Now on the first day of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus saying, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the passover?” 26:18And he said, “Go into the city and find a certain man and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is near. I plan to keep the passover at your house with my disciples.”’“ 26:19And the disciples did as Jesus instructed them and they prepared the passover meal.

26:20Now when evening had come, he was sitting at the meal with the twelve disciples. 26:21And as they were eating he said, “Truly I say to you that one of you will betray me.” 26:22And they were exceedingly sorrowful and every one of them began to say to him, “Is it I, Lord?” 26:23And he answered and said, “He who dips his hand with me in the dish will betray me.

26:24“The Son of man goes, even as it is written about him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It would be better for that man if he had never been born. 26:25And Judas, who betrayed him, answered and said, “Is it I, Rabbi?” He answered, “You have said it.”

26:26And as they were eating, Jesus, taking the bread, blessed it, broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat. This is my body.” 26:27And taking a cup he gave thanks and gave it to them saying, “Drink of it, all of you. 26:28For this is my blood, the blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many, resulting in liberation from sins. 26:29But I say to you, I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink new wine with you in my Father’s kingdom.” 26:30And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

26:31Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be offended because of me this night, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered abroad’ (Zech 13:7). 26:32But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.”

26:33But Peter answered and said to him, “If all the others are offended because of you, I will never be offended.” 26:34Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” 26:35Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, yet I will not deny you.” All the other disciples said the same thing.

26:36Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane and said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” 26:37And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and began to grieve and be distressed. 26:38Then he said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, even to death. Wait here and keep watch with me.” 26:39And he went forward a little, fell on his face, and prayed saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

26:40And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping and said to Peter, “So, you couldn’t keep watch with me one hour? 26:41Be vigilant and pray, so that you don’t enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

26:42Again a second time he went away and prayed saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, your will be done.” 26:43And he came again and found them sleeping, for their eyelids were heavy. 26:44And he left them again and went away and prayed a third time, repeating the same words.

26:45Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you yet sleeping and taking your rest. Look, the time has come and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 26:46Arise, let us be going. See, he who betrays me is here.”

26:47And while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, came and with him was a large crowd with swords and clubs from the chief priest and elders of the people. 26:48Now he who betrayed him gave them a sign saying, “Whomever I kiss, that is he. Take him.” 26:49And he came directly to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi,” and kissed him.

26:50And Jesus said to him, “Friend, do that for which you have come.” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took him. 26:51And suddenly one of those who was with Jesus reached out his hand, drew his sword and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear.

26:52Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place, for all those who take up the sword will die by the sword. 26:53Or don’t you understand that I could ask my Father and he would even now send me more than twelve legions of angels? 26:54But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be this way?”

26:55At that time Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come with swords and clubs to seize me as if I were a robber? I sat daily in the temple teaching and you didn’t take me then. 26:56But all this has happened so that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left him and fled.

26:57And those who had taken Jesus led him away to the house of Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together. 26:58But Peter followed him at a distance to the court of the high priest, entered in, and sat with the servants to see the conclusion.

26:59Now the chief priests and the whole council sought false testimony against Jesus so that they could put him to death. 26:60But they couldn’t find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. Yet, later on, there came two 26:61who said, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it after three days.’”

26:62Then the high priest stood up and said to him, “Don’t you have an answer about what these two testify against you?” 26:63But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to him, “I solemnly charge you by the living God that you tell us whether you are the Anointed One, the Son of God.”

26:64Jesus said to him, “You have said it. Even so I tell you this: In the future you will see the Son of man sitting in the place of honor and authority of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

26:65Then the high priest tore his garments saying, “He has spoken blasphemy. What further need do we have for witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. 26:66What do you think?” They answered and said, “He is worthy of death!” 26:67Then they spit in his face and violently mistreated him. Some struck him with the palms of their hands 26:68saying, “Prophesy to us, you ‘Anointed One.’ Who is the one who struck you?”

26:69Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard and a maid came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” 26:70But he denied it before them all saying, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 26:71And when he had gone out to the porch, another maid saw him and said to those who were there, “This man also was with Jesus of Nazareth.” 26:72And again he denied it with an oath, “I don’t know the man.”

26:73A little while later those who stood nearby came and said to Peter, “You really must be one of them, for your accent exposes you.” 26:74Then he began to curse and to swear by an oath, “I don’t know the man!” And immediately the rooster crowed. 26:75Then Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.

MATTHEW CHAPTER 27

27:1Now when morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people consulted together and decided against Jesus, to put him to death. 27:2So they bound him, led him away, and delivered him up to Pilate the governor.

27:3Then Judas who betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, regretted it and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders 27:4saying, “I have sinned because I betrayed innocent blood.” But they said, “What does that have to do with us? That’s your problem.” 27:5Then he threw the pieces of silver down in the sanctuary and left. And leaving there, he went and hanged himself.

27:6And the chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, “It is against the law to put the money into the treasury since it is the price of blood.” 27:7So they discussed it among themselves and bought the potter’s field with the coins to bury strangers in. 27:8Therefore, that field is called “The field of blood” even until today.

27:9Through these events, that which was spoken through the prophet was fulfilled when he said, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him who was valued, to whom certain of the children of Israel gave a value. 27:10And they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me” (Zech 11:12,13).

27:11Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him saying, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And Jesus said to him, “You say so.” 27:12But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. 27:13Then Pilate said to him, “Don’t you hear how many things they testify against you?” 27:14And he did not answer him, not even a word, so that the governor was extremely amazed.

27:15Now at the feast it was the governor’s custom to release one prisoner to the crowds, which the people chose themselves. 27:16At that time, there was a notorious prisoner named Bar-Abbas {son of Abbas}. 27:17Therefore, when they were gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you, Bar-Abbas or Jesus who is called the Anointed One?” 27:18For he knew that they had delivered Jesus for judgment because of envy.

27:19And while Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent a message to him saying, “Don’t have anything to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered terribly today because of a dream I had about him.”

27:20Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds that they should ask for Bar-Abbas and destroy Jesus. 27:21So the governor answered and said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” And they said, “Bar-Abbas!” 27:22Pilate replied to them, “What then should I do with Jesus who is called the Anointed One?” They all said, “Crucify him!” 27:23And he said, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they cried out loudly saying, “Crucify him!”

27:24So when Pilate saw that he wasn’t making any progress but instead a tumult was beginning, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this righteous man. Now it’s your responsibility.” 27:25And all the people answered and said, “Let his blood be on us and on our children.” 27:26Then he released Bar-Abbas to them. But he had Jesus beaten with a whip and delivered him to be crucified.

27:27Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus to the Praetorium and gathered the whole group around him. 27:28There they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him. 27:29Then they braided a crown of thorns and put it on his head and a reed in his right hand. Then they knelt down before him and mocked him saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 27:30And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. 27:31And when they had mocked him, they took the robe off him and put his own garments back on him and led him away to crucify him.

27:32And as they left they came upon a man from Cyrene whose name was Simon. So they forced him to go with them so that he could carry his cross.

27:33And when they came to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, “The place of a skull,” 27:34they gave him wine to drink mingled with a bitter herb,* but when he had tasted it, he refused to drink it. 27:35When they had crucified him, they divided his garments among themselves, casting lots for them. 27:36And they sat and watched him there.

*This “bitter herb” was a kind of narcotic to ease the pain.

27:37And they hung a sign up over his head with his accusation written on it, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. 27:38There were also two robbers crucified with him, one on the right side and one on the left.

27:39And some of those who passed by slandered him, shaking their heads 27:40and saying, “You who could destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself. If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!”

27:41In the same way the chief priests also mocked him, together with the scribes and elders saying, 27:42”He saved others, but he can’t save himself. If he is the King of Israel, let him come down from the cross now and we will believe on him. 27:43He trusted in God, let him save him now, if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 27:44And one of the robbers who was crucified with him also ridiculed him in the same way.

27:45Now from noon to three o’clock there was darkness over all the land. 27:46And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” This means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 27:47And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, said, “This man is calling for Elijah.” 27:48And immediately one of them ran, took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink.

27:49But the others said, “Leave him alone. Let’s see whether Elijah comes to save him.” 27:50Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and released his spirit. 27:51And look, the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom, the earth quaked, and the rocks were split open.

27:52Also some of the tombs were opened and many bodies of the saints who had died were resurrected 27:53and, coming out of the tombs after his resurrection, they entered into the holy city and appeared to many.

27:54Now the centurion and those who were with him guarding Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were done, became extremely afraid saying, “Truly this was the Son of God.” 27:55And many women were there watching from afar off who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, 27:56among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

27:57And when evening had come, a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph came, who was also Jesus’ disciple. 27:58This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded it to be given to him. 27:59So Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 27:60and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out of solid rock. And having rolled a large stone across the door of the tomb, he left. 27:61And, sitting across from the tomb, Mary Magdalene was there along with the other Mary.

27:62Now on the next day, which is the day after the Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees got together and came to Pilate 27:63saying, “Sir, we remember that that imposter said while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will arise.’ 27:64Therefore, command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, unless perhaps his disciples come and steal him away and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.”

27:65Pilate said to them, “You have a guard. Go, make it as secure as you can.” 27:66So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and placing the guard.

MATTHEW CHAPTER 28

28:1Now after the Sabbath days,* as it began to dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. 28:2And look, there was a large earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone, and sat upon it. 28:3His appearance was like lightning and his garment brilliant white like snow. 28:4The guards were so afraid of him they shook and became like dead men.

*The Greek word here is plural. The feasts of Israel, including the Passover, were also referred to as “sabbaths”. It is probable that Jesus was crucified on a Passover which fell on a Wednesday or Thursday and rose on Sunday. This then accounts for Him being three days and three nights in the grave.

28:5And the angel spoke and said to the women, “Don’t be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who has been crucified. 28:6He is not here, for he has risen, even as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 28:7And go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead. And see here, he will go before you to Galilee. You will see him there. See, I have told you.”

28:8And they quickly left the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to tell his disciples. 28:9And all of a sudden Jesus met them saying, “Greetings.” And they came, took hold of his feet and worshipped him. 28:10Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Go tell my brethren that they should leave for Galilee and they will see me there.”

28:11Now while they were going, some members of the guard came into the city and told the chief priests all the things that had happened. 28:12So when they had gotten together with the elders and had discussed the situation, they gave a certain sum of money to the soldiers 28:13saying, “Just say that his disciples came at night and stole him away while you were sleeping. 28:14And if the governor hears about this, we will persuade him so you won’t have to worry about it.”

28:15So they took the money and did as they were instructed. And this explanation was spread around among the Jews and still continues until today.

28:16But the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 28:17And when they saw him, they worshipped him. But some doubted.

28:18And Jesus came to them and spoke to them saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 28:19As you are going, therefore, make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of {immersing them into the reality of} the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 28:20teaching them to observe all the things that I commanded you. And look, I am with you always, even to the completion of the age.”

Words in this translation found in italics are words which are implied by the Greek text but do not represent actual words in the Greek text. This practice is common in almost all modern translations. Occasionally, this translator has added words to the translation which represent his own ideas and opinions which, although they are based on his own biblical understanding, are not part of the actual Greek text. Such words are enclosed in brackets, like this [ ]. The reader should understand these words as being the opinion of the translator. In contrast to this, the words in these braces { } indicate legitimate, alternative translations or explanations. Words within parentheses () are part of the original Greek text. Such parentheses are often used in other New Testament translations also.

The Good News According To

MARK

MARK CHAPTER 1

1:1This is an account of the beginning of the good news of Jesus the Anointed One, the Son of God. 1:2Just as it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Look, I send my messenger before your face who will carefully prepare your way” (Mal 3:1). 1:3A voice of one crying in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the Lord. Make his paths straight” (Is 40:3).

1:4John came, the one who baptized {immersed} in the wilderness and proclaimed the baptism of repentance for the release from the bondage of sins. 1:5And all the country of Judea went out to him along with all those of Jerusalem. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the river Jordan.

1:6And John was clothed with camel’s hair, had a leather belt around his waist, and ate locusts and wild honey. 1:7And he preached saying, “There is one who is coming after me who is more powerful than I, so much so that I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. 1:8I baptized you in water, but he will immerse you in the Holy Spirit.”

1:9And it happened in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan river. 1:10And immediately after coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens parted in two and the Spirit descending upon him in the form of a dove. 1:11And a voice came out of the heavens saying, “You are my Son, the Beloved One in whom I delight!”

1:12And immediately afterward the Spirit sent him away into the wilderness. 1:13He was in the wilderness forty days being tested by Satan, where his only company was the wild beasts. But later, the angels came and ministered to him.

1:14Now after John was taken into custody, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the good news from God 1:15and saying, “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe in the good news.”

1:16And walking along by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea for they were fishermen. 1:17And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you into fishers of men.” 1:18And immediately they left the nets and followed him.

1:19Then going on a little further, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who also were in a boat mending the nets. 1:20So he called them, and they immediately left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.

1:21And they came to Capernaum. There, on the Sabbath day, without any hesitation, he entered into the synagogue and taught. 1:22And they were astonished at his teaching because he taught them as someone having authority and not as the scribes.

1:23And in their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit who cried out 1:24exclaiming, “Oh no! What have you come to do to us, Jesus you Nazarene? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God.” 1:25And Jesus rebuked him saying, “Be quiet and come out of him.” 1:26And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.

1:27So everyone was amazed, so much so that they questioned among themselves saying, “What is happening? Whose new teaching is this? He even commands the unclean spirits with authority and they obey him.” 1:28And the news about him spread everywhere in all the regions around Galilee.

1:29And when they had come out of the synagogue, they went directly to the house of Simon and Andrew, along with James and John. 1:30Now Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick with a fever and they soon told him about her condition. 1:31Then he came and took her by the hand and raised her up. The fever left her and she served them. 1:32Then in the evening, when the sun had set, they brought to him all who were sick and those who were possessed with demons. 1:33And the whole city was gathered together at the door. 1:34And he healed many who were sick with various diseases and cast out many demons but he did not allow the demons to speak because they knew him.

1:35In the morning, long before daylight, he rose up, left the house, and went to a deserted place where he prayed. 1:36Then Simon and those who were with him followed after him. 1:37When they found him they said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” 1:38But he replied, “Let us go to the other villages so that I may preach there also, for this is the reason I came forth from the Father.

1:39And he went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out demons. 1:40And a leper came to him, pleading with him, who kneeling down in front of him said to him, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

1:41And being moved with compassion, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, “I am willing. Be made clean.” 1:42And immediately the leprosy left him and he was made clean. 1:43Then he sent him away.

1:44But first he sternly warned him saying, “Be careful not to say anything about this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the things which Moses commanded for your cleansing as a testimony to them.”

1:45But instead he left and began to tell everyone about it, spreading the news everywhere, so much so that Jesus could not publicly enter into a city, but was outside in the uninhabited places. Even so, people came to him from all directions.

MARK CHAPTER 2

2:1And when he entered into Capernaum again a few days later, the news soon spread that he was in a certain house. 2:2Soon, so many people were gathered together that there was no longer room for them, not even near the door. And he spoke the word to them.

2:3Then some others came to him with someone who was paralyzed, being carried by four men. 2:4But when they couldn’t get near him because of the crowd, they took off part of the roof where he was. And when they had dismantled it, they lowered down the pallet on which the paralyzed man was lying. 2:5And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

2:6But there were some of the scribes sitting there who reasoned in their hearts thinking: 2:7“Why does this man speak blasphemy? Who can forgive sins except God alone?” 2:8But right away Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they were thinking this way, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? 2:9Which is easier: to say to this one who is paralyzed, ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your pallet and walk?’

2:10“But so that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins (he said to the paralyzed man), 2:11I say to you, ‘Get up, pick up your pallet, and go to your house.’” 2:12And he rose up and immediately picked up the pallet and walked out in front of them all. Everyone was amazed and glorified God saying, “We never saw anything like this.”

2:13And he went out again by the seaside. Then all the multitude came to him and he taught them. 2:14As he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collection station and he said to him, “Follow me.” And standing up he followed him. 2:15And it happened, when he was sitting down to eat a meal in his house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat down with Jesus and his disciples because many of such people followed him.

2:16Then some of the scribes and the Pharisees,* when they saw that he was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 2:17And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well don’t need a doctor, but those who are sick. I didn’t come to call the righteous but the sinners to repentance.”

*The Pharisees were extremely legalistic, religious leaders while the scribes were the Jewish legal scholars.

2:18At that time John’s disciples and the Pharisees’ disciples were fasting, so some came and said to him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast but your disciples don’t fast?” 2:19And Jesus said to them, “Can the companions of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 2:20But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them and then, at that time, they will fast.

2:21“No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old garment or else when it shrinks, the new pulls away from the old and a worse tear is made.

2:22And no one puts new wine into old wineskins or else the wine will burst the skins and the wine is wasted along with the skins. But they put new wine into fresh wineskins.”

2:23And it happened that as he was walking on the Sabbath day, he passed by the fields of grain. And as they went, his disciples began to pluck the heads of grain. 2:24Then the Pharisees said to him, “Look, why do they do something which is not lawful on the Sabbath day?”

2:25And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, both he and those who were with him? 2:26He entered into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest and ate the showbread, which it is not lawful to be eaten except by the priests. And he also gave it to those who were with him.” 2:27Then he said to them, “The Sabbath exists for man’s benefit and not man for the Sabbath. 2:28Therefore, the Son of man is lord even over the Sabbath.”

MARK CHAPTER 3

3:1And when he went back to the synagogue again, there was a man there who had a withered hand. 3:2So they (the religious leaders) watched him carefully to see whether or not he would heal him on the Sabbath day so that they could have something about which to accuse him.

3:3So he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Get up and come here in the middle of everyone.” 3:4Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath day or to do harm: to save a life, or to kill?” But they kept quiet.

3:5So when he had looked around at all of them with anger, being grieved because of the hardness of their hearts, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And when he stretched it out, his withered hand was restored to be like his other one.

3:6Then the Pharisees went out and immediately got together with the Herodians* to plot against him, trying to figure out how they could destroy him.

*Influential Jews aligned with Herod.

3:7Then Jesus withdrew to the seashore with his disciples. But a large crowd of people from Galilee followed them, including some from Judea, 3:8Jerusalem, Idumaea, and even some from beyond the Jordan and the region around Tyre and Sidon – a truly large crowd. These had been hearing about the great things which he did and so they came to see him.

3:9Then he spoke to his disciples to have a little boat available for him because of the crowd, in case they pressed on him too much. 3:10This was because since he had healed so many, those who had infirmities crowded near him so that they could touch him. 3:11And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, fell down before him and cried out saying, “You are the Son of God!” 3:12And he frequently charged them not to reveal who he was.

3:13Later he went up the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted to come. And they went with him. 3:14There he appointed twelve of them so that they would be with him and so that he could send them out to preach, 3:15having authority to heal diseases and cast out demons.

3:16He then gave Simon a new name: “Peter,” 3:17and James the son of Zebedee, along with his brother John, he gave the new name “Boanerges,” which means “Sons of thunder.” 3:18He also appointed Andrew, Philip, Bar-Tholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananaean, 3:19and Judas Iscariot, who is the one who betrayed him.

Sometime later he entered into a house. 3:20And a crowd gathered together again. It became so crowded that they could not even eat. 3:21When some from his family heard about it, they came to take him away forcibly for they said, “He has lost his mind.”

3:22The scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed with Beelzebub,” and, “He casts out demons by the prince of the demons.” 3:23And so he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 3:24If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

3:25“If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to continue. 3:26And if Satan has risen up against himself and, therefore, is divided, he cannot stand, but is brought to an end. 3:27But no one can enter into the house of a strong man and steal his goods unless he first binds up the strong man and then he can steal what is in his house.

3:28“Look here, I tell you the sons of men can be forgiven all kinds of sins, including slanderous things which they might have spoken. 3:29But whoever reviles the Holy Spirit [by attributing His work to Satan] will not be liberated during this age and will be subject to judgment in the age which is coming.”* 3:30He said this because they had said, “He has an unclean spirit” [when it was really the Holy Spirit in operation].

*The age which is coming is not eternity but the Kingdom age or the “Millennium.”

3:31Then his mother and his brothers came there. And standing outside, they sent for him, calling him to come to them. 3:32The crowd was sitting around him, so they said to him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are outside looking for you.”

3:33And he answered them and said, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 3:34Then looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Look, these are my mother and my brothers! 3:35For whoever does the will of God, that one is my brother, my sister, and my mother.”

MARK CHAPTER 4

4:1Once again he began to teach by the seaside. And a very large crowd gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat and sat in it while all the crowd was beside the sea on the land.

4:2And he taught them many things in parables and said to them in his teaching, 4:3“Listen carefully! Look, the sower went out to sow his seed. 4:4And it happened that as he sowed, some of the seed fell on the hard packed pathway and the birds came and devoured it. 4:5Other seeds fell on the rocky ground, where they did not have much soil. They sprung up very quickly because they had no depth of soil. 4:6But when the sun rose they were scorched, and because they had no root system, they withered away.

4:7“And others fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them and they produced no fruit. 4:8Still others fell into good soil and produced fruit, growing up, increasing, and bearing fruit, some thirty times more, some sixty times more, and some one hundred times more.” 4:9And he said, “He who has hearing ears, let him hear.”

4:10Later, when he was alone, those who were with him along with the twelve asked him about the parable. 4:11And he said to them, “It has been granted to you to understand the secrets of the kingdom of God, but to the outsiders, all things are kept secret in parables. 4:12This is so that even if they see they won’t perceive and even if they hear they won’t understand so that there is no way for them to turn around and be released from their sins.”

4:13And he said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then are you going to understand all the other parables? 4:14The sower sows the word. 4:15And those represented by the hard packed pathway are the ones who, when the word is sown and they have heard it, Satan immediately comes and carries off the word which was sown in their hearts.

4:16“In a similar way – represented by the word being sown upon the rocky places – are those who, when they have heard the word, right away receive it with joy. 4:17But they have no “root” in themselves. So they continue for a while but when tribulation or persecution arise because of the word, they quickly become offended and fall into sin.

4:18“And others – those that are sown among the thorns – these are those who have heard the word 4:19but the preoccupations of the world, the illusion of riches and the carnal desires for other things enter in, choke the word and it becomes unfruitful. 4:20And those that were sown on the good ground represent those who hear the word, receive it, and bear fruit: thirty times as much, sixty times as much, and one hundred times as much.”

4:21And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought out to be put under a basket or under the bed and not to be put on the lamp stand? 4:22For there is nothing hidden that will not be exposed, neither has anything been made secret which will not be revealed. 4:23If anyone has hearing ears, let him hear.”

4:24And he said to them, “Contemplate carefully what you hear. For in the measure that you receive it, it will be given out to you. And to those who comprehend what has been said, even more will be given. 4:25Furthermore, he who holds securely to what he has received, more will be given to him. But he who does not hold on securely to what he has been given, even what he has will be taken away.”

4:26And he said, “The kingdom of God can be compared to a man who sows seed on prepared soil. 4:27While he sleeps and rises up day after day, the seed sprouts and grows although he really doesn’t understand how this happens.

4:28“In fact, the earth bears fruit by itself [not requiring man’s understanding]. First the new leaf appears, then the head of grain, then the mature grain in the head. 4:29But when the grain is ripe, he immediately sends out the sickle because the time of reaping has come.”

4:30And he said, “To what can we compare the kingdom of God or what kind of parable can we use to explain it? 4:31It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is planted in the soil, it is one of the smallest seeds that exists upon the earth. 4:32Yet after it is planted it grows up and becomes larger than all the other herbs and puts out large branches so that it is possible for the birds of the heaven to rest under its shade.”

4:33And using many such parables, he spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it. 4:34He did not speak without using parables, but privately to his own disciples, he explained everything.

4:35And on that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let’s go over to the other side.” 4:36And leaving the multitude, they took him with them, going quickly into the boat. And there were some other small boats with him.

4:37But there arose a great wind storm and the waves broke over the side and into the boat, so much so that the boat was filling with water. 4:38He himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion.

And they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are about to die?” 4:39And he awoke, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Be calm! Be still!” Then the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 4:40And he said to them, “Why are you fearful? Don’t you yet have faith?” 4:41And they were extremely afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

MARK CHAPTER 5

5:1And they came to the other side of the sea into the country of the Gerasenes. 5:2And when he had left the boat, just then a man coming out of the graveyard, who had an unclean spirit, encountered him. 5:3This man lived in the tombs and no one could bind him any more, not even with chains. 5:4For he had often been bound with leg restraints and chains but the chains had been torn apart by him and the leg restraints broken in pieces. And no one was strong enough to subdue him. 5:5He was constantly crying out night and day in the tombs and in the mountains, cutting himself with stones.

5:6And when he saw Jesus from afar, he came running and knelt down before him. 5:7And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What do you have to do with me, Jesus, you Son of the Most High God? I beg you by God, don’t torment me!” 5:8For he said to him, “Come out, you unclean spirit. Leave that man!” 5:9And he asked him, “What is your name?” And he said to him, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” 5:10And they begged him profusely that he would not send them away out of that region. 5:11Now there was a large herd of swine feeding near the mountains. 5:12And they pleaded with him saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter into them.”

5:13And he quickly gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits came out and entered into the swine. And the herd (about two thousand of them) rushed over the precipice into the sea and they were drowned in the sea.

5:14Then those who fed them fled and told it in the city and all around the countryside. And so, many people came to find out about what had happened. 5:15When they came to Jesus and saw the man (he who had had the legion), who had been possessed with demons sitting, clothed, and in his right mind, they were amazed. 5:16And those who had seen it declared to them how it happened to him who had been possessed with demons and about the swine. 5:17Then they began to beg him to leave their region.

5:18As he was entering into the boat, he who had been possessed with demons pleaded with him, wanting to be with him. 5:19He didn’t permit him to come, but said to him, “Go to your house and to your friends and tell them the great things the Lord has done for you and how he showed mercy to you.” 5:20So he went his way and began to spread the news in Decapolis about how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone was amazed.

5:21When Jesus had crossed over again to the other side in the boat, a large crowd gathered to him. And he was beside the sea. 5:22Then one of the rulers of the synagogue, whose name was Jairus, came to him. When he saw Jesus, he fell down at his feet 5:23and begged him fervently saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. I beg you to come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.”

5:24As he went with him, a large crowd followed him and they crowded closely around him. 5:25And a woman, who had a flow of blood for twelve years 5:26(this woman had suffered through many treatments at the hands of many physicians, had spent all her money, and still had not gotten better but instead grew worse) 5:27having heard the things concerning Jesus, came up in the crowd behind him and touched his garment. 5:28For she said to herself, “If I can just touch his garments, I will be cured.” 5:29And immediately the flow of her blood was dried up and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.

5:30At that moment Jesus, perceiving that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” 5:31And his disciples said to him, “Look, the crowd is pressing on you from all sides and you ask, ‘Who touched me?’” 5:32But he continued looking around to see who had done this thing.

5:33Then the woman being fearful and even trembling, knowing what had been done to her, came and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. 5:34And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be healed of your affliction.”

5:35While he was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house saying, “Your daughter has died. Why do you bother the Teacher anymore?” 5:36But Jesus, when he heard what was spoken, said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Don’t be afraid, only believe.” 5:37And he allowed no one to come with him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James.

5:38And when they had come to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, he saw a tumult and many loudly weeping and wailing. 5:39And when he had come in, he said to them, “Why are you making such a lot of noise and weeping? The child is not truly dead but asleep.” 5:40And they ridiculed him.

But he, having put them all out, took the father of the child and her mother, along with those who were with him, and went into where the child was lying. 5:41And taking the child by the hand, he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which is interpreted, “Young woman, I say to you, arise.”

5:42And immediately the young woman rose up and walked, for she was twelve years old. And they were beside themselves with amazement. 5:43Then he commanded them not to tell anyone about this. And he asked them to give her something to eat.

MARK CHAPTER 6

6:1Afterwards, he left there and came back to his own region, and his disciples followed him. 6:2And when the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing him were astonished saying, “Where did this man get these things?” And, “Whose wisdom has been given to this man so that such mighty works are done by his hands? 6:3Isn’t this the woodworker, the son of Mary and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they were offended with him.

6:4And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown among his own relatives and in his own house.” 6:5And he could not do any mighty works there except he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6:6And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went around to the neighboring villages teaching.

6:7Then he called the twelve to him and began to send them out by two and two. He gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 6:8And he commanded them to take nothing for their journey except a staff, taking no bag of provisions, no bread, or any brass coins in their money belt. 6:9They were to take sandals but not to put on an extra coat.

6:10And he said to them, “Whenever you enter into a house, stay there until you leave that town. 6:11And if any place you go does not receive you and the people there refuse to hear you, as you leave that place, shake off the dust that is on the soles of your feet for a testimony against them.

6:12And having gone out, they proclaimed the message of repentance. 6:13They cast out many demons and anointed many who were sick with oil and they were healed.

6:14Soon king Herod heard about him, for his name had become known, and he said, “John the baptizer has risen from the dead and, therefore, these works of power operate in him.” 6:15But others said, “It is Elijah.” And others said, “He is a prophet or like one of the prophets.”

6:16But Herod, when he heard about it, said, “John, whom I beheaded has resurrected.” 6:17For Herod himself had sent and arrested John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her. 6:18For John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”

6:19This is why Herodias held a grudge against him and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to 6:20because Herod greatly respected John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and therefore kept him safe. And because he had heard many things about him, he was even willing to listen to him.

6:21But then a day came when Herodias had her opportunity. Herod, on his birthday, made a feast for his nobles, the captains of thousands, and the chief men of Galilee. 6:22And the daughter of Herodias came in and performed a dance. She pleased Herod and those who sat at the feast with him so much that the king said to the young woman, “Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you.” 6:23He even swore an oath to her saying, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you, even if it is half of my kingdom.”

6:24Then she went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” And she replied, “The head of John the baptizer.” 6:25So she hurried right back to the king and asked saying, “I want you to give me the head of John the baptizer on a platter right now.” 6:26And the king was exceedingly grieved, but because of his oath and because of those who sat at the feast, he was not disposed to disregard her.

6:27And so the king immediately sent a soldier of his guard and commanded him to bring his head. So he went and beheaded him in the prison, 6:28brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the young woman. And the young woman gave it to her mother. 6:29When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his corpse and laid it in a tomb.

6:30The ones whom Jesus had sent out gathered together to Jesus and they told him about all the things they had done and what they had taught. 6:31And he said to them, “Come away to an uninhabited place and rest a while.” For there were so many people coming and going that they did not even have enough free time to eat. 6:32And so they went away in the boat to a desolate place. 6:33When the people saw them going, many recognized him and so they ran there on foot from all the neighboring cities to meet him. And so they had gathered together to where he was going before he even got there.

6:34When he arrived there and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep who do not have a shepherd and he began to teach them many things.

6:35And since it was already getting late, his disciples came to him and said, “This place is uninhabited and it is already getting late. 6:36Send them away so that they can go into the surrounding villages and countryside and buy themselves something to eat.” 6:37But he answered and said to them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Should we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” 6:38And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and find out.” And when they found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.”

6:39So he instructed them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. 6:40And they sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties. 6:41He took the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he blessed them. Then he broke the loaves into pieces and he gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. The two fish were also divided among them all. 6:42And they all ate and were filled. 6:43Afterwards they gathered up twelve basketfuls of the leftover pieces, including the fish. 6:44And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.

6:45And shortly afterward he urged his disciples to enter into the boat and to go ahead of him to the other side to Bethsaida while he himself sent the multitude away. 6:46After he had dismissed them, he went up into the mountain to pray.

6:47When evening had come, the boat was in the middle of the sea and he was alone on the land. 6:48And he perceived that they were having a hard time rowing because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night he came toward them, walking on the sea and he would have passed by them. 6:49But they, when they saw him walking on the sea, supposed that it was an apparition and cried out 6:50because they all saw him and were upset. But he immediately spoke to them and said, “Be encouraged. I AM he. Don’t be afraid.”

6:51And so he came up to them and got into the boat and the wind stopped blowing. And they were beyond being greatly astounded, and amazed among themselves, 6:52not yet comprehending what had happened with the loaves because their hearts were calloused.

6:53When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and moored to the shore. 6:54And when they had gotten out of the boat, immediately the people recognized him. 6:55And so they ran round the whole region and began to carry those who were sick, still on their beds, to him wherever they heard that he was.

6:56And wherever he went, into villages or into cities or into the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him to let them just touch the border of his garment. And as many as touched him were delivered from their ailments.

MARK CHAPTER 7

7:1And the Pharisees and certain of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, gathered together to oppose him. 7:2They had noticed that some of his disciples ate their bread with “defiled,” that is, unwashed, hands and were finding fault with him about it.

7:3(For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they first wash their hands diligently, adhering to the tradition of their elders. 7:4Furthermore, when they come from the marketplace, they don’t eat unless they bathe themselves first. And there are many other such regulations which they observe concerning the washings of cups, pots, brass vessels, and sleeping furniture.)

7:5And so the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders but eat their bread with ‘defiled’ hands?” 7:6And he said to them, “Isaiah prophesied very accurately about you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. 7:7Their worship of me is futile, teaching men’s rules as their doctrine’ (Is 29:13). 7:8You discard the commandment of God and obsessively hold onto your own tradition.”

7:9And he said to them, “You set aside the commandment of God so that you may keep your own tradition. 7:10For example, Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of his father or mother should be put to death.’

7:11“But you say that if a man says to his father or his mother, “Whatever assistance I might have been to you is ‘Corban,’ that is to say, ‘Given to God,’ 7:12he is discharged from doing anything for his father or his mother. 7:13By teaching this, you invalidate the word of God by your tradition which you have delivered to the people to keep. And you do many other similar things also.”

7:14Then he called the multitude to him again and said to them, “All of you listen to me and understand. 7:15There is nothing from outside of a man which, entering into his mouth, can defile him. But the things which come out of a man’s mouth are the things which defile the man. 7:16If anyone has hearing ears, let him hear.”

7:17And when he had entered into the house away from the multitude, his disciples asked him about this parable. 7:18And he said to them, “Are you also so lacking in understanding? Don’t you see that whatever goes into a man from the outside cannot defile him. 7:19This is because it doesn’t go into his heart but into his stomach, through the bowels, and is eliminated, thus ‘cleansing’ all foods.”

7:20And he said, “It is that which comes out of a man which defiles the man. 7:21For from within – out of the heart of men – come: evil thoughts, adultery, sexual relationships outside of marriage, murders, robbery, 7:22greediness, corruption, deceitfulness, sexual impurity, lack of generosity {Gk, evil eye}, slander, arrogance, and unholy living. 7:23All these evil things come out from within and defile the man.”

7:24Having left there, he went to the borders of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered into a house, not wanting anyone to know about it, yet he could not be hidden. 7:25But very soon a woman who had a little daughter with an unclean spirit, heard about him. She came and prostrated herself at his feet. 7:26Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by race. And she pleaded with him to cast out the demon from her daughter.

7:27And he said to her, “Let the children first be filled, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” 7:28But she answered and said to him, “Yes, Lord, but even the small dogs under the table eat the little morsels which the children drop.”

7:29And he said to her, “Because of this saying, go on your way. The demon has gone out of your daughter.” 7:30And she went back to her house and found the child lying on the bed and the demon had left.

7:31Returning from the borders of Tyre, he came through Sidon to the sea of Galilee, through the middle of the region of Decapolis. 7:32And they brought someone who was deaf and had a speech impediment to him and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 7:33And he took him aside privately, away from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears. Then he spat and touched his tongue.

7:34And looking up to heaven, he groaned and said to him, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Be opened.” 7:35And his ears were opened and his tongue was loosed and he spoke clearly. 7:36And he ordered them to tell no one. But the more he admonished them, the more they told everyone about it.

7:37And they were totally astonished saying, “He has done all things well! He even makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak.”

MARK CHAPTER 8

8:1In those days, when a large crowd had gathered together and once again they were without anything to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, 8:2“I feel compassion for the multitude, because they have been with me three days already and have nothing to eat. 8:3If I send them away hungry to their homes, they might faint on the way and some of them have come from far away.”

8:4And his disciples answered him, “Where can we find any bread here in this uninhabited place?” 8:5And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven.” 8:6Then he instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground. He took the seven loaves and having given thanks, he broke them in pieces and gave them to his disciples to give to them. So they set them before the multitude. 8:7They also had a few small fish.

After having blessed them, he told his disciples to set these before them also. 8:8And everyone ate and was satisfied. Afterwards, they gathered up seven baskets of broken pieces that were left over. 8:9And those who ate were about four thousand in number. Then he sent them away.

8:10Then he entered directly into the boat with his disciples and came to the coast of Dalmanutha. 8:11And the Pharisees came there and began to debate with him, seeking a sign from heaven from him and testing him. 8:12And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek for a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” 8:13And he left them.

And entering into the boat again, he departed to go to the other side. 8:14But they had forgotten to take bread. They didn’t have more than one loaf with them in the boat.

8:15And he warned them saying, “Look, be perceptive concerning the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” 8:16And they discussed this with one another saying, “He said that because we don’t have any bread.”

8:17And Jesus perceiving it said to them, “Why do you discuss your not having bread? Don’t you yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts still calloused? 8:18Having eyes, you still don’t see and having ears, you still don’t hear? Don’t you remember 8:19when I broke the five loaves among the five thousand? How many baskets full of broken pieces did you gather up?” They said to him, “Twelve.”

8:20“And when I broke the seven loaves among the four thousand, how many basketfuls of broken pieces did you gather up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” 8:21And he said to them, “How is it that you still don’t understand?”

8:22When they came to Bethsaida, those from that area brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him. 8:23Then he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. And when he had spit on his eyes, and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” 8:24And he looked up and said, “I see men, but they look like walking trees.”

8:25Then he laid his hands on his eyes again, and he recovered his sight completely, being restored to his former state, and saw everything clearly. 8:26And he sent him away to his home saying, “Don’t go back into the village and don’t tell anyone in the village.”

8:27And Jesus went out with his disciples into the villages of Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked his disciples, saying to them, “Who do men say that I am?” 8:28And they told him saying, “John the baptizer, and others, Elijah, and still others, one of the prophets.” 8:29Then he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to him, “You are the Anointed One.” 8:30And he ordered them not to tell anyone this about him.

8:31And he began to teach them that it was necessary for the Son of man to suffer many things, be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the scribes, be killed, and after three days rise again. 8:32And he said these things very clearly. So Peter took him aside and began forcefully to try to talk him out of this idea. 8:33But he, turning around and seeing his disciples, rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind my back Satan, for you do not understand the things of God but are thinking like a man!”

8:34And he called the multitude to him along with his disciples and said to them, “If anyone wishes to follow after me, let him reject his own ‘self,’ pick up his cross and follow me. 8:35For whoever seeks to preserve his own soul life will have it utterly destroyed and whoever declares that his soul life must be put to death for my sake and the sake of the good news message will be being rescued himself [through transformation].

8:36“For how does it benefit anyone to gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his soul life? 8:37Or what could a man give as a ransom for his soul life? 8:38Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

MARK CHAPTER 9

9:1And he said to them, “Truly I say to you that some of the ones standing here will not experience death until they see a powerful manifestation of the coming kingdom of God.” 9:2Then six days later Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and brought them privately up onto a high mountain, alone. There he was transformed before their eyes. 9:3His garments became radiant, extremely white, more than any bleaching agent on earth could whiten them.

9:4Moses and Elijah also appeared to them. And they were talking with Jesus. 9:5Peter responded to all this by saying to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is a good thing that we are here. We should make three shrines here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 9:6For he didn’t know what he was saying because they were frightened out of their wits.

9:7Then a cloud came which cast a shadow over them. And a voice came out of the cloud saying, “This is my Son, the Beloved One. Hear him!” 9:8And at that moment, looking round them, they no longer saw anyone except Jesus there with them.

9:9And as they were coming down from the mountain, he exhorted them to tell no one about the things they had seen until after the Son of man had been raised up from among the dead. 9:10So they kept this word, debating among themselves what “being raised up from among the dead” could mean.

9:11Then they asked him saying, “How is it that the scribes say that it is necessary for Elijah to come first before the Messiah?” 9:12So he said to them, “Elijah truly will come first and will restore all things before the second coming.

“But, (just as is it written about the Son of man that he would suffer many things and be treated with contempt) 9:13I tell you that ‘Elijah’ has already come and they have mistreated him following their own desires, just as it is written concerning him.”

9:14And having returned to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and scribes arguing with them. 9:15And just then, when the crowd saw him, they were startled and came running to greet him. 9:16He asked the scribes, “What are you arguing about with them?”

9:17And someone in the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, who has a spirit which causes him to be speechless. 9:18And whenever it takes him over, it convulses him and he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and curls up in a ball. I spoke to your disciples asking them to cast it out but nothing came of it.”

9:19And he answered them and said, “Oh unbelieving generation, how long will I be with you? How long must I have patience with you? Bring him to me.” 9:20And they brought him to him. And when he saw him, immediately the spirit convulsed him and he fell on the ground, rolling around and foaming at the mouth. 9:21And he asked his father, “How long ago did this start happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 9:22And often it has thrown him into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

9:23And Jesus said to him, “If you are able to believe – all things are possible to him who believes.” 9:24Immediately the father of the child cried out with tears and said, “I believe. Oh Lord, help my unbelief!”

9:25And when Jesus saw that a crowd was quickly gathering, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to him, “You dumb and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and don’t enter into him any more!” 9:26And having cried out and convulsed him severely, he came out. And the boy became as if dead, so much so that many said, “He is dead.”

9:27But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up and he got up. 9:28And when he had come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, why they couldn’t cast it out. 9:29And he said to them, “No one can cast this kind out except through prayer and fasting.”*

*It is possible that because the demon gained access to this person in early childhood – thus indicating that it was not an act of that person’s will which allowed the demon in – the evil spirit’s hold over that person’s life was harder to remove.

9:30Then they left there and passed through Galilee but he didn’t want anyone to know about it 9:31because he was explaining something to his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of man is going to be delivered up into the hands of men and they will kill him. And after he is killed, the third day he will rise again.” 9:32They didn’t understand what he said but were afraid to ask him to explain it.

9:33When they had come to Capernaum, after he had come into the house, he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” 9:34But they kept quiet because they had been arguing with each other about who was the greatest. 9:35So he sat down and called the twelve and he said to them, “If any one wants to be first, he must be last of all and the servant of all.”

9:36Then he took a very young child and set him in the middle of them. And taking him in his arms, he said to them, 9:37“Whoever receives one of these little children in my name, receives me and whoever receives me, does not receive me but the One who sent me.”

9:38John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name and we forbid him because he doesn’t accompany us.” 9:39But Jesus said, “Don’t forbid him. For there is no one who does a powerful work in my name who afterwards will be quick to speak evil of me. 9:40He who is not against us is for us.

9:41“For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you are the Anointed One’s, truly I say to you, he will in no way lose his reward. 9:42And whoever causes one of these little ones who trusts in me to stumble, it would be better for him if a huge millstone were hung around his neck and he was thrown into the sea.

9:43“If your hand is holding you back, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into the life of God crippled rather than go into Gehenna – into the unquenchable fire – still having your two hands. 9:45And if your foot is holding you back, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into the life of God lame than to be thrown into Gehenna still having two feet. 9:47“And if your eye is holding you back, throw it out. It is better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than still have two eyes and be thrown into fiery Gehenna 9:48where the maggots don’t die and the fire is never extinguished.

9:49“But each individual will be ‘seasoned’ with fire, just as every sacrifice is seasoned with salt. 9:50Salt is good. But if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have wisdom {salt} in yourselves and cultivate peace with one another.”

MARK CHAPTER 10

10:1And he arose from there and came into the regions of Judea and beyond the Jordan. There the crowds came together to him again, and as his habit was, he again taught them.

10:2And the Pharisees came forward and asked him, as a way of testing him: “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 10:3And he answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?” 10:4And they said, “Moses allowed them to write a document of divorce and divorce her.”

10:5So Jesus explained to them, “It was because of the hardness of man’s heart that he wrote you this rule. 10:6But from the beginning of the creation, God made them a couple, male and female. 10:7For this reason a man leaves his father and mother, and adheres {to glue or cement, Gk} to his wife,10:8and the two become one flesh so that they are no longer two, but one flesh. 10:9Therefore, what God has yoked together, let no one separate.”

10:10And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 10:11And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife in order to marry another commits adultery against her. 10:12And if she divorces her husband in order to marry another, she commits adultery.”

10:13And some people were bringing little children to him, so that he would touch them. And the disciples rebuked them. 10:14But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Allow the little children to come to me and don’t forbid them. For the kingdom of God belongs to ones such as these. 10:15Truly I say to you, unless you receive the kingdom of God as a little child, there is no way for you to enter into it.” 10:16And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.

10:17When he had left there and was going along the way, someone ran up to him, kneeled down before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what works must I do to receive the eternal life of God?” 10:18And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? Only One is good, even God. 10:19You know the commandments: Do not kill; Do not commit adultery; Do not steal; Do not testify falsely; Do not take advantage of others; Honor your father and mother.”

10:20And he said to him, “Teacher, all these things I have observed from my youth.” 10:21And Jesus, looking upon him, loved him and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell whatever you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. And come, take up the cross, and follow me.” 10:22But his countenance fell at this saying and he went away distressed, for he had many possessions.

10:23And Jesus looked around him and said to his disciples, “How difficult it is to persuade those who have wealth to enter into the kingdom of God!” 10:24And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus, continuing his remarks said to them, “Children, how difficult it is for those who trust in wealth to find the kingdom of God attractive and so to enter into it! 10:25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”

10:26And they were really shocked, saying to him, “Then who can be saved?” 10:27Jesus looking at them said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God, for all things are possible with God.”

10:28Peter began to say to him, “Look, we have left everything and have followed you.” 10:29Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house, or brethren, or sisters, or mother, or father, or children, or lands, for my sake, and for the sake of the good news, 10:30who will not afterwards enjoy at the right time* – up to one hundred times more – houses, brethren, sisters, mothers, children, and lands in the middle of persecutions and during the coming age, the full enjoyment of the eternal life of God.** 10:31But many who seem to be ‘the most important’ now will be the lowest ranking, and the lowest ranking now will be the most important.”

*Since Jesus just finished warning his disciples about the danger of wealth, it is impossible that he suddenly changed his mind and is predicting great prosperity for them all in this world. Therefore, we must understand the “enjoy in proper proportion” as enjoying what others have and have made available to those who do God’s work and not that they will be possessing these things for themselves.

**This verse is a little difficult to understand because it seems to indicate that “eternal life” is something which believers receive “in the age to come.” Yet, from other parts of the Bible, it is clear that this is something we receive when we receive Jesus (Jn 3:36, 1 Jn 5:12 and many more), not something which we get later on. The logical explanation must be that, in the resurrection, when we are free from this earthy, sinful body, we will then have a full, unrestricted enjoyment of God’s eternal life which we already received through Jesus when we believed.

10:32As they were on the way going up to Jerusalem, Jesus was taking the lead in the journey. And they were distraught and afraid as they followed him. So he took the twelve aside again and began to explain the things that were going to happen to him 10:33saying, “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem and the Son of man will be delivered into the custody of the chief priests and the scribes. They will condemn him to death and will deliver him to the Gentiles 10:34who will mock him, beat him with whips, spit on him, and then kill him. But after three days he will rise again.”

10:35And James and John, the sons of Zebedee came to him saying, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 10:36And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” 10:37And they said to him, “Grant that one of us would sit on your right hand and one on your left hand when you sit on your throne in your glory.”

10:38But Jesus said to them, “You don’t understand what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am to be baptized?” 10:39And they said to him, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “You truly will drink the cup that I drink and be baptized with the baptism with

which I am to be baptized. 10:40But to sit on my right hand or on my left hand is not mine to give, but it is for them for whom it has been prepared.”

10:41And when the other ten heard about it, they became offended with James and John. 10:42So Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are known to rule over the nations dominate them and their leaders exercise authority over them.

10:43“But it must never be this way among you! Instead, whoever would become great among you will be your servant 10:44and whoever desires to be first among you will be the slave of all. 10:45For even the Son of man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

10:46They had come to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples together with a large crowd, BarTimaeus (meaning the son of Timaeus), who was a blind man, was sitting by the wayside begging. 10:47And when he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, you son of David, have mercy on me!” 10:48And many rebuked him, telling him to be quiet. But instead he cried out even more, “O son of David, have mercy on me!”

10:49Then Jesus stood still and asked them to call him to come. So they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be comforted. Get up for he has called you to come.” 10:50And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus.

10:51And Jesus spoke to him and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabboni, I want to regain my sight.” 10:52And Jesus said to him, “Go your way. Your faith has made you whole.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the way.

MARK CHAPTER 11

11:1And when they came near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany near the mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples 11:2and said to them, “Go your way into the village that is across from you, and just as you enter into it, you will find a donkey’s colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie him and bring him here. 11:3And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs him’ and immediately he will send him here.”

11:4So they went off and found a donkey’s colt tied near a door at a street crossing and they untied him. 11:5And some of those who stood nearby said to them, “What are you doing, untying the donkey’s colt?” 11:6And they repeated to them what Jesus had said and they let them go.

11:7Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on him and he sat on him. 11:8And many spread their garments on the road and others spread branches, which they had cut from the trees.

11:9And those who went in front together with those who followed, cried out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 11:10Blessed is the kingdom that comes, the kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”

11:11And he entered into Jerusalem into the temple and when he had looked around at everything, since it was now evening, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

11:12On the next day, when they were leaving Bethany, he became hungry. 11:13And seeing a fig tree in the distance having leaves, he came to it to see if perhaps he might find anything on it. But when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves because it was not the season for figs. 11:14And he responded by saying to it, “No one will ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.

11:15When they had come to Jerusalem, he entered into the temple and began to throw out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money-changers and the chairs of those who sold the doves. 11:16And he would not allow anyone to carry any goods through the temple.

11:17And he explained and said to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations?’ But you have made it a den of thieves.” 11:18And when the chief priests and the scribes heard it, they looked for some way that they might destroy him, feeling threatened by him because all the multitude was extremely impressed with his teaching.

11:19And when evening came he went out of the city. 11:20As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree was dried up from the roots. 11:21And Peter, remembering Jesus’ words, said to him, “Rabbi look, the fig tree which you cursed has withered away.”

11:22And Jesus responded to them saying: “Have the faith of God. 11:23Truly I say to you, whoever will say to this mountain, ‘Be moved from this place and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt [the guidance of the Holy Spirit] in his heart but believes that what he says [what God is saying through him] will come to pass, whatever he says will happen for him. 11:24Therefore, I say to you, all things for which you ask in prayer, believe that you receive them and you will have them.*

*This passage, standing alone without other “balancing” Bible verses, sounds like a kind of “faith magic” recipe where you pick out something you want, believe real hard, and then you get it. Such a thought makes God into a kind of celestial servant, just waiting anxiously for us to work up enough faith to get Him to do something for us. The truth is that it is only when the Spirit of God is leading us to make such pronouncements that these miraculous events actually occur.

Our faith must be the faith “of God” as in verse 22. He is the author of any and all true “faith.” Another verse which brings an equilibrium to these thoughts is found in 1 John 5:14 which says: “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” True faith is never believing “for” or “in” something (such as believing that something we want is going to happen) but in Someone. The genuine message of scriptures is not that we should believe in the power of our own faith but in Him who gives us true faith

11:25“And whenever you want to persevere in prayer, if you have anything against anyone, forgive them so that your Father who is in the heavens will also discharge your sins. 11:26But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in the heavens forgive your sins.”

11:27When they had returned again to Jerusalem, as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes and the elders there came to him 11:28and said, “By what authority do you do these things?” And “Who gave you this authority to do these things?”

11:29So Jesus said to them, “I too will ask you one question and, if you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 11:30The baptism of John, was it from heaven or from men? Give me an answer.” 11:31And they reasoned among themselves saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then didn’t you believe him?’ 11:32But we can’t say, ‘From men’ either.” This was because they were afraid of the people, for all believed that John was truly a prophet.

11:33And so they answered Jesus and said, “We don’t know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

MARK CHAPTER 12

12:1And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard and put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress, built a guard tower, and rented it out to some who worked the land. He then travelled to another country.

12:2“And at the harvest season he sent a slave to the workers so that he might receive his share of the fruits of the vineyard from the workers. 12:3But they took the slave and beat him and sent him away with nothing. 12:4Again, he sent to them another slave and they wounded him in the head and sent him away in shame. 12:5And he sent yet another and they killed him. Yet he still sent many others, but the workers beat some and killed others.

12:6“But he still had a son, one whom he loved dearly. He finally sent him to them saying, ‘They will show respect for my son.’ 12:7But those workers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and the inheritance will be ours.’ 12:8So they took him, killed him and threw his body out of the vineyard.

12:9“What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy those workers of the land and will put the vineyard in the hands of others. 12:10Have you not even read this scripture: ‘The stone which the builders rejected was made the keystone of the arch. 12:11This has been done by the Lord and it is so amazing that we can hardly believe our eyes.’”

12:12Then they sought to seize him because they perceived that he had spoken the parable against them, but they were afraid of the crowd. And so leaving him, they went away. 12:13Then they sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to him, planning to catch him saying something wrong.

12:14So when they had come, they said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful and don’t show favoritism to anyone, for you don’t pay any attention to whom someone might be, but truly teach the way of God. Therefore, is it permited by our law to pay the tax to Caesar or not? 12:15Should we pay or should we not pay?”

But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test me? Bring me a denarius so that I may see it.” 12:16And they brought it. And he said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” And they said to him, “Caesar’s.” 12:17Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were astonished by him.

12:18So then the Sadducees (the ones who say that there is no resurrection) came to him and asked him saying, 12:19“Teacher, Moses wrote to us teaching that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife behind him and has no child, his brother should take his wife and raise up children for his brother.

12:20“Now there were seven brothers. The first married and died without children. 12:21So the second took her to be his wife and died, also leaving no children. Then the third did likewise. 12:22In the course of time, all seven had married her but none produced children. Last of all the woman also died. 12:23In the resurrection whose wife will she be, for all seven of them had her as a wife?”

12:24Jesus said to them, “This is the reason you err: you don’t know the scriptures or the power of God! 12:25For when the dead are resurrected, they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels in heaven. 12:26But concerning the dead – that they, in fact, are resurrected – haven’t you read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?’ 12:27He is not the God of the dead but of the living. You are in very serious error.”

12:28Then one of the scribes came forward, having heard their discussion and realizing that he had answered them well, asked him, “What is the most important commandment?”

12:29Jesus answered, “The most important is: ‘Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God, the Lord is one.’ 12:30And, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 12:31The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment more important than these.”

12:32And the scribe said to him, “You have answered well Teacher. You have said the truth that he is one and that there is no other besides him. 12:33And to love him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself means much more than all burnt-offerings and sacrifices.”

12:34And when Jesus saw that he answered prudently, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared ask him any more questions.

12:35And as Jesus taught in the temple, he responded to the challenges of the scribes and Pharisees by saying, “How can the scribes say that the Anointed One is the son of David? 12:36David himself said in the Holy Spirit: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit on my right hand, until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet‘ (Ps 110:1). 12:37Since David himself called him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” And the large crowds enjoyed hearing him teach.

12:38And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to wear special clothes identifying their ‘status’ and to be greeted as someone important in public places. 12:39They love to have special seats up front in the synagogues [religious meeting places] and to be honored with the best places at feasts.

12:40“They cheat widows out of their life savings and look for any excuse to make long prayers to attract attention to themselves. These will receive the more severe judgment.”

12:41And he sat down across from the collection box and watched how the crowd put money into the collection box. And many who were rich put in a lot. 12:42Then a poor widow came and she put in two of the smallest brass coins, which total one quadrans.

12:43And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are putting money into the treasury, 12:44for they all contributed from their excess, but she from her poverty put in all that she had, even all of her earnings.”

MARK CHAPTER 13

13:1And as he was going out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Teacher, look, at the quality of these stones and this impressive building!” 13:2And Jesus said to him, “Do you see this great building? There will not be one stone left upon another here which will not be torn down.”

13:3And as he sat on the Mount of Olives across from the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, 13:4“Tell us, when will these things occur? And what is the sign that all these things are about to happen?”

13:5Then Jesus began his discourse by saying, “Be discerning so that no one leads you into error. 13:6For many will come in my name saying, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. 13:7And when you hear of wars and/or rumors of wars, don’t be frightened. It is unavoidable that these things will happen. But they do not signal the end.

13:8“For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places. There will be famines and disturbances. These things are merely the beginnings of the birth pangs.

13:9“But look out for yourselves. For they will hand you over to the legal authorities. You will be beaten in the synagogues and you will be forced to appear before governors and kings for my sake as a testimony to them. 13:10But the good news must first be proclaimed to all the nations.

13:11“And when they take you and hand you over to the authorities for judgment, don’t be anxious ahead of time or meditate about what you will say. But whatever is given you by God at that moment, that is what you should speak, for it is not you who will be speaking but the Holy Spirit.

13:12“And brother will deliver up brother to death and the father his child. Children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 13:13And you will be hated by everyone for my name’s sake. But he who remains faithful to the end, that one will be preserved.

13:14“But when you see the false god who gives incentive to plunder, about which Daniel the prophet spoke, taking the place which is prohibited (let him who reads understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 13:15And let him who is on the housetop terrace not go down into his house in order to take anything out of his house. 13:16And let him who is in the field not return back to get his coat.

13:17“But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing in those days! 13:18And pray that your fleeing to escape does not happen in the winter. 13:19For in those days a persecution* will take place, the like of which has never been since the beginning of the creation which God created until now and never will be again.

*Many versions use the word “tribulation” here. The reader should understand that this word does not refer to the judgments which God will pour out upon mankind at the end of this age but to the violent and widespread persecution which the coming man of sin will promote against both Jews and Christians.

13:20“And except the Lord had cut those days short, no one would survive. But for the elect’s sake whom he chose, he will cut those days short.

13:21”At that time, if anyone says to you, ‘Look, the Anointed One is here,’ or, ‘Look, he is over there,’ don’t believe it! 13:22For false Anointed Ones and false prophets will arise and will show signs and miracles, in order to lead people astray – even the elect if it were possible. 13:23But be discerning. Look, I have described all these things to you beforehand.

13:24“And in those days after that persecution, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not shed its light. 13:25The stars of the heaven will be driven from their places which they can’t keep any longer when the powers that are in the heavens are overthrown.*

*The arrival of the “male child” in heaven (Rev 12:5-11) precipitates a heavenly war which results in these “powers” being overthrown and expelled from their “places.”

13:26“And then they will see the Son of man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 13:27Then will he send out angels and they will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from the most remote parts of the earth to the most remote parts of heaven.

13:28“Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has become full of sap and its leaves begin to grow, you know that summer is near. 13:29In the same way you also, when you see these things taking place, know that the time is near, even at the doors. 13:30Truly I say to you, the generation which sees these signs will not pass away until all these things will take place. 13:31Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will in no way pass away.

13:32“But with regard to the exact day or hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, neither the Son,** but only the Father. 13:33Be discerning. Stay spiritually awake and pray, for you do not know when the time will be.

**Some ancient manuscripts do not include the phrase “neither the Son.”

13:34“It will be similar to when a man went to live in another country – having left his house and given jurisdiction to his servants and assigned each one his work, and also commanded the door keeper to be vigilant.

13:35“Keep spiritually awake therefore, for you don’t know when the ‘master of the house’ is coming, whether it will be at evening, or at midnight, or at dawn, or in the morning, 13:36so that if he comes suddenly {without warning} he doesn’t find you sleeping. 13:37And what I say to you, I say to all. Be vigilant!”

MARK CHAPTER 14

14:1Now the feast of the passover, even the time of the unleavened bread, was two days away and the chief priests and the scribes looked for a way that they could seize him through treachery and kill him. 14:2But they said,

“Not during the feast, so that it won’t cause a riot among the people.”

14:3And while he was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he reclined to eat, a woman came having an alabaster flask of fragrant liquid spikenard which was extremely expensive. And she broke the flask and poured it over his head.

14:4But there were some who became indignant among themselves, saying to one another, “What was the purpose for this waste of the fragrant ointment? 14:5For it could have been sold for over three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they snorted at her in disgust.

14:6But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for me. 14:7For you always have the poor with you and whenever you want to you can do something good for them. But you will not always have me physically present. 14:8She has done what she could. She has anointed my body beforehand for burial. 14:9And truly I say to you, wherever the good news is proclaimed throughout the whole world, that which this woman has done will be spoken of for a memorial to her.”

14:10Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went off to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. 14:11And when they heard it, they were delighted and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to deliver him to them.

14:12On the first day of unleavened bread, when the passover lamb is sacrificed, his disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the passover?” 14:13So he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city and there you will encounter a man carrying an urn of water. Follow him.

14:14“And where he goes in, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks, where is the dining room, where I may eat the passover with my disciples?’ 14:15And he will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. Prepare the passover for us there.” 14:16And the disciples went out, came into the city and found things just as he had said to them. And they prepared the passover.

14:17When it was evening he came there with the twelve. 14:18And as they reclined and were eating, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, one of you will betray me – someone who is eating with me.” 14:19They began to grieve and ask him one by one, “Is it I?”

14:20So he said to them, “It is one of you twelve, someone who shares food from the dish with me. 14:21For the Son of man is going away, fulfilling what is written concerning him. But woe to that man through whom the Son of man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”

14:22And as they were eating, he took bread and having blessed it, broke it and gave it to them and said, “Take this and eat. This is my body.” 14:23And he took a cup and having given thanks, he gave it to them. And they all drank of it. 14:24And he said to them, “This is my blood of the new covenant, the blood which is being poured out for many. 14:25Truly I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the grapevine until that day when I drink new wine in the kingdom of God.”

14:26And when they had sung a hymn of praise, they went out to the mount of Olives. 14:27Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will desert me tonight, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered’ (Zech 13:7). 14:28However, after my resurrection, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

14:29But Peter said to him, “Although everyone else might desert you, I will not.” 14:30And Jesus replied to him, “Truly I say to you, that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” 14:31But he insisted even more saying, “Even if I must die with you, there is no way I will deny you.” And the others all said the same thing.

14:32When they had come to a place called Gethsemane, he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go pray.” 14:33And he took with him Peter, James, and John and began to be anguished and distressed in his mind. 14:34And he said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, even to death. Wait here and keep watch.”

14:35Then he went on ahead a little and prostrated himself on the ground and prayed, that if it were possible, this time of trial might pass by him. 14:36And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. But don’t do what I want. Instead, may your will be done.”

14:37When he came back and found them sleeping he said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? 14:38Be vigilant and pray so that you don’t enter into temptation. On one hand, the spirit is willing, but on the other hand the flesh is weak.”

14:39And he went away again and prayed, saying the same words. 14:40Once again he came back and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy. And they didn’t know how to respond to him. 14:41And he came back the third time and said to them, “Go ahead, sleep what time is left and rest. It is enough. The time has come. Look, the Son of man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 14:42Arise, let us be going. See, he who betrays me is coming now.”

14:43And just then, while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived and with him was a mob armed with swords and wooden clubs, sent by the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. 14:44Now he who betrayed him had agreed on a signal saying, “Whomever I kiss, that is he. Seize him and take him away safely.” 14:45And when he arrived, immediately he came to him and said, “Rabbi, Rabbi” and kissed him. 14:46Then they laid hands on him and seized him.

14:47But one of those who stood nearby drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. 14:48And Jesus responded to them saying, “Have you come here as if I were a robber, armed with swords and wooden clubs to seize me? 14:49I was daily with you in the temple teaching and you didn’t seize me. But this is done so that the scriptures might be fulfilled.” 14:50And they (his disciples) all left him and fled. 14:51And a certain young man followed him, having a linen cloth wrapped around him over his naked body. Some of the young men tried to grab him 14:52but he left the linen cloth and fled away naked.

14:53And they led Jesus away to the high priest. And there were together with him all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes. 14:54But Peter had followed him at a distance, even coming into the courtyard of the high priest where he was sitting with the servants and warming himself by the fire.

14:55Now the chief priests and the whole council sought witnesses against Jesus in order to put him to death, but found none. 14:56Although many gave false testimonies against him, their testimonies didn’t agree with each other. 14:57Then some rose up and testified falsely against him saying, 14:58”We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is of human construction and in three days I will build another not made with human hands.’” 14:59But not even their testimonies were consistent with each other.

14:60Then the high priest stood up among them and asked Jesus saying, “Won’t you answer anything? What about what these witnesses are testifying against you?” 14:61But he kept silent and made no reply. Again the high priest asked him saying, “Are you the Anointed One, the Son of the Blessed?” 14:62And Jesus said, “I AM. And you will see the Son of man sitting in the place of honor and authority of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

14:63Then the high priest tore his clothes,* and said, “Why do we need witnesses now? 14:64You have heard the blasphemy for yourselves. What do you think?” And they all condemned him to be worthy of death. 14:65Then some began to spit on him. And they blindfolded him, hit him with their fists and said to him, “Prophesy.” And the officers struck him with their hands.

*Moses’ law prohibited the High Priest from tearing his garments (Lev 10:6; 21:10). This “tearing” is reminiscent of when king Saul tore Samuel’s robe. Samuel then said, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you” (1 Sam 4:12). It could be that at this moment, the “kingdom” was torn from the priests and given to the Lord Jesus.

14:66And when Peter was downstairs in the courtyard, one of the maids of the high priest came 14:67and, seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You were also with the Nazarene, Jesus.” 14:68But he denied it saying, “I don’t know him or know what you are talking about.” And when he went out to the porch, the rooster crowed.

14:69And the maid saw him again and began to say to those who stood nearby, “This is one of them.” 14:70But he denied it again. And a little while later, yet again some who stood nearby said to Peter, “You certainly must be one of them, for you are a Galilean. We can tell by your accent.”

14:71But he began to curse and to swear saying, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about.” 14:72And just then the rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And when he remembered it, he wept.

MARK CHAPTER 15

15:1The first thing in the morning, the chief priests together with the elders, scribes, and the whole council held a consultation. They then bound Jesus and carried him away, delivering him up to Pilate. 15:2And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And answering he said to him, “You say so.”

15:3And the chief priests accused him of many things. 15:4So Pilate again asked him saying, “Won’t you give me any answer? Look at how many accusations they make against you!” 15:5But Jesus no longer made any response, so much so that Pilate marveled.

15:6Now because it was a feast day, he customarily released one prisoner to them, whoever they asked of him. 15:7And there was one called Bar-Abbas {son of Abbas} lying bound with those who had made an insurrection, men who during the insurrection had killed someone.

15:8And the crowd began yelling, asking Pilate to do as he usually did for them. 15:9And Pilate answered them saying, “Should I release to you the King of the Jews?” 15:10For he perceived that it was because of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up.

15:11But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, asking him to release Bar-Abbas instead. 15:12And Pilate responded again and said to them, “What then should I do to him whom you call the King of the Jews?” 15:13And they shouted again, “Crucify him!” 15:14So Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they cried out even more loudly, “Crucify him!”

15:15And so Pilate, wanting to please the crowd, released Bar-Abbas to them and delivered Jesus, having had him beaten with whips, to be crucified. 15:16And the soldiers led him away inside the courtyard, which is the Praetorium, and they called together the whole band of soldiers. 15:17There they clothed him with purple and, weaving a crown of thorns, they put it on him. 15:18Then they began to salute him saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 15:19And they struck his head with a reed and spat on him and bowing their knees, “worshipped” him.

15:20And when they had mocked him, they took the purple garment off of him and put his own clothes back on him. And they led him out to crucify him. 15:21And they compelled someone passing by, Simon a Cyrenian, (the father of Alexander and Rufus) who was coming in from the field, to go with them so that he could carry his cross.

15:22Then they brought him to Golgotha, which means, “the place of a skull.” 15:23And they offered him wine mingled with myrrh* to drink, but he did not take it. 15:24And having crucified him, they divided his garments among themselves, gambling with each other by “casting lots” about which item each one would take.

*A narcotic mixture offered to reduce the pain.

15:25And it was the third hour of the day when they crucified him. 15:26The sign upon which his accusation was written stated: “THE KING OF THE JEWS.” 15:27And they crucified two robbers with him: one on his right side and one on his left. 15:28So the scripture was fulfilled which said, “And he was considered to be among the transgressors.”

15:29And some of those who passed by reviled him, shaking their heads and saying, “Ha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, 15:30save yourself and come down from the cross!”

15:31In the same way also the chief priests, mocking him among themselves along with the scribes, said, “He saved others but he can’t save himself. 15:32Let the Anointed One, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now so that we may see and believe.” And even one of the ones who were crucified with him taunted him also.

15:33And when the sixth hour had come, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour. 15:34And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

15:35And some of those who stood nearby, when they heard it, said, “Look, he is calling for Elijah.” 15:36And someone ran and filling a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink saying, “Hold on a minute. Let’s see whether Elijah comes to take him down.”

15:37Then Jesus uttered a loud sound and expired. 15:38And the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom. 15:39When the centurion who stood near him saw the way in which he cried out and expired, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God.”

15:40There were also women watching from a distance – among whom were both Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James (the short one) and of Joses and Salome – 15:41who, when he was in Galilee followed him and served him along with many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.

15:42And when evening had come, because it was the day of Preparation (that is the day before the Sabbath) 15:43Joseph of Arimathaea – a respected member of the Sanhedrin and someone who was also looking for the kingdom of God – had the courage to go to see Pilate and ask for the body of Jesus.

15:44But Pilate was surprised that he was already dead. So calling the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead for any length of time. 15:45Then, having received confirmation from the centurion, he granted the corpse to Joseph.

15:46Joseph bought an expensive linen cloth and, after lowering him down from the cross, wrapped him in the linen cloth and laid him in a tomb which had been quarried out of a rock. Then he rolled a stone across the door of the tomb. 15:47Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he had been laid.

MARK CHAPTER 16

16:1And when the Sabbath had passed, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome, purchased aromatic spices, so that they might anoint his corpse. 16:2And so, very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun was just rising. 16:3And they were discussing among themselves, “Who will roll the stone away from the door of the tomb for us (because it was extremely heavy)?”

16:4Then looking up, they saw that the stone was already rolled back. 16:5And entering into the tomb, they saw what appeared to be a young man sitting off to the right side, clothed in a brilliant white robe. And they were astonished.

16:6And he said to them, “Don’t be astonished. You are looking for Jesus, the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen! He is not here. Look, here is the place where they laid him! 16:7But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you into Galilee. You will see him there as he told you.”

16:8And being overcome with trembling and amazement, they went out and fled from the tomb. But at first they said nothing to anyone because they were afraid.

16:9Now after he had risen early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. 16:10She went and told those who had been with him, as they were mourning and weeping. 16:11Yet, when they heard that he was alive and that she had seen him, they disbelieved.

16:12After these things he was manifested in another form to two of them as they walked on their way into the country. 16:13So they went away and told it to the rest. But they did not believe them either.

16:14Afterward he appeared to the “eleven” as they were eating and he reproved them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they did not believe those who had seen him after he had risen.

16:15And he said to them, “As you are going into all the world, announce the good news to the whole creation. 16:16He who is believing and is being baptized [entering into the experience of what baptism signifies] will be being saved, but he who disbelieves will be condemned.

16:17“And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name {in the reality of my presence} they will cast out demons; they will speak new languages; 16:18they will remove serpents and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them in any way; they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover.”

16:19So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was received up into the heavens and sat down in the place of authority and honor of God. 16:20And they went forth and proclaimed the Lord everywhere, being accompanied by signs which confirmed the word. Amen.

Words in this translation found in italics are words which are implied by the Greek text but do not represent actual words in the Greek text. This practice is common in almost all modern translations. Occasionally, this translator has added words to the translation which represent his own ideas and opinions which, although they are based on his own biblical understanding, are not part of the actual Greek text. Such words are enclosed in brackets, like this [ ]. The reader should understand these words as being the opinion of the translator. In contrast to this, the words in these braces { } indicate legitimate, alternative translations or explanations. Words within parentheses () are part of the original Greek text. Such parentheses are often used in other New Testament translations also.

The Good News According To

LUKE

LUKE CHAPTER 1

1:1Since many others have undertaken the task of composing a narrative about those events which have occurred among us – 1:2according to how those, who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and assistants of the Word transmitted them to us – 1:3it seemed good to me also, having from the beginning closely followed all things accurately, to write them down in order for you, most honorable Theophilus {Gk, “friend of God”}, 1:4so that you could have an accurate and trustworthy understanding of the things about which you were instructed.

1:5There was in the days of Herod, king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, whose temple duties were part of the shift rotations of Abijah. His wife, whose name was Elisabeth, was a female descendant of Aaron. 1:6And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord. 1:7But they had no children because Elisabeth was barren and they both were quite old.

1:8It was the custom of the priesthood to “cast lots” to determine which duties each one fulfilled in his daily service before God. Now it happened that 1:9his lot was to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 1:10And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the time of burning incense.

1:11And an angel of the Lord appeared to him there, standing on the right side of the incense altar. 1:12And Zacharias was disturbed when he saw him, and he became very fearful. 1:13But the angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Zacharias, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elisabeth will bear you a son and you shall call his name

John. 1:14And you will have joy and exultation and many others will also rejoice because of his birth. 1:15For he will be great in the sight of the Lord and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink. And he will be imbued with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 1:16And through him many of the children of Israel will turn to the Lord their God.

1:17“He will go before his face in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to restore the disposition and character of the fathers to the children, and to turn the disobedient to walk in the wisdom of the just, in order to prepare a people for the Lord’s coming’” (Mal 4:6).

1:18But Zacharias said to the angel, “How can I be sure of this for I am an old man and my wife is quite advanced in age?” 1:19And the angel answering said to him, “I am Gabriel, the one who stands in the presence of God. I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news concerning these things. 1:20Therefore look, you will be unable to hear* and not able to speak until the day that these things take place because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their time.”

*The literal words here are: “to be silent” which this translator understands as: “to be in silence,” therefore, to be deaf. Many translators have understood this as “kept silent,” being then merely a repetition of not being able to speak. However, when John was born the neighbors had to “sign” (vs 62) to Zacharias and he responded to them in writing, indicating that he could neither hear nor speak.

1:21And the people were expecting Zacharias to come out and they wondered why he was taking so long in the temple. 1:22But when he did come out, he couldn’t speak to them. And they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. He tried to communicate to them with gestures but he remained mute.

1:23And so then, when the days of his priestly functions were over, he returned to his home. 1:24And after these days Elisabeth his wife conceived but she hid her pregnancy for five months saying, 1:25“The Lord has done this for me at the time when he finally took notice of me, to take away my disgrace among men.”

1:26Now in the sixth month of Elisabeth’s pregnancy the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, 1:27to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 1:28And the angel entered into the room where she was and said, “Greetings, you who are being shown favor. The Lord is with you.”

1:29But she was very confused by what he said and searched her mind for the reason for this greeting. 1:30And the angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid Mary. For you have found favor with God. 1:31Look, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son and shall call his name JESUS. 1:32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David. 1:33And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. And there will never be an end to his kingdom.”

1:34Then Mary said to the angel, “How could this happen, since I have never been intimate with a man?” 1:35The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will envelope you in a haze of brilliance. For this reason the holy One to whom you give birth will be called the Son of God.

1:36“Furthermore, see here, Elisabeth your relative – the one who was called barren – she has also conceived a son in her old age and is already in her sixth month. 1:37For nothing which God says lacks power.” 1:38And Mary said, “Here I am, the Lord’s maidservant {female slave}. May it happen to me according to your word.” And the angel left her.

1:39So at that time, Mary rose up and hurried into the hill country to a city of Judah. 1:40There she came into the house of Zacharias and greeted Elisabeth. 1:41And it happened, when Elisabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

1:42And she exclaimed with a loud voice saying, “May you be blessed among women and may the fruit of your womb be blessed! 1:43How can it be that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 1:44For look, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 1:45And may she be blessed who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of the things which have been spoken to her by the Lord.”

1:46And Mary said, “My soul glorifies the Lord 1:47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. 1:48For he has regarded with favor the humble position of his handmaiden. Now look, from now on, all generations will call me blessed. 1:49For the Mighty One has done great things to me. Holy is his name! 1:50And his mercy is from generation to generation toward those who fear him.

1:51“He has demonstrated his power. He has scattered the proud, exposing the imaginations of their hearts. 1:52He has removed the mighty ones from their thrones and has raised up the humble ones. 1:53The hungry he has filled with good things, but the rich he has sent away empty. 1:54He has sent help to his servant Israel, remembering his mercy 1:55(of which he spoke to our fathers) toward Abraham and his seed forever.”

1:56And Mary stayed with her about three months and then returned to her house. 1:57Now when it was time for Elisabeth to give birth, she had a son. 1:58When her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had demonstrated his great mercy towards her, they rejoiced with her.

1:59So it happened on the eighth day that they came to circumcise the child. And they would have named him Zacharias after the name of the father. 1:60But his mother answered and said, “No, instead he will be called John.” 1:61And they said to her, “But you don’t have any relatives with that name.”

1:62Then they made “signs” to his father, asking what he would have him called. 1:63Then, indicating his need for a writing tablet he wrote saying, “His name is John.” And they all were shocked. 1:64Immediately his mouth was “opened” and his tongue loosed and he spoke, blessing God.

1:65And fear came on all those who lived near them. And throughout all the hill country of Judea people talked about these things which had happened. 1:66And all who heard about it meditated on these things in their hearts, saying, “What sort of person will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.

1:67And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied saying, 1:68“May the Lord, the God of Israel be blessed. For he has visited us and arranged for the ransom to be paid for his people. 1:69He has raised up a “horn of salvation” for us through one of the descendants of his servant David – 1:70fulfilling what he spoke by the mouth of his holy ones, even those prophets who have been from ancient times – 1:71bringing deliverance from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.

1:72“He has done this to show mercy towards our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, 1:73fulfilling the oath which he swore to Abraham our father. 1:74This oath was to grant us deliverance out of the hand of our enemies so that we could serve him without fear, 1:75as we live in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our lives.

1:76“Yes and you child, will be called the prophet of the Most High. For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways, 1:77to give knowledge of salvation to his people through the release from the bondage of their sins. 1:78Through this visitation from above, our God will demonstrate his compassionate and merciful feelings, 1:79by bringing light to those who sit in darkness – even to those living in the shadow of death – and guiding our feet into the way of peace.”

1:80And the child grew and became strong in spirit and was in the deserts until the day of his being revealed as a prophet to Israel.

LUKE CHAPTER 2

2:1Now it happened in those days that a decree was sent out from Caesar Augustus, that all inhabitants of his empire must be registered. 2:2This was the first census which took place when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 2:3And everyone had to go to their own city in order to register themselves.

2:4So Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the “house” and lineage of David. 2:5He went to register himself along with Mary to whom he was engaged, who was pregnant. 2:6And it happened that while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 2:7And she gave birth to a son, her first child. She wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.

2:8And there were some shepherds in the same country living outdoors and keeping watch over their flock during the night. 2:9And all of a sudden, an angel of the Lord was there near them and the glory of the Lord shone all around them and they became extremely fearful.

2:10But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Look here, I am announcing to you some good news – something which will bring great joy to everyone. 2:11For today your deliverer, the Lord, the Anointed One himself, was born in the city of David. 2:12And this is the sign for you to recognize him. You will find the baby wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.”

2:13And suddenly there was with the angel a great celestial army praising God and declaring, 2:14“Now God will be glorified in the highest places and there will be peace on earth among men because of his benevolence!”*

*This prophecy will be completely fulfilled in the coming millennial kingdom.

2:15And it happened, when the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “We should really go to Bethlehem and see that which was told us is taking place, which the Lord has made known to us.

2:16And going quickly they found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. 2:17Then, having seen them, they told everyone about what had been told them concerning this child. 2:18And all who heard about it wondered at the things which were spoken by the shepherds. 2:19But Mary collected all these sayings, pondering them in her heart. 2:20And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them.

2:21And when eight days were fulfilled for circumcising the child, he was given the name JESUS, which was given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. 2:22And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 2:24and to offer a sacrifice according to what is specified in the law of the Lord, i.e. a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons. 2:23This was done in accordance with what is written in the law of the Lord, which states that every firstborn male will be called holy to the Lord.

2:25And look, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, waiting for the One who would be the consolation of Israel. And the Holy Spirit was upon him. 2:26It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Anointed One.

2:27So he came, being led by the Spirit, into the temple. And when the parents brought in the child Jesus so that they could fulfill for him what is customary according to the law, 2:28he took him into his arms, blessed God, and said, 2:29“Now your servant is free to depart in peace, Lord, according to your word. 2:30For my eyes have seen your salvation 2:31which you have prepared in front of all the peoples, 2:32a light for unveiling the truth to the Gentiles and a light of glory for your people Israel.”

2:33And Joseph and his mother were astonished at the things which were spoken concerning him. 2:34And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Look here, this child is appointed for the downfall and the raising up of many in Israel, even as a sign which will be spoken against. 2:35In this way the thoughts of many hearts will be exposed. A sword will even pierce through your own soul.”

2:36Now there was someone named Anna – a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher – who was very old. She had lived with her husband for seven years after they were married 2:37and had been a widow for eighty-four years afterwards. She never left the temple, serving with fasting and prayers night and day. 2:38And coming up to them at that same time, she recognized the Lord and spoke about him to all those in Jerusalem who were expecting the “deliverance.”

2:39And when they had fulfilled all things that were required according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city Nazareth. 2:40And the child grew and became strong in the spirit, being filled with wisdom, since the presence of God was upon him.

2:41And each year his parents went to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of the Passover. 2:42When he was twelve years old they went up to Jerusalem, as was customary, for the feast. 2:43And after they had completed the prescribed number of days, as they were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents didn’t realize it. 2:44But they, supposing him to be in the group of travelers, went a day’s journey and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances.

2:45But when they couldn’t find him, they returned to Jerusalem searching for him. 2:46And it happened, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the middle of the teachers, both hearing them and asking them questions. 2:47And all who heard him were astonished at his understanding and his answers.

2:48When they saw him, they were surprised and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Look, your father and I were in anguish looking for you.” 2:49And he said to them, “Why did you need to look for me? Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?”

2:50But they didn’t understand the words which he spoke to them. 2:51So he went with them and came to Nazareth and was submitted to them. But his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. 2:52And Jesus progressed in wisdom and maturity and in favor with God and men.

LUKE CHAPTER 3

3:1Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 3:2during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.

3:3And he came to the whole region around the Jordan, proclaiming the baptism of repentance for deliverance from sins. 3:4This was the fulfillment of what is written in the book of the sayings of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the highway of the Lord, make his paths straight. 3:5Every valley will be filled up and every mountain and hill will be brought low. The crooked will be made straight and the rough ways smooth. 3:6And all humanity will see the salvation of God” (Is 40:3-5).

3:7Accordingly, he said to the crowds that went out to be baptized by him, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 3:8Bring forth fruit which corresponds to repentance and don’t begin to try to excuse yourselves by saying, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 3:9And even now the axe is beginning to cut at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree not producing good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

3:10And the crowds asked him, saying, “What then must we do?” 3:11And he answered and said to them, “He who has two coats, let him give one to him who has none and he who has food, let him do the same.”

3:12And some tax collectors also came to be baptized and they said to him, “Teacher, what must we do?” 3:13And he said to them, “Don’t charge any more than what you are allowed.”

3:14And soldiers also asked him saying, “And what must we do?” And he said to them, “Don’t extort from anyone by intimidation. Don’t accuse anyone falsely. And be content with your wages.” 3:15And because the people were in expectation of the Anointed One’s appearing, many people reasoned in their hearts about John, whether perhaps he was the Anointed One.

3:16John answered, saying to them all, “I, on one hand, baptize you in water. But, on the other hand, someone is coming who is more powerful than I, the leather strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and in fire. 3:17His winnowing fan is in his hand to thoroughly cleanse his threshing-floor. He will gather the wheat into his storehouse, but the chaff he will burn up with fire which is impossible to extinguish.”

3:18And so he proclaimed the good news to the people with many other exhortations. 3:19But Herod the tetrarch, having been reproved by him regarding having Herodias his brother’s wife and for all the evil things which Herod had done, 3:20added this also to them all, by putting John in prison.

3:21Now it happened, when all the people were being baptized, that Jesus also was baptized. Then, afterwards when he was praying, the heaven was opened 3:22and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in a bodily form as a dove. And a voice came out of heaven declaring, “You are my Son, the Beloved One. It is in you that I take pleasure.”

3:23And Jesus himself, when he began to teach, was about thirty years old, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli, 3:24the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, 3:25the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 3:26the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, 3:27the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, 3:28the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, 3:29the son of Jesus, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 3:30the son of Symeon, the son of Judas, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, 3:31the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, 3:32the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, 3:33the son of Amminadab, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 3:34the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 3:35the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah 3:36the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 3:37the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, 3:38the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

LUKE CHAPTER 4

4:1And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness 4:2during forty days, being tested by the devil. And he ate nothing during that time. So when those days were finished, he was hungry. 4:3And the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4:4And Jesus replied to him saying, “It is written, ‘It is not only by eating bread that a man keeps strong, but by all the words which God speaks {rhema, Gk} to him’” (Deut 8:3).

4:5Then he led him up into a high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 4:6And the devil said to him, “I will give you authority over all of this, together with the honor which that would give you, for it has been given to me and I can give it to anyone I wish. 4:7If, therefore, you will worship me, it will all be yours.” 4:8And Jesus answered and said to him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve him alone’” (Deut 10:20).

4:9So he led him to Jerusalem and set him on the parapet of the temple and said to him, “If you are really the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 4:10for it is written, ‘He will give his angels commands concerning you, to carefully guard you’ 4:11and, ‘They will hold you up with their hands so that not even your foot will stumble on a stone’” (Ps 91:11,12). 4:12And Jesus answering said to him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test’” (Deut 6:16). 4:13And when the devil had completed every temptation, he left him until he found another opportunity.

4:14And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee. And news about him spread throughout all the surrounding region. 4:15And he taught in their synagogues, being respected by all.

4:16Then he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. As his custom was, on the Sabbath day he entered into the synagogue and stood up to read. 4:17And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him.

Unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written, 4:18“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release from bondage to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind; to bring deliverance to those who are shattered in pieces; 4:19to proclaim that the time has come in which the Lord has decided to do these things” (Is 61:1,2).

4:20Then, having rolled up the scroll, he gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 4:21And he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

4:22And everyone was impressed with him and admired him because of the words which came out of his mouth. And they said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” 4:23But he said to them, “Without a doubt you will speak to me this parable, ‘Physician, heal yourself.’ ‘All the things which we heard that you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown also.’”

4:24But he said, “Truly I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. 4:25I will tell you how things really are. There were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the heaven was shut up for three years and six months. Consequently, a great famine was over all the land. 4:26But Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath in the land of Sidon to a woman who was a widow.

4:27“And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet. But none of them were cleansed, except Naaman the Syrian.” 4:28Then all those in the synagogue became enraged when they heard these things. 4:29And they rose up and drove him out of the city and took him to a cliff on the hill on which their city was built, with the intention of throwing him off. 4:30But he, passing through their midst, went away.

4:31And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, where he was teaching them on the Sabbath day. 4:32There, they were amazed at his teaching because his word had authority. 4:33And in the synagogue there was a man who had an unclean spirit who cried out with a loud voice, 4:34“Oh no! What are you going to do to us, Jesus you Nazarene? Have you come to destroy us? I know you. You are the Holy One of God!”

4:35So Jesus rebuked him saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” And after the demon had thrown the man down right in front of them, he came out of him, not having harmed him.

4:36This caused everyone to be astonished and they conversed with one another saying, “What word is this? For with authority and miraculous power he gives orders to the unclean spirits and they come out!” 4:37And the news about him was circulated everywhere in that whole region.

4:38And he rose up from the synagogue and entered into the house of Simon where Simon’s mother-in-law was lying sick with a high fever. And they appealed to him on her behalf. 4:39So he stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her. Then she immediately got up and served them.

4:40And when the sun was setting, all those who had anyone afflicted with different kinds of diseases brought them to him. And he placed his hands on each one of them and healed them. 4:41And demons also came out from many, crying out and saying, “You are the Son of God!” But rebuking them, he didn’t allow them to speak because they knew that he was the Anointed One.

4:42And when morning came, he left the house and went into a deserted place. But the crowds went looking for him and found him, wanting to persuade him not to leave them. 4:43But he said to them, “It is necessary for me to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also. It was for this purpose that was I sent.” 4:44And he was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.

LUKE CHAPTER 5

5:1Now it happened on one occasion that the crowd pressed on him to hear the word of God, while he was standing by the sea of Gennesaret. 5:2And he saw two boats pulled up by the lake. But the fishermen had already left them and were washing their nets. 5:3So he stepped into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to pull out a little from the shore. And he sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.

5:4And when he finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deeper water and let down your nets for a catch.” 5:5And Simon answered and said, “Master, we are tired from working all night but have caught nothing. Yet at your word I will let down the nets.” 5:6And when they had done this, they netted a large number of fish – so many that their nets were breaking. 5:7And they motioned to their partners in the other boat, asking them to come and help them. When they came, they filled both the boats so that they began to sink.

5:8But when Simon Peter saw it, he prostrated himself at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Master, go away from me, for I am a sinful man.” 5:9For he was astounded – along with all those who were with him – at the catch of fish which they had taken, 5:10as were also Simon’s partners, James and John the sons of Zebedee. And Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be frightened away. From now on you will catch men.” 5:11And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

5:12And it happened, while he was in one of the cities, they came upon a man completely covered with leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

5:13So he stretched out his hand and touched him saying, “I am willing. Be made clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him. 5:14And he ordered him to tell no one, and said, “But go on your way, show yourself to the priest and offer the required sacrifice for your cleansing, in accordance with what Moses commanded as a testimony to them.”

5:15But the news concerning him just spread further and large crowds came together to hear him and to be cured of their sicknesses. 5:16But he withdrew himself to the wilderness in order to pray.

5:17And it happened one day when he was teaching, that the Pharisees and the experts on the Jewish law were sitting there, who had come out of every village of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal.

5:18Just then some men brought to him a man who was paralyzed, lying on a pallet. And they tried to bring him into the house to put him in front of him. 5:19But not finding any way they could bring him in through the crowd, they went up onto the housetop and let him down on his pallet through the clay tiles, right in the middle of everyone, in front of Jesus.

5:20And seeing their faith he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven.” 5:21But the scribes and the Pharisees began to discuss this among themselves saying, “This one is speaking blasphemies! Who can forgive sins, but God alone?”

5:22But Jesus perceiving their thoughts, answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? 5:23Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk?’ 5:24But so that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins (he said to him who was paralyzed), ‘I say to you, arise, pick up your pallet and go to your house.’” 5:25And immediately he rose up in front of them and picked up that on which he had been lying and went to his house, praising God.

5:26And everyone was struck with amazement, and being filled with reverent fear, they gave glory to God, saying, “We have seen an incredible thing today.”

5:27And after this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax collectors’ post and said to him, “Follow me!” 5:28And leaving everything behind, he rose up and followed him. 5:29Then Levi made a large feast for him in his house. And there was a numerous group of tax collectors there along with some others who were sitting eating with them.

5:30So the Pharisees and their scribes murmured against him to his disciples saying, “Why does he eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?” 5:31And Jesus answering said to them, “Those who are healthy have no need of a physician but those who are sick. 5:32I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

5:33Then they asked him, “Why is it that the disciples of John fast frequently and pray, as do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink?” 5:34And Jesus said to them, “Can you make the relatives in the bridegroom’s party fast while the bridegroom is still with them? 5:35But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them. They will fast in those days.”

5:36And he also spoke a parable to them. “No one takes a piece of new cloth and sews it onto an old garment or else the new will cause a tear, and also the piece from the new will not agree with the old. 5:37And no one puts new wine into old leather wineskins or else the new wine will burst the skins. It will be spilled and the leather skins will be ruined. 5:38But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 5:39Furthermore, no one having drunk old wine immediately desires new, for he says, ‘The old is better.’”

LUKE CHAPTER 6

6:1Now it happened on a Sabbath that as he was going through the grain fields his disciples plucked the heads and ate the grains, rubbing them in their hands. 6:2But certain of the Pharisees said, “Why do you do something which it is not lawful to do on the Sabbath day?”

6:3And Jesus answering them said, “Haven’t you read about what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him? 6:4Remember how he entered into the house of God, took and ate the showbread and gave it to those who were with him, which is not lawful for anyone to eat except for the priests?” 6:5And he said to them, “The Son of man is even lord of the Sabbath.”

6:6And it happened on another Sabbath that he entered into the synagogue and taught. And there was a man there whose his right hand was withered. 6:7So the scribes and the Pharisees watched him carefully to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath so that they might find some way to accuse him.

6:8But he knew their thoughts and he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Get up, and stand here in front of everyone.” And he got up and stood there. 6:9And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, what is lawful to do on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to destroy it?” 6:10Then, having looked around at each one of them individually, he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And as he did so his hand was restored. 6:11But they were filled with unreasonable anger and discussed with each other what they could do to Jesus.

6:12And it happened in these days that he left and went up onto the mountain to pray. There, he spent the whole night in prayer to God. 6:13And when it was daylight, he called his disciples and he chose twelve of them, whom also he called “sent ones”: 6:14Simon whom he also named Peter, Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and BarTholomew, 6:15Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called “the Zealot,” 6:16Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who became a traitor.

6:17Then coming down with them, he stopped at a level place. There, a large number of his disciples together with a big crowd of the people from all over Judea and Jerusalem, including those from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. 6:18And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were healed. 6:19And everyone in the crowd tried to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all.

6:20And he, directing his attention to his disciples, said, “Blessed are you who are poor, for you will possess the kingdom of God. 6:21Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will have an abundance. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. 6:22Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you from their company, speak evilly about you and reject you by name as being evil, for the Son of man’s sake. 6:23Rejoice in that day and leap for joy. Look here, your reward is great in the heavens, for their fathers did the same things to the prophets.

6:24“But woe to you who are wealthy! For you have already received what you have coming to you. 6:25Woe to you who are indulging yourselves right now with all kinds of riches and pleasures! For you will have a burning craving [for what you see others receiving]. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will weep and wail! 6:26Woe to you, when all men will speak well of you! For this is the same way that their fathers treated the false prophets.

6:27“But I say to those who are able to hear it: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 6:28bless those who curse you, pray for those who slander you. 6:29When someone strikes you on the one side of your face, offer the other side also. And if someone takes away your outer coat, don’t hinder him from taking your shirt also. 6:30Give to everyone who asks you, and when someone carries away your goods, don’t demand their return. 6:31And as you would wish for others to treat you, treat them in the same way.

6:32“But if you love those who love you, how is that to your credit? For even sinners love those who love them. 6:33And if you do good to those who do good to you, how is that to your credit? For even sinners do that. 6:34And if you lend to those from whom you hope to recover what you lent, how is that to your credit? Even sinners lend to sinners with the intention of receiving back what they loaned.

6:35“But love your enemies, do good to others and lend, not being worried about it. In this way your reward will be large and you will be children of the Most High, for he is kind to the unthankful and the evil. 6:36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. 6:37Don’t judge others and in no way will you be judged. Don’t condemn others and in no way will you be condemned. Release others for their offenses against you and you too will be released.

6:38“Give and it will be given to you in a full measure which is pressed down, shaken, and overflowing. This is how it will be given into your hands. For the same measure you use when you give to others will be used when it is time to give back to you.”

6:39Then he spoke a parable to them. “Is it possible for the blind to guide the blind? Won’t they both fall into a pit? 6:40The disciple is not above his teacher, but he who is made perfect will be like his teacher. 6:41And why do you notice the speck that is in your brother’s eye but don’t notice the beam that is in your own eye? 6:42Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you don’t perceive the beam that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first get rid of the beam in your own eye and then will you see clearly how to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

6:43“Without a doubt, there is no good tree which produces worthless fruit, nor a worthless tree which produces good fruit. 6:44For each tree is known by its own fruit. Men don’t gather figs from thorn bushes nor harvest grapes from a bramble bush. 6:45The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth that which is good, and the evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth that which is destructive. For it is from the abundance of the heart that his mouth speaks.

6:46“And why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t put into practice the things which I say? 6:47Every one who comes to me, hears my words and does them – this is what he is like: 6:48He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation upon the rock. Then when a flood came, the river pushed powerfully against that house, but was not strong enough to topple it because its foundation was on the rock.

6:49“But he who hears my words and doesn’t practice them is like a man who built a house upon the ground without any foundation. Then when the river surged against it, it fell down immediately, and the destruction of that house was tremendous.”

LUKE CHAPTER 7

7:1After he had finished his whole discourse intended for the people to hear, he entered into Capernaum. 7:2There a certain centurion’s slave, who was valued by him, was sick and at the point of death. 7:3When he heard about Jesus being there, he sent some of the elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his slave. 7:4And they, when they came to Jesus, begged him earnestly saying, “He is worthy for you to do this for him 7:5because he loves our nation and it was he who built us our synagogue.” 7:6So Jesus went with them.

But when he was not far from the house, the centurion sent some of his friends to him, saying, “Lord, don’t inconvenience yourself for I am not worthy for you to come under my roof. 7:7For this reason, I didn’t even consider myself worthy to come to you in person. But just give the word and my slave will be healed. 7:8For I also am a man set under authority and under myself I have soldiers. I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

7:9Now when Jesus heard these things, he was astonished at him and turned and said to the multitude that followed him, “I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.” 7:10And returning to the house, those who were sent found the sick slave healed.

7:11And it happened soon afterwards that he went to a city called Nain, and his disciples went with him along with a sizable multitude. 7:12Now when he approached the gate of the city, just at that time a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother who was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her.

7:13When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Don’t cry.” 7:14And he came near and touched the coffin and the pallbearers stood still. Then he said, “Young man, I say to you, wake up!” 7:15And he who was dead sat up and began to speak. So he delivered him to his mother.

7:16And a reverent fear came over everyone and they glorified God saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us,” and, “God has visited his people.” 7:17And the news concerning him was spread abroad in the whole of Judea and all the surrounding region.

7:18And the disciples of John told him about all of these things. 7:19So John, calling to him two of his disciples, sent them to Jesus asking, “Are you the coming One, or should we look for another?” 7:20And when the men came to him, they said, “John the baptizer has sent us to you asking, ‘Are you the coming One, or should we expect someone else?’”

7:21At that same time he cured many of the peoples’ diseases, plagues, and evil spirits and restored the sight of many blind people.

7:22Then he answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news proclaimed to them. 7:23Blessed is he who does not find a reason to stumble in me.”

7:24And when the messengers of John had left, he began to say to the multitudes concerning John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see, a reed being shaken by the wind? 7:25But what did you go out to see, a man dressed in expensive clothes? Look, those who have beautiful clothes and live in luxury are in kings’ courts. 7:26But what did you go out to see, a prophet? Yes, I say to you, and someone superior to a prophet.

7:27“This is he about whom it is written, ‘Look, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you’ (Mal 3:1). 7:28I say to you, among all those who have been born of women, there is no one greater than John, yet he who is of little importance in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

7:29”And all the people who heard John, even the tax collectors, affirmed God’s righteousness by being baptized with the baptism of John. 7:30But the Pharisees and the scholars of the Jewish law rejected the counsel of God for themselves, not being baptized by him.”

7:31“To what then can I compare the men of this generation and what are they like? 7:32They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to each other and say, ‘We played music to you and you did not dance. We lamented and you did not weep with us.’ 7:33For John the baptizer has come neither eating bread nor drinking wine and you say, ‘He has a demon.’

7:34“The Son of man has come both eating and drinking and you say, ‘Look, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 7:35Yet true wisdom is vindicated by every child which she produces.”

7:36And one of the Pharisees invited him to eat with him. So he entered into the Pharisee’s house and sat down to a meal.

7:37And here’s what happened. A woman who was a known sinner from that city, when she found out that he was sitting at a meal in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of perfumed liquid.

7:38Weeping, she positioned herself behind him at his feet and she began to wet his feet with her tears, wipe them with the hair of her head, kiss his feet and anoint them with the ointment.

7:39Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have perceived who and what kind of woman this is who touches him – that she is a sinner.”

7:40Then Jesus responded to him saying, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” So he said, “Teacher, say it.” 7:41“A certain money lender had two debtors: the one owed him five hundred denarii and the other fifty. 7:42When they could not pay him back, he forgave them both. Which one of them, therefore, will love him the most?”

7:43Simon answered and said, “I suppose it would be the one whom he forgave the most.” And he said to him, “You have judged correctly.”

7:44Then turning towards the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house and you gave me no water to wash my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 7:45You gave me no kiss of greeting, but since the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. 7:46You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with perfumed ointment. 7:47For this reason I say to you, her sins which are many, are forgiven, so she shows much love. But to whom little is forgiven, that one loves little.”

7:48And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 7:49And those who sat at the meal with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this that even forgives sins?” 7:50And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

LUKE CHAPTER 8

8:1And it happened soon afterwards that he traveled around through cities and villages, preaching and announcing the good news about the kingdom of God.

And the twelve were with him 8:2along with certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary who was called Magdalene from whom seven demons had gone out; 8:3Joanna the wife of Chuzas, Herod’s steward; Susanna; and many others who took care of their necessities from their financial means.

8:4And when a great crowd had come together, including those coming to him from many cities, he spoke to them using a parable: 8:5“The sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell on the pathway where people walked on it and the birds of the heaven devoured it.

8:6“And other seeds fell on the rock. But as soon as it germinated, it withered because it had no moisture. 8:7And other seeds fell among the thorn bushes and so the thorns grew along with them and choked them. 8:8And other seeds fell into good soil and grew and produced one hundred times as much fruit.” As he said these things, he cried out, “He who has hearing ears, let him hear!”

8:9Later his disciples asked him what this parable meant. 8:10And he said, “It has been granted to you to know the secrets of the kingdom of God. But to the rest, things are said only in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.

8:11“Now the meaning of the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 8:12And those which fell on the pathway are those who have heard, but then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart so that they may not be believing and, therefore, be being saved.

8:13“And those on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy. But these have no root. So they believe for a while but in times of testing they fall away. 8:14And those seeds which fell among the thorns are those who have heard, but as they go on their way they are choked with the preoccupations, the riches, and the pleasures of this life, and consequently bring no fruit to maturity. 8:15And those seeds in the good soil, these are those who, with a beautiful and good heart, having heard the word, hold tightly onto it and bring forth fruit with perseverance.

8:16“And no one after lighting a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light. 8:17For nothing is hidden which will not be uncovered nor anything secret that will not become known and be exposed.

8:18“Be very careful, therefore, how you hear! For whoever holds onto what he has, even more will be given to him. But whoever does not hold onto what he has, even what he appears to have will be taken away from him.”

8:19And his mother and brothers came to him but they could not get near him because of the crowd. 8:20And some told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.” 8:21But he answered and said to them, “My mother and my brothers are these who hear the word of God – and do it!”

8:22Now it happened on one of those days that he entered into a boat, he and his disciples, and he said to them, “Let’s go over to the other side of the lake.” And they set off. 8:23But as they went he fell asleep. And a great wind storm descended on the lake and their boat was filling with water, putting them in danger. 8:24So they came to him and woke him up saying, “Master, master, we are going to die!” So he got up, rebuked the wind and the raging water, and they stopped and became calm.

8:25Then he said to them, “Where is your trust?” And being overawed, they were struck with admiration for him, saying to each other, “Who, then, is this, that he even commands the winds and the water and they obey him?” 8:26And they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is across from Galilee.

8:27When he had come out onto the land, a certain man from the city met him who had had demons for a long time. This man wore no clothes and didn’t live in a house but in the tombs. 8:28And when he saw Jesus he cried out, prostrating himself before him and saying with a loud voice, “What do you have to do with me, Jesus, you Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torment me.” 8:29For he was commanding the unclean spirit to come out from the man. This was because it frequently dominated him so that he was kept shackled with chains and fetters. But he broke the bands apart and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.

8:30Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion.” For many demons had entered into him. 8:31And they begged him not to command them to go away into the abyss.

8:32Now there was a large herd of swine feeding nearby on the mountain and they begged him to permit them to enter into them. So he allowed them. 8:33And the demons came out of the man and entered into the swine. Then the herd rushed headlong over a precipice into the lake and were drowned.

8:34And when those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and reported what had occurred in the city and in the surrounding countryside. 8:35So those who heard came to see what had happened. And when they got to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out clothed and in his right mind, sitting at the feet of Jesus. And they became very fearful.

8:36And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man was made whole. 8:37And all the people of the surrounding region of the Gerasenes – that whole area – asked him to leave them, for they were gripped with tremendous fear. So he entered into a boat and returned.

8:38But the man from whom the demons had gone out begged him to let him be with him, but he sent him away saying, 8:39“Go back home and tell everyone about the great things God has done for you.” And so he left, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

8:40And as Jesus returned, the multitude welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. 8:41And look, a man named Jairus, who was a leader in the synagogue, came and fell down at Jesus’ feet pleading with him to come to his house 8:42because he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, who was dying. But as he went, the crowds pressed tightly around him.

8:43And a woman having had an issue of blood for twelve years – who had spent all her savings on physicians but could not be healed by any of them – 8:44came behind him and touched the border of his garment. And immediately her issue of blood stopped.

8:45And Jesus said, “Who touched me?” And when everyone denied it, Peter and those who were with him said, “Master, the crowd is all around you and pressing on you. How can you ask ‘who touched me?’” 8:46But Jesus said, “Someone did touch me, for I perceived that power went out from me.”

8:47Then when the woman saw that she was not going to escape notice, she came forward trembling. And prostrating herself before him she declared in the presence of everyone why she had touched him and how she was healed immediately. 8:48And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you whole. Go in peace.”

8:49While he was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house saying, “Your daughter is dead. Don’t bother the Teacher.” 8:50But Jesus hearing it answered him, “Don’t be afraid. Just believe and she will be made whole.”

8:51And when he came to the house, he didn’t allow anyone to enter in with him, except Peter, John, and James along with the father and mother of the girl.

8:52And everyone was weeping and wailing for her, but he said, “Don’t weep, for she is not dead, but asleep.” 8:53But they laughed and ridiculed him, knowing that she was dead.

8:54But he, taking her by the hand, called to her, saying, “Maiden, arise.” 8:55And her spirit returned and she rose up immediately, and he directed that she be given something to eat. 8:56Her parents were astounded, but he ordered them to tell no one what had happened.

LUKE CHAPTER 9

9:1And he called the twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases. 9:2And he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 9:3And he said to them, “Don’t take anything for your journey: neither staff, nor bag of provisions, nor bread, nor money. Don’t even take two coats. 9:4Whichever house you enter into, stay there until you leave the area. 9:5And wherever they don’t receive you, when you leave that city, shake off the dust from your feet for a testimony against them.”

9:6So they left and went throughout the villages, proclaiming the good news and healing wherever they went.

9:7When Herod the tetrarch heard about everything which was done, he became perplexed, because some said that John had risen from the dead, 9:8some said that Elijah had appeared and others said that one of the old prophets had risen again. 9:9But Herod said, “John I beheaded, so who is this about whom I hear such things?” And he wanted to see him.

9:10And when the ones who were sent out returned, they recounted to Jesus the things which they had done. Then he took them and withdrew privately to a deserted place near the city called Bethsaida.

9:11But the crowds found out about it and followed him. Yet he welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God. And those who needed healing, he cured.

9:12As the day began to pass, the twelve came and said to him, “Send the multitude away so that they can go into the villages and the surrounding countryside to find places to stay and get food since we are here in a deserted place.” 9:13And he said to them, “You give them something to eat.”

But they said, “We only have five loaves and two fish, unless there were some way for us to go and buy food for everyone 9:14(since there were about five thousand men).” And he said to his disciples, “Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 9:15And they did so and had them all sit down. 9:16Then he took the five loaves and the two fish and, looking up to heaven blessed them, broke them into pieces and gave them to the disciples to set before the large crowd. 9:17So they all ate and were satisfied. And twelve baskets were filled with the fragments which were left over.

9:18And it happened after he had been alone praying, he asked the disciples who were with him saying, “Who do the people say that I am?” 9:19And they answering said, “John the Baptizer. But others say Elijah, or others say that one of the old prophets has risen again.” 9:20And he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answering said, “The Anointed One of God.”

9:21But he strictly admonished them, commanding them to tell this to no one 9:22saying, “The Son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and the scribes, be killed, and be raised up on the third day.”

9:23And he said to all, “If anyone wants to follow me, let him totally reject himself, take up his cross daily and follow me. 9:24For whoever wishes to preserve his soul life will have it utterly destroyed. But whoever will agree that his soul life must be put to death for my sake, that one will be being saved [through transformation]. 9:25For how is anyone profited if he succeeds in acquiring the whole world but is destroyed himself or experience loss?

9:26“For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, the Son of man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his own shining glory, in his Father’s glory, and in the glory of the holy angels.

9:27“But I will tell you a truth, there are some standing here who will not taste of death until they perceive the kingdom of God.” 9:28And it happened about eight days after he said this that he took Peter, John, and James with him and went up onto the mountain to pray.

9:29And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered and his garments became brilliant white and radiated light. 9:30And look, two men were there talking with him who were Moses and Elijah, 9:31who also appeared in glorious splendor and spoke about his death which he was about to fulfill at Jerusalem.

9:32But Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep. But when they came fully awake, they saw his shining brightness and the two men who stood with him. 9:33And it happened as they were departing from him Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three shrines: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah,” not understanding what he said.

9:34While he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them. And they became afraid as they entered into the cloud. 9:35And a voice came out of the cloud saying, “This is my Son, the Beloved One. Listen to him!” 9:36And while the voice was speaking, Jesus was found alone. And they kept quiet about this at that time and told no one about any of the things which they had seen.

9:37And on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. 9:38And it happened that a man from the crowd cried out saying, “Teacher, I beg you to have a look at my son, for he is my only child. 9:39What happens is that a spirit takes him over and he suddenly cries out. It throws him into a spasm and he foams at the mouth and it injures him, refusing to leave him. 9:40And I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.”

9:41And Jesus answered and said, “Oh, unbelieving and corrupt generation, how long will I be with you to care for you? Bring your son here.” 9:42And as he was coming, the demon convulsed the boy and thrashed him about. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father.

9:43And they were all amazed at the mighty power of God. But while all were marveling at all the things which he did, he said to his disciples, 9:44“Pay careful attention to these words: the Son of man will be delivered up into the hands of men.” 9:45But they did not understand this saying because it was concealed from them so that they could not understand it. But they were afraid to ask him about what it meant.

9:46Now a dispute arose among them about which of them was going to be the greatest. 9:47But Jesus knowing the inward reasoning of their hearts, took a little child, set him beside him, 9:48and said to them, “Whoever receives a little child such as this in my name receives me. And whoever receives me receives the One who sent me. For he who is least among all of you, he is the one who will be great.”

9:49And John answered and said, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name and we stopped him because he does not follow you with us.” 9:50But Jesus said to him, “Don’t forbid him. For he who is not against us is for us.”

9:51And it happened, when the time for his ascension was coming near that he firmly set his face to go to Jerusalem. 9:52So he sent messengers before him and they went and entered into a village of the Samaritans to make preparations for him. 9:53But they did not receive him because they could tell that he was on his way to Jerusalem.

9:54When his disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven and consume them as Elijah did?” 9:55But he turned and rebuked them saying, “You don’t understand what kind of spirit you represent, 9:56for the Son of man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village.

9:57And as they went on the way, a certain man said to him, “Lord, I will follow you wherever you go.” 9:58But Jesus said to him, “The foxes have dens and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man does not even have somewhere to lay his head down.”

9:59And he said to another, “Follow me.” But he answered, “Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father.” 9:60And he said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead, but you go and declare the kingdom of God.”

9:61Another also said, “I will follow you Lord, but first let me say goodbye to those who are at my house.” 9:62But Jesus said to him, “No one, having taken hold of the plow who then keeps contemplating the things behind, is useful for the kingdom of God.”

LUKE CHAPTER 10

10:1Now after these things the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them by twos before his face into every city and place where he himself was about to come. 10:2And he said to them, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few, pray therefore to the Lord of the harvest, asking him to send out laborers into his harvest.

10:3“Go on your way. Look, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 10:4Carry no money bag, no food pouch, no shoes, and stop to greet no one along the way. 10:5And into whichever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ 10:6And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him; but if not, it will return to you. 10:7And stay in that same house, eating and drinking whatever they have to give you, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house [seeking for a more comfortable place to stay].

10:8“And whichever city you enter into and they receive you, eat whatever is set before you. 10:9Heal the sick and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near you.’ 10:10But into whichever city you enter and they don’t receive you, go out into its town square and say, 10:11‘Even the dust from your city that clings to our feet, we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10:12I say to you, it will be more tolerable in that day of judgment for Sodom than for that city.

10:13“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 10:14But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. 10:15And you, Capernaum, the city which has been exalted to high heaven, you will be brought down to Hades. 10:16He who hears you hears me and he who rejects you rejects me. Furthermore, he who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

10:17And the seventy returned with joy saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name.” 10:18And he said to them, “I have seen Satan falling from heaven like lightening.* 10:19Look, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy and nothing will hurt you in any way. 10:20Nevertheless, don’t rejoice that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in the heavens.”

*This could have been a prophetic “seeing” since Satan is only thrown out of heaven towards the end of the “church” age (Rev 12:9). Another possibility is that this is referring to Satan being expelled from his position in the presence of the Father.

10:21At that same time Jesus exulted in the Spirit, and said, “I thank you, Oh Father – Lord of heaven and earth – that you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to ‘children.’ Yes, Father, for it was satisfying for you to do things in this way.

10:22“All things have been delivered to me by my Father. And no one really knows who the Son is except the Father, or knows who the Father is except the Son and the one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

10:23And turning to speak privately to the disciples, he said, “Blessed are the eyes which see the things that you see. 10:24For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see the things which you see but did not see them and to hear the things that you hear but did not hear them.”

10:25And look, a certain expert in Jewish law stood up and tested him saying, “Teacher, what do I do to inherit eternal life?” 10:26And he said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” 10:27And he answering said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself.”

10:28And he said to him, “You have answered correctly. Practice this and you will live.” 10:29But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “But who is my neighbor?”

10:30Jesus composed his answer saying, “A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and was attacked by robbers who took all his clothes, wounded him, and went their way, leaving him half dead. 10:31And by chance, a certain priest was going that way and when he saw him, he went by on the other side of the road. 10:32And in the same way a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, went on by on the other side.

10:33“But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was and when he saw him, he was moved with compassion. 10:34So he came to him, bound up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them, set him on his own beast of burden, and brought him to an inn where he took care of him. 10:35“On the next day when he left, he took two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him and whatever you spend besides this, when I come back again, I will repay you.’

10:36Which of these three would you judge treated as a ‘neighbor’ the one who was attacked by the robbers?” 10:37And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” And Jesus said to him, “Go, and do the same thing.”

10:38Now as they traveled, he entered into a certain village and a certain woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 10:39And she also had a sister called Mary who sat at the Lord’s feet and heard his word.

10:40But Martha was preoccupied with many things to do with serving her guests. So she came up to him and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her that she should help me.” 10:41But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 10:42but only one thing is necessary, and Mary has chosen that good portion which will not be taken away from her.”

LUKE CHAPTER 11

11:1And it happened, as he was praying in a certain place that when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.”

11:2So he said to them, “When you pray, say, ‘Father, the One in the heavens. May your name be revered as holy. May your kingdom come. May your will be done on the earth as it is in the heavens. 11:3Provide us with food sufficient for today. 11:4And forgive us our sins when we also forgive everyone who has morally failed us. And do not lead us where we might fall into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’”

11:5And he said to them, “Which of you has a friend to whom you go at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread 11:6because a friend of mine who is traveling has come to visit me and I have nothing to give him to eat.’ 11:7And he, from inside his house, will answer and say, ‘Don’t bother me. I’ve already locked the door and my children are already with me in bed. I can’t get up to help you.’ 11:8I say to you, although he will not get up and help you because he is your friend, yet because of your insistence he will get up and give you as many as you need.

11:9“In the same way I say to you, ask and it will be given you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened to you. 11:10For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

11:11“And who among you who as a father if his son asks for a loaf of bread, would give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish would give him a serpent instead of a fish? 11:12Or if he asks for an egg, would give him a scorpion? 11:13If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”

11:14And he was casting out a demon from a man who was mute. And it happened that when the demon had left, the dumb man spoke. And the crowds were amazed. 11:15But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebub the prince of the demons.” 11:16And others, testing him, wanted him to show them a sign from heaven.

11:17But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom which is divided against itself will be destroyed, and a household divided against itself will fall. 11:18And if Satan then is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand, for you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebub?

11:19“But if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. 11:20But if I, by the finger of God, cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

11:21“When the strong man, fully armed, guards his own courtyard, his possessions are safe. 11:22But when someone stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes away from him all his armor in which he trusted and shares the stolen goods with others. 11:23He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters.

11:24“When an unclean spirit has gone out of a man, it passes through places which have no water, seeking rest, and not finding any it says, ‘I will go back to my house from where I came out.’ 11:25And when he comes back, he finds it swept and prepared. 11:26Then he goes and brings with him seven other spirits more evil than himself and they enter in and live there. So the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.”

11:27And it happened as he said these things, a certain woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts which nursed you.” 11:28But he said, “Instead, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

11:29And when the multitudes were gathering together around him, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation, which is why it anxiously seeks for a sign as proof. But no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. 11:30For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so the Son of man will also be a sign to this generation.

11:31“The queen of the south will rise up to testify against the men of this generation during the judgment and will condemn them. For she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon and look, someone greater than Solomon is here. 11:32The men of Nineveh will stand up to testify against this generation during the judgment and will condemn it. For they repented at the preaching of Jonah and look, someone greater than Jonah is here.

11:33“No one, when he has lighted a lamp, puts it in a hidden place or under a measuring basket, but on the lampstand, so that those who enter in may see because of its brightness. 11:34The “lamp” of your whole being is your eye {vision, understanding, Gk}. When your vision is clear, your whole being is also full of light, but when your vision is faulty {diseased}, your whole being is also full of darkness.

11:35“Therefore, be very careful to keep your spiritual eyesight clear so that what you think is light in you does not turn out to be darkness. 11:36If, therefore, your whole being is full of light, having no dark part, everything will be completely clear inside in the same way that a lamp radiates physical light.”

11:37Now as he spoke, a Pharisee invited him to dine with him. So he went into his house and sat down to a meal. 11:38And the Pharisee watching him was surprised that he had not first washed his hands before dinner.

11:39So the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees wash the outside of the cup and of the serving dish, but inside you are full of trying to take what belongs to others and depravity. 11:40You are fools. Didn’t he who made the outside make the inside also? 11:41But give your inner life to practicing mercy, and look, then all things are clean to you.

11:42“But woe to you Pharisees! For you carefully tithe from the mint, rue, and every herb you receive and pass over justice and the love of God. These are the things which are essential to do and the others not to be omitted.

11:43“Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the seats up in front in the synagogues [religious meeting places] and the special, respectful greetings in the marketplaces.

11:44“Woe to you! For you are like the hidden graves which men walk over without realizing it.” 11:45And one of the experts in Jewish law responded by saying to him, “Teacher, in saying this aren’t you criticizing us also?”

11:46And he said, “Woe to you experts in Jewish law also! For you load men with burdens which are difficult to carry, yet you yourselves won’t touch these burdens with one of your fingers. 11:47Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, but it was your fathers who killed them! 11:48So you are testifying that you agree with the works of your fathers. For they, on the one hand, killed them and you, on the other hand, build their tombs.

11:49“Therefore, God also said in his wisdom, ‘I will send to them prophets and sent ones, and some of them they will kill and persecute 11:50so that this generation will have to answer for the blood of all the prophets, which has been poured out since the foundation of the world.’ 11:51From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zachariah who perished between the altar and the sanctuary, yes, I say to you, this generation will have to answer for it.

11:52“Woe to you experts in Jewish law! For you take away the key of understanding. You yourselves are not entering in and those who are entering in you prevent.”

11:53And when he left there, the experts on Jewish law and the Pharisees began to press upon him forcefully trying to ensnare him by his answers to many questions about many things, 11:54lying in wait, looking for something to come out of his mouth for which they could bring charges against him.

LUKE CHAPTER 12

12:1At a time when a crowd of many thousands was gathered together, so many that they trampled on each other, he began to say to his disciples, “Above all things, beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.* 12:2For there is nothing covered up that will not be exposed, or hidden that will not be revealed. 12:3Therefore, whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light and what you have spoken in the ear in the secret rooms will be shouted from the housetops.

*Pretending to be something you are really not. For example, trying to act righteously when this is not a true expression of your inner character.

12:4“And I say to you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have nothing more that they can do. 12:5But I will show you whom you should fear. Fear him who after he has killed has power to throw into Gehenna. Yes, I say to you, fear him!

12:6“Aren’t five sparrows sold for two small coins yet not one of them is forgotten before God? 12:7Don’t be fearful! You are of more value than many sparrows. Yes, even the hairs of your head have all been counted.

12:8“And I say to you, everyone who confesses me in front of men, the Son of man will also confess him in front of the angels of God. 12:9But he who denies me through words and actions in the presence of men will be utterly disowned in the presence of the angels of God.

12:10“Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of man, it can be forgiven him, but someone who has spoken evil of the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven. 12:11And when they take you before those running the synagogues [religious meeting places] or before the rulers, or before the civil authorities, don’t be anxious about how you will defend yourself or what you will say, 12:12for the Holy Spirit will instruct you at that exact time what you ought to say.”

12:13And someone out in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 12:14But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or one who divides property for you?” 12:15And he said to them, “Watch yourself and keep yourselves from all desire for wealth, for a man’s portion of the life of God does not consist of the abundance of the things which he possesses.”

12:16And he spoke a parable to them saying, “The farm of a certain rich man produced plentifully, 12:17and he reasoned within himself saying, ‘What should I do because I don’t have enough space to store all my produce?’ 12:18So he said, ‘I know what I’ll do. I will demolish my storehouses and build larger ones and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 12:19Then I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have plenty of goods stored up for many years, take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.”’

12:20“But God said to him, ‘You fool, tonight your soul life will be required of you. And all the things which you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 12:21So is he who stores up wealth for himself but is not rich toward God.”

12:22And he said to his disciples, “Therefore, I say to you, don’t let your soul life be anxious about what you will eat, or about what you will put on your body. 12:23For the soul life is more than food and the body more than clothing. 12:24Contemplate the ravens. They don’t sow or reap. They have no storehouse or barn, yet God feeds them. You are of much more value by far than the birds! 12:25But which of you by being anxious can add a cubit to the measure of his life? 12:26If then you are not able to do even that which is least, why are you anxious concerning the rest?

12:27“Contemplate the lilies, how they grow. They don’t exhaust themselves with labor, neither do they spin thread, yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.

12:28But if God clothes the grass in the field in such a wonderful way – which today is growing and tomorrow is thrown into the oven – how much more will he clothe you who have little faith?

12:29“And don’t seek after what you will eat and what you will drink, neither be anxious. 12:30For the nations of the world seek after all these things, but your Father knows that you need these things. 12:31Instead, seek the kingdom of God and these things will be gathered for you. 12:32Don’t be terrified, little flock, for your Father is very pleased to give you the kingdom.

12:33“Sell your possessions and give to others, thereby making yourselves money pouches which don’t get old – an inexhaustible storehouse of treasure in the heavens, where no thief comes and no moth larva destroys. 12:34For where your treasure is, that is where your heart will be too.

12:35“Be dressed and ready and have your lamps burning, 12:36and be like men waiting for their master to return from the marriage feast, so that, when he comes and knocks, they are ready to open up for him.

12:37“Blessed are those servants, whom the master will find being vigilant when he comes. Truly I say to you, he will prepare himself, have them sit down for a meal, and will come and serve them. 12:38And if he comes in the second “night watch” period or in the third and finds them prepared, those servants will be blessed.

12:39“But know this: if the master of the house had known at what time the thief was coming, he would have watched and not have let his house be broken into. 12:40You also be ready, for the Son of man will come at a time when you don’t expect him.”

12:41And Peter said, “Lord, are you just saying this parable to us, or to everyone else too?” 12:42And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise steward, whom his lord sets over his household to give them their portion of food at the proper time? 12:43Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he comes will find fulfilling his task. 12:44What I say to you is true. He will appoint him to administer all his possessions.

12:45“But if that same servant says in his heart, ‘My lord is delaying his coming’ and begins to abuse the other menservants and the maidservants and to eat and drink, and get drunk, 12:46the lord of that servant will come on a day which he doesn’t expect him and at a time which he doesn’t imagine. Then he will whip {or beat} him severely* and assign him his share with the unfaithful.

*“Whip {or beat} him severely” is a much better translation than those which say “cut him in pieces” or “cut him in sunder.” God is not some kind of maniac who cuts people up into pieces. This phrase refers to how the skin on the back of someone who is being beaten with a rod or whip opens up to show the flesh inside. It is doubtful that this punishment will be physical, but is probably referring to a severe discipline which it is hard for us to imagine in other terms.

12:47“And that servant, who knew his lord’s will and did not prepare himself or carry out his will, will be beaten with many stripes. 12:48But he who did not understand and did things worthy of stripes will be beaten with few stripes. And to whomever much is given, much will be required of him. And to whom someone entrusts a larger portion, even more will be asked from him.

12:49“I have come to cast fire upon the earth. And how much I wish it were already burning! 12:50But I have a baptism to be baptized with and I am completely consumed with this work until it is finally finished!

12:51“Do you think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth? I tell you no, but instead division. 12:52For from now on, in a household of five, three will be against two and two against three. 12:53A father will be opposing his son and son opposing his father; mother will be against her daughter and daughter against her mother; mother-inlaw will turn against her daughter-in-law and daughter-inlaw against her mother-in-law.”

12:54And he said to the crowds also, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, right away you say, ‘There’s a rain storm coming.’ And that’s what happens. 12:55And when a south wind is blowing, you say, ‘There will be a scorching heat.’ And that is how it is. 12:56You hypocrites, you know how to interpret the appearance of the heaven and the earth. But how is it that you don’t recognize this present time? 12:57And why, even among yourselves, don’t you judge what is right?

12:58“Therefore, when you are going with your adversary before the ruler, on the way be diligent to be released by him from his cause against you so that he doesn’t drag you to the judge and the judge deliver you to the officer and the officer throw you into prison. 12:59I say to you, there is no way you will come out of there, until you have paid the very last, small amount.”

LUKE CHAPTER 13

13:1Now there were some people there at that time who told him about the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 13:2And he answered and said to them, “Do you think that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered these things? 13:3I tell you, no. But, unless you repent, you will all be destroyed in a similar way.

13:4“Or those eighteen people who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them: do you think that they were greater offenders than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem? 13:5I tell you, no. But, unless you repent, you will all be destroyed in a similar way.”

13:6And he spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard and he came seeking fruit from it but found none. 13:7So he said to the vineyard worker, ‘Look, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down. Why should it be taking up this space?’ 13:8And he answering said to him, ‘Master, leave it for one more year, until I dig around it and fertilize it. 13:9Then if it begins bearing fruit, good. But if not, you can cut it down.”

13:10And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath day. 13:11And look, a woman was there who had a spirit of weakness eighteen years so that she was bent over and couldn’t lift her head up completely. 13:12And when Jesus saw her, he called out and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your weakness.” 13:13And he placed his hands on her and immediately she was able to stand up straight and she glorified God.

13:14But the ruler of the synagogue, becoming indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the crowd, “There are six days during which it is right to work. Therefore, come during that time and be healed, but not on the Sabbath day.” 13:15But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites, don’t all of you untie your ox or your donkey from the stall and lead him away to give him water on the Sabbath? 13:16So shouldn’t this woman – being a daughter of Abraham whom Satan had bound for eighteen long years – have been released from this bondage on the Sabbath day?”

13:17By saying these things, all his adversaries were shamed. And all the multitude rejoiced because of all the honorable things which were done by him.

13:18Furthermore he said, “What is the kingdom of God like? And with what can I compare it? 13:19It is like a mustard tree seed which a man took and threw into his own garden. There it grew and became a large tree and the birds of the heaven made homes in its branches.” 13:20And again he said, “To what can I compare the kingdom of God? 13:21It is like yeast which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour until it was all leavened.”

13:22And he went on his way through cities and villages, teaching and making his way to Jerusalem. 13:23And someone said to him, “Lord, are there just a few who will be saved?” And he said to them, 13:24“Fervently labor to enter in by the narrow gate. For I tell you that many will seek to enter in but will not be able. 13:25For after the master of the house has gotten up and has locked the door, if you then stand outside and begin knocking at the door saying, ‘Lord, Lord open up for us,’ he will answer and say to you, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ 13:26Then you will start to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence and you taught in our streets.’ 13:27And he will say, ‘I tell you, I don’t acknowledge your source. Remove yourselves from me, all you who practice unrighteousness’ [see chapter 12, verse 9].

13:28“At that time you will see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets participating in the kingdom of God. But you will be weeping and gnashing your teeth because of having been thrown out from there [the millennial kingdom]. 13:29But they, the faithful, will come from the east and west and from the north and south and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. 13:30But understand this: there are those who appear to be last who will have the first places of honor and there are those who appear to be first who will have the lowliest positions.

13:31At that time certain Pharisees approached him saying, “Get out and leave this place for Herod wants to kill you.” 13:32And he replied to them, “Go tell that fox, ‘Look, I cast out demons and do works of healing today and tomorrow, but on the third day I will have accomplished my purpose.’ 13:33But for now, it is necessary for me to continue my journey today and tomorrow, for it is not possible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.

13:34“Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I would have gathered your children together, just as a hen gathers her own chicks under her wings. But you wanted nothing to do with it! 13:35Look, your household has been sent away, leaving you deserted. And I say to you, in no way will you see me again until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is the One coming in the name of the Lord.’”

LUKE CHAPTER 14

14:1And it so happened when he went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees on a Sabbath to eat bread, they were carefully watching him. 14:2And look, there in front of him was a certain man who had edema. 14:3And Jesus, as a response, addressed the experts on Jewish law and Pharisees and said, “Is it permitted by the law to heal on the Sabbath or not?” 14:4But they kept silent. So he took him, healed him, and let him go. 14:5Then he said to them, “Which of you who has a donkey or an ox which has fallen into a well will not immediately pull it out on a Sabbath day?” 14:6And they were not able to answer him concerning these things.

14:7When he noticed how those who were invited chose the best seats, he spoke a parable to them saying, 14:8“When you are invited by someone to a marriage feast, don’t sit down in the most prestigious place. It could be that he has invited someone more important than you 14:9and then the one who invited you will come and say to you, ‘Give this man your place.’ Then you will begin, with shame, to take the lowest place.

14:10”But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowliest place, so when he who has invited you comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, take a more prestigious place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of everyone who sits at the feast with you. 14:11For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

14:12And he also said to him who had invited him, “When you set out a meal or a supper for others, don’t invite your friends, your brothers, your relatives, or your rich neighbors, so that they don’t also later invite you back and you receive repayment. 14:13But when you make a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind. 14:14Then you will be blessed because they don’t have any way to repay you. You will be repaid in the resurrection of the just.”

14:15And when one of them who sat at the meal with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is he who will feast in the kingdom of God.” 14:16So he said to him, “A certain man made a great feast and invited many. 14:17So he sent out his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 14:18But they all, one by one, began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field and, of course, I must go out and see it. I beg you, have me excused.’ 14:19And another said, ‘I have just bought five teams of oxen and I have to go try them out. I beg you, have me excused.’ 14:20And another said, ‘I have just married a wife and therefore I cannot come.’

14:21“So the servant came and told his master these things. Then the master of the house, becoming angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleyways of the city and bring in here the poor, the maimed, the blind, and the lame.’

14:22“Later, the servant said, ‘Master, what you ordered has been done and there is still room.’ 14:23Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and byways and compel them to come in so that my house may be filled with guests. 14:24For I say to you that not one of those men who were first invited will taste my supper.’”

14:25Now large crowds gathered around him and so he turned and said to them, 14:26“Whoever comes to me but does not detest his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters, yes, and even more, also detest his own soul life, he cannot be my disciple. 14:27Whoever does not pick up and carry his own cross and accompany me cannot be my disciple.

14:28“For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? 14:29The risk is that, after laying its foundation but not being able to complete it, everyone who sees it will begin to mock him 14:30saying, ‘This man began to build but was not able to finish.’

14:31“Or which king, as he is going out to engage another king in battle, doesn’t first sit down with his counsellors to determine whether he is able with ten thousand soldiers to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 14:32Or else, while the other is still a long way off, he sends his ambassadors and asks the terms for peace. 14:33So therefore, any one of you who doesn’t renounce all his own wealth is not able to be my disciple.

14:34“Salt is good. But if the salt loses it flavor, how can it be made flavorful? 14:35It is useful neither for the field nor for the manure pile. People just throw it out. He who has hearing ears, let him hear.”

LUKE CHAPTER 15

15:1Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to him to hear him. 15:2And both the Pharisees and the scribes murmured saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

15:3So he spoke this parable to them saying, 15:4“Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and having lost one of them, doesn’t leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go looking for the one which was lost until he finds it? 15:5And when he has found it, he places it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

15:6”And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.’ 15:7I say to you that in the same way, there will be more joy in the heavens over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance.

15:8“Or which woman, having ten pieces of silver, if she loses one piece doesn’t light a lamp and sweep the house, looking carefully until she finds it? 15:9And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Share my joy with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost.’ 15:10In the same way I say to you, there is great joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

15:11And he said, “A certain man had two sons. 15:12And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the part of your wealth that would be my inheritance.’ So he separated for him his part of the wealth. 15:13Not many days later, the younger son gathered up everything and traveled to a distant place where he wasted his wealth with carnal living.

15:14“And when he had spent everything, a terrible famine came to that country and he began to be in need. 15:15So he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 15:16And he would have loved to fill his belly with the husks that the pigs ate. But no one gave him anything.

15:17“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many hired servants of my father’s have enough bread and even have extra. Yet here I am dying from hunger! 15:18I will get up and go to my father, and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 15:19I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me like one of your hired servants.”’

15:20“So he arose and came to his father. But while he was still far away, his father saw him and being moved with compassion, ran to him, hugged him around the neck, and kissed him. 15:21And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

15:22“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet. 15:23And bring the fattened calf and kill it. Then let us eat and celebrate, 15:24for this one – my son – was dead to me and now is alive again. He was lost to me and now is found.’ And they began to celebrate.

15:25“Now his older son was in the field and as he came and drew near the house, he heard music and dancing. 15:26So he called one of the servants to him and asked about what these things might be. 15:27And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come home and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has gotten him back safe and sound.’

15:28“But he was angry, and would not go in. So his father came out and pleaded with him. 15:29But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look, I have served you for so many years and I never disobeyed anything you told me to do. And yet you never even gave me a kid goat so that I might have a party with my friends. 15:30But when this son of yours came back, the one who has squandered your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’

15:31“But he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me and everything I have is yours. 15:32But it is right to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and is alive again. He was lost and now is found.’”

LUKE CHAPTER 16

16:1And he said also to the disciples, “There was a certain rich man who had a manager who was accused of wasting his wealth. 16:2So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give me an account of your management, for you can’t be a manager any longer.’

16:3And the manager said within himself, ‘What can I do, seeing that my master is taking away my management position from me? I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg. 16:4I have an idea about what I will do so that when I am dismissed from my management position, others will receive me into their homes.’

16:5“So he called each of his lord’s debtors to him. He said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 16:6And he said, ‘A hundred measures of olive oil.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your invoice and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 16:7Then said he to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ And he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your invoice and write eighty.’

16:8“Then his lord commended the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the sons of this world are, with respect to their own worldly situation, more clever than the sons of the light.

16:9“In the same way I say to you, use your money – which is inherently unrighteous – to make yourselves friends by being generous with them so that, when it no longer exists [when this world ends], they may receive you into their eternal dwellings.

16:10“He who is faithful with very little things will also be faithful with much. And he who is unrighteous in very little things will also be unrighteous with much. 16:11If, therefore, you have not been faithful with unrighteous, worldly wealth, who will trust you enough to give you the true riches? 16:12And if you have not been faithful in that which belongs to someone else, who will give you that which is your own?

16:13“No servant can serve two masters. For he will either hate one of them and love the other, or else he will give his complete support to one of them and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

16:14When the Pharisees who loved money heard all these things, they scoffed at him. 16:15And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in front of men, but God has perfect knowledge of your hearts. For that which men highly value God considers to be an idol.

16:16“The law and the prophets were until John. From that time the good news of the kingdom of God is proclaimed and everyone is crowding to get into it. 16:17But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one small accent on a letter of the law to fail.

16:18“Everyone who divorces his wife, in order to marry another, commits adultery. And he who marries someone who was divorced from a husband [for this purpose (see Mark 10:11,12)] commits adultery.

16:19“Now there was a certain rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen and passed his time feasting and living luxuriously every day. 16:20And there was a beggar named Lazarus who was laid at his gate and who was full of sores. 16:21He longed to be fed with just the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Furthermore, the dogs even came and licked his sores.

16:22“And it happened that the beggar died and that he was carried away by the angels into Abraham’s embrace. And the rich man also died and was buried. 16:23And being in torment in Hades, he looked up and saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus embraced in his arms. 16:24And he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus so that he can dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in torment in this flame.’

16:25“But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you took the good things for yourself and Lazarus similarly received the bad. But now he is comforted and you are tormented. 16:26And besides all this, there is a great chasm fixed between us and you, so that anyone who would cross from here to you would not be able, and so that no one can cross over from there to us.’

16:27“So he said, ‘Father, I beg you, therefore, to send him to my father’s house – 16:28for I have five brothers – so that he could give his testimony to them, so that they don’t come to this place of torment also.’

16:29“But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them!’ 16:30And he said, ‘No, father Abraham. But if someone would go to them from the dead, they would repent.’ 16:31And he said to him, ‘If they won’t hear Moses and the prophets, they won’t even be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’”

LUKE CHAPTER 17

17:1And he said to his disciples, “It is impossible for situations which cause someone to stumble {or, to be offended} not to happen. But woe to him through whom they come! 17:2It would be much better for him if a millstone was tied about his neck and he was thrown into the sea rather than for him to cause one of these little ones to stumble {or, be offended}.

17:3“Be very circumspect concerning yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him. And if he repents, forgive him. 17:4Even if he sins against you seven times in one day and then seven times turns around saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

17:5And the sent ones said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” 17:6So the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you would say to this sycamore tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

17:7“But is there anyone among you who, having a servant plowing or keeping sheep, will say to him when he has just come in from the field, ‘Come right away. Sit down and eat.’

17:8“Won’t he say to him instead, ‘Prepare me something to eat. Get yourself ready and serve me until I have eaten and drunk. Then afterward you can eat and drink?’ 17:9Does he thank the servant because he did the things which he was ordered to do? I don’t think so. 17:10Even so you also, when you have done everything that is commanded you should say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have merely done that which it was our duty to do.’”

17:11And it happened, as they were on their way to Jerusalem, that he was passing through the middle of Samaria and Galilee.

17:12And as he entered into a certain village, ten men with leprosy met him, keeping their distance. 17:13Then they raised their voices saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” 17:14And looking at them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And it happened that as they went, they were cleansed.

17:15And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back glorifying God with a loud voice. 17:16And he fell on his face at his feet, thanking him. And he was a Samaritan.

17:17Then Jesus answering said, “Weren’t all ten cleansed? So where are the other nine? 17:18Were none found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 17:19And he said to him, “Rise up and go your way. Your faith has made you whole.”

17:20And being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them and said, “The present kingdom of God does not come with visible evidence. 17:21Neither will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘It’s over there!’ Understand this: the kingdom of God is now among* you.”

*The Greek word here can be translated either “within” or “among.” In order for anyone to have the kingdom of God “within” them they must first be born again. At the time Jesus spoke these words, this had happened to no one. Therefore, this translator has chosen “among” thereby referring to Jesus as a living manifestation of the kingdom of God. For “within you” to be correct, the verb would have to read “will be,” referring to something which would happen in the future rather than “is.”

17:22And he said to the disciples, “The days will come, when you will long to see again just one of the days of the Son of man, but you won’t see it. 17:23But when they say to you, ‘Look, there it is!’ or ‘Look, it’s over here!’ don’t even go out to look or pursue it. 17:24For as the lightning flashes out of the one part of heaven and shines to another part of heaven, this is the way it will be with the Son of man in his day.

17:25“But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 17:26And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will also be in the days of the Son of man. 17:27They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all.

17:28“Likewise even as it happened in the days of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, and they built, 17:29but in the day that Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 17:30This is the way it will it be in the day that the Son of man is revealed.

17:31“In that day, he who is on the rooftop terrace and his goods in the house below, should not go down to carry them away. And he who is in the field likewise should not return back to get the things he left behind. 17:32Remember Lot’s wife.

17:33“Whoever seeks to preserve his soul life will have it utterly destroyed, but whoever will declare that it must be put to death will be rescued from death by God’s life.

17:34“I say to you, in that time of darkness there will be two people on one bed: the one will be received and the other will be left behind. 17:35There will be two women grinding together: the one will be received and the other will be left behind. 17:36There will be two men in the field: the one will be received and the other will be left behind.”

17:37And they questioned him asking, “Where, Lord?” And he said to them, “Where the carcass is, that’s where the vultures will be gathered together.”*

*Christians should not be offended and get all squeamish about the use of an analogy involving vultures. This is simply the best illustration to describe the event. Vultures circling over a dead animal is a very common sight in many parts of the world, thus making an excellent illustration. There is simply no other analogy which would describe what will happen so accurately.

LUKE CHAPTER 18

18:1And he spoke a parable to them about the necessity for them to pray at all times and not to grow weak 18:2saying, “There was a judge in some city, who did not fear God and didn’t show respect for anyone. 18:3And there was a widow in that city who came to him frequently saying, ‘Give me justice and defend me from the one who is charging me.’

18:4For a time he wouldn’t do it, but later he said within himself, ‘Though I don’t fear God nor show respect for anyone, 18:5yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice so that she doesn’t wear me out with her persistence.’”

18:6And the Lord said, “Do you hear what the unrighteous judge says? 18:7Therefore, won’t God give justice to his elect, who cry out to him day and night, even when it seems as if he is slow in responding to them? 18:8I say to you that he will execute his vengeance suddenly. Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

18:9And he also spoke this parable to some who believed themselves to be righteous and treated the rest with contempt. 18:10“Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.

18:11“The Pharisee stood and prayed in this way to himself, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men: chasing after money, unjust, an adulterer or even like this tax collector. 18:12I fast twice in the week. I give tithes from everything that I get.’

18:13“But the tax collector, standing at a distance, would not even lift his eyes up to heaven but beat his breast saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’ 18:14I say to you, this man went down to his house acquitted instead of the other. For every one who honors himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be honored.”

18:15And they brought their babies to him for him to touch them. But when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. 18:16But Jesus called them to him saying, “Allow the little children to come to me and don’t forbid them because the kingdom of God belongs to ones like these.

18:17“Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, will in no way enter into it.”

18:18And a certain nobleman asked him saying, “Good Teacher, what must I do to receive eternal life?” 18:19And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good, except one, which is God. 18:20You know the commandments: do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not commit perjury, honor your father and mother.”

18:21And he said, “All these things I have observed from my youth until now.” 18:22And when Jesus heard it, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute it to the poor and you will have a store of treasure in heaven, and come, follow me.”

18:23But when the nobleman heard these things, he became very dejected, because he was extremely rich. 18:24And Jesus seeing him dejected said, “How difficult it is for those who have riches to enter into the kingdom of God! 18:25For it is easier for a camel to enter in through the eye of a needle than for a wealthy man to enter into the kingdom of God.”

18:26And those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” 18:27But he said, “Things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” 18:28And Peter said, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.”

18:29And he said to them, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children for the kingdom of God’s sake, 18:30who will not receive much more at the proper time, namely in the age to come, together with the fullness of the eternal life of God.”*

*This verse is a little difficult to understand. It seems to indicate that “eternal life” is something which believers receive “in the age to come.” Yet, from other parts of the Bible, it is clear that this is something we receive when we receive Jesus (Jn 3:36, 1 Jn 5:12 and many more), not something which we get later on. The logical explanation must be that in the resurrection when we are free from this earthy body, then we will have a full and unrestricted enjoyment of God’s eternal life which we received through Jesus when we believed.

Furthermore, with respect to the phrase “receive much more,” Jesus had just finished an extensive teaching about the difficulties and danger of riches when he mentions this. Therefore, he cannot be predicting wealth for his followers in this age. The best understanding of this seems to be that having abandoned these things in this life, we will receive and even greater portion of God’s life in the age which is coming.

18:31And having gotten the twelve together, he said to them, “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all the things which are written through the prophets concerning the Son of man will be fulfilled. 18:32For he will be turned over to the Gentiles and will be mocked, shamefully treated, and spit on. 18:33Then they will beat him with whips and kill him. But the third day he will rise again.”

18:34But they understood none of these things, for this saying was hidden from them, and so they didn’t understand the things which were said.

18:35And it happened, as he drew near Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the wayside begging. 18:36And hearing a crowd passing by, he asked what was happening. 18:37And they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was going by. 18:38So he cried out saying, “Jesus, you son of David, have mercy on me!”

18:39And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be quiet. But instead, he cried out even more, “You son of David, have mercy on me!” 18:40And Jesus stopped and asked for him to be brought to him. And when he had come near, he asked him, 18:41“What do you want me to do for you?” And he said, “Lord, I want to recover my eyesight.” 18:42And Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight! Your faith has saved you.” 18:43And immediately he received his eyesight and followed him, glorifying God. And everyone who saw it also praised God.

LUKE CHAPTER 19

19:1And having entered, he went through Jericho. 19:2And look, a man named Zacchaeus was there who was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 19:3And he wanted to see Jesus (who he was), but could not because of the crowd since he was short of stature. 19:4So he ran on in front and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him since he was going to pass by that way.

19:5And when Jesus came to that place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly for today I am going to stay at your house.” 19:6And he came down quickly and welcomed him joyfully.

19:7But when everyone saw it, they murmured saying, “He has gone in to stay with a man who is a sinner.”

19:8Then Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I am going to give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have abused my position to overcharge anyone, I will restore four times as much.”

19:9And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, for he also is a son of Abraham. 19:10Indeed, the Son of man came to seek out and to save the ones who are lost.”

19:11After speaking these things in their hearing, he added to them by speaking a parable because he was near Jerusalem and they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear very soon.

19:12He, therefore, said, “A certain nobleman went to a distant country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. 19:13So he called ten of his servants, gave them ten pieces of money, and said to them, ‘Trade with this money until I return.’ 19:14But some of his citizens hated him and sent some representatives after him saying, ‘We don’t want this man to reign over us.’

19:15“And it happened when he had come back again, having received the kingdom, that he gave the word for those servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him so that he could discover what they had gained by trading.

19:16“And the first came before him saying, ‘Lord, your pieces of money have earned ten more.’ 19:17And he said to him, ‘Well done, you excellent servant. Since you were found faithful in a very little, you will have authority over ten cities.’ 19:18Then the second came saying, ‘Lord, your money has earned five more pieces of money.’ 19:19And he said to him also, ‘You will have authority over five cities.’

19:20“And another came saying, ‘Lord, look here is your money, which I kept wrapped up in a piece of cloth. 19:21I feared you for a severe man, picking up that which you did not put down and harvesting that which you did not sow.’

19:22He responded to him saying, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you useless servant. You say that you perceived me as a severe man, picking up that which I did not put down and harvesting that which I did not sow.

19:23Therefore, why did you not at least put my money in the bank so that at my coming I could have received it back with some interest?’

19:24“So he said to those who were present, ‘Take the piece of money away from him and give it to him who earned the ten pieces of money.’ 19:25But they said to him, ‘Lord, he already has ten pieces of money.’ 19:26I say to you, everyone who uses what he has, more will be given to him, but concerning him who does not use what he has, even that which he has will be taken away from him.

19:27“But these enemies of mine who didn’t want me to reign over them, bring them here and kill them in front of me!” 19:28And when he had said these things, he went onward, going up to Jerusalem.

19:29“And it happened, when he came near Bethphage and Bethany, near the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples 19:30saying, “Go into that village over there and as you go in you will find a donkey’s colt tied, upon which no one has ever sat. Untie him and bring him here. 19:31And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying him?’ this is what you will say: ‘The Master needs him.’”

19:32And going on their way, those who were sent found things just as he had described them. 19:33And as they were untying the donkey’s colt, the owners of it said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 19:34And they said, “The Master needs him.”

19:35Then they brought him to Jesus, threw their garments on the colt and set Jesus on it. 19:36And as he went along, they spread their garments on the road in front of him.

19:37And as he was now coming near, just at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works which they had seen 19:38saying, “Blessed is the coming King in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.”

19:39But some of the Pharisees from the multitude said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 19:40But responding to them he said, “I tell you that if these keep silent, the very stones will cry out.”

19:41And as he approached and looked at the city, he wept over it 19:42saying, “If you had known this day, even you, the things which are meant for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 19:43For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will build up a siege mound around you and will surround you and press on you from every side. 19:44They will raze you to the ground together with your children and will not leave in you one stone left upon another, because you didn’t recognize the time of your visitation.”

19:45And he entered into the temple and began to throw out those who were buying and selling inside, 19:46saying to them, “It is written, my house will be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.”

19:47And he was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people sought to destroy him. 19:48But they could not figure out how to do it, for the people were very attentive to him, listening to him.

LUKE CHAPTER 20

20:1And it happened one day while he was teaching the people in the temple and announcing the good news that the chief priests and the scribes, together with the elders, came to him 20:2and said, “Tell us by what authority you do these things and who gave you this authority?”

20:3So he answered and said to them, “I also will ask you a question and you answer me: 20:4The baptism of John, was it from heaven or from men?” 20:5And they reasoned among themselves saying, “If we say ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then didn’t you believe him?’ 20:6But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us for they are persuaded that John was a prophet.”

20:7So they answered, “We don’t know its source.” 20:8And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

20:9And he began to speak to the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and rented it out to vineyard workers and then traveled to a distant country for a long time. 20:10And when the harvest season came, he sent a servant to the vineyard workers so that they would give him his share of the fruit of the vineyard. But the vineyard workers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.

20:11“So he sent yet another servant. But they also beat him and treated him with contempt and sent him away empty-handed. 20:12Then he sent yet a third servant. But they also wounded him and threw him out.

20:13“Then the lord of the vineyard said, ‘What should I do? I will send my beloved son; maybe when they see him, they will respect him.’ 20:14But when the vineyard workers saw him, they reasoned with each other saying, ‘This is the heir. Let’s kill him so that we can get the inheritance.’ 20:15So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

“What, therefore, will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 20:16He will come and destroy these vineyard workers and give the vineyard to others.” And when they heard it they said, “May it not be!” 20:17But he looked at them and said, “What then is this that is written, ‘The stone which the builders rejected was made the keystone of the arch?’ (Ps 118:22).

20:18“Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken in pieces, but on whomever it falls, it will grind him into powder.”

20:19The scribes and the chief priests perceived that he spoke this parable against them and so they tried to find a way to take him into custody right then, but they were afraid of the people. 20:20So they watched him carefully and sent out spies who pretended to be righteous so that they might catch him by his words and begin their scheme by handing him over to the authority of the governor.

20:21So they questioned him saying, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right and don’t make exceptions for ‘who’ someone is but teach the way of God in truth. 20:22Therefore, is it allowed by our law for us to pay tribute to Caesar, or not?”

20:23But perceiving their craftiness, he said to them, 20:24“Why do you test me? Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription is on it?” And they said, “Caesar’s.” 20:25And he said to them, “Then give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” 20:26And they were not able to find anything wrong with what he said in front of the people, being amazed at his answer, and so they kept quiet.

20:27Then certain of the Sadducees came to him – those who teach against the resurrection, saying that it doesn’t exist – 20:28and they asked him saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man’s brother dies having a wife and he is childless, his brother should take his wife and produce children for his brother.

20:29“There were therefore seven brothers. The first married a wife but died childless. 20:30Then the second married her and also died without children. 20:31Then the third married her and so on with each of the seven, none of whom produced children and each in turn, died. 20:32Afterward the woman died also. 20:33Therefore, in the resurrection whose wife will she be, for each of the seven married her?”

20:34And Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, 20:35but those who are judged to be worthy to attain to the coming age and the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. 20:36Neither can they die anymore, for they are similar to the angels and are the offspring of God, being children of the resurrection.

20:37“But even Moses showed that the dead are raised in the passage concerning the burning bush, when he called the Lord, ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.’ 20:38Now he is not the God of the dead, but of the living since it is by Him that all have life.”

20:39And certain of the scribes said in response, “Teacher, you have answered well.” 20:40And they didn’t dare ask him any more questions.

20:41Then he said to them, “How can they say that the Anointed One is David’s son? 20:42For David himself says in the book of Psalms, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, sit here in the place of honor and authority 20:43until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet’ (Ps 110:1). 20:44Therefore, since David called him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?”

20:45And in the hearing of all the people he said to his disciples, 20:46“Notice and keep yourself from acting like the scribes, who enjoy walking around in clerical robes identifying their status and love to be greeted as someone important in the marketplaces and to sit in the seats up front in the synagogues [the religious meeting places] and to have prominent places at feasts. 20:47These are those who cheat widows out of their life savings and look for any excuse to make long public prayers to attract attention to themselves. These will receive the more severe judgment.”

LUKE CHAPTER 21

21:1And looking up he saw the rich men that were putting their gifts into the treasury. 21:2And he saw a certain poor widow putting in two small copper coins. 21:3And he said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the others, 21:4for they gave gifts to God from their excess but she, in her personal need, put in all she had earned.”

21:5And since some there spoke about the temple – how it was adorned with precious stones and offerings – he said, 21:6“As for these things which you see, the days will come in which there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

21:7So they asked him saying, “Teacher, when then will these things be and what will be the sign when these things are about to happen?” 21:8And he said, “Be very careful that you are not misled, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he;’ and, ‘The time is at hand.’ You must not follow them. 21:9And when you hear of wars and disturbances, don’t be terrified. It is necessary that these things take place first. But the end will not be soon.”

21:10Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom 21:11and there will be large earthquakes, famines, and pestilences in various places along with terrifying events and great signs from heaven. 21:12But before all these things, they will seize you with their hands and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for my name’s sake.

21:13“But the result will be your testimony to them. 21:14Have it fixed, therefore, in your hearts not to meditate beforehand how to defend yourself, 21:15for I will give you the words and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or to withstand.

21:16“And you will be delivered up even by parents, brethren, relatives, and friends. And some of you they will put to death. 21:17And you will be detested by all men because of my name. 21:18Yet, not even a ‘hair of your head’ will be lost. 21:19Through your perseverance you will be taking possession of {or “gaining”} your souls.

21:20“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that her desolation has come near. 21:21Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains and let those who are in the middle of her leave, and let those who are in the countryside not enter in. 21:22For these are days of vengeance to fulfill everything which is written.

21:23“Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing children in those days! For there will be great calamity across the land and punishment upon this people. 21:24And they will fall by the edge of the sword and will be led away captive into all the nations. And Jerusalem will remain under the dominion of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

21:25“Then there will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars, and upon the earth and there will be great distress among the people. They will be in so much confusion and turmoil that it will be like the raging waves of the sea tossing around in a great storm. 21:26Men will be fainting from fear and apprehension because of the calamities which will be coming on the inhabitants of the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 21:27And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and tremendous brightness. 21:28So as these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads because your liberation draws near.”

21:29And he spoke a parable to them: “Consider the fig tree and all the trees: 21:30when they put out leaves, you see it and you know that the summer is now near. 21:31Even so you also, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 21:32Truly I say to you, the generation [the one that sees these final signs] will not pass away until all these events happen. 21:33Heaven and earth will perish, but my words will in no way fail.

21:34“But be vigilant with yourselves unless at any time your hearts become spiritually desensitized with partying, drunkenness, and the cares of this life, so that that day comes upon you unexpectedly, like an animal suddenly caught in a trap, 21:35for this is the way it will come upon everyone else who lives on the face of the earth.

21:36“But be vigilant at all times, praying that you would be considered worthy to escape all these things which will take place and to stand in the presence of the Son of man.”

21:37And he was teaching in the temple during the day and every night he went out and passed the night on the mount that is called Olivet. 21:38And all the people came early every morning to be with him in the temple to hear him.

LUKE CHAPTER 22

22:1Now the feast of unleavened bread drew near, which is called the “Passover.” 22:2And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might put him to death, but they were afraid of the people. 22:3Then Satan entered into Judas who was called Iscariot, being one of “the twelve.”

22:4So he left and conversed with the chief priests and leaders about how he could deliver him to them. 22:5So they were glad and promised to give him money. 22:6And he agreed to it and to look for an opportunity to deliver him to them in the absence of the multitude.

22:7And the day of unleavened bread came, on which the passover must be sacrificed. 22:8So he, Jesus, sent Peter and John saying, “Go and prepare the passover for us so that we can eat it.” 22:9And they said to him, “Where do you want us to prepare it?” 22:10And he said to them, “Look, when you are entering into the city, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him to the house where he goes. 22:11And say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, where is the dining room where I will eat the passover with my disciples?’ 22:12And he will show you a large, furnished upper room. Prepare it there.” 22:13So they went and found everything as he had said to them. So they prepared the passover.

22:14And when the hour had come, he sat down to eat along with the twelve sent ones. 22:15And he said to them, “With intense desire I have set my heart to eat this passover with you before I suffer. 22:16For I say to you, I will not eat it again until the reality which it symbolizes is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

22:17And having accepted the cup and given thanks, he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves, 22:18for I say to you, from here on, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes on earth.” 22:19And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them saying, “This is my body which is given for you. As you do this, be remembering me.” 22:20And in the same way he took the cup after supper saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, even that which is poured out for you.

22:21“Furthermore, look, the hand of the one who is betraying me is with me at the table. 22:22For on one hand, the Son of man is departing as it has been determined. But on the other hand, woe to that man through whom he is betrayed!” 22:23And they began to question among themselves about which of them it was who was about to do this thing.

22:24And there arose also a contention among them about which of them was judged to be greatest. 22:25So he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles have dominion over them and those exercising authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’* 22:26 But you may not do so! Instead, he who is ‘great’ among you, let him become as a newborn child and he who is an outstanding example in the spiritual life, let him be as a servant. 22:27For who is greater, he who sits at the table or the one who serves him? Isn’t it the one who sits at the table? But I am among you as the one serving.

*A “Benefactor” is someone who does something for your benefit. Here Jesus teaches us that even when it seems beneficial for one believer to exercise authority over another believer, it is prohibited.

22:28“But you are those who have stayed with me through my tests. 22:29Consequently, I am appointing a place for you in the kingdom which my Father has arranged for me 22:30so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom. And you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

22:31And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon, look, Satan has petitioned to be permitted to sift you like wheat. 22:32But I have prayed for you so that your faith doesn’t fail. And once you have returned from this test, strengthen your brethren.” 22:33And he said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go even to prison and to death with you.” 22:34But he said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day before you deny that you know me three times.”

22:35And he said to them, “When I sent you out without a wallet, provision bag, and shoes, did you lack anything?” And they said, “Nothing.” 22:36And he said to them, “But now, he who has a wallet, let him take it and likewise a provision bag. And he who doesn’t have a sword should sell his cloak and buy one. 22:37For I say to you that this which has been written must be accomplished by me, i.e. ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors.’ For that which concerns me will have its fulfillment.”

22:38And they said, “Lord look, here are two swords.” And he said to them, “It is enough.”

22:39And leaving there, he went to the mount of Olives according to his habit, and the disciples also followed him. 22:40And when he was at the place, he said to them, “Pray, so that you don’t enter into a trial of temptation.”

22:41Then he drew away from them about as far as you can throw a stone, and he kneeled down and prayed 22:42saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”

22:43And an angel from heaven appeared with him, strengthening him. 22:44And being in agony, he prayed more earnestly and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground.

22:45And when he rose up from his prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping from their distress 22:46and said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray so that you don’t enter into a trial of temptation.”

22:47While he still spoke, a mob showed up, and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. And he drew near to Jesus to kiss him. 22:48But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of man with a kiss?”

22:49And when those who were around him saw what was happening they said, “Lord, should we strike them with the sword?” 22:50And a certain one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. 22:51But Jesus answered and said, “Permit even this.” And he touched his ear and healed him.

22:52Then Jesus said to the chief priests, leaders of the temple, and elders who had come against him, “Have you come here, as if against a robber, with swords and wooden clubs? 22:53When I was daily with you in the temple, you didn’t stretch out your hands against me. But this is your time and the time of the power of the darkness.” 22:54Then they seized him, led him away, and brought him to the high priest’s house. But Peter followed at a distance.

22:55And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat there among them. 22:56And a certain maidservant seeing him sitting in the light of the fire and looking intently at him said, “This man also was with him.” 22:57But he denied it saying, “Woman, I’ve never seen him before.”

22:58And after a little while someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “See here you, I am not.” 22:59And after about one hour had passed, another confidently affirmed saying, “It is true. This man was also with him, for he is a Galilean.” 22:60But Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. 22:61And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord that he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows you will deny me three times.” 22:62And having gone outside, Peter wept bitterly.

22:63And the men who held Jesus mocked him and beat him with a whip. 22:64Then they blindfolded him, struck him in the face, and asked him saying, “Prophesy! Who is the one who struck you?” 22:65And they reviled him in many other ways.

22:66And when daylight came, the council of the elders of the people gathered together – both chief priests and scribes – and they took him into their council meeting saying, 22:67“If you are the Anointed One, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe. 22:68And if I question you, you will not answer me or release me. 22:69But from this time onward, the Son of man will be seated in the place of honor and authority of God.”

22:70Then they all said, “Are you then the Son of God?” And he said to them, “You all say it. For, ‘I AM.’” 22:71And they said, “What further need do we have for witnesses? For we ourselves have heard it from his own mouth.”

LUKE CHAPTER 23

23:1And the whole group of them rose up and brought him before Pilate. 23:2There they began to accuse him saying, “We found this man turning our nation from the right path, forbidding people to pay taxes to Caesar and saying that he himself is the Anointed One, the coming king.” 23:3And Pilate asked him, saying, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him and said, “You say so.”

23:4And Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, “I don’t find even one fault in this man.” 23:5But they became more urgent saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee even to this place.”

23:6But when Pilate heard them mention “Galilee,” he asked whether the man was a Galilean. 23:7And when he realized that he was from Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself was also at Jerusalem in those days. 23:8Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was very happy, for he had been wanting to see him for a long time because of the many things he had heard about him and he hoped to see some miracle done by him. 23:9So he questioned him

with many words but Jesus gave him no answer.
23:10And the chief priests and the scribes stood nearby, vehemently accusing him. 23:11Then Herod together with his soldiers treated him contemptibly. And having mocked him and arrayed him in gorgeous apparel, they sent him back to Pilate. 23:12And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for they previously had had animosity between themselves.

23:13Then Pilate called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people 23:14and said to them, “You brought this man to me as one who misleads the people. And look here, I have examined him in front of you and have found no fault in this man concerning those things of which you accuse him, 23:15no, nor has Herod either, for he sent him back to us. And see, nothing worthy of death has been done by him. 23:16Therefore, I will beat him with whips and release him.”

23:17(Now by custom, he had to release one prisoner to them at each feast.) 23:18But they all shouted together saying, “Away with this man! But release Bar-Abbas to us” – 23:19someone who, for a certain rebellion made in the city and for murder, had been thrown into prison. 23:20And Pilate called out to them again, desiring to release Jesus. 23:21But they shouted saying, “Crucify, crucify him!”

23:22And he said to them the third time, “Why, what evil has this man done? I have found no cause of death in him. I will therefore scourge him and release him.” 23:23But they were vehement with loud voices, insisting that he be crucified. And their voices, together with those of the chief priests, prevailed.

23:24So Pilate gave the sentence that their request be granted. 23:25And he released him for whom they asked, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison. But Jesus he delivered up to their will.

23:26And as they led him away, they forcefully took someone called Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the field, and laid the cross on him to carry it behind Jesus. 23:27And a large crowd of the people followed him including some women who were beating their breasts with grief and wailing for him.

23:28But Jesus turning to them said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, don’t weep for me. Instead weep for yourselves and for your children. 23:29For see here, the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the childless and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed.’ 23:30At that time they will begin to call out to the mountains saying, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Hide us.’ 23:31For if they do these things when the tree is still full of sap, what will they do when it is dried up?”*

*Probably a local saying, perhaps meaning something like this: “If they act like this when things are going well, what will they do in times of stress and affliction?”

23:32And they also led away two others, criminals, who were to be put to death with him. 23:33And when they came to the place which is called “The Skull,” they crucified him there with both the criminals, one on his right side and the other on his left. 23:34And Jesus said, “Oh Father, forgive them, for they don’t realize what they are doing.” Now in order to divide his garments among them, they cast lots [a kind of game of chance].

23:35And the people stood watching. But the rulers also ridiculed him saying, “He saved others, let him save himself, if this is the Anointed One of God, his chosen One.” 23:36And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him and offering him sour wine, 23:37saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself.” 23:38And there was also an inscription placed over him in Greek, Roman, and Hebrew writing, “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

23:39And one of the criminals also hanging on a cross reviled him saying, “Aren’t you the Anointed One? Save yourself and us!” 23:40But the other responded by rebuking him and said, “Don’t you even fear God, since you are under the same judgment? 23:41For we truly are being punished justly for what we have done, but this man has done nothing wrong.” 23:42And he said to Jesus, “Remember me Lord, when you come in your kingdom.” 23:43And he said to him, “What I now tell you is the truth, you will be with me in Paradise.”

23:44And it was now about the sixth hour of the day and a darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. 23:45The sun was darkened and the veil of the temple was torn right down the middle. 23:46And Jesus, crying with a loud voice said, “Father, I commit my spirit into your hands.” And having said this, he breathed out his last breath. 23:47And when the centurion saw what went on, he praised God saying, “This was a truly righteous man.”

23:48And all the crowds which had gathered to see this sight, when they witnessed the things which were done, returned beating their breasts. 23:49And all his acquaintances, including the women who followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

23:50And look, there was a man named Joseph from Arimathea, a city of the Jews – who was a member of the Sanhedrin, a good and righteous man 23:51who had not consented to their counsel and deed – who was himself looking for the kingdom of God. 23:52This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 23:53And he lowered it down from the cross, wrapped it in a linen cloth and placed him in a tomb that was hewn in stone in which no one had ever been laid.

23:54Now it was the day of the Preparation and the Sabbath evening was coming near. 23:55And the women who had come with him from Galilee followed after him and saw the tomb and how his body was placed. 23:56So they returned and prepared aromatic spices and perfumed ointments. But on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

LUKE CHAPTER 24

24:1But on the first day of the week at early dawn, they came to the tomb, bringing the aromatic spices which they had prepared. 24:2And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 24:3And having entered in, they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. 24:4Then it happened, while they were perplexed about this, look, two “men” stood near them in clothing which radiated light.

24:5And they became terrified and bowed down their faces to the ground. Then they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 24:6He is not here, but is risen. Remember what he spoke to you when he was still in Galilee 24:7saying that the Son of man must be delivered up into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and the third day rise again.”

24:8And they remembered his words. 24:9Then they returned from the tomb to report all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 24:10Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women who were with them who told these things to the sent ones.

24:11But these words appeared to them to be nonsense and they did not believe them. 24:12But Peter rose up and ran to the tomb and stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves. So he went back to his own place, wondering at the things which had taken place.

24:13And look, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was sixty stadia [about 10 km] away from Jerusalem. 24:14And they were conversing with each other about all the things which had taken place.

24:15And it happened while they talked and questioned together that Jesus himself drew near and joined with them. 24:16But their vision was restrained so that they did not recognize him. 24:17And he said to them, “What subject is this that you are discussing with each other as you walk along which causes you to look sad?”

24:18And one of them, named Cleopas, answering said to him, “Are you the only one who lives in Jerusalem who doesn’t know about the things which have happened there in these days?” 24:19And he said to them, “What things?”

And they said to him, “The things concerning Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet, powerful in deeds and words before God and all the people. 24:20And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death and crucified him.

24:21”But we had hoped that he was the One who would pay the price to ransom Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things occurred. 24:22Moreover, certain women of our company amazed us, having been at the tomb very early 24:23and when they did not find his body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. 24:24And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said. But they didn’t see him.”

24:25And he said to them, “Oh foolish ones and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 24:26Wasn’t it necessary for the Anointed One to suffer these things and to enter into his glory?” 24:27And beginning from Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them from all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

24:28And they drew near to the village where they were going. Yet he acted as if he were going further. 24:29But they pleaded with him saying, “Stay with us, for it is just about evening and the day is now almost gone.” So he went in to stay with them. 24:30And it happened, when he sat down with them to eat, he took the bread and blessed it and having broken it he gave it to them.

24:31Then their eyes were opened and they knew him, and he vanished from their sight. 24:32And they said to each other, “Wasn’t our heart burning within us while he spoke to us along the way, when he opened up the scriptures to us?”

24:33And they rose up that very hour, returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together with those who were with them 24:34and said, “The Lord is really risen and has appeared to Simon.” 24:35And they described the things that happened along the way and how he was revealed to them in the breaking of the bread.

24:36And as they spoke these things, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “May you have peace.” 24:37But they were terrified and alarmed and thought that they were seeing a ghost. 24:38And he said to them, “Why are you troubled and why do doubts rise up in your hearts? 24:39Look at my hands and my feet and see that it is I myself. Touch me and see, for a ghost doesn’t have flesh and bones as you see me having.” 24:40And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.

24:41And while their disbelief was in the process of being displaced by joy and wonder, he said to them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 24:42So they gave him a piece of a broiled fish and a piece of honeycomb. 24:43And he took it and ate in front of them.

24:44Then he said to them, “These are my words which I spoke to you while I was still with you: that all things must be fulfilled which are written in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms, concerning me.” 24:45Then he opened up their mind so that they could understand the scriptures.

24:46And he said to them, “This is what has been written: that the Anointed One would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day 24:47and that repentance resulting in being released from the bondage of sins would be proclaimed in his name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 24:48You are witnesses of these things. 24:49And look, I will send the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city of Jerusalem until you are clothed with power from above.”

24:50And he led them out as far as Bethany. Then he lifted up his hands and blessed them. 24:51And it happened that while he blessed them, he was separated from them and was carried up into the heavens. 24:52And having worshipped him, they returned to Jerusalem with great joy 24:53and were constantly in the temple, praising and blessing God.

Words in this translation found in italics are words which are implied by the Greek text but do not represent actual words in the Greek text. This practice is common in almost all modern translations. Occasionally, this translator has added words to the translation which represent his own ideas and opinions which, although they are based on his own biblical understanding, are not part of the actual Greek text. Such words are enclosed in brackets, like this [ ]. The reader should understand these words as being the opinion of the translator. In contrast to this, the words in these braces { } indicate legitimate, alternative translations or explanations. Words within parentheses () are part of the original Greek text. Such parentheses are often used in other New Testament translations also.

The Good News According To

JOHN

JOHN CHAPTER 1

1:1In the beginning was the Word {the Divine Expression}, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 1:2This One was in the beginning with God. 1:3All things came into existence through him, and separately from him nothing which now is came into existence.

1:4In him was the Father’s life and this life was the light of men. 1:5And that light now shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot put a stop to it.

1:6There was a man who was sent by God whose name was John. 1:7This one came as a witness to testify concerning the Light so that everyone could believe through him. 1:8He was not the Light but came so that he could testify concerning the Light. 1:9This One was the true Light who grants consciousness to everyone who comes into the world. 1:10He was in the world and the world came into existence through him, yet the world did not recognize him.

1:11He came to his own but those who were his own did not receive him. 1:12But as many as received him, he gave them the privilege of becoming offspring of God, specifically to those who are believing into his name. 1:13These are not those who were born through bloodlines, or through the choice of the flesh, or by the decision of a man, but who were actually born of God.

1:14And the Word became a human being and lived among us for a while (and we saw his glory, the glory of the only begotten from the Father), full of grace and truth. 1:15John testified concerning him and cried out saying, “This is he about whom I said, ‘He who is coming after me ranks above me because he existed before I did!’”

1:16And we have all received grace upon grace out of his abundance. 1:17For the law was given through Moses, but God’s grace and truth came through Jesus the Anointed One. 1:18No one has seen God the Father at any time, yet the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, this One reveals him.

1:19And this is the testimony of John when the Jews sent priests and Levites to him from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 1:20So he acknowledged and did not deny, but affirmed, “I am not the Anointed One.”

1:21So they asked him, “Who are you then? Are you Elijah? And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 1:22Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may have an answer to give those who sent us. What do you say concerning yourself?” 1:23He said, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make the way of the Lord straight,’ as Isaiah the prophet said” (Is 40:3).

1:24And those who had been sent were from the Pharisees. 1:25So they asked him and said to him, “Why, then, do you baptize if you are not the Anointed One, neither Elijah, nor the prophet?”

1:26John answered them saying, “I baptize in water, but there is someone standing here among you whom you don’t recognize. 1:27He is the One who is coming after me, yet who existed before me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 1:28These things happened in Bethany beyond the Jordan river where John was baptizing.

1:29On the next day, he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 1:30This is he about whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who is superior to me because he existed before me.’ 1:31Although I didn’t recognize him, this is the reason I came baptizing in water: so that he would be revealed to Israel.”

1:32And John testified saying, “I saw the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven and it remained on him. 1:33I didn’t recognize him. But he who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘Upon whomever you see the Spirit descending and remaining, he is the One who immerses {baptizes} in the Holy Spirit.’ 1:34And I have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

1:35Again, on the following day, John was standing with two of his disciples, 1:36and seeing Jesus as he walked by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” 1:37And the two disciples heard him say this so they followed Jesus.

1:38Then Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi (which, when interpreted, means ‘Teacher’), where are you staying?” 1:39He said to them, “Come and see.” So they came and saw where he was staying and they stayed with him that day, since it was about the tenth hour.

1:40One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 1:41First of all, he found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah (which, when interpreted, means the Anointed One).” 1:42So he brought him to Jesus. And Jesus looking at him said, “You are Simon the son of John. You will be called Cephas (which, when interpreted, means ‘Peter’ {or ‘a stone’}).”

1:43On the next day he proposed to go to Galilee where he found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” 1:44Now Philip was from Bethsaida, from the same city as Andrew and Peter. 1:45Philip then sought out Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses wrote in the law and about whom the prophets also wrote, Jesus the son of Joseph, the one from Nazareth.” 1:46And Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

1:47Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him and said of him, “Look, a true Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” 1:48Nathanael said to him, “From where do you know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 1:49Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God. You are King of Israel.”

1:50Jesus responded and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you underneath the fig tree,’ you believe? You will see greater things than this.” 1:51And he said to him, “Truly, truly I say to you, in the future you will see the heaven opened up and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.” [See Genesis 28:12]

JOHN CHAPTER 2

2:1And the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee and Jesus’ mother was there. 2:2And Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. 2:3So when the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They don’t have any wine.”

2:4Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with me? My time has not yet come.” 2:5His mother said to the servants, “Whatever he says to you, do it.”

2:6Now there were six stone water pitchers set there containing two or three “measures” apiece which were used for the Jewish purifying rituals. 2:7Jesus said to them, “Fill these water pitchers with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 2:8And he said to them, “Take some out now and bring it to the chief attendant of the feast.” So they brought it.

2:9And when the chief attendant of the feast tasted the water which had now become wine – he didn’t know where it had come from but the servants who had drawn the water knew – the chief attendant of the feast called the bridegroom 2:10and said to him, “Usually, everyone puts out the best wine first. Then when everyone becomes intoxicated, he puts out that which is inferior. But you have kept the very best wine until now.”

2:11This was the beginning of the signs which Jesus did in Cana of Galilee through which he manifested his glory – and his disciples believed into* him.

* Greek: EIS, “into,” indicates the point reached or entered.

2:12After this, he went down to Capernaum: he, his mother, his brothers, and his disciples. But they didn’t stay there many days. 2:13Now the passover of the Jews was coming soon, so Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

2:14And in the temple he encountered those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, along with the money changers who were sitting there. 2:15So having made a whip out of rough cords, he drove all of them out of the temple together with the sheep and the oxen, and he poured out the changers’ money and overturned their tables. 2:16And said to those who sold the doves, “Take these things out of here. Don’t make my Father’s house a house of merchandise.” 2:17His disciples remembered that it was written, “The zeal for your house has consumed me” (Ps 69:9).

2:18The Jews, therefore, responded to this by asking him, “What sign can you show us since you do these things?” 2:19Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.”

2:20The Jews, therefore, said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple and you will raise it up in three days?” 2:21But he spoke of the temple of his body. 2:22Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this and they believed the scripture and in the word which Jesus had spoken.

2:23Now while he was in Jerusalem at the passover during the feast, many believed into his name, seeing his signs which he did. 2:24But Jesus did not commit himself to them because he knew all things 2:25and he didn’t need anyone to testify concerning man, for he himself knew everything that was in the heart of man.

JOHN CHAPTER 3

3:1Now there was a man, one of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 3:2This one came to him in the dark of night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”

3:3Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless someone is born from above, he is not able to perceive the kingdom of God.”

3:4Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is already old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 3:5Jesus answered, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless someone is born through water [the physical birth] and the Spirit [the new birth], he cannot enter into the kingdom of God! 3:6That which is born naturally is the physical body, and that which is born of the Spirit is our human spirit. 3:7Don’t be surprised that I said to you, you must be born from above. 3:8The wind blows where it chooses and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it goes. It is this same way with everyone who is begotten by the Spirit.”

3:9Nicodemus responded by saying to him, “How is such a thing possible?” 3:10Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and you don’t understand these things? 3:11Truly, truly I say to you, we speak about what we have experienced and testify about what we have seen, yet you don’t receive our testimony. 3:12If you don’t believe the earthly things I tell you, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

3:13“And no one has ascended into heaven except he who descended out of heaven, even the Son of man. 3:14And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, in the same way it is necessary for the Son of man to be lifted up 3:15so that whoever is believing into* him may have the eternal life of God.

3:16“For God loved the world so much that he gave his only begotten Son so that anyone believing into* him would not be destroyed but have the eternal life of God. 3:17For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world would be being saved through him.

* Greek: EIS, “into,” indicates the point reached or entered.

3:18“The one who is believing into him is not being judged. He who is not believing has been judged already because he has not believed into the name of {into the reality of} the only begotten Son of God.

3:19“And this is the judgment: that the light has come into the world but men loved the darkness instead of the light because their works were evil. 3:20For everyone who practices evil hates the light and doesn’t come to the light so that his deeds won’t be exposed. 3:21But he who practices the truth comes to the light so that it may become apparent that his works have been done through God.”

3:22After these things Jesus and his disciples came to the land of Judea and there he spent time with them and baptized. 3:23And John was also baptizing in Enon near Salim because there was abundant water there. And many came and were baptized. 3:24For John had not yet been thrown into prison.

3:25There a debate took place between John’s disciples and some Jews about ceremonial washing*. 3:26So they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the One who was with you beyond the Jordan about whom you have testified – look here, he is baptizing and everyone is coming to him!”

* Possibly baptism.

3:27John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. 3:28You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Anointed One,’ but that I have been sent before him. 3:29He who has the bride is the bridegroom. But the friend of the bridegroom who stands and listens to him is truly delighted because of the bridegroom’s voice. My joy, therefore, is made complete. 3:30He must increase but I must decrease.

3:31“He who comes from on high is above all. He who is of the earth is earthly; consequently, he speaks from an earthly point of view.

“He who comes from heaven is above all. 3:32He testifies about what he has, in fact, seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. 3:33But he who receives his testimony affirms that God is truthful. 3:34For he whom God has sent speaks the actual words of God, for he gives him the Spirit without any limits.

3:35“The Father loves the Son and has put all things into his hands. 3:36He who is believing into the Son has the eternal life of God. But he who refuses the Son will not see God’s life but the abhorrence of God remains upon him.”

JOHN CHAPTER 4

4:1When, therefore, the Lord learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 4:2(although Jesus himself did not baptize, but his disciples did), 4:3he left Judea and went away to Galilee. 4:4This made it necessary for him to go through Samaria. 4:5So he came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of land which Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 4:6And Jacob’s well was there. Then Jesus, being tired from his journey, sat there by the well.

It was about the sixth hour of the day 4:7when a woman of Samaria came there to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink,” 4:8for his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. 4:9The Samaritan woman then replied to him, “How is it that you, being a Jew, ask for a drink from me since I am a Samaritan woman?” (For the Jews do not associate with the Samaritans.)

4:10Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that said to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” 4:11The woman said to him, “Master, you have nothing to draw water with and the well is deep. Where then are you going to get this ‘living water?’ 4:12Are you greater than our father Jacob who gave us the well and drank from it himself along with his sons and his livestock?”

4:13Jesus responded and said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. 4:14But whoever drinks the water that I give him will never be thirsty, but the water that I will give him will be becoming a fountain of water gushing up within him, supplying God’s eternal life.”

4:15The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and won’t have to come all the way here to draw water.” 4:16Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband and come back here.” 4:17The woman replied, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband,’ 4:18for you have had five husbands and he whom you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.”

4:19The woman said to him, “Master, I see that you are a prophet. 4:20Our fathers worshipped on this mountain but you Jews say that Jerusalem is the place where men must worship.”

4:21Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the time is coming when you will neither worship the Father on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 4:22You worship someone whom you don’t know. We worship Someone we do know, for salvation comes from among the Jews. 4:23But the time is coming and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking these kinds of worshippers. 4:24God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth.”

4:25The woman replied to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (the One who is called the Anointed One). When he comes he will tell us everything.” 4:26Jesus said to her, “I am he – the One who is speaking to you.”

4:27When his disciples came upon this scene, they were amazed that he was speaking with a woman. Yet no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?” 4:28So the woman left her water pitcher, went away into the city and said to the people, 4:29“Come, see a man who told me everything that I ever did. Can this be the Anointed One?”

4:30So they left the city and came to him. 4:31In the meantime, the disciples urged him saying, “Rabbi, eat something.” 4:32But he replied to them, “I have food to eat that you don’t understand.” 4:33The disciples, therefore, said to one another, “Has someone brought him something to eat?” 4:34Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work.

4:35“Don’t you say, ‘There are still four months before harvest time?’ Look here, I say to you, ‘Lift up your eyes and look at the fields for they are already ripe for harvest.’ 4:36He who reaps receives wages and gathers fruit [which are people] into the eternal life of God so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. 4:37For this is a true saying, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 4:38I sent you to reap something for which you have not labored. Others have labored and you are participating in their labor.”

4:39And many of the Samaritans from that city believed into* him because of the words of the woman who testified, “He told me everything that I ever did.” 4:40So when the Samaritans came to him, they begged him to spend some time with them. And he stayed there two days.

* Greek: EIS, “into,” indicates the point reached or entered.

4:41And many more believed because of his word. 4:42So they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not just because of what you said, but we have heard for ourselves and know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

4:43Then after the two days, he left there and went to Galilee. 4:44For Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. 4:45So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans received him, having seen all the things that he did in Jerusalem at the feast, since they also went to the feast.

4:46Then he came to Cana of Galilee again where he had made the water into wine. Now there was a certain royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum. 4:47When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and implored him to come there and heal his son who was near death. 4:48Jesus then said to him, “Is there no way that you will believe except by seeing signs and wonders?”

4:49The royal official said to him, “Master, come before my child dies.” 4:50Jesus said to him, “Go on your way. Your son will live.” And the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, so he left. 4:51And as he was returning home, his servants met him saying, “Your child is alive!” 4:52So he asked them the time when the son began to get better. They then replied to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.”

4:53So the father knew that it was at that time when Jesus said to him, “Your son will live.” And he believed along with his entire household. 4:54This was the second sign that Jesus did, having come from Judea to Galilee.

JOHN CHAPTER 5

5:1After these things there was a feast of the Jews and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 5:2Now in Jerusalem there is a pool by the sheep gate which is called in Hebrew “Bethesda,” that has five covered patios. 5:3A large number of people who were sick, blind, lame, and withered lay in these covered patios, watching for the water to become agitated. 5:4For an angel of the Lord sometimes came down to the pool and agitated the water. Then, whoever stepped into the pool first after the water was agitated, was cured of whatever disease he had.

5:5Now a certain man was there who had been infirm for thirty-eight years. 5:6Jesus saw him lying there and, knowing that he had been ill a long time, said to him, “Do you want to be cured?” 5:7The sick man answered him, “Master, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is agitated, but while I am coming someone else steps down before me.”

5:8Jesus said to him, “Get up, pick up your sleeping pallet, and walk.” 5:9And immediately the man was cured and picked up his sleeping pallet and walked. Now this took place on the Sabbath day.

5:10So the Jews said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath. It is not allowed by the law for you to carry your sleeping pallet.” 5:11But he answered them, “He who cured me said to me, ‘Pick up your sleeping pallet and walk.’” 5:12They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk?’” 5:13But he who was healed didn’t know who it was, for Jesus had moved away and it was crowded in that place.

5:14Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “Look, you have been cured. Don’t sin any more so that something worse doesn’t happen to you.” 5:15Then the man went off and reported to the Jews that it was Jesus who had cured him.

5:16And the reason that the Jews persecuted Jesus and wanted to kill him was because he did these things on the Sabbath. 5:17But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working even until now and I work.” 5:18Therefore, for this reason, the Jews wanted even more to kill him because he not only broke the Sabbath but also called God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

5:19Jesus, therefore, answered and said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, the Son is not able to do anything which originates with himself, but only does that which he sees the Father doing. For the things that he does, the Son also does in the same way. 5:20For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything that he is doing and he will show him even greater works than these, so much so that you will be astonished. 5:21For as the Father raises the dead and restores them to life even so the Son also gives life to those whom he wishes.

5:22“Furthermore, the Father doesn’t judge anyone, but he has committed all judgment to the Son 5:23so that everyone will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who doesn’t revere the Son doesn’t honor the Father who sent him.

5:24“Truly, truly I say to you, he who hears my word and is believing the One who sent me has the Father’s eternal life and will not receive the sentence of condemnation, but has crossed over from death into the Father’s immortal life.

5:25“Truly, truly I say to you, the hour is coming and, in fact, has now come, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who understand it will receive God’s life. 5:26For as the Father has his life in himself, even so also he granted to the Son to have this same life in himself.

5:27“Furthermore, he gave him authority to execute judgment because he is a son of man. 5:28Don’t be astonished at this because the time is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 5:29and will come out: those who have done good to the resurrection of the Father’s life, and those who lived a careless life to the resurrection of judgment.

5:30“I am able to do nothing which originates with myself. As I hear from the Father, I judge, and my judgment is righteous because I don’t seek my own will but the will of him who sent me.

5:31“If I testify about myself, my testimony is not reliable. 5:32There is Another who testifies concerning me and I know that the testimony which he gives about me is truthful. 5:33You have sent some to John and he has testified concerning what the truth really is. 5:34Now I don’t depend on man’s testimony. However, I say these things so that you may be being saved. 5:35He was a burning and shining light and you were willing to rejoice in his light for a time.

5:36“But the testimony which I have is greater than that of John. For the works which the Father has given me to accomplish, i.e. the very works that I do, testify concerning me that the Father has sent me. 5:37Furthermore, the Father who sent me, has testified about me. You have neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his form. 5:38And you don’t have his word abiding in you. This is evident because the One whom he sent is the very person you don’t believe.

5:39“You research the scriptures because you think that you have eternal life through them, but these are what are testifying about me. 5:40Yet you won’t come to me so that you may have God’s life.

5:41“I don’t receive honor from men. 5:42But I know you, that you don’t have the love of God in yourselves. 5:43I have come in my Father’s name and you don’t receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him.

5:44“How can you believe, you who accept honor from each other but don’t urgently desire the honor which comes from the only God?

5:45“Don’t think that I will accuse you before the Father. There is one who will be accusing you, even Moses on whom you have set your hope. 5:46For if you believed Moses you would believe into me, for he wrote about me. 5:47But if you don’t believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”

JOHN CHAPTER 6

6:1After these things, Jesus went away to the other side of the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. 6:2And a large crowd followed him because they saw the signs which he did for those who were sick. 6:3So Jesus went up onto the mountain and he sat down there with his disciples.

6:4Now the passover, the feast of the Jews, was near. 6:5Jesus then looked up and seeing that a huge crowd had come to him, said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread so that these people can eat?” 6:6But he said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. 6:7Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them so that everyone would get a little”.

6:8One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 6:9“There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish but this is nothing among so many.” 6:10Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was a lot of grass in that place. So the men sat down, about five thousand of them.

6:11Jesus then took the loaves and having given thanks, he distributed them to the disciples and the disciples in turn to those who were sitting down. And he also did the same thing with the fish, as much as anyone wanted.

6:12And when they were satisfied, he said to his disciples, “Gather up the broken pieces which are left over so that nothing is wasted.” 6:13So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces from the five barley loaves which were left over from those who had eaten.

6:14Therefore, when the people saw the miracle which he did they said, “This really is the prophet, the One who is to come into the world.”

6:15Then Jesus, perceiving that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, withdrew again into the mountain by himself alone. 6:16And when evening came his disciples went down to the sea. 6:17And having entered into a boat, they headed to the other side of the sea, to Capernaum. It had already gotten dark and Jesus had not come with them.

6:18But the sea began rising because of a strong wind which blew. 6:19When, therefore, they had rowed about four or five kilometers they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat and they became frightened.

6:20But he said to them, “I am he. Don’t be afraid.” 6:21Then they were willing to receive him into the boat and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.

6:22The next day the crowd which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there except one, and that Jesus hadn’t gone with his disciples in the boat, but that his disciples had gone alone. 6:23(However other small boats from Tiberias had come near the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks.)

6:24When the crowd, therefore, saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus. 6:25And when they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, how did you get here?”

6:26Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly I say to you, you don’t seek me because you understood the significance of the signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled. 6:27Don’t work for the food which just turns to waste, but for the food which culminates in the Father’s eternal life which the Son of man will give you. For the Father, even God, has set his seal of approval on him.”

6:28They then said to him, “What must we do so that we may work the works of God?” 6:29Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God: that you are believing into* him whom he has sent.”

6:30They, therefore, said to him, “What then are you going to do for a sign, so that we may see and believe you? What work are you going to do? 6:31Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat’” (Ps 78:24).

6:32Jesus, therefore, replied to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven. Nevertheless, my Father is now offering you the true bread from heaven. 6:33For the bread of God is the One who is descending out of heaven and giving the Father’s life to the world.” 6:34They then said to him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”

6:35Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of God’s life. He who is coming to me will not be spiritually hungry and he who is believing into* me will never be spiritually thirsty. 6:36But I say to you that you have already seen me and yet do not believe. 6:37All those whom the Father gives me will come to me and he who comes to me I will by no means reject. 6:38For I have not come down from heaven to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.

6:39“And this is the will of my Father who sent me, that I would lose none of all those whom he has given me, but would raise them up on the last day. 6:40For this is the will of the One who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes into* him, would have his eternal life. And I will raise him up on the last day.”

* Greek: EIS, “into,” indicates the point reached or entered.

6:41The Jews, therefore, murmured concerning him because he said, “I am the bread which came down out of heaven.” 6:42And they said, “Isn’t this Jesus the son of Joseph whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven?’”

6:43Jesus answered and said to them, “Don’t mutter among yourselves. 6:44No one can come to me unless the Father – the One who sent me – draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day. 6:45It is written in the prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God’ (Is 54:13). Therefore, everyone who has heard from the Father and has learned from him, comes to me. 6:46(Not that anyone has seen the Father, except he who is from God, he has seen the Father.)

6:47“Truly, truly I say to you, he who is believing into* me has God’s eternal life. 6:48I am the ‘bread’ of that life. 6:49Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and they died. 6:50This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, which whoever eats of it, as a consequence cannot die. 6:51I am the life-giving bread which came down out of heaven. If anyone eats this bread, he will have the Father’s life which spans the ages. Yes, and the bread which I will give is my flesh which I offer so that the world may have this life.”

* Greek: EIS, “into,” indicates the point reached or entered.

6:52The Jews, therefore, argued with each other saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 6:53Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you cannot have God’s life in yourselves.

6:54“He who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has the Father’s eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day. 6:55For my flesh is the true meat and my blood is the true drink. 6:56He who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him.

6:57“As the living Father sent me, and I live by the life of the Father, in the same way he who feeds on me, he will also live by this same life through me. 6:58This is the bread which came down out of heaven. This is not the same bread which the fathers ate and died. He who eats this bread will live eternally.”

6:59He said these things in the synagogue while he was teaching in Capernaum. 6:60Many of his disciples, therefore, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult saying, who is able to understand it?”

6:61But Jesus knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at this, said to them, “Does this offend you? 6:62Then what would you think if you saw the Son of man ascending to where he was before? 6:63It is the Spirit which gives God’s life, the actual flesh is of no use to anyone. The words which I have spoken to you, they are Spirit and they are the Father’s life.

6:64“But there are some of you who don’t believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who didn’t believe and who it was that would betray him. 6:65So he said, “This is the reason I said to you that no one can come to me unless it is granted to him by the Father.” 6:66Because of this many of his disciples turned back and didn’t walk with him anymore.

6:67Jesus, therefore, said to the twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” 6:68Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of the ever-existing life. 6:69And we have believed and know that you are the Anointed One, the Son of the living God.”

6:70Jesus responded to them saying, “Didn’t I choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil {or, ‘a slanderer’}?” 6:71Now he spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for it was he who would betray him, being one of the twelve.

JOHN CHAPTER 7

7:1And after these things Jesus walked with his disciples in Galilee, for he resolved not to walk in Judea because the Jews sought to kill him. 7:2Now the feast of the Jews, the feast of tabernacles, was near. 7:3His brothers, therefore, said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea so that your disciples there may also see your works which you do. 7:4For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to become well known. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” 7:5For even his brethren did not believe in him.

7:6Jesus, therefore, said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready. 7:7The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify concerning it, that its works are evil. 7:8You go up to the feast. I am not going to this feast yet because my time has not yet been completed.”

7:9And having said these things to them, he stayed in Galilee. 7:10But when his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he went also, not publicly but in a hidden way.

7:11The Jews, therefore, looked for him at the feast, and said, “Where is that one?” 7:12And there was a lot of murmuring among the crowds concerning him. Some said, “He is a good man.” Others said, “No, he just misleads the ignorant rabble.” 7:13Yet no one spoke about him openly for fear of the Jews.

7:14But when it came to be the middle of the feast, Jesus went into the temple and taught. 7:15The Jews were astonished saying, “How is this man able to read, having never learned?”

7:16Jesus, therefore, answered them and said, “My teaching is not mine but is his who sent me. 7:17If anyone is willing to do his will, he will understand concerning the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from myself. 7:18He who speaks from himself seeks his own honor but he who seeks the honor of him who sent him, that one is true and no unrighteousness is in him. 7:19Didn’t Moses give you the law and yet none of you practices the law? Why do you want kill me?”

7:20The crowd answered, “You have a demon. Who wants to kill you?” 7:21Jesus answered and said to them, “I did one work and you are all amazed because of it.

7:22“Think about it like this: Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses but from the fathers) and on the Sabbath you circumcise a male child. 7:23If a male child receives circumcision on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses will not be broken, are you angry with me because I made a man completely healthy on the Sabbath? 7:24Don’t judge according to outward appearances {the superficial, tangible, etc.}, but judge using righteous judgment.”

7:25Some of them of Jerusalem, therefore, said, “Isn’t this the one whom they want to kill? 7:26And look, he speaks publicly and they say nothing to him. Perhaps the rulers, in fact, know that this is truly the Anointed One. 7:27However, we know this man, where he is from. But when the Anointed One comes, no one will know where he comes from.”

7:28Then Jesus, while teaching in the temple, raised his voice and said, “You think that you know me and know where I come from. Yet I have not come from myself, but he who sent me is true, whom you do not know. 7:29I know him because I am from him and he sent me.”

7:30Therefore, they sought to arrest him, yet no one laid a hand on him because his time had not yet come. 7:31But many from the crowd believed into* him and said, “When the Anointed One comes will he do more signs than those which this man has done?”

7:32The Pharisees heard the multitude murmuring these things about him. So the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to arrest him. 7:33Jesus, therefore, said, “I am with you just a little while more and then I am going to him who sent me. 7:34You will seek me but will not find me. And where I am going, you cannot come.”

7:35The Jews, therefore, said among themselves, “Where is this man going that we won’t find him? Will he go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 7:36What is this word that he said, ‘You will seek me but won’t find me, and where I am you cannot come?’”

7:37Now on the last day, the principal day of the feast, Jesus stood up and cried out saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink! 7:38He who believes into me, as the scripture has said, from within him will gush rivers of living water.” 7:39But this he spoke about the Spirit, which those who believed into* him were to receive. For the Holy Spirit was not yet given because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

* Greek: EIS, “into,” indicates the point reached or entered.

7:40Some of the multitude, therefore, when they heard these words said, “This truly is the prophet.” 7:41Others said, “This is the Anointed One!” But some said, “What? Does the Anointed One come from Galilee? 7:42Hasn’t the scripture said that the Anointed One comes from the seed of David and from Bethlehem, the village where David was from?” 7:43So a division arose among the multitude because of him. 7:44And some of them wanted to arrest him but no one laid a hand on him.

7:45When the officers returned to the chief priests and Pharisees, they said to them, “Why didn’t you bring him?” 7:46The officers answered, “No one has ever spoken like this man.” 7:47The Pharisees, therefore, answered them, “Have you also been duped? 7:48Have any of the rulers believed on him or any of the Pharisees? 7:49But this rabble that doesn’t know the law is accursed.”

7:50Nicodemus said to them (he who had come to him at night, being one of them), 7:51“Does our law judge a man before he has been heard in order to really understand what he is doing?” 7:52They answered and said to him, “Are you also from Galilee? Search the scriptures and see for yourself that no prophet comes from Galilee.” 7:53And everyone went to his own house.

JOHN CHAPTER 8

8:1But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 8:2And early in the morning he came back to the temple and all the people came to him. So he sat down and taught them. 8:3Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery and, having set her in the middle of everyone, 8:4they said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. 8:5Now in the law, Moses commanded for such people to be stoned. What then do you say?”

8:6And they said this testing him so that they might have something about which to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with his finger.

8:7But when they continued asking him, he stood up and said to them, “He who is sinless among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8:8And again he stooped down and wrote on the ground with his finger.

8:9And they when they heard it, being convicted by their consciences, went out one by one, beginning from the oldest, even to the last. So Jesus was left with only the woman who was still there in the middle of everyone. 8:10And Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are your accusers? Did no one condemn you?” 8:11And she said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go on your way, but from now on don’t continue sinning.”

8:12Again, therefore, Jesus spoke to them saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness but will have the illumination of God’s life.”

8:13The Pharisees then said to him, “You testify about yourself. Therefore, your testimony is not valid.” 8:14Jesus replied to them, “Even if I testify about myself, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I came from or where I am going. 8:15You judge according to human standards. I judge no one.

8:16“But if I do judge, my judgment is correct for I am not alone, but I am here with the Father who sent me. 8:17Yes, and in your law it is written that the testimony of two men is true. 8:18I am one who testifies concerning myself and the Father who sent me testifies about me.” 8:19They said to him, therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You don’t know me or my Father. If you had recognized me it would be because you know my Father also.”

8:20He spoke these words in the treasury as he taught in the temple, and no one arrested him because his time had not yet come.

8:21Then he said to them again, “I am going away and you will look for me. But you will die in your sins. You cannot come where I am going.” 8:22The Jews, therefore, said, “Will he kill himself since he said, ‘You cannot come where I am going?’”

8:23So he replied to them, “You are from below. I am from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world. 8:24Therefore, I said to you that you will die in your sins, for unless you believe that ‘I AM,’ you will die in your sins.”

8:25They then said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “My origin is that which I have already told you. 8:26I have many things to say and to judge concerning you. However, he who sent me is my reliable source, so the things which I say to the world are only the things which I hear from him.” 8:27But they didn’t understand that he spoke to them of the Father.

8:28Jesus, therefore, said, “When you have lifted up the Son of man, then will you know that ‘I AM’ and that nothing I am doing originates with myself, but I speak these things as the Father instructs me. 8:29Furthermore, he who sent me is with me. He hasn’t left me alone for I always do the things which are pleasing to him.” 8:30As he spoke these things, many believed into* him.

* Greek: EIS, “into,” indicates the point reached or entered.

8:31Jesus then said to those Jews who were believing him, “If you continue in my word, then you are truly my disciples, 8:32and you will know the truth and the truth will liberate you.” 8:33They responded to him, “We are Abraham’s seed and have never yet been anyone’s slave. How can you say, ‘You will be liberated?’”

8:34Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. 8:35And the slave doesn’t remain in the house forever. But the son remains forever. 8:36If, therefore, the Son liberates you, you will be truly free.

8:37“I know that you are Abraham’s seed, yet some of you want to kill me because my word does not fit with who you are. 8:38I speak the things which I have seen with my Father and you also do the things which you have seen with your father.”

8:39They answered and said to him, “Our father is Abraham.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. 8:40But now you want to kill me – a man that has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham didn’t do this. 8:41You do the works of your father.”

They said to him, “We were not born of sex outside of marriage. We have one Father, even God.” 8:42Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came out of, and have come from God. Further, I have not come on my own, but he sent me.

8:43“Why do you not understand my speech? It is because you cannot hear my word. 8:44You are of your father the devil and the things your father craves are what you like to do. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand for the truth because there is no truth in him. When he says a lie, he speaks from within himself, for he is a liar and the father of lying.

8:45“Even though I speak the truth, you don’t believe me. 8:46Which of you convicts me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe me? 8:47He who is of God understands {or, hears} the words of God. This is the reason you don’t understand them because you are not of God.”

8:48The Jews answered and said to him, “Weren’t we right to say that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 8:49Jesus answered, “I don’t have a demon. Yet I honor my Father; therefore, you insult me. 8:50But I am not seeking my own honor. There is One who seeks honor for me and who judges. 8:51Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone carefully observes my words he will never see death.”

8:52The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died and the prophets died too. Yet you say that if someone observes my words he will never experience death. 8:53Are you greater than our father Abraham who died and the prophets who died? Who do you think you are?”

8:54Jesus answered, “If I honor myself, my honor is nothing. It is my Father, whom you claim to be your God, who honors me. 8:55But you have not known him. Yet I do know him. And if I should say, ‘I don’t know him,’ I would be a liar like you. But I do know him and keep his word. 8:56Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was delighted.”

8:57The Jews, therefore, said to him, “You aren’t yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?” 8:58Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was, ‘I AM.’” 8:59Then they took up stones to throw at him but Jesus concealed himself and went out of the temple.

JOHN CHAPTER 9

9:1And as he left there, they saw a man who was blind from his birth. 9:2And his disciples asked him saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 9:3Jesus answered, “It was neither this man who sinned nor his parents, but it happened so that the works of God would be made known in him. 9:4It is necessary to be engaged in the works of him who sent me while it is daylight. There is a night season coming when no one will be able to work. 9:5While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

9:6When he had said this, he spat on the ground, made mud with the spittle, smeared the mud on the blind man’s eyes, 9:7and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is interpreted, ‘Sent’).” He, therefore, went away, washed and came back seeing.

9:8Then the neighbors – the ones who had seen him before and knew that he was blind – said, “Isn’t this the one who sat and begged?” 9:9Others said, “It is he.” And others said, “No, but he looks like him.” He himself said, “I am he.” 9:10Therefore, they said to him, “How then did you receive your eyesight?”

9:11He answered, “The man who is called Jesus made mud, smeared it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went there and washed and I received my eyesight.” 9:12And they said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I don’t know.” 9:13They then brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees. 9:14Now the day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes was the Sabbath.

9:15Then the Pharisees also asked him to repeat how he received his eyesight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, I washed, and I see.” 9:16Therefore, some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God because he doesn’t keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was division among them.

9:17Then they said to the blind man again, “What do you say about him since it was your eyes he opened?” And he said, “He is a prophet.” 9:18The Jews, however, did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and had received his eyesight, until they called the parents of the one who had received his sight.

9:19So they asked them saying, “Is this your son whom you say was born blind? How is it then that he can see now?” 9:20His parents answered and said, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 9:21But how he can see now, we don’t know, or who opened his eyes, we also don’t know. Ask him. He is of age. He can speak for himself.”

9:22His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jews. For the Jews had already agreed that if anyone acknowledged Jesus to be the Anointed One, he would be put out of the synagogue. 9:23Therefore, his parents said, “He is of age, ask him.”

9:24So they called him who was blind a second time and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” 9:25He, therefore, answered, “Whether or not he is a sinner, I don’t know. The one thing I do know is that although I once was blind, now I see.”

9:26Therefore, they said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 9:27He answered them, “I just told you and you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” 9:28Then they reviled him and said, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 9:29We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we don’t know where he is from.”

9:30The man answered and said to them, “Why, this is incredible that you don’t know where he is from and yet he opened my eyes. 9:31We know that God doesn’t hear sinners. But if anyone fears God and does his will, he hears him. 9:32Since the world began, it has never been heard of that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 9:33Unless this man were from God he could do nothing.”

9:34They answered and said to him, “You were completely born in sins and you are teaching us?” And they threw him out of the synagogue. 9:35Jesus heard that they had thrown him out. So finding him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of God?” 9:36He answered and said, “And who is he, Lord, so that I may believe in him?” 9:37Jesus said to him, “He is the One whom you see and who is speaking to you.”

9:38And he said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshipped him. 9:39And Jesus said, “I came into this world to bring about this judicial verdict: that those who don’t see may see and that those who see may become blind.” 9:40Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things and said to him, “Are we also blind?” 9:41Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin. But since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.”

JOHN CHAPTER 10

10:1“Truly, truly I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the sheepfold but climbs in some other way, that one is a thief and a robber. 10:2But he who enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 10:3The doorkeeper opens the door for him and the sheep hear his voice. And he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 10:4When his sheep leave the fold, he leads them by going out in front of them. And the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice. 10:5Yet they won’t follow a stranger but will flee from him because they don’t recognize the voice of strangers.”

10:6Jesus spoke this parable to them but they didn’t understand the things which he spoke to them. 10:7Jesus, therefore, said to them again, “Truly, truly I say to you, I am the door for the sheep. 10:8All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the sheep did not hear them.

10:9“I am the door. If anyone enters in through me, he will be being saved. He will freely enter in and go out and find pasture. 10:10The thief only comes so that he may steal, kill, and destroy. I have come so that they may have the Father’s life and have it in abundance.

10:11“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 10:12When the hired hand, who is not the shepherd nor the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, he leaves the sheep and flees and the wolf catches them and scatters them. 10:13He flees because he is a hired hand and doesn’t care for the sheep.

10:14“I am the good shepherd and I intimately know those who belong to me and those who belong to me are knowing me fully – 10:15in the same way that the Father knows me and I know the Father. Therefore, I lay down my soul-life for the sheep. 10:16And I have other sheep which are not of this fold. I must lead them also. They too will hear my voice and there will be one flock and one shepherd.

10:17“For this reason the Father loves me because I lay down my soul-life so that I may take it back again. 10:18No one takes it away from me but it is my own decision to lay it down. I have the authority to lay it down and I have the authority to take it back again. This is the mandate which I received from my Father.”

10:19Then a difference of opinion arose again among the Jews because of these words. 10:20And many of them said, “He has a demon and is crazy. Why do you listen to him?” 10:21Others said, “These are not the sayings of someone possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

10:22Then the feast of the dedication took place at Jerusalem. 10:23It was winter and Jesus was walking in the temple in Solomon’s porch. 10:24Then the Jews gathered around about him and said to him, “How long are you going to hold us in suspense? If you are the Anointed One, tell us plainly.”

10:25Jesus answered them, “I told you and you didn’t believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name, these testify concerning me. 10:26But you don’t believe because you are not my sheep. 10:27My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me. 10:28And I give the Father’s eternal life to them so that they will never be lost and no one is able to snatch them out of my hand. 10:29My Father who has given them to me is greater than all. And no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 10:30I and the Father are one.”

10:31Then the Jews picked up stones again to stone him. 10:32Jesus responded to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of those works are you going to stone me?” 10:33The Jews answered him, “We aren’t going to stone you for a good work, but for blasphemy, even because you, being a man, say that you are God.”

10:34Jesus answered them, “Isn’t it written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods?’ 10:35If he called them gods to whom the word of God came (and the scripture cannot be broken), 10:36why do you say to him whom the Father separated and sent into the world, ‘You blaspheme’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God?’ 10:37If I don’t do the works of my Father, don’t believe me. 10:38But if I do them, even though you don’t believe me, believe the works so that you may know and believe that the Father is in me and I in the Father.”

10:39Then they sought to arrest him again but he escaped from their hands. 10:40So he left there again and went to the other side of the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first and stayed there. 10:41And many came to him and said, “It is true that John didn’t do any miracles but everything that John said about this man was true.” 10:42And many believed into* him there.

* Greek: EIS, “into,” indicates the point reached or entered.

JOHN CHAPTER 11

11:1Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, of the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 11:2And it was that Mary who anointed the Lord with perfumed ointment and wiped his feet with her hair whose brother Lazarus was sick. 11:3Therefore, the sisters sent to him saying, “Lord, look, your dear friend is sick.”

11:4But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This sickness will not end in death but will be for the glory of God so that the Son of God may be honored through it.” 11:5Now Jesus felt the Father’s love very strongly for Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. 11:6But when he heard that he was sick, he stayed where he was for two more days.

11:7Then, afterwards, he said to the disciples, “Let’s go back to Judea.” 11:8The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you and you’re going back there again?” 11:9Jesus answered, “Aren’t there twelve hours in a day? If anyone walks in the daylight, he doesn’t stumble because he sees the light of this world. 11:10But if anyone walks at night he stumbles because the light is not in him.”

11:11He said these things and afterwards he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has ‘fallen asleep’ but I am going so that I may wake him up out of sleep.” 11:12The disciples, therefore, said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 11:13Now Jesus had spoken of his death but they thought that he spoke of resting in sleep. 11:14Then Jesus, therefore, said to them clearly, “Lazarus is dead. 11:15And for your sakes I am glad that I was not there so that you may believe. Nevertheless, let us go to him.”

11:16Then Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go too, so that we may die with him.” 11:17So when Jesus came, he found out that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 11:18Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about three kilometers away. 11:19And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. 11:20Therefore, when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met

him. But Mary stayed sitting in the house.
11:21Then Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been

here my brother wouldn’t have died. 11:22And even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give it to you.” 11:23Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 11:24Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection of the final day.”

11:25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the manifestation of God’s life. He who believes into me, even though he dies, yet he will live. 11:26And whoever has this life through believing into me will never cease to exist. Do you believe this?” 11:27She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have believed that you are the Anointed One, the Son of God, the One who comes into the world.”

11:28And when she had said this, she went and called Mary her sister secretly saying, “The Teacher is here and is calling you.” 11:29So when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. 11:30(Now Jesus had not yet come into the village but was still at the place where Martha met him).

11:31Then the Jews who were with Mary in the house consoling her, followed her when she got up and left quickly, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 11:32Then Mary, when she came to where Jesus was and saw him, fell down at his feet saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died.”

11:33Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he groaned in the spirit and was troubled 11:34and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 11:35Jesus wept.

11:36The Jews, therefore, said, “Look how much he loved him!” 11:37But some of them said, “Couldn’t this man who opened the eyes of the one who was blind have also done something so that this man wouldn’t die?”

11:38Then Jesus again groaning within himself came to the tomb. Now it was a cave and a stone was laid over it. 11:39Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time the body reeks for he has been dead four days.” 11:40Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I say to you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”

11:41So they raised the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you hear me. 11:42And I know that you always hear me but I say this because of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.”

11:43And when he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 11:44Then he who was dead came out, wrapped hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face had a piece of cloth tied around it. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him and let him go.”

11:45Then many of the Jews, who had come to visit Mary and saw what he did, believed into* him. 11:46But some others went away to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done. 11:47Therefore, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said,

* Greek: EIS, “into,” indicates the point reached or entered.

“What are we going to do? For this man does many signs. 11:48If we just leave him alone, everyone will believe in him and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

11:49But a certain one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year said to them, “You don’t understand anything. 11:50Nor do you realize that it is best for us for one man to die for the people so that the whole nation doesn’t perish.” 11:51Now he didn’t say this of himself but, being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 11:52and not for the nation only, but so that he might also gather together into one the children of God who are widely scattered.

11:53So from that day on, they schemed together about how they could kill him. 11:54Jesus, therefore, no longer traveled publicly among the Jews but left there and went into an area near the wilderness to a city called Ephraim. And he stayed there with the disciples.

11:55Now the passover of the Jews was near. So before the passover, many went up to Jerusalem from the countryside to purify themselves. 11:56Therefore, they were looking for Jesus and said to each other as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? Is there any way that he won’t come to the feast?” 11:57Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given an order that if anyone knew where he was, they should let them know so that they could arrest him.

JOHN CHAPTER 12

12:1Then six days before the passover, Jesus came to Bethany where Lazarus whom he raised from the dead was. 12:2So they made him a supper there and Martha served. But Lazarus was one of those who sat down to eat with him. 12:3Mary then took a libra {pound} of ointment of perfumed spikenard which was very valuable and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.

12:4But Judas Iscariot, the one of his disciples who would betray him, said, 12:5“Why wasn’t this ointment sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 12:6Now he said this not because he cared for the poor but because he was a thief and, having the money bag, stole from what was put into it.

12:7Jesus, therefore, said, “Don’t bother her. For she has kept it for the day of my burial. 12:8For you always have the poor with you, but you won’t always have me with you.”

12:9When the local population of the Jews learned that he was there, they came there, not for Jesus’ sake only but also so that they might see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 12:10But the chief priests plotted about how they might kill Lazarus too 12:11because on his account, many of the Jews drew back from their influence and believed in Jesus.

12:12On the next day a large crowd of those who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 12:13took palm tree branches and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel” (Ps 118:26).

12:14And Jesus, having found a young donkey, sat on it, as it is written, 12:15“Fear not, daughter of Zion. Look, your King comes, sitting on a donkey’s colt” (Zech 9:9). 12:16The disciples did not understand these things at the time. But when Jesus was glorified, they then remembered that these things were written about him and that they had done these things to him.

12:17Then the large group, which was with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, testified about it. 12:18This is also one of the reasons that the large crowd went out to meet him because they heard that he had done this sign. 12:19The Pharisees, therefore, said among themselves, “Can’t you see that we’re getting nowhere? Look, the whole world has gone after him.”

12:20Now there were certain Greeks among those who went up to worship at the feast. 12:21These then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him saying, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.” 12:22Philip came and told Andrew. And so Andrew and Philip went together to speak to Jesus. 12:23And Jesus answered them saying, “The time has come for the Son of man to be glorified. 12:24Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself, alone. But if it dies, it produces much fruit.

12:25“He who loves his soul life [loves who and what he is] will have it destroyed. But he who has a deep aversion to his soul life [hates who and what he is] in this world, will guard themselves and flee from it into the eternal life of God. 12:26If anyone wants to serve me, let him follow me, so that where I am, there my servant will be also. If anyone serves me my Father will honor him.

12:27“Now my soul is troubled, but what will I say? ‘Father, save me from this time?’ Yet it is for this very reason I have come to this time. 12:28Oh Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again!” 12:29When the crowd which was standing there heard it they said, “It thundered!” Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”

12:30Jesus answered and said, “This voice has not come for my sake but for your sakes. 12:31Now is the time for the judgment of this world. Now is the time for the prince of this world to be thrown out. 12:32And when I am raised up from the earth, I will draw some of all kinds of men to myself.” 12:33But he said this to signify what kind of death he would die.

12:34The multitude, therefore, answered him, “We have heard from the law that the Anointed One remains forever. So how can you say that the Son of man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of man?”

12:35Jesus, therefore, said to them, “The light is among you for just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light so that darkness doesn’t take possession of you. For he who walks in the darkness doesn’t know where he is going. 12:36While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.”

Jesus said these things and then he left and was hidden from them. 12:37Even though he had done so many signs in front of them, they still did not believe in him, 12:38fulfilling the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke, “Lord, who has believed our message? And to whom has the power of the Lord been revealed?” (Is 53:1). 12:39This is the reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, 12:40“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts so that they would not see with their eyes or comprehend with their heart and be converted so that I would heal them” (Is 6:9,10). 12:41Isaiah said these things when he saw his glory, and spoke about him.

12:42Nevertheless, even many of the rulers believed in him. But because of the Pharisees, they did not acknowledge it so that they would not be put out of the synagogue, 12:43for they loved the honor that comes from men more than the honor that is from God.

12:44And Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in me doesn’t believe in me but in him who sent me. 12:45And he who sees me sees him who sent me. 12:46I have come as a light into the world so that everyone who is believing into me would not remain in the darkness. 12:47Yet if anyone hears my sayings and does not believe, I don’t judge him, for I didn’t come to judge the world but to save the world.

12:48“He who rejects me and does not receive my words has one thing that judges him; i.e. the word which I have spoken, that is what will judge him on the last day. 12:49For my words didn’t originate with myself but with the Father who sent me. He has given me an order concerning what I should say, even what I should speak. 12:50And I know that his command is his eternal life. Therefore, the things which I say, I speak according to what the Father has told me.”

JOHN CHAPTER 13

13:1Now before the feast of the passover, Jesus – knowing that the time had come in which he would leave this world and go to his Father – having loved his own who were in the world, loved them to the very end.

13:2And during supper (the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him) 13:3Jesus – knowing that the Father had given all the things into his hands and that he came forth from God and was going to God – 13:4rose up from supper, laid aside his garments, picked up a linen towel, and wrapped it around him. 13:5Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which he was wrapped.

13:6So he came to Simon Peter who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 13:7Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing, you don’t comprehend now but you will understand later on.”

13:8Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I don’t wash you, you have no part with me.” 13:9Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, then not only wash my feet but also my hands and my head.” 13:10Jesus replied to him, “He who is washed only needs to wash his feet but is already completely clean. And you are clean, but not all of you.” 13:11For he knew him who would betray him. Therefore, he said, “You are not all clean.”

13:12So when he had washed their feet, dressed himself, and sat down again, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13:13You call me, ‘Teacher’ and ‘Master’ and you are right to say so because I am. 13:14If I then, the Master and the Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash each other’s feet. 13:15For I have given you an example so that you should also do as I have done to you.

13:16“Truly, truly I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, neither is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 13:17Since you know these things, you will be blessed if you practice them.

13:18“I don’t speak the following about all of you – I know whom I have chosen – but so that the scripture may be fulfilled, he who eats my bread will turn against me. 13:19I am telling you right now before it happens, so that when it takes place, you may believe that ‘I am.’ 13:20Truly, truly I say to you, he who receives whom I send receives me and he who receives me receives him who sent me.”

13:21Having said these things, Jesus was troubled in the spirit and affirmed something which had been revealed to him saying, “Truly, truly I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 13:22The disciples looked at each other, not knowing how to understand what he said. 13:23And one of the disciples for whom Jesus felt God’s love strongly was at the table leaning on Jesus’ chest.

13:24Simon Peter, therefore, signaled to him and said, “Ask who it is he’s talking about.” 13:25Then the one who was leaning on Jesus’ chest asked him, “Lord, who is it?” 13:26Jesus, therefore, answered, “It is the one to whom I will give the piece of bread after I have dipped it. So when he had dipped the piece of bread, he took it, and gave it to Judas the son of Simon Iscariot.

13:27And after receiving the dipped bread, then Satan entered into him. Jesus, therefore, said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”

13:28Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. 13:29Some thought that because Judas had the money bag, Jesus had told him to buy some things they needed for the feast or that he should give something to the poor. 13:30Then, having received the dipped bread, he left immediately. And it was night.

13:31When he had left, Jesus said, “Now the Son of man will be glorified and God will be glorified in him. 13:32When God is glorified in him, God will in turn glorify him with himself and glorify him quickly. 13:33Little children, I am with you only a little while longer. Later, you will seek me – but as I said to the Jews, so I now say to you – where I am going you cannot come.

13:34“I now give you a new commandment: that you love each other. In the same way as I have loved you, you must also love one another. 13:35It is by this that everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

13:36Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered, “Where I am going you cannot follow me right now but you will follow me afterwards.”

13:37Peter said to him, “Lord, why can’t I follow you right now? I would lay down my life for you.” 13:38Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly I say to you, the rooster will not crow until you have denied me three times.”

JOHN CHAPTER 14

14:1“Don’t let your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also into* me. 14:2In my Father’s household are many dwelling places.** If it were not so, I would have told you, for I go to prepare a place for you. 14:3And since I am going to prepare a place for you, I will come again and will receive you to myself so that where I am, you may be there also.

* Greek: EIS, “into,” indicates the point reached or entered.

**These “dwelling places” to which Jesus refers are our new glorified bodies, not “mansions.” Paul explains this truth at length in 2 Corinthians 5:1-4.

14:4“You know where I am going and you know the way.” 14:5Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 14:6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the manifestation of the Father’s life. No one can come to the Father except through me. 14:7If you had recognized me, you would have come to know my Father also. From now on, you know him and have seen him.”

14:8Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father and that would be enough for us.” 14:9Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so much time and you still don’t recognize me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’ 14:10Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?

“The words which I say to you don’t originate with myself but the Father who lives in me, he is the one doing his works through me. 14:11Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. But if not, at least believe me because of the works themselves.

14:12“Truly, truly I say to you, he who believes into* me, the works that I do he will do also and he will do even greater works than these because I go to the Father. 14:13And whatever you ask, being in my name [being in me], I will do so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14:14If you ask anything being in my name, I will do it.

* Greek: EIS, “into,” indicates the point reached or entered.

14:15“If you love me, you will do what I lead you to do. 14:16And I will ask the Father and he will give you another Comforter so that he may be with you forever. 14:17This is the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive, for it doesn’t perceive him or know him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be inside of you.

14:18“I will not leave you alone as orphans. I am coming to you [in the Holy Spirit]. 14:19In just a short time the world won’t see me any more. But you will perceive me. Because I have the Father’s life, you will have this life also.

14:20“In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 14:21He who holds onto my precepts and carefully observes them, he is the one who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father. And I will love him and will reveal myself to him.”

14:22Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it going to happen that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” 14:23Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves me, he will do what I say. Therefore, my Father will love him and we will come to him and make our dwelling place with him. 14:24Anyone who doesn’t do what I say doesn’t love me. Furthermore, the word which you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.

14:25“I have said these things to you while still living with you. 14:26But the Comforter, even the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

14:27“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I don’t give peace in the way the world gives. Don’t let your heart be disturbed or be fearful. 14:28You heard how I said to you, ‘I am going away’ yet ‘I am coming to you’ [in the Holy Spirit]. If you loved me, you would have rejoiced because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for the Father is greater than I.

14:29“And now I have told you before it happens so that when it happens, you may believe. 14:30I will no longer speak much with you for the prince of the world is coming, yet he has nothing in me.*

14:31“But so that the world may know that I love the Father, I will now carry out what the Father has commanded me to do. Arise, let us go from here.”

*Here Jesus was affirming that the devil had no ground or hold inside of him therefore having no way to influence him.

JOHN CHAPTER 15

15:1“I am the true vine and my Father is the vinedresser. 15:2Every branch in me that doesn’t bear fruit, he removes it and every branch that bears fruit, he prunes it so that it will bear even more fruit. 15:3Even now you are ‘pruned’ through the word which I have spoken to you. 15:4Continue in me and I will be continually present in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it stays connected to the grapevine, in the same way you can’t bear fruit either unless you continue in me.

15:5“I am the vine; you are the branches. He who continues in me and I in him, that one bears much fruit. For separately from me you can do nothing. 15:6If someone does not continue in me, he will be thrown aside as a useless branch and dry up. And those who are unfruitful will be gathered up, thrown into the fire, and burned.

15:7“If you continue in me and my words continue in you, you may ask whatever you want and it will be done for you. 15:8My Father is glorified in this way: that you become my disciples and bear much fruit.

15:9“Just as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you. Continue in my love. 15:10If you carefully do what I lead you to do, you will continue in my love, just as I have done what my Father led me to do and so I continue in his love. 15:11I have said these things to you so that my joy would be in you and that your joy would be complete.

15:12“This is my commandment: that you love each other just as I have loved you. 15:13No one has greater love than this, that he would lay down his soul life for his friends. 15:14You are my friends if you do the things which I lead you to do. 15:15I am no longer going to call you servants for the servant doesn’t know what his master is doing. But I call you friends for I have explained to you everything that I heard from my Father.

15:16“You did not choose me but I chose you and appointed you so that you would go and bear fruit and that your fruit would endure all future tests. This is so that whatever you ask of the Father in my name {in the reality of my presence}, he will give it to you. 15:17This is what I charge you: that you must love each other.

15:18“If the world hates you, understand that it hated me before it hated you. 15:19If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Since I have chosen you out of the world, you are now not of {don’t have your source in} the world. Therefore, the world hates you.

15:20“Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me they will also persecute you. If they carefully keep my word they will keep yours also. 15:21But they will do all kinds of evil things to you because of my name since they don’t know him who sent me. 15:22If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin. But now they have no excuse for their sin.

15:23“He who hates me hates my Father also. 15:24If I had not done the works which no one else ever did among them, they would not have had sin. But now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 15:25But this has happened so that the word which is written in their law would be fulfilled, ‘They hated me without a reason’ (Ps 69:4).

15:26“And when the Comforter whom I will send to you from the Father – even the Spirit of truth, which comes from the Father – has come, he will testify about things concerning me. 15:27And you will testify also because you have been with me from the beginning.”

JOHN CHAPTER 16

16:1“I am saying these things to you, so that you will not be offended when they happen. 16:2They will put you out of the synagogues [the religious meeting places]. And the time is coming when whoever kills you will think that he is serving God. 16:3And they will do these things because they have not known the Father nor me.

16:4“But I have said these things to you so that when that time comes, you will remember that I already told you about them. And I didn’t say these things to you from the beginning because I was with you.

16:5“But now I am going to him who sent me. Yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 16:6But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. 16:7Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is advantageous for you that I go away. For if I don’t go away, the Comforter will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.

16:8“And when he has come, he will convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. 16:9Of sin because they don’t believe in me. 16:10Of righteousness because I go to the Father and the world won’t see me anymore. 16:11Of judgment because the prince of this world is condemned.

16:12“I still have many things to say to you but you cannot receive them right now. 16:13However, when he, the Spirit of truth has come, he will guide you into all truth. What he will say will not originate with himself but he will speak everything he hears from me. And he will make known to you the things that are coming in the future. 16:14He will glorify me. For he will take what is mine and will reveal it to you.

16:15“All things – everything the Father has – are mine; therefore, I said that the Spirit will take things that are mine and will reveal them to you. 16:16In a little while you will not see me anymore because I go to the Father. But yet a little while more and you will perceive me.”

16:17Some of his disciples, therefore, said to each other, “What is this that he said to us, ‘In a little while you won’t see me and, yet a little while more and you will perceive me,’ and, ‘Because I go to the Father’?” 16:18They said, therefore, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while?’ We don’t understand what he said.”

16:19Jesus perceived that they were wanting to ask him so he said to them, “Are you trying to figure out among yourselves what I said, ‘In a little while you won’t see me anymore, and in a little while more you will perceive me?’

16:20“Truly, truly I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. 16:21When a woman is giving birth she has pain because her time has come. But when she has delivered the child she doesn’t remember the anguish anymore for the joy that a child has been born into the world.

16:22“And you, therefore, will certainly have affliction now. But I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, for you will have a joy which no one can take away from you. 16:23And in that day you will not ask me for anything. Truly, truly I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father, being in my name, he will give you it. 16:24Until now you have not asked anything in my name. Ask and you will receive so that your joy may be made complete.

16:25“I have spoken these things to you in proverbs, but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in proverbs but will tell you clearly about the Father. 16:26In that day you will ask in my name {in the reality of my presence}. I am not saying that I will pray to the Father on your behalf, 16:27for the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came forth from the Father. 16:28I came out from the Father and have come into the world. Now I am leaving the world to go to the Father.”

16:29His disciples said, “Look, now you are speaking plainly and not using proverbs. 16:30Now we know that you know all things and there is no need for anyone to be questioning you. By this we believe that you came forth from God.” 16:31Jesus answered them, “Do you believe now? 16:32Look, the time is coming, yes, and has now come that you will be scattered, everyone to his own place, and will leave me alone. And yet I am not alone because the Father is with me.

16:33“I have spoken these things to you so that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have affliction, but be encouraged; I have overcome the world.”

JOHN CHAPTER 17

17:1Jesus spoke these things, and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you. 17:2In accordance with the fact that you have given him authority over all humanity, he gives your eternal life to all those whom you have given him. 17:3And this is that eternal life which comes by intimately knowing you, the only true God, and Jesus the Anointed One whom you sent.

17:4“I have glorified you on the earth, having completed the work which you gave me to do. 17:5And now, Father, glorify me together with yourself with the glory which I had with you before the world existed. 17:6I revealed your name to the men whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours and you gave them to me, and they have carefully observed your word.

17:7“Now they know that everything – all that you have given me – comes from you. 17:8For the words which you gave me I have delivered to them and they have received them. And they know with certainty that I came forth from you and they have believed that you sent me.

17:9“I pray for them. I don’t pray for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 17:10For all those who are mine are yours and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 17:11I will no longer be in the world for I am coming to you, but these are in the world. Holy Father, keep those whom you have given me in your name so that they may be one in the same way that we are one.

17:12“While I was with them, I kept them in your name. I watched over those whom you have given me so that not one of them was lost, except the son of destruction, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. 17:13And now I am coming to you. But I say these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves.

17:14“I have given them your word and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17:15I don’t pray that you would take them out of the world but that you would keep them from the evil one. 17:16They are not of the world even as I am not of the world.

17:17“Make them holy by your truth. Your word is truth. 17:18In the same way that you sent me into the world, I send them into the world. 17:19And for their sakes I make myself a holy offering, so that they also would be made holy by the truth.

17:20“I am not only praying for them but also for all those who will believe into* me through their word, 17:21so that there might be a complete oneness. Just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you that they also may be one with us in our oneness so that the world may believe that you sent me.

* Greek: EIS, “into,” indicates the point reached or entered.

17:22“And the glory which you have given me I have given to them so that there would be a complete oneness to the degree that we are one: 17:23I in them and you in me. This is so that they would be perfected into our oneness in order that the world would know that you sent me and loved them just as you loved me.

17:24“Father, I desire that those whom you have given me would also be with me where I am so that they may see my glory which you have given me, for you loved me before the establishing of the world.

17:25“Oh righteous Father, the world did not know you but I know you and these understood that you sent me. 17:26And I declared your name to them and made it known so that the love with which you loved me would be in them, and I in them.”

JOHN CHAPTER 18

18:1When Jesus had spoken these words, he went with his disciples across the brook Kidron to where there was a garden, into which he and his disciples entered. 18:2Now Judas who betrayed him also knew the place, for Jesus frequently went there with his disciples.

18:3Then Judas, having received a band of men together with some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.

18:4Jesus, therefore, knowing everything which was about to happen to him, went out and said to them, “Who are you looking for?” 18:5They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” And Judas who betrayed him was also standing there with them. 18:6When, therefore, he said to them, “I AM he,” they stumbled backwards and fell to the ground.

18:7Therefore, he asked them again, “Who are you looking for?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” 18:8Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. Therefore, since it is me you are looking for, let these others go their way.” 18:9This was so that the word would be fulfilled which he spoke, “I lost none of those whom you have given me.”

18:10Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. Now the servant’s name was Malchus. 18:11Jesus, therefore, said to Peter, “Put your sword back into its sheath. Should I not drink the cup which the Father has given me?”

18:12So the band of men, together with the chief captain and the officers of the Jews, seized Jesus, bound him, 18:13and took him first of all to Annas because he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas who was the high priest that year. 18:14Now Caiaphas was the one who advised the Jews that it was advantageous for one man to die for the people.

18:15And Simon Peter followed Jesus, along with another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest and entered in with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest’s house. 18:16But Peter was standing at the door outside. So the other disciple who was known to the high priest went out and spoke to the doorkeeper and she brought Peter inside. 18:17Then the maid who kept the door said to Peter, “Are you also one of this man’s disciples?” He said, “I am not!”

18:18Now the servants and the officers who were standing there had made a fire of coals because it was cold and they were warming themselves. And Peter also was there with them, standing and warming himself.

18:19The high priest, therefore, asked Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching. 18:20Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world. I frequently taught in the synagogues and in the temple where all the Jews gather. I said nothing in secret. 18:21Why are you asking me? Ask those who have heard me about what I said to them. Look, they know everything that I said.”

18:22And when he had said this, one of the officers standing nearby struck Jesus with his hand saying, “Is that the way you answer the high priest?” 18:23Jesus replied to him, “If I have spoken improperly, point out my error. But if I have spoken honestly, why do you strike me?” 18:24Annas then sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

18:25Now as Simon Peter was standing and warming himself, they said to him, “Aren’t you also one of his disciples?” He denied it and said, “I am not!”

18:26One of the servants of the high priest, being a relative of the one whose ear Peter cut off said, “Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?” 18:27Peter then denied it again. And immediately the rooster crowed.

18:28Then the religious leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium. And it was early morning. But they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium so that they would not be religiously defiled and not be able to eat the Passover.

18:29Pilate, therefore, went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” 18:30They answered and said to him, “If this man were not a law breaker, we would not have delivered him up to you.”

18:31Pilate, therefore, said to them, “Take him yourselves and judge him according to your law.” The Jews said to him, “We are not allowed to put anyone to death,” 18:32so that the word of Jesus would be fulfilled which he spoke, signifying what kind of death he would die.

18:33Pilate, therefore, entered again into the Praetorium, called Jesus, and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” 18:34Jesus answered, “Do you say this yourself, or did others tell it to you about me?”

18:35Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered you to me. What have you done?” 18:36Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then my servants would fight so that I would not be delivered to the Jews. But for now my kingdom is not from here.”

18:37Pilate then said to him, “Are you a king then?” Jesus replied, “You say so, for I am a king. It is for this that I was born and for this end I have come into the world, so that I would testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice.” 18:38Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”

And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, “I find no fault in him. 18:39But you have a custom that I should release someone to you at the Passover. Therefore, do you want me to release the King of the Jews to you?” 18:40They cried out again saying, “Not this man but Bar-Abbas {son of Abbas}.” Now Bar-Abbas was a robber.

JOHN CHAPTER 19

19:1Then Pilate, therefore, took Jesus and had him beaten with whips. 19:2And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns, put it on his head, and put a purple robe around him. 19:3Then they came to him and said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they struck him in the face with their hands.

19:4And Pilate went out again and said to them, “Look, I am bringing him out to you so that you may know that I find no crime in him.” 19:5Jesus, therefore, came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, “Behold, the man!”

19:6Therefore, when the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out saying, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him for I find no fault in him.”

19:7The Jews answered him, “We have a law and by that law he ought to die because he made himself the Son of God.” 19:8When Pilate, therefore, heard this he became more afraid 19:9and he entered into the Praetorium again and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus didn’t answer him. 19:10Pilate, therefore, said to him, “You won’t speak to me? Don’t you realize that I have the authority to release you and have the authority to crucify you?”

19:11Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me unless it were given to you from above. For this reason the ones who delivered me to you has the greater sin.” 19:12After this Pilate sought to release him but the Jews cried out saying, “If you release this man you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” 19:13Therefore, when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called “The Pavement” but in Aramaic, “Gabbatha.”

19:14Now it was the Preparation of the Passover, about the sixth hour of the day. And he said to the Jews, “Behold, your King!” 19:15They, therefore, cried out, “Away with him, away with him. Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!” 19:16Then he delivered him to them to be crucified.

19:17Therefore, they took Jesus and led him away, carrying his cross, to the place called “The place of a skull,” which in Aramaic is called “Golgotha.” 19:18They crucified him there along with two others, one on either side with Jesus in the middle. 19:19So Pilate also wrote a sign and put it on the cross. And on it was written, “JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

19:20Consequently, many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. 19:21The chief priests of the Jews, therefore, said to Pilate, “Don’t write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that ‘He said I am King of the Jews.’” 19:22Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

19:23Then when the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one part for every soldier. They also took his tunic which was seamless, woven as one piece from top to bottom. 19:24Therefore, they said to each other, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it to decide whose it will be.” This was done so that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, “They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothes” (Ps 22:18). Therefore, the soldiers did these things.

19:25And Jesus’ mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene were there standing by the cross. 19:26When Jesus, therefore, saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing there, he said to his mother, “Woman, look here is your son!” 19:27Then said he to the disciple, “Look, here is your mother!” And from that time the disciple took her into his own home.

19:28After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now completed so that the scripture might be fulfilled said, “I am thirsty.” 19:29There was a vessel full of poor quality wine set there, so they put a sponge full of the poor quality wine on a hyssop rod and put it to his mouth. 19:30Then, when Jesus had taken the poor quality wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and yielded up his spirit.

19:31Then the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs of those crucified broken so that they could be taken down because it was the Preparation and they didn’t want the bodies to stay on the crosses on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath day was an important day). 19:32The soldiers, therefore, came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with him. 19:33But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they didn’t break his legs. 19:34However, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear and immediately blood and water came out.

19:35And he who saw all this is a witness and his testimony is true – since he who has actually seen something gives an accurate testimony – so that you also may believe. 19:36For these things occurred so that the scripture would be fulfilled, “Not one of his bones will be broken” (Ps 34:20). 19:37And again, another scripture says, “They will look on him whom they pierced” (Zech 12:10).

19:38And after these things, Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus – but secretly for fear of the Jews – asked Pilate to allow him to take the body of Jesus. So Pilate gave him permission. Therefore, he came and took away his body.

19:39And Nicodemus also came (the one who initially had come to him at night) bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloe weighing about a hundred libras {pounds}. 19:40So they took the body of Jesus and wrapped it in linen cloths with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is when burying.

19:41Now in the vicinity of where he was crucified there was a garden and in the garden was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. 19:42It was there, then, that they laid the body of Jesus because of the Jews’ Preparation and because the tomb was nearby.

JOHN CHAPTER 20

20:1Now on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early while it was still dark and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 20:2She, therefore, ran and came to Simon Peter and the other disciple whom Jesus loved and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we don’t know where they have put him.” 20:3Peter then left with the other disciple and they went to the tomb.

20:4And they both began running together but the other disciple outran Peter and got to the tomb first. 20:5And stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths lying there but he didn’t go in. 20:6Simon Peter, therefore, also came after him and went into the tomb and he saw the linen cloths lying there 20:7and the cloth that was on his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but rolled up in a place by itself.

20:8Then the other disciple also went in – the one who came to the tomb first – and he saw and believed. 20:9For as yet they had not understood the scripture that it was necessary for him to rise from the dead. 20:10So the disciples returned to where they were staying.

20:11But Mary kept standing outside of the tomb crying. Then, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb 20:12and she saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet of where the body of Jesus had lain. 20:13And they said to her, “Woman, why are you crying?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord and I don’t know where they have put him.”

20:14After she said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there but didn’t realize that it was Jesus. 20:15Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?” She, supposing him to be the gardener, said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him and I will take him.” 20:16Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned around and said to him: “Rabboni,” which is to say, “Teacher.”

20:17Jesus said to her, “Don’t hang onto me for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to my Father and your Father, even my God and your God.’” 20:18Mary Magdalene then came and told the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and that he had said these things to her.

20:19When it was the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the disciples were gathered together with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, and Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “May you have peace!” 20:20And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. When they saw the Lord, the disciples were filled with joy.

20:21Jesus, therefore, said to them again, “May you have peace. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” 20:22And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 20:23Whoever’s sins you forgive, they are forgiven them. Whoever’s sins you retain, they are retained.”

20:24But Thomas, one of the twelve called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 20:25The other disciples, therefore, said to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails and touch them with my finger and feel the wound in his side with my hand, I will not believe.”

20:26And eight days later his disciples were again inside a room with the doors locked. But this time Thomas was with them. Jesus came again and stood among them and said, “May you have peace!” 20:27Then said he to Thomas, “Stretch out your finger and see my hands and put your hand here and feel my side. And don’t be without faith but instead believe.”

20:28Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God.” 20:29Jesus said to him, “You have believed because you have seen me. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

20:30In fact, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples which are not written in this book, 20:31but these have been written, so that you may believe that Jesus is the Anointed One, the Son of God, and that believing, you may have the Father’s life through his name.

JOHN CHAPTER 21

21:1After these things, Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way: 21:2Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples were all together.

21:3And Simon Peter said to them, “I’m going fishing.” They replied to him, “We’re coming with you.” So they went out and got into the boat. But that night they caught nothing.

21:4But when day was now dawning Jesus stood on the shore; however, the disciples didn’t realize that it was Jesus. 21:5Jesus, therefore, said to them, “My sons, do you have anything to eat?” They answered him, “No.” 21:6And he said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat and you will find something.” So they cast the net and now they were not able to pull it in because of the large number of fish.

21:7Therefore, the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he wrapped his clothing about him (for he was naked), and jumped into the sea. 21:8But the other disciples came in the little boat (for they were not far from the land but about one hundred meters off), dragging the net full of fish.

21:9So when they got out on land, they saw a fire of coals there with fish laid on it and there was also bread. 21:10Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have just caught.” 21:11Simon Peter, therefore, went and pulled the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three of them. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn.

21:12Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” And none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” knowing that it was the Lord. 21:13Then Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them together with the fish. 21:14This was now the third time that Jesus had appeared to the disciples after he had risen from the dead.

21:15So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.”

21:16He then said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Care for my sheep.”

21:17Then he said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know all things. You know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”

21:18“Truly, truly I say to you, when you were young, you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go, but when you get old you will stretch out your hands and another will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.” 21:19Now he said this to show by what kind of death he would glorify God. And having said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”

21:20Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who leaned back on his chest at the supper, and asked, “Lord, who is the one who will betray you?” 21:21Peter, therefore, seeing him said to Jesus, “Lord, but what about this man?” 21:22Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remains until I come, what is that to you? You follow me.”

21:23Therefore, this saying circulated among the brethren that that disciple wouldn’t die. Yet Jesus didn’t say to him that he wouldn’t die, but, “If it is my will that he remains until I come, what is that to you?” 21:24This is the disciple who testifies of these things and wrote these things and we know that his testimony is the truth.

21:25And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which, if all of them would be written one by one, I imagine that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

Words in this translation found in italics are words which are implied by the Greek text but do not represent actual words in the Greek text. This practice is common in almost all modern translations. Occasionally, this translator has added words to the translation which represent his own ideas and opinions which, although they are based on his own biblical understanding, are not part of the actual Greek text. Such words are enclosed in brackets, like this [ ]. The reader should understand these words as being the opinion of the translator. In contrast to this, the words in these braces { } indicate legitimate, alternative translations or explanations. Words within parentheses () are part of the original Greek text. Such parentheses are often used in other New Testament translations also.

The

ACTS

Of The Early Believers

ACTS CHAPTER 1

1:1The previous account which I wrote, O Theophilus {“friend of God”}, was concerning all that Jesus began both to do and to teach 1:2until the day in which he was received up, after he had given instructions to the ones he sent out, whom he had chosen through the Holy Spirit. 1:3He also showed himself to them as being alive after his sufferings with many evidences, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the things concerning the kingdom of God.

1:4And, being there together with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father which, he said, “You heard about from me. 1:5For John, on one hand, immersed {baptized} in water, but you, on the other hand, will be immersed in the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

1:6They, therefore, when they were together, asked him saying, “Lord, will you restore the kingdom to Israel at this time?” 1:7And he replied to them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons which the Father has set by His own authority. 1:8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses {or “martyrs”} both in Jerusalem, in all Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.”

1:9And when he had said these things, as they were watching, he was taken up and a cloud received him out of their sight. 1:10And while they were gazing intently towards the heavens after his departure, look, two “men” stood near them in shining white clothing 1:11who said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand there gazing into the heavens? This same Jesus who was received up from you into the heavens will come back in the same way as you saw him going into the heavens.”

1:12Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. 1:13And when they got there, they went up to the upper chamber where they were staying. These included Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bar-Tholomew {son of Tholomew} and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. 1:14These all with one passion, continued diligently in prayer with the women, Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

1:15And in those days Peter stood up in the middle of the disciples (which was a group of about one hundred and twenty people gathered together) and said, 1:16“Men and brethren, it was necessary that the Scripture would be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit predicted by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who was the guide for those who arrested Jesus. 1:17For he was part of our number and received his portion in this service.

1:18“(Now a field was bought with the wages of this man’s sin. And he [while trying to hang himself] fell down headfirst, split open in the middle, and all his bowels gushed out. 1:19And this became known to all who lived in Jerusalem, so much so that in their language that field was called Akeldama, that is, ‘the field of blood.’)

1:20“For it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘Let his dwelling become desolate and let no one live there.’ ‘And let another take his place’ (Ps 69:25; 109:8). 1:21Therefore, of the men who have been with us the entire time that the Lord Jesus came and went among us – 1:22beginning from the baptism of John to the day that he was received up from us – of these, one of them must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”

1:23And they put forward two men, Joseph called BarSabas {son of Sabas}, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. 1:24Then they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which of these two is the one whom you have chosen 1:25to take part in this service and commission, which Judas abandoned so that he might go to his own place.” 1:26And they drew straws and the result indicated Matthias, and so he was included with the eleven sent ones.

ACTS CHAPTER 2

2:1And when the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2:2And suddenly a sound like a tempestuous wind came from the heavens and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 2:3And divided flames like fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 2:4And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other languages as the Spirit gave them the words.

2:5Now there were devout men, Jews from every nation under heaven, staying in Jerusalem. 2:6And when they heard this noise, a crowd gathered, and they were bewildered because everyone heard them speaking in his own language.

2:7And they were all amazed and marveled saying to one another, “Look, aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 2:8So how is it that every one of us hears them in our own language with which we were born? 2:9Parthians, Medes and Elamites, and those from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, 2:10Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the parts of Libya near Cyrene, including those from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 2:11Cretans and Arabians, we all hear them speaking in our own languages about the magnificence of God.”

2:12And they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What is this?” 2:13But others said mockingly, “They are full of new wine.”

2:14But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and spoke to them saying, “You men who are Jews, and all you who are here in Jerusalem, I have something to tell you, so listen to my words. 2:15For these people are not drunk as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.

2:16“But this is the fulfillment of that which was spoken through the prophet Joel: 2:17‘And it will happen in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all humanity. And your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions and your old men will dream dreams.

2:18“‘And besides that, I will pour out my Spirit [a second time] on my menservants and on my handmaidens in those last days and they will speak by divine inspiration {prophesy}. 2:19And I will grant wonders in the heavens above, and signs on the earth beneath: blood, fire, and smokey mist. 2:20The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the long-lasting and glorious day of the Lord comes.* 2:21And it will be that all – anyone – who calls on the name of the Lord will be being** saved’ (Joel 2:28-32).

*Biblically, the “day” of the Lord is a one-thousand-year-long day, also known as the “seventh day” and the “Millennium” which is truly “long-lasting.”

**The verb tense in the Greek indicates a process which has started and continues on into the future.

2:22“Men, Israelites, hear these words! Jesus of Nazareth – a man from God – showed you mighty works, miracles, and signs which God did through him in your midst, just as you yourselves know. 2:23This is the One you killed, who was delivered up following the confirmed counsel and foreknowledge of God, and was crucified by the hands of men who were breaking God’s law. 2:24He is the One God raised up from the dead, having annulled the anguish of death because it was not possible for him to be restrained by it.

2:25“For David said concerning him, ‘I saw the Lord before me continually, for he is at my right hand so that I would not be overthrown. 2:26Therefore, my heart was glad and my tongue rejoiced. Moreover, my body will also rest in hope 2:27because you will not abandon my soul in Hades neither will you allow your Holy One to experience decay. 2:28You have made known to me the ways of your life. You will fill me with joy with your countenance’ (Ps 16:8-11).

2:29“Brethren, may I speak to you freely about the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is here with us until today. 2:30Yet he knew, being a prophet, that God had sworn with an oath to him, that from the fruit of his loins (according to human procreation) he would raise up the Anointed One to sit on his throne. 2:31Therefore, foreseeing this, he spoke concerning the resurrection of the Anointed One, i.e. that neither was his soul left in Hades nor did his body experience decay.

2:32“This is that Jesus whom God raised up, of which we all are witnesses. 2:33Being, therefore, exalted to the place of supreme honor and authority of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this, which you see and hear.

2:34“For David didn’t ascend into the heavens but he said himself, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit on my right hand 2:35until I make your enemies as the footstool of your feet”’ (Ps 110:1). 2:36Consequently, let all the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both the Lord and the Anointed One.”

2:37Now when they heard this, they were pierced in their hearts and said to Peter and the rest of the sent ones, “Brethren, what should we do?”

2:38And Peter said to them, “Repent and be being immersed {baptized} every one of you into the name of {into the reality of} Jesus the Anointed One, resulting in freedom from your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 2:39For the promise is to you and to your children and to all those who are far away, even as many as the Lord our God calls to himself.”

2:40And with many other words he testified and appealed to them saying, “Be being saved from this perverse generation.” 2:41Those who truly received the word were baptized, and about three thousand souls were added to them that day.

2:42So they continued attentively in the sent ones’ teaching and fellowship, in eating together, and in prayer. 2:43And fear came upon every soul. And many miracles and signs were done through the sent ones. 2:44Then all who believed were together and had all things in common. 2:45And they sold their possessions and goods and shared them with everyone, according to each one’s need. 2:46And they were daily in the temple, continuing steadfastly with one passion. And also eating meals together in their homes they shared their provisions with gladness and simplicity of heart, 2:47praising God and being well thought of by all the people. And the Lord daily added to the gathering of the called-out ones, those who were being saved.

ACTS CHAPTER 3

3:1Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, which was the ninth hour of the day. 3:2And a certain man who was lame from his mother’s womb was carried every day and set down beside a gateway to the temple which is called “Beautiful” to ask alms from those who entered into the temple. 3:3This man, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked to receive a donation.

3:4Then Peter, who was with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, “Look at us.” 3:5So he looked at them, expecting to receive something from them. 3:6But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold, but what I do have I will give you. In the name of Jesus the Anointed One of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”

3:7And he took him by the right hand and pulled him up. And immediately his feet and his ankle bones were strengthened. 3:8So leaping up, he stood and began to walk. And he entered with them into the temple walking, leaping, and praising God.

3:9So all the people saw him walking and praising God 3:10and they recognized him as the one who sat begging at the Beautiful Gate of the temple. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

3:11And as the one who was lame held onto Peter and John, all the people, being very astonished, gathered together around them in the porch that is called “Solomon’s.”

3:12And when Peter saw it, he responded to the people, “You men of Israel, why are you amazed at what happened to this man? Or why do you look at us as though by our own power or godliness we have made him walk? 3:13The God of our fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in front of Pilate when he had decided to release him.

3:14“But you denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you 3:15and killed the Fountain-head of the Father’s life, whom God raised from the dead of which we are witnesses.

3:16“It is by the faith in his name, that this man whom you see here and recognize has been made strong. And the faith which is through him has given this man this perfect health in the presence of you all.

3:17“And now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as your rulers also did. 3:18But God used this to fulfill the things which he had predicted by the mouth of all the prophets that his Anointed One would suffer.

3:19“Therefore, repent and turn back so that your sins may be erased so that times of revival may come from the presence of the Lord, 3:20and so that he may send back the One who has been publicly announced to you, even Jesus the Anointed One. 3:21This is the One whom heaven must receive until the time of the restoration of all things, about which God has been speaking since the beginning by the mouths of his holy prophets.

3:22“Moses truly said, ‘The Lord God will raise up a Prophet for you from among your brethren who is like me. You must listen to him in everything that he says to you. 3:23Furthermore, every soul who does not listen to that prophet will be utterly destroyed from among the people’ (Deut 18:15,18,19). 3:24And also, all the prophets from Samuel to those who succeeded him, as many as have spoken, they also spoke about these days.

3:25“You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth will be blessed’ (Gen 18:18). 3:26God, having raised up his Servant, sent him to you first to bless you by turning every one of you away from your sins.”

ACTS CHAPTER 4

4:1But as they spoke to the people, the priests, the leader of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, 4:2being very disturbed because they taught the people and proclaimed through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 4:3So they arrested them, Peter and John, and put them in the jail until the next day, since it was already evening.

4:4But many of those who heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand. 4:5And it happened on the next day that the rulers, elders, and scribes got together in Jerusalem. 4:6Annas the high priest was there, along with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and the rest of the family of the high priest.

4:7And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, “By what power, or in what name have you done this?”

4:8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel, 4:9if today we are being questioned concerning a good work done to an infirm man – by what means this man was restored to health – 4:10let it be known to you all and to all the people of Israel that in the name of Jesus the Anointed One, the Nazarene whom you crucified whom God raised from the dead, even through him this man stands here before you restored to health.

4:11“He is the stone which was discarded by you, the builders, which was made the keystone of the arch. 4:12And there is salvation in no other, neither is there any other name under heaven, given among men, by which we are needing to be saved.”

4:13Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and from the lower class, they were astonished and they recognized them, that they had been with Jesus. 4:14And seeing the man who was healed standing there with them, they could say nothing against it. 4:15But when they had ordered them to go and wait outside the council chamber, they conferred among themselves 4:16saying, “What can we do to these men? Since truly a well known miracle has been done through them which is apparent to all those who live in Jerusalem, we aren’t able to deny it. 4:17But so that it does not spread any further among the people, let’s threaten them so that from now on they don’t speak to anyone in this name.”

4:18So they called them and ordered them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 4:19But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you be the judge, 4:20for we cannot keep quiet about the things which we have seen and heard.”

4:21So after they had threatened them further, they let them go, finding no way to punish them because of the people, for everyone glorified God for what had been done. 4:22For the man to whom this miracle of healing happened was over forty years old. 4:23And being released, they returned to their own companions and reported everything that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.

4:24And when they heard it, they lifted up their voices to God with one accord and said, “Oh Lord, you are the God who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them, 4:25the One who through the mouth of our father David your servant said, ‘Why did the Gentiles behave arrogantly and the peoples devise futile plans? 4:26The kings of the earth along with the religious leaders, gathered themselves together against the Lord and against his Anointed One’ (Ps 2:1,2).

4:27“For truly in this city, both Herod and Pontius Pilate along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, 4:28to do what your hand and your council predetermined to take place.

4:29“And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant your servants to speak your word with fearless courage, 4:30while you stretch out your hand for healings and signs and wonders to be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

4:31Then as they were praying, the place where they were gathered together was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

4:32And the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and not one of them said that any of their possessions was his own, but they had all things in common. 4:33And with great power the sent ones gave their testimonies about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and abundant grace was upon them all.

4:34Also, there was no one among them who lacked anything for as many as were land owners or had houses as part of their wealth sold them, brought the proceeds from the things that were sold, 4:35and laid them at the sent ones’ feet. And distribution was made to each one according to their individual needs.

4:36And Joseph, who was surnamed Bar-Nabas by the sent ones (which, being interpreted, means “son of encouragement”), a Levite from Cypress, 4:37having a field, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the sent ones’ feet.

ACTS CHAPTER 5

5:1So a certain man named Ananias together with his wife Sapphira, sold a property. 5:2But he and his wife conspired to keep back part of the proceeds and brought only a certain part of it and laid it at the sent ones’ feet, implying that it was the entire amount of the sale.

5:3But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land? 5:4While it was yet in your possession, wasn’t it still your own? And after it was sold, wasn’t it still under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God.”

5:5And Ananias hearing these words fell down and died, and great fear came upon all who heard about it. 5:6And the young men rose up, wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him.

5:7Then about three hours later, his wife, not knowing what had happened, came in. 5:8And Peter questioned her,

“Tell me whether you sold the land for this price.” And she said, “Yes, for that price.” 5:9But Peter said to her, “Why is it that you have agreed together with your husband to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door and they will carry you out too.”

5:10And she immediately fell down at his feet and died. And when the young men came in and found her dead, they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 5:11And great fear came upon the whole gathering of the called-out ones and upon everyone who heard these things.

5:12And there were many signs and wonders done by the hands of the sent ones among the people. And they got together daily, all sharing one passion, in Solomon’s porch. 5:13No one else dared to join with them. However, the people regarded them very highly. 5:14And more who were believing in the Lord were added to their number, multitudes of both men and women.

5:15The miracles which were done were such that they even carried the sick out into the city squares and laid them on pallets and litters so that as Peter went by, at least his shadow might fall on some of them. 5:16And large numbers of people from the cities around Jerusalem also came, bringing the sick and those who were troubled with unclean spirits and they were all healed.

5:17But the high priest, being filled with jealousy, rose up, along with all those who were with him (which was the sect of the Sadducees) 5:18and they arrested the sent ones and put them in the public prison. 5:19But an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors during the night, led them out, and said, 5:20“Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of the Father’s life.” 5:21And when they heard this, they went at dawn into the temple and taught.

But the high priest and those who were with him came and called the council together, along with the entire council of elders of the children of Israel, and sent officers to the prison to have them brought before them. 5:22Yet the officers who went didn’t find them in the prison, so they returned and reported 5:23saying, “We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside.

5:24Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were very perplexed about what might be going on. 5:25Then someone came and told them, “Look, the men whom you put in the prison are in the temple, standing there and teaching the people.”

5:26Then the captain went with the officers and brought them, but without violence because they were afraid that the people might stone them. 5:27And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them 5:28saying, “We strictly ordered you not to teach in this name, and look, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring the guilt for this man’s blood upon us.”

5:29But Peter and the sent ones answered and said, “We must obey God rather than men. 5:30The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. 5:31He is the One whom God has exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior to bring repentance to Israel and deliverance {liberation} from sins. 5:32And we are his witnesses of these things, as is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who submit in obedience to him.” 5:33But when they heard this, they were torn apart with vexation and deliberated about how to kill them.

5:34But someone stood up in the council, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, who was a doctor of the Jewish law and was held in honor by all the people, and ordered the men to be put outside for a little while.

5:35And he said to them, “You men of Israel, be careful with these men concerning what you are about to do. 5:36For before these days, someone named Theudas rose up saying he was someone special, to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves. He was killed and all those who had been persuaded by him were dispersed, and it all came to nothing.

5:37“After this a man, Judas of Galilee, rose up in the days of the census and drew away a number of people after himself. He also died and everyone who had been persuaded by him was dispersed. 5:38And now I say to you, stay way from these men and leave them alone. For if this endeavor is the work of man, it will be broken up, 5:39but if it is of God, you will not be able to destroy it. In no way do you want to be discovered to be fighting against God.”

5:40So they were persuaded by him. And they called the sent ones, had them beaten, ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and released them. 5:41They, therefore, left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the Name. 5:42And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the good news about Jesus the Anointed One.

ACTS CHAPTER 6

6:1Now in these days, when the number of the disciples was growing, there arose a complaint by the Grecian Jews against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution of food.

6:2So the twelve called a large number of the disciples together and said, “We don’t want to leave the word of God to serve tables. 6:3Therefore, brethren, select from among yourselves seven men who have a good reputation, who are full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint to take care of this necessity. 6:4But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

6:5And these words pleased the whole group and so they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; Philip; Prochorus; Nicanor; Timon; Parmenas; and Nicolaus, a proselyte from Antioch, 6:6whom they set before the sent ones. And having prayed, they laid their hands on them.

6:7And the word of God increased and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, including a large number of priests who were obedient to the faith. 6:8And Stephen, full of faith and power, worked impressive miracles and signs among the people.

6:9But there arose certain ones who disputed with Stephen, who were from the synagogue called the synagogue of the Libertines, and also from the Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia. 6:10But they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.

6:11Then they bribed some men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.” 6:12And they stirred up the people, along with the elders and the scribes, who came and arrested him and brought him to the council. 6:13And they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking words against this holy place and the law. 6:14For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs which Moses delivered to us.”

6:15And when they looked at him, all who sat on the council saw his face as if it were the face of an angel.

ACTS CHAPTER 7

7:1And the high priest said, “Are these things true?” 7:2So he responded, “Men, brethren, and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia before he lived in Haran 7:3and said to him, ‘Leave behind your land and your relatives and come to the land which I will show you’ (Gen 12:1).

7:4“So he then left the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And from there, after his father was dead, God moved him to this land where you now live. 7:5But he gave him no inheritance in it, no, not even enough to stand on. Yet he promised that he would give it to him as a possession and to his seed after him when he still had had no child.

7:6“And this is what God said: that his seed would sojourn in a foreign land where they would enslave them and mistreat them for four hundred years. 7:7‘And the nation which enslaves them I will judge,’ says God, ‘And after all this, they will come out and serve me in this place’ (Gen 15:14; Ex 3:12). 7:8Then he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham fathered Isaac and circumcised him the eighth day, and Isaac fathered Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs. 7:9And the patriarchs, being filled with envy towards Joseph, sold him into Egypt. But God was with him 7:10and delivered him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh king of Egypt, who then made him governor over Egypt and all his household.

7:11“Now a famine came upon the entire land of Egypt and Canaan, causing great distress, for our fathers couldn’t find any food. 7:12But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers the first time. 7:13And the second time, Joseph made himself known to his brethren, and Joseph’s family became known to Pharaoh.

7:14“And Joseph sent and called his father Jacob to come there along with all his relatives, a total of seventy-five souls. 7:15So Jacob went down to Egypt where he died; he, and our fathers. 7:16Later, they were carried to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

7:17“And as the time for the promise to be fulfilled drew near, about which God had sworn an oath to Abraham, the people grew numerous and multiplied in Egypt 7:18until another king rose up who didn’t know Joseph. 7:19This is the one who acted treacherously with our relatives and oppressed our fathers, forcing them to throw out their babies so that they wouldn’t live.

7:20“It was at that time that Moses was born. He was very beautiful and so he was nursed for three months in his father’s house. 7:21And finally, when he was put out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and raised him as her own son. 7:22So Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and he was powerful in his words and deeds.

7:23“But when he was almost forty years old, the desire entered into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel. 7:24And seeing one of them being treated unjustly, he defended him and took revenge for the one who was being treated roughly, striking and killing the Egyptian. 7:25For he supposed that his brethren would understand that God would give them deliverance by his hand. But they didn’t understand it.

7:26“And the next day he came upon two of them fighting with each other and he forced them to make peace saying, ‘Men, you are relatives. Why do act unjustly towards each other?’ 7:27But the one who had been unjust with his neighbor pushed him away saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? 7:28Are you going to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’

7:29“Now when Moses heard this, he fled and became a foreigner in the land of Midian where he fathered two sons. 7:30And when forty years had passed, the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in the desert of Mount Sinai as a flame of fire in a thorn bush. 7:31And when Moses saw it, he was astonished at the sight. But as he came near to examine it, the voice of the Lord said to him, 7:32‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob.’ And Moses became terrified and didn’t dare look closely.

7:33“And the Lord said to him, ‘Take the sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. 7:34I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. So now come, for I will send you to Egypt’ (Ex 2:24,25).

7:35“This Moses whom they refused saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge,’ he is the one whom God sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the bush. 7:36This man led them out, having done wonders and signs in Egypt, in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years. 7:37This is that Moses, who said to the children of Israel, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brethren.’

7:38“This is he who received living oracles to give to us when he was in the assembly of the called-out ones in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him and to our fathers from Mount Sinai. 7:39This was he to whom our fathers would not be obedient but pushed him away from them and turned their hearts back towards Egypt, 7:40saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods that will go before us. But as for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt, we don’t know what has become of him’ (Ex 32:1,23).

7:41“So they made an image of a calf in those days, brought a sacrifice to the idol, and were euphoric about the works of their own hands. 7:42Then God turned away from them and gave up on them so that they served the celestial army of fallen angels. This is in agreement with what was written in the book of the prophets, ‘Was it really to me that you offered dead animals and sacrifices for forty years in the wilderness, you house of Israel? 7:43Actually, in your hearts you carried the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of your god Rephan, even the images which you made for yourselves to worship. Therefore, for my part, I will carry you away beyond Babylon’ (Amos 5:25-27).

7:44“Our fathers had the tabernacle of the testimony in the wilderness, following the pattern which he who spoke to Moses prescribed, so that he would make it according to the eample that he had seen. 7:45Our fathers also, in their turn, brought it into the land with Joshua when they took over the possessions of the nations which God drove out in front of our fathers until the days of David.

7:46“He is the one who found favor in God’s sight and asked to make a habitation for the God of Jacob. 7:47But Solomon is the one who built him a house. 7:48However, the Most High doesn’t live in houses which are made with human hands, as the prophet said, 7:49’The heaven is my throne and the earth is the footstool of my feet. What kind of house could you build for me, says the Lord? Or what sort of place could you construct where I could be at rest? 7:50Wasn’t it my hand that made all these things?’ (Is 66:1,2).

7:51“You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. You act just as your fathers did. 7:52Which of the prophets didn’t your fathers persecute? And they killed those who predicted beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, of whom you have now become betrayers and murderers. 7:53You are those who received the law which came through angels yet did not keep it.”

7:54Now when they heard these things, the word cut through their hearts like a saw, and they ground their teeth with anger against him. 7:55But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up intently towards the heavens and saw the glory of God, even Jesus standing in the place of supreme honor and authority of God. 7:56So he said, “Look, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing in the place of supreme honor and authority of God.”

7:57But they cried out with a loud voice, plugged their ears, and rushed at him with one purpose. 7:58And having dragged him out of the city, they stoned him. And the witnesses laid their outer garments down at the feet of a young man named Saul. 7:59And they stoned Stephen while he was calling on the Lord and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 7:60So he kneeled down and cried with a loud voice, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he passed away.

ACTS CHAPTER 8

8:1And Saul was consenting to his death. Then at that time, a great persecution began against the gathering of the called-out ones which was in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the sent ones. 8:2And devout men buried Stephen and beat their breasts with great sorrow over him. 8:3But Saul devastated the gathering of the called-out ones, entering into their homes and arresting both men and women and turning them over to be imprisoned.

8:4The ones who were being scattered, therefore, proclaimed the word as they went. 8:5And Philip, going down to a city in Samaria, proclaimed the Anointed One to them. 8:6And when they heard the word and saw the signs which he did, the crowds grasped and applied to themselves with one passion the things which were spoken by Philip. 8:7For unclean spirits, crying out with loud voices, came out from many of those who were possessed, and many who were disabled or lame were healed. 8:8And this was the source of much joy in that city.

8:9But there was a certain man named Simon who had been practicing magic in the city and had greatly impressed the people of Samaria, boasting that he was someone special. 8:10They had all become devoted to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man has the power of the great God.” 8:11And they paid attention to him because he had amazed them with his magic for a long time. 8:12But when they believed the good news concerning the kingdom of God and in the name of Jesus the Anointed One which Philip was proclaiming, they were baptized, both men and women.

8:13And even Simon himself believed. And being baptized, he continued with Philip, and seeing the works of power and the signs which were done, he was amazed.

8:14Now when the sent ones who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 8:15When they came, Peter and John prayed for them, so that they would receive the Holy Spirit, 8:16for until then it had fallen upon none of them, but they had only been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 8:17Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.

8:18Now when Simon saw that through the sent ones’ laying their hands on them, the Holy Spirit was imparted, he offered them money 8:19saying, “Give me this power too, so that on whomever I lay my hands, they would receive the Holy Spirit.” 8:20But Peter said to him, “May your silver be destroyed along with you because you supposed you could buy the gift of God with money. 8:21You have no participation or part in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 8:22Therefore, repent of your evil intentions and cry out to God so that the thoughts of your heart will be forgiven. 8:23For I see that your heart is poisoned by bitterness and bound by sin.”

8:24And Simon answered and said, “Cry out to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have said come upon me.” 8:25Therefore, when they finished testifying and speaking the word of the Lord, they also proclaimed the good news to many villages of the Samaritans, while returning to Jerusalem.

8:26Then an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, “Get up and go south along the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza where it is desert.” 8:27So he got up and went. And look, he saw a man from Ethiopia who had come to Jerusalem to worship, a eunuch with great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians who was responsible for all her treasure. 8:28He was returning home, and sitting in his chariot he was reading the prophet Isaiah.

8:29And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and accompany that chariot.” 8:30So Philip ran to him, heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 8:31And he said, “How can I unless someone gives me some instruction?” So he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.

8:32Now the passage of the Scripture which he was reading was this, “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before his shearer is dumb, so he didn’t open his mouth. 8:33In his humiliation, justice was denied him. Who will be able to talk about those he fathered, for his life was taken from the earth?”

8:34And the eunuch spoke to Philip and said, “I ask you, who is this prophet speaking about? About himself or about someone else?” 8:35So Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this scripture, proclaimed Jesus to him. 8:36And as they went along the road, they came upon some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is some water. What would prevent me from being baptized?”

8:38So he commanded the chariot to stop and they went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 8:39And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away and the eunuch never saw him again. But he went on his way rejoicing.

8:40But Philip found himself at Azotus. So going on from there, he proclaimed the good news in every city while on the way to Caesarea.

ACTS CHAPTER 9

9:1But Saul, still breathing out death threats against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 9:2and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus so that if he found any who were of the “Way”, whether men or women, he could bind them and bring them to Jerusalem. 9:3And while he journeyed, as he neared Damascus, it happened that a light from the heavens suddenly enveloped him. 9:4Then having fallen down on the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 9:5And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he answered, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. Isn’t it hard for you to kick against the sharply pointed cattle prods?”

9:6Then trembling and terrified, he said, “Lord, what do you want me to do?” And the Lord said to him, “Get up, go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 9:7And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing the sound but seeing no one.

9:8Then Saul got up from the ground but when he opened his eyes, he couldn’t see anything, so they led him by the hand and brought him to Damascus. 9:9And he was three days without being able to see, and neither did he eat nor drink.

9:10Now there was a certain disciple in Damascus named Ananias. And the Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Look, here I am, Lord.” 9:11And the Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street which is called “Straight,” and ask at the house of Judas for someone named Saul, a man of Tarsus. See, he is praying 9:12and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in and laying his hands on him so that he can recover his eyesight.”

9:13But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many regarding this man, about how much evil he did to the ones set apart for you at Jerusalem 9:14and that he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all those who call on your name.” 9:15But the Lord said to him, “Go! For he is a chosen vessel of mine to lift up my name before nations, kings, and the children of Israel. 9:16For I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name.”

9:17So Ananias went and entered into the house. And laying his hands on him said, “Brother Saul, the Lord who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may recover your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 9:18And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes and he received his eyesight. So he rose up and was baptized. 9:19He then ate some food and was strengthened. And he stayed with the disciples who were at Damascus for some time.

9:20And immediately thereafter, he was in the synagogues proclaiming that Jesus is the Son of God. 9:21And all who heard him were surprised and said, “Isn’t this the one who raised havoc with those who called on this name in Jerusalem? And he had come here for this purpose, so that he could arrest them and bring them bound before the chief priests.”

9:22But Saul became very bold and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus, proving from the scriptures that this is the Anointed One. 9:23And when some time had passed, the Jews plotted together to kill him, 9:24but their plot became known to Saul. And they watched the gates of the city day and night so that they could kill him. 9:25But the disciples took him at night and let him down through the wall, lowering him in a basket.

9:26And when he had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. 9:27But Bar-Nabas {son of encouragement} took him, brought him to the sent ones and described to them how he had seen the Lord on the road and what he had said to him and how at Damascus he had spoken confidently in the name of Jesus.

9:28So he was with them, coming and going at Jerusalem 9:29and speaking out boldly in the name of the Lord. And he spoke and disputed with the Grecian Jews, but they began to plan how to kill him. 9:30So when the brethren learned of it, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

9:31So the gathering of the called-out ones throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace, being built up. And walking in reverent respect for the Lord and in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, their number was increased. 9:32And it happened as Peter travelled through every place where the good news had been received, he came down to those set apart for God who lived in Lydda also. 9:33And there he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years because he was paralyzed.

9:34And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus the Anointed One heals you. Get up and make your bed.” And right away he got up. 9:35And all who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and they turned to the Lord.

9:36Now at Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha, which being interpreted was called “Dorcas.” This woman was full of good works and acts of mercy which she did. 9:37And it happened in those days that she became sick and died. And when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper chamber.

9:38And since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him asking him to come to them without delay. 9:39So Peter rose up and went with them. Then when he had arrived they brought him to the upper chamber. And all the widows stood near him weeping and showing him the coats and garments which Dorcas had made for them while she was with them.

9:40But Peter put them all out and kneeled down and prayed. Then turning to the body, he said, “Tabitha, arise!” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. 9:41So he gave her his hand and raised her up. And calling those set apart for God and the widows, he presented her alive. 9:42So this became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed on the Lord. 9:43And it happened that he stayed in Joppa a long time with someone named Simon who was a hide tanner.

ACTS CHAPTER 10

10:1Now there was a certain man in Caesarea named Cornelius who was a centurion of the band called the Italian band. 10:2He was a devout man who feared God along with all his household and performed many charitable acts for the people and continually prayed to God.

10:3About the ninth hour of the day he saw in a vision an angel of God coming to him and saying to him, “Cornelius.” 10:4And he, being frightened, fixed his eyes on him and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your charitable deeds have ascended up as a memorial before God. 10:5And now, send some men to Joppa and bring back Simon who is called Peter. 10:6He is staying with someone named Simon, a hide tanner whose house is by the seaside.”

10:7Then when the angel who spoke to him left, he called two of his household servants and a devout soldier from those who attended to him continually, 10:8and having described everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

10:9Now on the next day, as they were on their journey and came near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray at about the sixth hour of the day. 10:10And he became hungry and wanted to eat something. But while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance 10:11and he saw heaven opened and something like a sail coming down, similar to a large sheet, lowered down by four corners onto the earth. 10:12In it were all kinds of four-footed creatures, wild animals, reptiles, and birds of the heaven.

10:13And a voice came to him saying, “Get up Peter, kill and eat!” 10:14But Peter said, “By no means Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is unholy or unclean.” 10:15And a voice came to him again the second time saying, “What God has made clean, you must not consider unclean.” 10:16And this was repeated three times. And the piece of cloth was taken back up into heaven.

10:17Now while Peter was perplexed about what the vision which he had seen could mean, just then the men who were sent by Cornelius – having asked directions to Simon’s house – arrived outside the gate. 10:18And they called out asking, “Is Simon, the one who is called Peter, staying here?” 10:19And while Peter was pondering about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Look, three men are here looking for you. 10:20So get up, go down, and go with them without hesitation, for I have sent them.”

10:21So Peter went down to the men and said, “See here, I am the one who you are looking for. Why have you come?” 10:22And they said, “Cornelius – a centurion and a righteous man who fears God and is well spoken of by the whole nation of the Jews – received a divine message, brought by a holy angel, to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.”

10:23So he invited them in and arranged a place for them to stay. And on the next day, he went with them along with some of the brethren from Joppa who accompanied him. 10:24And on the following day they came to Caesarea where Cornelius was waiting for them, having called together his relatives and close friends.

10:25And it happened that as Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshipped him. 10:26But Peter lifted him up saying, “Stand up. I myself am also a man.” 10:27And going with him, he went inside and found many gathered together.

10:28Then he said to them, “You know that it is against Jewish law for someone who is a Jew to make friends with or to visit a Gentile and yet God has shown me that I should not call anyone unholy or unclean. 10:29For this reason also, I came without questioning when you sent for me. What then is the reason for sending for me?”

10:30Then Cornelius said, “Four days ago, I was fasting until about this time and at the ninth hour was praying in my house. And suddenly, a man stood in front of me in shining clothing 10:31and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your charitable gifts have been remembered before God. 10:32Therefore, send to Joppa and call Simon who is called Peter to come to you. He is staying in the house of Simon, a hide tanner by the seashore. When he comes, he will tell you something important.’

10:33“Therefore, I sent for you immediately and you have done a good thing by coming. Now, therefore, we are all here present in the sight of God to hear everything that the Lord has given to you to say.”

10:34So Peter opened his mouth and said, “I perceive that it is true that God does not discriminate between people, 10:35but those in any nation who fear him and practice righteousness are acceptable to him. 10:36The word which I have is the one which he sent to the children of Israel through the proclaiming of the good news, which is peace with God through Jesus the Anointed One, who is Lord of all. 10:37You yourselves know about this message which was declared throughout all Judea beginning in Galilee, coming after the message of baptism which John proclaimed. 10:38This news concerns Jesus of Nazareth who went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power and was present with him.

10:39“And we are witnesses of all the things which he did, in both the region of the Jews and in Jerusalem. Yet they put him to death by suspending him on a wooden beam. 10:40This is the One whom God raised up on the third day and allowed him to be revealed – 10:41not to everyone but to witnesses who were chosen by God, even to us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

10:42“And he commanded us to proclaim to the people and to testify that this is he, the One who is ordained by God to be the Judge of the living and the dead. 10:43All the prophets give evidence concerning him, showing that through his name, everyone who is believing into him will be receiving deliverance {liberation} from sins.”

10:44While Peter was still speaking these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all those who heard the word. 10:45And the believers of the circumcision – all those who had come with Peter – were amazed because the gift of the Holy Spirit was also poured out on the Gentiles. 10:46For they heard them speak in different languages magnifying God.

Then Peter responded, 10:47“Can anyone prohibit these who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did from being baptized in water?” 10:48So he arranged for them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. They then asked him to stay with them for some time.

ACTS CHAPTER 11

11:1Now the sent ones and the brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. 11:2So when Peter had come back to Jerusalem, those who were of the circumcision faction contended with him 11:3saying, “You went into the homes of men who were uncircumcised and ate with them.” 11:4So Peter began and explained the situation to them in order saying, 11:5“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. Something like a sail, similar to a large sheet, was being lowered down from the heavens by its four corners. And it came close to me. 11:6When I looked intently at it, I saw all kinds of four-footed creatures, wild animals, reptiles, and birds of the heaven.

11:7“And I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter, sacrifice and eat!’ 11:8But I said, ‘By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is unholy or unclean.’ 11:9But a voice answered the second time out of heaven, ‘What God has made clean, you must not consider unclean.’ 11:10And this was done three times and then everything was withdrawn into the heavens.

11:11“And see here, at that very moment three men stood in front of the house where we were, having been sent from Caesarea to find me. 11:12And the Spirit told me to go with them without hesitation. And these six brethren also went with me and we entered into the man’s house.

11:13“Then he told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter. 11:14He will speak words to you through which you will be being saved, you and your whole household.’

11:15“And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as it fell on us at the beginning. 11:16Then I remembered the words which the Lord said: ‘John truly immersed with water, but you will be immersed in the Holy Spirit.’

11:17“If then God gave to them the same gift that he also gave to us when we believed on the Lord Jesus the Anointed One, who was I that I could resist God?” 11:18And when they heard these things, they kept silent and glorified God saying, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance into the Father’s life.”

11:19Then the ones who were dispersed abroad because of the persecution which arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. 11:20But there were some of them, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who when they came to Antioch, spoke to the Greeks proclaiming the Lord Jesus. 11:21And the hand of the Lord was with them so that a large number of them believed, turning to the Lord.

11:22And the news about them came to the ears of the gathering of the called-out ones which was in Jerusalem. So they sent out Bar-Nabas as far as Antioch. 11:23When he had come and seen the grace of God, he was filled with joy and he encouraged them all to determine in their hearts to remain faithful to the Lord. 11:24For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith. And many people were added to the Lord.

11:25Then he went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 11:26and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. And it happened that they spent a whole year together with the gathering of the called-out ones and taught many people. And it was at Antioch that the disciples were first called “Christians” {little Anointed Ones}.

11:27Now in those days some prophets from Jerusalem came to Antioch. 11:28And one of them named Agabus stood up and made known by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the Roman world which took place in the days of Claudius. 11:29So the disciples decided to send relief to the brethren who lived in Judea, each one giving according to his financial conditions. 11:30They then did this, sending their offering to the older, spiritually mature brethren through the hands of Bar-Nabas and Saul.

ACTS CHAPTER 12

12:1Now about that time, Herod the king began to use his power to harm some of the gathering of the called-out ones. 12:2He also killed James the brother of John with the sword. 12:3Then when he saw that it made the Jews happy, he went on to arrest Peter also. And this took place during the days of unleavened bread.

12:4When he had arrested him, he put him in prison, putting a guard of four squads of soldiers around him, with the intention of bringing him out to the people after the Passover. 12:5Peter, therefore, was kept carefully guarded in the prison. But the gathering of the called-out ones prayed earnestly to God for him.

12:6Then when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night Peter was sleeping bound with two chains between two soldiers. And there were other guards outside the door who watched over the prison. 12:7And look, an angel of the Lord stood beside him, a light shone in the cell, and he struck Peter on the side and woke him up saying, “Get up quickly.” Then the chains fell off his hands. 12:8And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and tie on your sandals.” And he did so. Then he said to him, “Throw your cloak around you and follow me.”

12:9So he followed the angel outside. Yet he didn’t understand that what the angel did was real, but instead thought that he was seeing a vision. 12:10But when they had gone past the first and second group of guards, they came to the iron gate leading into the city, which opened to them by itself. Then, when they had escaped and gone down one street, suddenly the angel left him.

12:11And when Peter became aware of what had really happened to him, he said, “Now I know with certainty that the Lord sent out his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from everything which the Jewish people were expecting. 12:12And while considering the situation, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together praying.

12:13And when he knocked at the door of the gate, a maid named Rhoda came to answer. 12:14But when she recognized Peter’s voice, she was overcome with joy, yet she didn’t open the gate but ran inside and reported that Peter was standing outside the gate. 12:15And they said to her, “You’re crazy.” But she kept insisting that it was true. So they said, “It must be his angel.”

12:16But Peter continued knocking, and when they had opened the gate, they saw him and were astounded. 12:17But he, motioning to them with his hand to be quiet, described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Tell these things to James and to the brethren.” So he left and went to another place. 12:18Now as soon as it was daylight, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers about what had become of Peter.

12:19And when Herod had sought for him and didn’t find him, having questioned the guards, he ordered them be put to death. And he went down from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there.

12:20Now he was very angry with those of Tyre and Sidon. But they came to him with one purpose, and having persuaded Blastus the king’s officer who was in charge of his bed chamber to help them, they asked for peace because their country was sustained by the king’s country.

12:21And on an appointed day, Herod dressed himself in royal robes, sat on the throne and made a speech to them. 12:22And the people shouted saying, “It’s the voice of a god and not a man.” 12:23And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he didn’t give God the glory. And he was eaten by maggots and passed away.

12:24But the word of God grew and multiplied. 12:25And Bar-Nabas {son of encouragement} and Saul, when they had completed their service, returned from Jerusalem taking with them John who is called Mark.

ACTS CHAPTER 13

13:1Now there were some at Antioch among the assembly of the called-out ones, prophets, and teachers: BarNabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a childhood companion of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 13:2And as they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now is the time to set apart Bar-Nabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 13:3So, when they had fasted, prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

13:4So they, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 13:5And when they were at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews, and they also had John as their assistant. 13:6And when they had gone through the island as far as Paphos, they encountered a certain astrologer who was a false prophet and a Jew named Bar-Jesus. 13:7He was associated with the proconsul Sergius Paulus, who was an intelligent man. This proconsul summoned Bar-Nabas and Saul, earnestly desiring to hear the word of God.

13:8But Elymas the sorcerer (for this is how his name is interpreted) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 13:9But Saul, who is also called Paul,* being filled with the Holy Spirit, fastened his eyes on him 13:10and said, “Oh you who are completely full of deceit and cunning, you son of the devil, you enemy of all that is righteous, won’t you ever stop twisting the straight ways of the Lord? 13:11And now look, the hand of the Lord is upon you and you will be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.”

*Saul was probably named after king Saul of the Old Testament, the tallest and most impressive of the Israelites. Perhaps, naturally speaking, before his conversion, Paul lived up to this name. But here his name has changed to Paul, meaning “little one,” or “humble.” So we see that God has done a work in his character, changing him from big and important to small and humble.

And immediately a kind of mistiness and darkness fell on him and he went around seeking for someone to lead him by the hand. 13:12Then the proconsul, when he saw what had happened believed, being struck with astonishment at the teaching of the Lord.

13:13Now Paul and his company set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. But John left them and returned to Jerusalem. 13:14But they, passing through from Perga, came to Antioch of Pisidia. There they went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down. 13:15And after the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them saying, “Brethren, if you have any word of consolation for the people, you may say it.”

13:16So Paul stood up and motioning with his hand said, “Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen. 13:17The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and exalted the people when they sojourned in the land of Egypt, and with lofty power he led them out of it. 13:18And for a period of about forty years, he was patient with them in the wilderness. 13:19Then, when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land for an inheritance. 13:20And after these things, for about four hundred and fifty

years, he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. 13:21Yet afterwards, they asked for a king. So God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man from the tribe of Benjamin, for the period of forty years. 13:22Then, when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, about whom also he testified and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse to be a man after my heart who will do all my will.’

13:23“From this man’s seed God has brought a Deliverer, Jesus, to Israel according to his promise. 13:24This is the one whom John publicly proclaimed before his coming by his baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 13:25And as John was completing his course, he said, ‘Who do you suppose that I am? I am not he. But look, someone is coming after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’

13:26“Brethren, children of the race of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, this word of salvation has been sent to us. 13:27Yet those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers – because they did not recognize him or the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath – fulfilled them by condemning him. 13:28And though they found no justification for death, yet they begged Pilate for him to be put to death.

13:29“And when they had fulfilled all the things that were written about him, they took him down from the wooden beam and laid him in a tomb. 13:30But God raised him from the dead 13:31and he was seen for many days by those who came with him from Galilee to Jerusalem and who are now his witnesses to the people. 13:32And we announce to you good news! The promise made to the fathers has taken place! 13:33This is what God has fulfilled for us and our children by having raised up Jesus! And as also it is written in the second psalm, ‘You are my Son; today have I begotten you’ (Ps 2:7).

13:34“And concerning his raising him from the dead, never to return to the possibility of the decay of death, he has spoken in this way, ‘I will give you the holy and trustworthy blessings of David’ (Is 55:3). 13:35Therefore, he also says in another psalm, ‘You will not allow your Holy One to see the decay of death’ (Ps 16:10). 13:36For David, after he had served his own generation according to the will of God, died, joining his forefathers, and saw the decay of death. 13:37But he who God raised up saw no such decay. 13:38Therefore, let it be known to you, brethren, that through this man liberation from sins is announced to you, 13:39namely that by him, everyone who is believing is being made just, even in a complete way which the law of Moses was not powerful enough to do.

13:40“Therefore, understand this, so that that which was spoken in the prophets doesn’t come upon you. 13:41‘Look, you despisers, be astonished and be destroyed. For I will do a work in your days – a work which you will never believe, even if someone would explain it to you.’”

13:42As they left the synagogue of the Jews, the Gentiles begged them that these words might be spoken to them on the next Sabbath. 13:43Now when the synagogue meeting was dismissed, many of the Jews and the devout proselytes followed Paul and Bar-Nabas, who, speaking to them, urged them to continue in the grace of God. 13:44And the next Sabbath almost the whole city was gathered together to hear the word of God.

13:45But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and contradicted the things which were spoken by Paul, disputing their words and slandering them. 13:46But Paul and Bar-Nabas spoke boldly and said, “It was necessary for the word of God to be spoken to you first. But since you reject it and decide that you are unworthy of God’s eternal life, look, we will turn to the Gentiles. 13:47For this is the command which God gave us, saying, ‘I have set you as a light for the Gentiles, so that you would be for salvation to the ends of the earth’” (Is 49:6).

13:48And when the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as were appointed to receive God’s eternal life believed. 13:49So the word of the Lord was spread throughout the whole region.

13:50But the Jews stirred up trouble among the devout women, along with the wealthy and influential men of the city, and raised up a persecution against Paul and BarNabas and drove them out of their district. 13:51But they, having shaken off the dust of their feet as a testimony against them, came to Iconium. 13:52But the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

ACTS CHAPTER 14

14:1And it happened in Iconium that they went into the synagogue of the Jews together and spoke in such a way that a large number of both Jews and Greeks believed. 14:2But the Jews who refused to believe rose up and poisoned the minds of the Gentiles against the brethren.

14:3In spite of this, they spent time there speaking boldly in the Lord who testified to the word of his grace by granting signs and miracles to be done by their hands. 14:4But the populace of the city was divided. And one part sided with the Jews and the other part with the sent ones.

14:5But when a violent attack was planned by both the Gentiles and Jews together with their leaders to mistreat them and stone them, 14:6the sent ones became aware of it and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra, Derbe, and the surrounding region. 14:7And they proclaimed the good news there.

14:8And at Lystra a certain man sat there who was paralyzed in his feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb who never had walked. 14:9This one heard Paul speaking, who, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be healed, 14:10said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he leaped up and walked.

14:11So when the crowd saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have become like men and have come down to us.” 14:12And they called Bar-Nabas “Jupiter” and Paul “Mercury” because he was the primary speaker. 14:13Then the priest of Jupiter whose temple was above the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to make a sacrifice with the crowds.

14:14But when the sent ones, Bar-Nabas and Paul, heard about it, they tore their clothes and rushed into the multitude, crying out 14:15and saying, “Men, why are you doing this? We are men like you with similar passions. But we are announcing this important message to you so that you would turn from these useless things to a God who is actually living: the One who made the heavens, the earth, and the sea, and everything that is in them, 14:16who in past generations allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. 14:17And yet he didn’t leave himself without a testimony by doing good to you and giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness.” 14:18And with these words they barely restrained the crowds from sacrificing to them.

14:19But Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there and, having convinced the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. 14:20But as the disciples stood around him, he rose up and entered into the city. Then the next day he went with BarNabas to Derbe.

14:21And when they had proclaimed the good news in that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch, 14:22strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying that it is necessary to go through many afflictions to enter into the kingdom of God.

14:23And when they had pointed out for them the older, more spiritually mature brothers in every gathering of the called-out ones and had prayed with fasting, they entrusted them to the Lord on whom they had believed.

14:24And having gone through Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia. 14:25And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. 14:26Then from there they sailed to Antioch, from where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work which they had now fulfilled.

14:27And when they had come and had gathered the called-out ones together, they reported all things which God had done with them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. 14:28So they spent a considerable time there with the disciples.

ACTS CHAPTER 15

15:1And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren saying, “Unless you are circumcised following the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 15:2But when Paul and Bar-Nabas took a stand against them and it resulted in no small dispute, the brethren arranged for Paul, Bar-Nabas, and certain others of them to go up to Jerusalem to the sent ones and the older, spiritually mature brothers about this question.

15:3They, therefore, being sent on their way by the gathering of the called-out ones, passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, telling in detail about the conversion of the Gentiles. And this caused great joy for all the brethren.

15:4And when they came to Jerusalem, they were well received by the gathering of the called-out ones, the sent ones, and the older, spiritually mature brothers and they recounted everything that God had done with them.

15:5But certain ones of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed rose up saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.” 15:6So the sent ones and the older, spiritually mature brothers got together to consider this question.

15:7And when there had been much discussion, Peter rose up and said to them, “Brethren, you know that God previously chose from among us that it would be by my mouth that the Gentiles would hear the word of the good news and believe. 15:8And God, who knows the hearts, gave his testimony by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us. 15:9And he made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.”

15:10“Now, therefore, why do you test God by placing a yoke upon the necks of the disciples which neither we nor our fathers were able to bear? 15:11But by the grace of the Lord Jesus the Anointed One, we are believing that we will be being saved in the same way as they will be.”

15:12So the whole assembly kept quiet. And they listened to Bar-Nabas and Paul describe how many signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.

15:13And after they had finished speaking, James responded saying, “Brethren, listen to me. 15:14Simon has described how God first visited the Gentiles to take out from them a people for his name. 15:15And this agrees with the words of the prophets, as it is written, 15:16‘After these things I will return, and I will rebuild the tabernacle of David which has fallen. For I will build again the things which have been razed and I will set it up, 15:17so that the remnants of men will seek after the Lord, even all the Gentiles who have called themselves by my name, 15:18says the Lord who does all these things’ (Amos 9:11,12).

15:19“Therefore, my judgment is that we don’t cause trouble for those who turn to God from among the Gentiles 15:20but that we write to them that they abstain from the pollutions of idols, from sex outside of the marriage bond, from eating what is strangled, and from blood. 15:21For many generations have had those who preach Moses, his writings being read in the synagogues of every city on every Sabbath.”

15:22Then it seemed good to the sent ones and the older, spiritually mature brothers along with the whole gathering of the called-out ones to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Bar-Nabas, namely, Judas called Bar-Sabbas and Silas, who were esteemed men among the brethren.

15:23So they wrote this to them: “The sent ones, the older, spiritually mature brothers, and brethren; to the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: greetings. 15:24Since we have heard that certain ones who went out from us have troubled you with words, saying that you must be circumcised and keep the law, thereby subverting your souls – to whom we gave no such mission – 15:25it seemed good to us, having come to unanimity, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved BarNabas and Paul.

15:26“These are men who have handed their lives over for the name of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One. 15:27We have, therefore, sent Judas and Silas, who also will tell you themselves the same things by word of mouth.

15:28“For it seemed to be good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: 15:29that you keep your distance from idolatrous sacrifices, from blood, from eating things which are strangled, and from sex outside of the marriage bond. If you keep yourselves from these things, you will do well. Be strong.”* 15:30So they, when they were sent off, came down to Antioch, and having gathered the group together, they delivered the letter. 15:31And when they had read it, they rejoiced for the encouragement. 15:32And Judas and Silas, who were also prophets, instructed the brethren with many words and strengthened them. 15:33Then, after they had spent some time there, the brethren let them go in peace to return to those who had sent them. 15:34But it seemed right to Silas to stay there.

*Although these brothers imply that the Holy Spirit led them to this conclusion, there is some serious doubt about this assertion. It cannot be that God values these four little laws above all the hundreds or even thousands of others contained in the Old Covenant such as: not to murder, lie, commit adultery, rape, covet, steal, etc. It is impossible that eating a strangled chicken, for example, is more evil in God’s eyes, and therefore a more important law for the Gentile believers to keep, than these and many other extremely serious offenses. There is no compelling logic as to why the Gentiles should keep only these four rules {dogmas Gk} and no others. James was correct when he said it was, “my judgment” (verse 19) that they should keep these four laws.

Furthermore, three of the four of these “laws” seem to pertain to what we should or should not eat. Yet, Jesus taught that it is not what enters into our mouth which defiles us, but what comes out of it (Mk 7:15,17). What we must conclude is that James, who seems to still have had a strong connection with the Jewish ceremonial law, suggested this, and since it seemed to be a light burden, the others went along with the compromise which gave them a sense of spiritual peace. Later however, Paul contradicts this admonition, at least concerning food sacrificed to idols (I Cor 8:1-8).

15:35But Paul and Bar-Nabas spent more time in Antioch, teaching and proclaiming the word of the Lord, along with many others also. 15:36Then after some time Paul said to Bar-Nabas, “Let’s go back now and visit the brethren in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.”

15:37And Bar-Nabas resolved to take John, who is also called Mark, with them also. 15:38But Paul thought it wasn’t good to take someone with them who had deserted them in Pamphylia and didn’t stay with them in the work.

15:39Therefore, an angry argument took place, so that they separated from each other. Then Bar-Nabas took Mark with him and sailed across to Cyprus. 15:40But Paul chose Silas and went off, being commended by the brethren to the grace of the Lord. 15:41And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the gatherings of the called-out ones.

ACTS CHAPTER 16

16:1Then he came to Derbe and Lystra. And look, a certain disciple was there named Timothy who was the son of a Jewess who believed. But his father was a Greek. 16:2Since the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium spoke very highly of him 16:3Paul wanted him to travel with him. So he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

16:4And as they went on their way through the cities, they told them about the four dogmas they were supposed to keep, which had been decided by the sent ones and older, spiritually mature brothers who were at Jerusalem. 16:5So the gatherings of the called-out ones were strengthened in the faith and increased in number daily.

16:6So they went through the regions of Phrygia and Galatia, having been prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the word in Asia. 16:7Then, having come down to Mysia, they attempted to go to Bithynia, but the Spirit did not allow them to go. 16:8So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.

16:9And Paul had a vision during the night. In it, there was a man from Macedonia standing there, pleading with him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” 16:10And when he had seen the vision, immediately we decided to go to Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to announce the good news to them.

16:11Therefore, having embarked from Troas, we sailed directly to Samothrace and the next day to Neapolis. 16:12Then from there we went to Philippi, which is the most prominent city in that area of Macedonia, being a Roman colony. And we spent some time in that city.

16:13Then on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate beside a river where there was a customary place of prayer. So we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered together. 16:14And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple cloth {or perhaps dye} from the city of Thyatira and one who worshipped God, heard us.

And the Lord opened up her heart to pay attention to the things which were spoken by Paul. 16:15So when she was baptized along with her household, she pleaded with us saying, “If you think of me as someone faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And she compelled us.

16:16And it happened, as we were going to the place of prayer, that a certain young, female slave who had a spirit of divining the future {or a spirit of “Python”} encountered us, being someone who brought her masters a lot of profit by fortune telling. 16:17She following closely behind Paul and us, crying out saying, “These men who proclaim to you a way of salvation are servants of the Most High God!”

16:18And she did this for many days. But Paul, becoming irritated by this, turned and said to the spirit, “I order you in the name of Jesus the Anointed One to come out of her.” And it came out at that time.

16:19But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. 16:20Then when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men, being Jews, are disrupting our city 16:21and teaching a set of beliefs which we, being Romans, are not permitted to accept or to practice.” 16:22And the mob rose up as one against them.

Then the magistrates, having torn off their clothes, commanded them to be beaten with rods. 16:23And after they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them secure. 16:24He, having received such an order, threw them into the inner prison and locked their feet in the wooden stocks.

16:25Now about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God and the other prisoners were listening to them. 16:26And suddenly there was a great earthquake so that the foundations of the prison were shaken and immediately all the doors opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.

16:27And the jailer, being awakened out of sleep and seeing the prison doors open, drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 16:28But Paul cried with a loud voice saying, “Don’t harm yourself, for we are all here!”

16:29And asking for lights, he rushed in and trembling with fear, fell down before Paul and Silas. 16:30Then having brought them outside said, “Masters, what must I do to be saved?” 16:31And they said, “Be believing on the Lord Jesus and you will be being saved, you and your household.” 16:32And they spoke the word of the Lord to him, together with all those who were in his household.

16:33Then he took them that same hour of the night and washed their wounds and was immediately baptized, he and all his family. 16:34So, having brought them into his house, he made them a meal. And he was very joyful, along with all his household, having believed in God.

16:35But when daylight came, the magistrates sent their subordinates back there saying, “Let those men go.” 16:36And the jailer reported the words to Paul saying, “The magistrates have ordered you be to released. Now then, come out and go in peace.” 16:37But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly without a trial, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison. And now they want to let us go secretly? No indeed, but let them come themselves and bring us out.”

16:38So the subordinates reported these words to the magistrates and they became afraid when they heard that these prisoners were Roman citizens. 16:39So they came and tried to appease them, and when they had brought them out, they asked them to leave the city. 16:40And having left the prison they went to the house of Lydia. Then when they had seen the brethren, they encouraged them and departed.

ACTS CHAPTER 17

17:1Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 17:2And Paul, as his habit was, went in and reasoned with them from the scriptures for three consecutive Sabbath days, 17:3opening up the scriptures and laying out clearly the necessity for the Anointed One to suffer and to rise again from the dead, and that this Jesus, “Whom,” he said, “I proclaim to you, is the Anointed One.” 17:4And some of them were persuaded and associated themselves with Paul and Silas, including a great number of devout Greeks and more than a few of the influential women.

17:5But the Jews, being motivated by jealousy, gathered to themselves certain evil men who hung out on the streets and, inciting a riot, set the city in an uproar. And assaulting the house of Jason, they planned to bring them out to the people.

17:6But when they didn’t find them, they dragged Jason and certain brethren before the rulers of the city, crying out, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too, 17:7whom Jason has welcomed into his home. And all of them act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, someone named Jesus!” 17:8And the crowd, along with the rulers of the city, were disturbed when they heard these things. 17:9So when they had taken a security bond from Jason and the others, they let them go.

17:10And the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. And when they got there they went to the synagogue of the Jews. 17:11Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica in that they received the word with all eagerness, examining the scriptures daily to see whether or not these things were so. 17:12Many of them, therefore, believed, along with more than a few of the influential Greek women and men.

17:13But when the Jews of Thessalonica found out that the word of God was being proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating the crowds. 17:14Therefore, the brethren sent Paul off immediately to go as far as the sea while Silas and Timothy stayed there in Berea.

17:15And those who went with Paul brought him as far as Athens. But Silas and Timothy, receiving instructions that they should come to him as quickly as possible, also departed.

17:16Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him seeing the city so full of idols. 17:17On one hand, he reasoned in the synagogue with Jews who worshipped there and, on the other hand, reasoned in the marketplace every day with those whom he encountered.

17:18And some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers conversed with him. But some said, “What is this babbler saying?” And others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange gods” because he proclaimed the good news of Jesus and the resurrection.

17:19So they took him and brought him to the Areopagus saying, “We want to know what this new teaching is about which you are speaking. 17:20For some of the things you are saying sound very strange to us. Therefore, we would like to understand what these things mean.” 17:21(Now all the Athenians and the emigrants living there spent their time doing nothing except either telling or hearing about some new thing).

17:22So Paul stood in the middle of the Areopagus and said, “You men of Athens, I perceive that you worship many different kinds of gods. 17:23For as I walked along and observed the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Whom, therefore, you worship in ignorance, this is the One I proclaim to you.

17:24“The God who made the world and all the things in it, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made with human hands. 17:25Neither does he need men’s hands attending to him since he doesn’t need anything and since he himself gives life and breath and everything else.

17:26“And he made with one blood every nation of mankind who lives on the face of the earth, having determined beforehand their times and the boundaries of their empires. 17:27This was so that they would seek the Lord, if perhaps they might grope after him and find him, though truly he is not far from each one of us. 17:28For in him we live and move and have our being, as also even certain of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring.’

17:29“Being then the offspring of God, we should not imagine that the Father is like gold, silver, or stone, which are carved by the art, craft, and the imagination of men. 17:30These times of ignorance God overlooked until now, but at this time he commands all men everywhere to repent 17:31because he has set a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained. He has given assurance of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.” 17:32Now when they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some scoffed, but others said, “We want to hear from you again concerning this.” 17:33And this is the way Paul left them.

17:34But certain men joined themselves to him and believed, among whom were Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and also others with them.

ACTS CHAPTER 18

18:1After these things, Paul left Athens and came to Corinth. 18:2There he found a certain Jew named Aquila, a man of Pontus by race, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. So he came to them, 18:3and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them. So they worked together for they were both tentmakers by trade. 18:4And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath persuading both Jews and Greeks.

18:5But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul felt an urgency in his spirit to testify to the Jews that Jesus was the Anointed One. 18:6But when they resisted the word and spoke slanderously, he shook out his outer garment and said to them, “Your blood is upon your own heads. I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

18:7So he left there and went to the house of a certain man named Justus, someone who worshipped God whose house was right next to the synagogue. 18:8And Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians who heard believed and were baptized.

18:9And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Don’t be afraid, but speak and don’t keep quiet, 18:10for I am with you and no man will attack you to harm you because many people in this city are mine.” 18:11And he stayed there one year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

18:12But when Gallio became proconsul of Achaia, the Jews rose up together against Paul and brought him before the rostrum 18:13saying, “This man persuades men to worship God contrary to the Jewish law.” 18:14But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “Look you Jews, if this were really a matter of some offense or of an evil crime, it would make sense to put up with you. 18:15But since these are questions about words and names and your own law, take care of it yourselves. I am not inclined to be a judge of these questions.” 18:16And he drove them from the rostrum.

18:17So they all grabbed Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue and beat him in front of the rostrum. But Gallio didn’t pay any attention to these things.

18:18So Paul, having stayed there for some time after this, said goodbye to the brethren and sailed across to Syria. And Priscilla and Aquila went with him. (He had shaved his head while in Cenchrea because he had made a vow following the Jewish tradition).

18:19Then when he came to Ephesus, he left them, Priscilla and Aquila, there. But he himself entered into the synagogue and had discussions with the Jews. 18:20But when they asked him to stay a longer time, he didn’t agree to it. 18:21Instead, he said goodbye to them, explaining, “It is very necessary for me to keep the upcoming feast in Jerusalem, but I will come back to you again if God is willing.”

So he sailed from Ephesus. 18:22And when he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the gathering of the called-out ones and went on to Antioch. 18:23And having spent some time there, he left and went through the regions of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples.

18:24Now a certain Jew named Apollos came to Ephesus. He was an Alexandrian by nationality, an eloquent man and powerful in the scriptures. 18:25This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord. So being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning the Lord, but only knowing about the baptism of John. 18:26And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue.

But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. 18:27So when he decided to go over into Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to receive him. He, when he had come, was a big help to those who had believed through grace, 18:28for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public by demonstrating from the scriptures that Jesus was the Anointed One.

ACTS CHAPTER 19

19:1And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, having passed through some remote parts, came to Ephesus and found certain disciples 19:2so he asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they replied to him, “We have not even heard that the Holy Spirit was given.”

19:3Then he said, “Into what, then, were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.” 19:4So Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on the One who was coming after him, that is, into Jesus the Anointed One.”

19:5And when they heard this, they were immersed {baptized} into the name of {into the reality of} the Lord Jesus. 19:6Then, when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them and they spoke in different languages and prophesied. 19:7These were about twelve men in number.

19:8And he entered into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the things concerning the kingdom of God. 19:9But when some became stubborn and refused to be persuaded, speaking evil things about “the Way” in front of the whole group, he left them, separated the disciples, thoroughly explaining everything daily in the school of Tyrannus.

19:10And this went on for two years so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

19:11And God did extraordinary miracles through the hands of Paul 19:12so that even when handkerchiefs or aprons from his body were brought to the sick, they were healed and the evil spirits went out of them.

19:13But some others, part of the group of traveling Jewish exorcists, also attempted to use the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had the evil spirits saying, “I charge you by Jesus whom Paul proclaims.”

19:14And there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jew who was a chief priest, who did this. 19:15And the evil spirit answered and said to them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?”

19:16And the man in whom the evil spirit was jumped on them, overcame them, and prevailed against them so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 19:17And this became known to everyone, both Jews and Greeks, who lived at Ephesus. So fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.

19:18Many also of those who had believed came confessing and declaring their deeds. 19:19And a significant number of those who practiced magical arts brought their books together and burned them in front of everyone. Then they added up their value and it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver.

19:20So the word of the Lord grew powerfully and prevailed. 19:21Now after these things were finished, Paul, when he had gone through Macedonia and Achaia, purposed in the spirit to go to Jerusalem saying, “After I have been there I must see Rome also.”

19:22And having sent two of his assistants, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, he stayed for a little more time in Asia.

19:23It happened about that time that there arose no small disturbance concerning “the Way.” 19:24For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of the goddess Diana, brought the craftsmen more than a little work.

19:25So he got them together, along with other workmen of similar occupations and said, “Men, you know that we make our living by this business. 19:26Yet you see and hear that not only at Ephesus but throughout almost all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned many people away from our images, saying that the things made with human hands are not really gods.

19:27“Therefore, not only is there a danger that our trade will fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana, whom all Asia and the whole world worships, will not be respected anymore and that her magnificence will be diminished.”

19:28And when they heard this, they were filled with rage and cried out saying, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”

19:29So the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theatre having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia who were Paul’s traveling companions.

19:30But when Paul wanted to go in and speak to the people, the disciples wouldn’t allow him. 19:31And certain ones, also of the Asiarchs who were his friends, sent to him and pleaded with him not to give himself over to those in the theatre.

19:32Some, therefore, cried out one thing and some another, for the assembly was in confusion and most of them didn’t even know why they had gotten together. 19:33So the Jews forced Alexander out from the crowd. And Alexander motioned with his hand, wanting to make a defense to the people. 19:34But when they saw that he was a Jew, everyone with one voice cried out for about two hours, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”

19:35And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “You men of Ephesus, who is there who doesn’t know that the city of the Ephesians is custodian of the temple of the great Diana, even of the image which fell down from Jupiter? 19:36Seeing then that these things are indisputable, you ought to show restraint and not do anything rash.

19:37“For you have brought these men here, who are neither temple robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess. 19:38If, therefore, Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him, have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls. Let them accuse each other there. 19:39But if there are any other matters you wish to address, they can be settled in the regular assembly.

19:40“For really we are in danger of being accused of insurrection because of today’s events, since there is no reason for it which we can use to explain this tumult to the higher authorities.” 19:41And having said these things, he dismissed the assembly.

ACTS CHAPTER 20

20:1Then, after the uproar ceased, Paul having sent for the disciples and embraced them, left to go to Macedonia. 20:2And when he had gone through those areas and had given them many words of encouragement, he came to Greece. 20:3After spending three months there, a plot was made against him by the Jews, just as he was about to set sail for Syria, so he decided to return through Macedonia.

20:4So these men went with him as far as Asia: Sopater of Berea, the son of Pyrrhus; Aristarchus and Secundus, who were Thessalonians; Gaius of Derbe; Timothy and Tychicus, and Trophimus from Asia. 20:5But these had gone on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas. 20:6So we sailed across from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread and came to them five days later in Troas, where we then stayed seven days.

20:7And on the first Sabbath day, when we were gathered together to eat a meal, Paul spoke to them, intending to leave on the next day, and continued speaking until midnight. 20:8Consequently, there were many lights in the upper chamber where we were gathered together. 20:9And a certain young man named Eutychus who sat in the window fell into a deep sleep.

And since Paul kept speaking for a long time he, being in a deep sleep, fell down from the third story and was lifted up dead. 20:10So going down there, Paul fell on him, embraced him and said, “Don’t become upset, for his life is still in him.”

20:11And when he had gone back up and eaten a meal together, he conversed with them an even longer time – continuing until dawn – and left. 20:12And they brought the youth up alive and were more than a little comforted.

20:13But we had gone on ahead in the ship which set sail for Assos, intending to pick Paul up there, for he had planned to go by land himself. 20:14And when he met us at Assos, we took him onboard and came to Mitylene.

20:15And sailing from there, we came near Chios the following day. Then the next day we reached Samos and the day after that we came to Miletus. 20:16For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so that he would not have to spend time in Asia, for he was in a hurry to be at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, if it were possible for him.

20:17And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the older, spiritually mature brothers of the gathering of the called-out ones.

20:18And when they had come to him, he said to them, “You know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, what kind of life I lived with you all that time, 20:19serving the Lord with all humility, with tears, and with trials which happened to me through the plots of the Jews.

20:20“You know too how I kept back nothing which was advantageous to you, but have declared everything to you and taught you, both publicly and from house to house, 20:21testifying to both Jews and Greeks the things of God, i.e. repentance and faith in our Lord Jesus the Anointed One.

20:22“And now, look, I am going bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there 20:23except that in every city the Holy Spirit testifies to me, saying that bonds and afflictions await me.

20:24“But I do not take this word into account or consider my life precious to me so that I may finish my course with joy and complete the service which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news about the grace of God. 20:25And now, look, I know that you all, among whom I went about proclaiming the kingdom of God, will not see my face again. 20:26Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 20:27For I didn’t shrink back from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.

20:28“Give careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has placed you as watchmen to feed the gathering of the Lord’s called-out ones which he purchased with his own blood. 20:29I know that after my departure, mercenary wolves will enter in among you, not sparing the flock. 20:30For from among you, men will rise up speaking twisted words in order to draw away the disciples after themselves.

20:31“Therefore, be watchful, remembering that for a period of three years I admonished every one of you with tears, day and night without ceasing. 20:32And now I turn you over to God and to the word of his grace which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among the ones who have been made holy.

20:33“I lusted after no one’s silver, gold, or clothing. 20:34You yourselves know that these hands of mine ministered to my own needs and to the needs of those who were with me. 20:35In everything I gave you an example that it is right to help the poor by working to earn money and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus which he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

20:36And when he had said this, he kneeled down and prayed with them all. 20:37Then they all wept profusely and fell on Paul’s neck and kissed him, 20:38being especially grieved because of the word which he had spoken that they would not see his face again. And they sent him on his way to the ship.

ACTS CHAPTER 21

21:1And then after we parted company with them and set sail, we took a direct course to Cos, the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. 21:2Then, having found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail.

21:3Then when we had come within sight of Cyprus, passing it on the left hand, we sailed to Syria and landed at Tyre, since the ship was to unload her cargo there. 21:4And having discovered the disciples, we stayed there seven days. These disciples said to Paul through the Spirit that he should not go to Jerusalem.

21:5And it happened that when we had finished that stay and were leaving to continue our journey that they all, with wives and children, went with us until we were outside the city. Then kneeling down on the beach, we prayed. 21:6So, having said goodbye to each other, we went onboard the ship. But they returned home again.

21:7So when we had completed the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais. And we greeted the brethren and stayed with them one day. 21:8And on the next day we left and came to Caesarea, and entering into the house of Philip, the one who proclaimed the good news, who was one of the seven, we stayed with him. 21:9Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied.

21:10And as we stayed there for many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 21:11And having come to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands with it, and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says, ‘The man who owns this belt will be bound in this same way by the Jews at Jerusalem and they will deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’”

21:12And when we heard these things, both we and those who were there begged him not to go up to Jerusalem. 21:13Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 21:14And when he would not be persuaded, we stopped, saying, “May the will of the Lord be done.”

21:15And after this time, we took our baggage and went up to Jerusalem. 21:16And certain of the disciples from Caesarea also went with us bringing with them one Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple with whom we would stay.

21:17And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. 21:18Then the next day Paul went in with us to see James, and all the older, spiritually mature brothers were present. 21:19And when he had greeted them, he described, one by one, the things which God had done among the Gentiles through his service.

21:20And when they heard it, they glorified God and they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands of believing Jews there are who are all zealous for the law.

21:21“But they have been informed concerning you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or to follow the customs. 21:22What will we do then? For they will certainly hear that you have come. 21:23Therefore, do what we tell you. We have four men who have taken a vow upon themselves. 21:24Take them and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses so that they can shave their heads. In this way, everyone will know that there is no truth in the things they have been told about you but that you yourself also conform, keeping the law.

21:25“But concerning the Gentiles who have believed, we wrote giving our judgment that they should keep themselves from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from what is strangled, and from fornication.”

21:26Then Paul took the men, and the next day after purifying himself along with them, went into the temple, announcing the fulfillment of the time of purification until the offering was offered for each one of them.

21:27But when the seven days were almost up, some of the Jews from Asia, having seen him in the temple, caused a tumult with the crowd and grabbed him, 21:28crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches everyone, everywhere against this people, the law, and this place. And, furthermore, he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” 21:29For they had seen him before in the city with Trophimus the Ephesian, whom they supposed Paul had brought into the temple.

21:30And the whole city was set in motion so that there was a stampede of people. So they grabbed Paul and dragged him out of the temple. And immediately the doors were locked.

21:31And as they were seeking to kill him, the news came to the chief captain of the band that all Jerusalem was in confusion. 21:32He immediately took soldiers and centurions and ran down to the mob. When they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

21:33Then the chief captain came near, took hold of him, commanded him to be bound with two chains and asked about who he was and what he had done. 21:34But some among the crowd shouted one thing and some another. So not being able to know with certainty because of the uproar, he commanded him to be brought into the castle. 21:35And when he came to the stairs, Paul had to be carried by the soldiers due to the violence of the mob, 21:36for the multitude of people followed them, crying out, “Away with him!”

21:37And as Paul was about to be brought into the castle, he said to the chief captain, “May I say something to you?” And he replied, “Do you know Greek? 21:38Aren’t you the Egyptian, who shortly before led a rebellion and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out into the wilderness?”

21:39But Paul said, “I am a Jew, of Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no unimportant city, and I beg you, allow me to speak to the people.” 21:40And when he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the stairs, motioned with his hand to the people, and when there was a great silence, he spoke to them in the Aramaic dialect saying:

ACTS CHAPTER 22

22:1“Men, brethren and fathers, hear the defense which I will now make to you.” 22:2And when they heard that he spoke to them in the Aramaic dialect, they were even quieter. So he said, 22:3“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, instructed according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as you all are today.

22:4“I was one who persecuted this ‘Way’ to the death, binding and delivering both men and women to prisons. 22:5As also the high priest can testify concerning me along with all the council of the elders, from whom I also received letters to the brethren in Damascus where I went to bring those who were there to Jerusalem in chains to be punished also.

22:6“And it happened that as I travelled and came near Damascus, about noon a bright light from heaven suddenly shone all around me. 22:7And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 22:8And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’

22:9“And those who were with me saw a light, but they didn’t understand the words of the One speaking to me.

22:10“So I said, ‘What must I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go to Damascus and there all the things which have been arranged for you to do will be told to you.’ 22:11And since I couldn’t see anything because of the brilliance of that light, I came into Damascus being led by the hand by those who were with me.

22:12“And a certain devout man according to the law named Ananias, who was well spoken of by all the Jews who lived in Damascus, 22:13came to me and standing beside me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that very time I was able to see him.

22:14“And he said, ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear a voice from his mouth. 22:15For you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and heard. 22:16And now what are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’

22:17“Then it happened that when I had returned to Jerusalem, while I was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance 22:18and saw him saying to me, ‘Get going and get out of Jerusalem quickly because they will not receive your testimony concerning me.’ 22:19And I said, ‘Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue those who believed on you 22:20and that when the blood of Stephen your martyr was poured out, I also was standing nearby, consenting to his death and holding the outer garments of those who killed him.’ 22:21And he said to me, ‘Go! For I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”

22:22And they paid attention to him until he said this, and then they raised their voices and said, “Rid the earth of his kind! It’s not right for him to be allowed to live!”

22:23And as they cried out, stripped off their outer clothes and threw dust into the air, 22:24the chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, ordering him to be interrogated by scourging, so that he might find out why they shouted against him. 22:25And when they had tied him up with the leather straps, Paul said to the centurion who stood nearby, “Is it lawful for you to beat a man who is a Roman citizen with a whip, who has not yet been condemned by a trial?”

22:26And when the centurion heard it, he went to the chief captain and told him saying, “Be careful with what you are about to do, for this man is a Roman citizen.” 22:27So the chief captain came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen? And he said, “Yes.” 22:28And the chief captain answered, “I obtained this citizenship with a large sum of money.” And Paul said, “But I am a citizen by birth.”

22:29Then those who were about to interrogate him immediately drew back. And the chief captain also became afraid when he knew that he was a Roman and because he had tied him up. 22:30But on the next day, desiring to know with certainty what he was accused of by the Jews, he freed him from his bonds, commanded the chief priests and all the council to come together, and brought Paul down and set him in front of them.

ACTS CHAPTER 23

23:1And Paul, looking intently at the council said, “Brethren, I have lived before God in all good conscience until this day.” 23:2And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood near him to strike him on the mouth. 23:3Then said Paul to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall. And do you sit to judge me according to the law and yet command me to be struck contrary to the law?”

23:4Then those who stood nearby said, “Do you revile God’s high priest?” 23:5And Paul said, “I didn’t know, brethren, that he was high priest. For it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”

23:6But when Paul perceived that the one part of the group were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is concerning the expectation of the resurrection of the dead I am being judged.”

23:7And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and Sadducees and the assembly was divided. 23:8For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge all of them.

23:9So there arose a great shouting match and some of the scribes connected with Pharisees stood up and disputed violently saying, “We find nothing evil in this man. But what if a spirit has spoken to him or an angel? We must not fight against God!”

23:10And when there arose a great commotion, the chief captain acted with caution so that Paul would not be torn in pieces by them, and commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them and bring him to the castle.

23:11And the next night the Lord stood beside him and said, “Be encouraged, for as you have testified concerning me at Jerusalem, so you must also give your testimony in Rome.”

23:12And when it was daylight, some of the Jews banded together and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. 23:13And there were more than forty who made this conspiracy. 23:14So they came to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have bound ourselves under a great curse to taste nothing until we have killed Paul. 23:15Now, therefore, go with the council to the chief captain and ask him to bring him down to you again, as if you would judge his case more accurately. And we, before he gets near, are ready to kill him.”

23:16But Paul’s sister’s son heard about their ambush, so he came, went into the castle, and told Paul. 23:17And Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Bring this young man to the chief captain because he has something to tell him.”

23:18So he took him and brought him to the chief captain and said, “Paul the prisoner called me and asked me to bring to you this young man who has something to tell you.” 23:19And the chief captain took him by the hand and going aside asked him privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?”

23:20So he said, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down tomorrow to the council, as though they would ask him some more specific questions. 23:21Don’t be persuaded by them, for a group of more than forty men – who have bound themselves under a curse, neither to eat nor drink until they have killed him – are setting an ambush for him. And now they are all ready, waiting for the word from you.”

23:22So the chief captain let the young man go, exhorting him saying, “Don’t tell anyone that you have told me these things.”

23:23And he called two of the centurions and said, “Prepare two hundred soldiers to go as far as Caesarea, along with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen at the third hour of the night.” 23:24And he told them to have horses so that they could put Paul on one and bring him safely to Felix the governor.

23:25And he wrote a letter saying: 23:26“Claudius Lysias to the most excellent governor Felix, greetings. 23:27This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them when I came upon them with the soldiers and rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman citizen. 23:28And wanting to know the charges about which they accused him, I brought him down to their council.

23:29“But I found him to be accused about questions of their own law but to have done nothing worthy of death or of imprisonment. 23:30And when it became known to me that a plot was about to be carried out against the man by the Jews, I immediately sent him to you, telling his accusers to bring their charges against him before you. Be in health.” 23:31So the soldiers, following their orders, took Paul and brought him to Antipatris at night. 23:32But on the next day, they left the horsemen to continue with him and returned to the castle. 23:33Then, arriving at Caesarea, they delivered the letter to the governor and also presented Paul before him.

23:34And when he had read it, he asked from which province he, Paul, was, and when he understood that he was of Cilicia he said, 23:35“I will hold a hearing for you when your accusers have come also.” So he commanded him to be kept in Herod’s palace.

ACTS CHAPTER 24

24:1Then five days later, the high priest Ananias came down with certain elders and with an orator, one Tertullus, to lay out their case against Paul to the governor. 24:2And when he was called, Tertullus began to accuse him saying, “Seeing that through you we enjoy much peace and that through your forethought great things are happening in this nation, 24:3we accept your rule in all ways and in all places, most excellent Felix, with all thankfulness.

24:4“But, so I don’t become tedious to you, I appeal to you to hear a few words from us through your clemency. 24:5For we have found this man to be a plague, a promotor of strife among the Jews throughout the world, and a leader of the sect of the Nazarenes. 24:6This one, furthermore, attempted to profane the temple, so we seized him and would have judged him according to our law.

24:7“But the chief captain Lysias came and took him out of our hands with great violence 24:8and then commanded us, his accusers, to come before you. Now by questioning him yourself about these things, you will be able to understand what we are accusing him of.” 24:9And the Jews also joined in, saying that these things were so.

24:10And when the governor had motioned to him to speak, Paul answered, “Knowing that you have been a judge of this nation for many years, I am happy to make my defense. 24:11As you know, not more than twelve days ago I went up to worship at Jerusalem. 24:12And they never found me disputing with anyone in the temple, neither was I stirring up a crowd, either in the synagogues or in the city. 24:13They have absolutely no proof of the things about which they now accuse me.

24:14“But I confess this to you, that according to the ‘Way,’ which they call a sect, I serve the God of our fathers, believing all things which are according to the law and which are written in the prophets, 24:15having hope in God, (for which these themselves also wait) that there will be a resurrection of the dead – both of the just and the unjust. 24:16And toward this end I also continually discipline myself to have a conscience free of offense toward God and towards men.

24:17“Now after some years, I came to bring alms and offerings to my nation. 24:18And they found me purified in the temple with no crowd or tumult. But this happened because of certain Jews from Asia, 24:19who ought to have been here before you themselves to make an accusation, if they had anything against me. 24:20Or else let these men themselves say what offense they found in me when I stood before the council, 24:21other than for this one declaration that I shouted out while standing among them saying, ‘It is concerning the resurrection of the dead I am being judged before you today!’”

24:22But Felix, after hearing these things, and having accurate knowledge about the “Way,” put them off saying, “When Lysias the chief captain comes down here, I will decide your case.”

24:23And he gave orders to the centurion that he should keep Paul but arrange for a less rigorous confinement and not forbid any of his friends to assist him or to visit him.

24:24But after some time, when Felix came with Drusilla his wife who was a Jewess, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in the Anointed One, Jesus. 24:25And as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became terrified and answered, “Go! That’s enough for now. But when I have some time, I will call you back.”

24:26Yet at the same time, he hoped that Paul would give him money to be released. Therefore, he sent for him more frequently and conversed with him. 24:27But when two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. And wanting to gain favor with the Jews, Felix left Paul bound.

ACTS CHAPTER 25

25:1Then Festus, having come to the province, went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea three days later. 25:2And the chief priests and the principal men of the Jews laid out their accusations against Paul and they appealed to him, 25:3asking a favor of him that he would send for him to come to Jerusalem because they had laid an ambush to kill him on the way.

25:4However, Festus answered that Paul was kept in confinement at Caesarea and he himself was about to go there shortly. 25:5“Let those, therefore,” he said, “who are in authority among you go with me and if there is anything wrong in the man, let them accuse him.”

25:6And when he had stayed among them no more than eight to ten days, he went down to Caesarea, and on the next day he sat on the judgment seat and commanded Paul to be led in.

25:7And when he had come in, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing against him many severe accusations which they couldn’t prove. 25:8But Paul said in his defense, “I have committed no sin, either against the law of the Jews, or against the temple, or against Caesar.”

25:9But Festus, desiring to gain favor with the Jews, answered Paul and said, “Are you willing to go to Jerusalem and be judged by me there concerning these things?”

25:10But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s judgment seat where I ought to be judged. I have done nothing wrong to the Jews as you also know very well. 25:11If then I am a criminal and have done anything worthy of death, I don’t refuse to die. But if there is no truth in those things about which they accuse me, no one can hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar.”

25:12Then Festus, after he had conferred with the council, answered, “You have appealed to Caesar, to Caesar you will go.”

25:13Now when some time had gone by, Agrippa the King and Bernice arrived at Caesarea and visited Festus. 25:14And when they stayed there many days, Festus laid Paul’s case before the King saying, “There is a certain man who was left a prisoner by Felix, 25:15about whom, when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me, asking for a sentence against him.

25:16“I told them that it is not the custom of the Romans to hand anyone over to death before the accused comes face-to-face with his accusers and has had the opportunity to make his defense concerning the charges.

25:17“Therefore, when they got here, I didn’t put them off but on the very next day sat on the judgment seat and commanded the man to be brought in. 25:18Yet when the accusers stood up, they brought none of the accusations which I had imagined 25:19but had certain disagreements with him about their own religion and about someone called Jesus who was dead, but whom Paul claims to be alive.

25:20“And I, being perplexed about this matter, asked whether he would be willing go to Jerusalem and be judged there about these questions. 25:21But when Paul appealed for his case to be reserved for the decision of the emperor Augustus, I ordered him to be kept here until I could send him to Caesar.”

25:22And Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” he said, “you will hear him.” 25:23So on the next day, when Agrippa and Bernice had come with great pomp and had entered into the auditorium together with the chief captains and principal men of the city, at Festus’ command Paul was brought in.

25:24And Festus said, “King Agrippa, and all those who are here present with us, you see this man, about whom all the multitude of the Jews kept bothering me both at Jerusalem and here, crying out that he shouldn’t be permitted to live any longer.

25:25“But I found that he had done nothing worthy of death, yet since he himself appealed to the emperor Augustus, I have decided to send him, 25:26of whom I have nothing definite to write to my Sovereign.

“Therefore, I have brought him here before you – and especially before you, king Agrippa – so that after this examination, I may have something to write. 25:27For it seems unreasonable to me to send a prisoner without stating the charges against him.”

ACTS CHAPTER 26

26:1And Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand, [a typical Roman posture when making a speech] and stated his defense. 26:2“I consider myself blessed, king Agrippa, for being able to make my defense today before you concerning all the things of which I am accused by the Jews. 26:3This is especially true because you are expert in all sorts of Jewish customs and considerations. Therefore, I request that you hear me patiently.

26:4“The truth is that all the Jews know my manner of life from my youth up, which all took place since my beginnings here in my own nation and at Jerusalem. 26:5Therefore, having known me since my childhood, if they were willing to testify they would acknowledge that I have lived as a Pharisee, following the strictest sect of our religion.

26:6“And now, I stand here to be judged because of the hope of the promise which God gave to our fathers, 26:7which promise our twelve tribes, earnestly serving God night and day, hope to attain. It is concerning this hope that I am accused by the Jews, O king! 26:8Why would you think it incredible if God raises the dead?

26:9“I, at one time, was convinced that I should do many things against the name of Jesus the Nazarene, 26:10which is what I did in Jerusalem. So, having received authority from the chief priests, I locked up many of the ones set apart for God in prison and when they were put to death, I voted against them. 26:11And punishing them frequently in every synagogue, I compelled them to blaspheme, and being in a great rage against them, I persecuted them even as far as foreign cities.

26:12“This is why I was traveling to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 26:13But while I was on my way, at noon, O king I saw a light from heaven, much brighter than the sun, shining all around me and those who traveled with me.

26:14“And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Aramaic dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? Isn’t it hard for you to kick against the sharply pointed cattle prods?’ 26:15And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you persecute. 26:16But get up and stand upon your feet. I have appeared to you because I have specially selected you to be a servant and a witness, both of what you now see and of the things which I will show you later on.

26:17“I will protect you from the people and from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, 26:18to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God so that they may receive liberation from sins and an inheritance among those who are being made holy through believing into me.’

26:19“Therefore, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 26:20but declared first to those in Damascus and then to those in Jerusalem, the whole of Judea, and also to the Gentiles that they should repent and turn to God, doing works which are characteristic of repentance. 26:21For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me.

26:22“Therefore, having experienced God’s help until now, I have remained firm, testifying to both the insignificant and the important, saying nothing other than what the prophets and Moses said would happen, 26:23i.e. how the Anointed One must suffer, and how he, through first rising from the dead, would bring light, both to the people and to the Gentiles.”

26:24Then as he finished his defense in this way, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you have lost your mind! Your intense studying has made you crazy!” 26:25But Paul said, “I am not crazy, most excellent Festus, but I declare words which are true and reasonable. 26:26For the king knows about these things, which is why I can also speak freely. For I am persuaded that he is not unaware of any of these things, for none of this has been done in a corner. 26:27King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.”

26:28And Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.” 26:29And Paul said, “I pray to God that by whatever means, not only you, but also all who hear me today might become as I am except for these chains.”

26:30Then the king rose up, along with the governor, Bernice, and those who sat with them. 26:31And when they left, they conversed with each other saying, “This man has done nothing worthy of death or of imprisonment.” 26:32And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he hadn’t appealed to Caesar.”

ACTS CHAPTER 27

27:1And when it was decided that we would sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners to a centurion named Julius, of the Augustan band. 27:2And embarking in a ship of Adramyttium which was about to sail to some places on the coast of Asia, we put to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, also came with us. 27:3And the next day we landed at Sidon.

And Julius treated Paul kindly and permitted him to visit his friends and refresh himself. 27:4Then putting to sea from there, we sailed under the lee of Cyprus because the winds were contrary. 27:5And when we had sailed across open water which is off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia. 27:6From there, the centurion found a ship from Alexandria sailing for Italy and he put us on it.

27:7And after many days of slow sailing because of the wind being contrary, we just managed to come near Cnidus and then we sailed under the lee of Crete, near Salmone. 27:8Then with difficulty, we sailed along the coast and came to a certain place called Fair Havens near the city of Lasea.

27:9Now since a lot of time had gone by and it was already becoming a dangerous voyage because the Fast had already passed, Paul earnestly advised them 27:10saying, “Men, I perceive that this voyage will result in damage and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.”

27:11But the centurion paid more attention to the captain and the owner of the ship than to what Paul said. 27:12And because the harbor was not suitable to winter in, most advised to put to sea from there, if by any means they could reach Phoenix, which is a harbor of Crete facing northeast and southeast, and winter there.

27:13So when the south wind blew gently, they supposed they had obtained their purpose and they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, close in to shore. 27:14But after a short time, a stormy wind called “Euroclydon” hit us 27:15and it seized the ship with such force that it couldn’t tack into the wind, so we gave up and were driven before it.

27:16And running under the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were able to secure the skiff with difficulty. 27:17And after they had hoisted it up, they used ropes, tying them underneath and around the ship. Then, fearing that they would run aground on the Syrtis [a shallow sandy area], they took down the rigging and so were driven before the wind.

27:18And being vehemently tossed about by the storm, the next day they began to throw some of the cargo overboard. 27:19Then on the third day we threw out the ship’s tackle with our own hands. 27:20And when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and no small storm pressed upon us, all hope that we would be saved was taken away.

27:21And when they had been a long time without food, Paul then stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete, consequently suffering this injury and loss. 27:22And now I exhort you to cheer up for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.

27:23“For an angel of the God whose I am and whom I also serve, stood beside me this night 27:24saying, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar. And look, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ 27:25Therefore, men, cheer up, for I believe God that it will happen exactly as it has been spoken to me. 27:26But we will be shipwrecked on a certain island.”

27:27But when the fourteenth night had come, as we were carried about in the Adriatic sea, about midnight the sailors sensed that they were drawing near some land. 27:28So they made a sounding for depth and found it to be forty meters. Then after a short time, they sounded again and found it to be thirty meters. 27:29And fearing that we might be thrown ashore onto rocks, they put out four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight.

27:30And as some of the sailors were seeking to flee from the ship and had lowered the skiff into the sea under the pretense of putting out anchors from the prow, 27:31Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these stay in the ship, you will not be able to be saved.”

27:32Then the soldiers cut through the ropes of the boat, and let it fall. 27:33And since daylight was coming, Paul appealed to them all to eat some food saying, “This is the fourteenth day that you have been fearful and fasted, eating nothing. 27:34Therefore, I encourage you to eat some food, for your deliverance is at hand and not even a hair from your head will be lost.”

27:35And having said this and picking up some bread, he gave thanks to God in the presence of everyone, broke it, and began to eat. 27:36Then they all felt encouraged and ate some food also. 27:37And the total number of those in the ship was two hundred seventy-six. 27:38And when they had eaten and were satisfied, they lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea.

27:39And when it was daylight, they didn’t recognize the land but they saw a certain bay with a beach, and they discussed among themselves if they could drive the ship up on it. 27:40So casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea. At the same time they untied the rudders, hoisted up the foresail to the wind, and headed for the beach. 27:41But the vessel ran aground, striking a shallow place where two seas met, and the prow struck and remained unmovable but the stern began to break up by the violence of the waves.

27:42And the soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners so that none of them could swim away and escape. 27:43But the centurion, wanting to save Paul, restrained them from their purpose and commanded that those who could swim would throw themselves overboard and get to land first. 27:44Then the rest would come on planks and on other things from the ship. And it happened that they all escaped safely to land.

ACTS CHAPTER 28

28:1And when we had escaped, then we found out that the island was called Malta. 28:2And the natives showed us exceptional kindness, for they lighted a fire because of the rain and the cold and received us all in a friendly way.

28:3But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a poisonous snake came out because of the heat, bit into his hand, and held on. 28:4And when the natives saw the venomous creature hanging from his hand, they said one to another, “No doubt this man is a murderer and though he has escaped from the sea, yet Justice has not allowed him to live.” 28:5However, he shook off the creature into the fire and was not harmed.

28:6But they expected that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. Yet when they waited a long time and saw that nothing horrible happened to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.

28:7Now in the surrounding area, there was some property which belonged to the chief man of the island named Publius, who received us and took care of us courteously for three days. 28:8And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick with a fever and dysentery. So Paul entered into where he was, and having prayed, laid his hands on him and healed him.

28:9Then after this happened, everyone else on the island who also had diseases came and was cured. 28:10These also honored us with many presents. And when we sailed, they put on board the things which we needed.

28:11And after three months, we set sail in a ship from Alexandria which had wintered at the island whose ensign was Castor and Pollux. 28:12Then, we landed at Syracuse, staying there three days.

28:13From there we made a circuit and arrived at Rhegium. And one day later a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli 28:14where we found brethren who begged us to stay with them seven days. And so at last, we came to Rome.

28:15And when the brethren heard about us, they came to meet us from as far away as The Market of Appius and The Three Taverns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and was encouraged. 28:16And when we got to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the commander of the garrison, but Paul was allowed to live by himself with the soldier who guarded him.

28:17And it happened that after three days he called together those who were the leaders of the Jews. So when they had gotten together, he said to them, “Men and brethren, though I had done nothing against the people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was taken prisoner in Jerusalem and delivered into the hands of the Romans.

28:18“After having questioned me, they wanted to free me because they found no reason to put me to death. 28:19But when the Jews opposed it, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar, not that I have anything of which to accuse my nation. 28:20Therefore, this is the reason I asked to see you and to speak with you, for because of the Hope of Israel, I am bound with this chain.”

28:21And they said to him, “We have not received any letters from Judea concerning you, nor have any of the brethren come here with this news nor spoken badly about you. 28:22But we want to hear from you what you think, for concerning this sect, we know that it is spoken against everywhere.”

28:23And when they had scheduled him a day, many of them came to where he was staying. To these he expounded the matter from morning until evening, testifying about the kingdom of God and persuading them concerning Jesus, both from the law of Moses and from the prophets. 28:24And some believed the things which were spoken and some disbelieved.

28:25So when they couldn’t agree among themselves, they left after Paul had spoken one final word saying, “The Holy Spirit spoke perfectly through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers 28:26when he said, ‘Go to this people and say, “You will hear with your hearing yet will in no way understand, and you will see with your eyes, yet will in no way perceive.”‘

28:27“‘For this people’s heart has gotten fat, their ears have difficulty hearing, and they have closed their eyes, so that they will not, by some chance, perceive with their eyes, hear with their ears, or understand with their hearts and turn around so that I would heal them’ (Is 6:9,10; 42:1;49:6). 28:28Therefore, let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles and they will hear it.” 28:29And when he had said these words the Jews left, having a sizable debate among themselves.

28:30So he stayed there two whole years in his own rented house and received all who came to him, 28:31proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus the Anointed One with all boldness without any restrictions.

Words in this translation found in italics are words which are implied by the Greek text but do not represent actual words in the Greek text. This practice is common in almost all modern translations. Occasionally, this translator has added words to the translation which represent his own ideas and opinions which, although they are based on his own biblical understanding, are not part of the actual Greek text. Such words are enclosed in brackets, like this [ ]. The reader should understand these words as being the opinion of the translator. In contrast to this, the words in these braces { } indicate legitimate, alternative translations or explanations. Words within parentheses () are part of the original Greek text. Such parentheses are often used in other New Testament translations also.

The Letter Of Paul To The

ROMANS

ROMANS CHAPTER 1

1:1Paul, a servant of Jesus the Anointed One, chosen to be a sent one, being separated for the good news from God, 1:2which he promised ahead of time through his prophets in the holy scriptures. 1:3This good news concerns the Son, Jesus the Anointed One our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to earthly lineage. 1:4He is the One who was confirmed to be the Son of God by the resurrection from the dead through the power supplied by the Spirit of holiness.

1:5It is through him that we received grace and a commission to bring obedience to God through faith from among those of every nation for the sake of his name. 1:6You also have been chosen from among the nations to belong to Jesus the Anointed One.

1:7To all who are in Rome – loved by God; called to be holy ones: May you have grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus the Anointed One.

1:8First, I thank my God through Jesus the Anointed One for you all, that your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world. 1:9For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the good news concerning his Son, is my witness of how I continually mention you at all times in my prayers, 1:10requesting that by any means now, after so long a time, I may succeed in coming to you by the will of God.

1:11For I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual benefit to the end that you may be strengthened, 1:12that is, that I may be comforted together with you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine.

1:13And I don’t want you to be ignorant brethren that I often determined to come to you (but was hindered until now) so that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the rest of the Gentiles. 1:14I am bound in my obligation both to Greeks and to foreigners, both to the wise and to the foolish. 1:15Consequently, on my part there is an eagerness in me to proclaim the good news to you who are in Rome also.

1:16For I am not ashamed of the good news message; for it is the power of God which results in complete salvation to everyone who is believing, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 1:17For through it the righteousness of God is revealed in us as our faith grows step by step {“from faith to faith”}, as it is written, “Now the one who exhibits righteous character is he who will conduct his life by faith” (Hab 2:4).

1:18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and immoral acts of men who have the truth but practice immorality 1:19because that which makes God known is apparent to them, for God has shown it to them. 1:20For his invisible attributes, even his eternal power and divinity, have been clearly revealed since the creation of the world, being understood through the wonderful workmanship of that which he has made so that they have no excuse.

1:21Even though they perceived God, they didn’t glorify him as God nor were they thankful, but their inner thoughts were foolish and their insensitive hearts were darkened. 1:22Claiming to be wise, they became fools 1:23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images which resembled mortal men, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles. 1:24Therefore, God gave them up to the cravings of their hearts, resulting in unclean behavior, i.e. treating their bodies shamefully by what they do with each other.

1:25This happens with those who have exchanged the truth of God for a lie and have worshipped and served the things which have been created instead of the One who created them who is blessed forever. Amen.

1:26For this reason God gave them over to shameful passions. Not only did their women exchange the natural practice of sexual intercourse [i.e. with men] for that which is opposed to nature, 1:27but the men also, leaving the natural practice of sexual intercourse with women, burned in their carnal cravings for each other: men with men performing indecent acts and receiving within themselves the results of their error which is only right.

1:28So since mankind refused to recognize and cling to God in their conscious mind God gave them over to have a degenerate mind, doing those things which are not right, 1:29being filled with all kinds of unrighteousness: sexual immorality, hatred, the desire for wealth, the impulse to injure others; being full of envy, murder, arguments, cheating, and moral depravity.

They are gossipers, 1:30slanderers, God-haters, violent, proud, braggarts, inventors of evil acts, disobedient to parents, 1:31without understanding, covenant-breakers, without normal affection, impossible to placate, without mercy; 1:32who, knowing the sentence of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, not only do them, but also are pleased with those who practice them too.

ROMANS CHAPTER 2

2:1Therefore, you are without excuse, O man, when you judge everyone else. For in whatever you judge another, you condemn yourself, for you who judge others practice the very same things. 2:2But we know that God’s judgment, which is according to truth, is against those who practice such things.

2:3So do you suppose, O man – who judges those who practice such things yet does the same things – that you will escape the judgment of God? 2:4Or do you not properly value the richness of his kindness – which is revealed through his restraint and patience toward us – not understanding that the goodness of God is meant to guide you to repentance?

2:5But following your hard and unrepentant heart, you store up anger for yourself on the day when God will reveal his anger and righteous judgment 2:6and will repay everyone according to his works.

2:7Those who through patience do what is good, seeking for glory and honor and that which is incorruptible: these he will repay with the fulness of his eternal life. 2:8But those who, on the one hand, find excuses and refuse to obey the truth, being persuaded by sin, he, on the other hand, will repay with fierce anger 2:9causing distress and anguish, for every human soul who practices evil – for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

2:10But glory, honor, and peace will be for everyone who practices what is excellent – for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 2:11For God does not discriminate between persons. 2:12For as many as have sinned, being ignorant of the law, will also be destroyed without the law, and as many as have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.

2:13No doubt, it is not those who merely hear the law that God considers just, but those who fulfill the law are the ones who will be considered just.

2:14For when Gentiles who don’t have the law practice the things in the law by their natural disposition, they show that they have a law inside of them even though they don’t have the written law.

2:15In this way they demonstrate that what the law is meant to produce is written in their hearts and agrees with the testimony of their conscience which weighs their thoughts, either approving or condemning them. 2:16According to the good news message which I proclaim, this will be clearly revealed on the day when God judges the secret thoughts of men by Jesus the Anointed One.

2:17Look, you who are called a Jew, you depend upon the law, boast in God, 2:18know his will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law. 2:19You are confident that you yourself are a guide of the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 2:20a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of babes. You have an appearance of knowledge and of the truth which you get from the law.

2:21You, therefore, who teach another, don’t you teach yourselves too? You who preach that a man should not steal; do you steal? 2:22You who say that a man should not commit adultery; do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols; do you pilfer things offered at their shrines?

2:23You who boast in the law; do you dishonor God through your violation of the law? 2:24This is in agreement with what has been written: the name of God is slandered among the Gentiles because of you.

2:25For on one hand, circumcision is profitable if you practice the law, but on the other hand, if you are a violator of the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. 2:26If, therefore, the uncircumcised person observes the ordinances of the law, won’t his uncircumcision be considered circumcision? 2:27And won’t the one who is physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, form a low opinion of you who with the written document and physical circumcision are a law violator?

2:28For he is not a Jew who is one superficially neither is true circumcision something merely outward in the body, 2:29but he is a true Jew who is one inwardly and genuine circumcision is something which happens not by the letter of the law but in the heart by the operation of the Spirit; whose approval does not come from men but from God.

ROMANS CHAPTER 3

3:1What then is special about the Jew? Or what is the usefulness of being of the “circumcision?” 3:2Much in every way. First of all, they were entrusted with the oracles of God. 3:3What does it matter if some were without faith? Will their lack of faith make the faithfulness of God ineffective?

3:4In no way! But God will be found to be speaking the truth and every man will be found to be a liar. It will happen according to what is written: “You, God, will be seen to be just through your words and be blameless when you judge” (Ps 51:4).

3:5But if our sinfulness serves to point out God’s righteousness, what can we say? Is God unjust when he brings punishment? (I say this from a human point of view.) 3:6In no way! Otherwise, how then will God judge the world?

3:7For if God’s truth has overflowed to his glory through my “lies,” why am I also still said to be a sinner?

3:8However, our teaching is not as they slanderously accuse us and not as some affirm that we say, “Let us do evil so that good may come.” Their punishment is just.

3:9What then, are we better than they? Assuredly not! For we already proved that not only the Jews and Greeks but all are under sin, 3:10as it is written, “There is no one righteous, no, not one. 3:11There is no one who understands. There is no one who seeks after God. 3:12They have all turned aside. They all together have become useless. There is no one who does good, no, not even one. 3:13Their throat is like an open tomb; they deceive others with their tongues. Snake poison comes from their lips” (Ps 5:9).

3:14“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness” (Ps 10:7). 3:15“Their feet are quick to shed blood. 3:16Their way of living produces destruction and misery 3:17and they have not known the way of peace.” 3:18“There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Ps 36:1).

3:19Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks not only to those who are under the law but speaks so that every mouth may be shut and the whole world may be subject to the judgment of God. 3:20The reason for this is that no one will be made righteous before God by keeping the law. For what the law brings is the full recognition of sin.

3:21But now, separately from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed about which the law and the prophets testified. 3:22This is God’s own righteousness which, through the faith of Jesus the Anointed One, is the result attained by all those who are believing. Here there is no distinction between peoples 3:23for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

3:24Yet these are being made righteous freely by his grace, being released through the ransom which was paid by the Anointed One, Jesus, 3:25whom God placed as the atoning sacrifice. Then, through faith because of his blood, we become a display of his righteousness.

Through his self-restraint, God passes over our previous sins 3:26in order to demonstrate his justice at this present time so that he might be just and might be making righteous the one who has the faith of Jesus.

3:27Where then is there space for our boasting? It has been excluded. By what kind of law? By the law of works? No, but through the principle of faith. 3:28Therefore, we are considering that a man is being made righteous by faith without doing any works of the law. 3:29Or is God the God of Jews only? Isn’t he the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also!

3:30Seeing that there is only one God, it is he who will be making those who are circumcised righteous by faith and those who are uncircumcised righteous through faith. 3:31Do we then make the law useless through faith? In no way. Instead, we confirm the law.

ROMANS CHAPTER 4

4:1What, then, can we say that Abraham our forefather gained through fleshly effort? 4:2For if Abraham was made righteous by his works he has something to boast about, but not before God. 4:3For what does the scripture say? “And Abraham believed God and he was considered as being righteous.”

4:4Now to someone who labors, the wages he receives are not considered to be a gift of grace but as something which is owed. 4:5In the same way, if someone doesn’t do works but is believing on the One who makes the ungodly righteous, his faith is allowing him to be considered as righteous.

4:6This also fits with what David said when pronouncing a blessing on the man whom God is considering righteous separately from his works 4:7when he says, “Blessed is the man whose wickedness is forgiven and whose sins are covered. 4:8Blessed is the man whom the Lord does not consider sinful” (Ps 32:1,2).

4:9Is this blessing then pronounced only upon those who are circumcised or also upon those who are uncircumcised? For we say that Abraham was considered righteous because of his faith.

4:10When then was this decided? After he was circumcised or while he was still uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while still uncircumcised.

4:11And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while he was still uncircumcised. This was so that he could be the father of all those who are believing even if they are uncircumcised and so that they, too, could be being considered righteous.

4:12Furthermore, it was so that he could be the father of the cutting away of the flesh {circumcision} not only to those who are physically circumcised but also to those who are walking in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.

4:13For the promise to Abraham and to his seed that he would be heir of the world was not given by means of the law, but through the righteousness produced by faith. 4:14For if it is through the law that they are made heirs then faith is useless and the promise is inactivated. 4:15For the law brings out {exposes} our strong natural passion. But where there is no law, there can be no violation of the law.

4:16This is the reason that the promise is obtained through faith according to grace so that the promise may be in force for all the “seed.” This was not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 4:17as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations” (Gn 17:5). Being faced with this, he believed God, who gives life to the dead and calls the things that don’t exist into existence.

4:18Who, even though the promise seemed beyond hope, still believed with hope so that he would become the father of many nations according to the word which had been spoken, “This is how it will be with your offspring” (Gen 15:5).

4:19And not being weakened in faith, he didn’t fix his mind on his own body which was already “dead” (since he was about a hundred years old) or on the barrenness of Sarah’s womb.

4:20Instead of wavering in unbelief, he looked to the promise of God and was strengthened through faith, giving glory to God, 4:21being fully assured that what he had promised he was also able to do.

4:22Therefore, he was considered to be righteous. 4:23Now it is written that he was considered righteous not only for his sake 4:24but also for our sake, who would also be being considered righteous, i.e. those who are believing on the One who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.

4:25It is he who was delivered up to death for our sins and was raised from the dead for our being made acceptable to God.

ROMANS CHAPTER 5

5:1Therefore, being made just through our faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus the Anointed One, 5:2through whom we also have our access by faith into this grace by which we are established. Therefore, we rejoice in hope of receiving the glory of God.

5:3And not only this, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance; 5:4and endurance, proven character; and proven character, hope: 5:5and hope doesn’t let us down because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.

5:6For while we were as yet without strength to live without sinning, at the right time the Anointed One died for the ungodly. 5:7It is a rare thing that someone would die for a righteous man. It is even less probable that someone would have the courage to die for a merely good man.

5:8But God exhibits his own love toward us in that while we were still sinners, the Anointed One died for us. 5:9Much more then, now being made righteous through his blood, we will be being saved from the wrath of God through him.

5:10For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, having been reconciled, we will be saved by his life growing up in us. 5:11And not only this, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus the Anointed One through whom we have now received the restoration to divine favor.

5:12By means of one man, sin entered into the world and death through sin. And in this way death was passed on to all men, since everyone sins. 5:13For even before the law, sin was in the world, but charges are not brought against sin when there is no law.

5:14Even so, death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the same way that Adam sinned – who is a kind of example of him who was to come.

5:15But shouldn’t God’s gift of grace work in a similar way as the sin? For if because of the sin of the one, the many died, how much more will the grace of God and the gift which comes through the grace of that one man, Jesus the Anointed One, overflow to the many!

5:16And since sin came by one man, shouldn’t the gift come through one man also? For, on one hand, the judgment which came on one was condemnation, but, on the other hand, the free gift which came upon the many who sinned was being considered just. 5:17For if by the sin of the one, death reigned over everyone because of that one, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign by God’s life through the One, even Jesus the Anointed One.

5:18So then, just as through one sin judgment came on all men, in the same way, through one righteous act, being made just before God through the operation of his life came to all men. 5:19For just as many were made sinners through the one man’s disobedience, many will be being made righteous through the obedience of the One.

5:20The law entered in alongside so that the sin would be shown to be abundant. But where sin was abundant, grace was even more abundant 5:21so that as sin reigned producing death, even so grace would reign by producing righteousness – the result of God’s eternal life through Jesus the Anointed One, our Master.

ROMANS CHAPTER 6

6:1What will we say then? Will we continue in sin so that grace may be abundant? 6:2In no way! Since we are dying to sin, how can we live in it anymore? 6:3Or don’t you realize that all who are being immersed {baptized} into the Anointed One, Jesus are immersed into his death? 6:4Therefore, we are being buried with him into death through immersion into the Anointed One so that as the Anointed One was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also should be walking in the newness of the Father’s life.

6:5For as we become united together with him in the form of his death, to that same degree we will also be like him in his resurrection. 6:6We know this: that our “old man” is being crucified with him so that sin in its entirety would be rendered inoperative, in order that we would no longer be in slavery to sin. 6:7For he who is dying is being freed from sin.

6:8And if we die together with the Anointed One [actually experience his death], we are believing that we will also be sharing his life, 6:9knowing that the Anointed One, having been raised from the dead, no longer dies since death has no more dominion over him.

6:10For when he died, the sin principle died right then. Now he is living by the life of God. 6:11Consequently, you really should be considering yourselves to be like a corpse with respect to sin but living by the life of God in the Anointed One, Jesus.

6:12Therefore, don’t let sin rule in your mortal body by obeying its cravings. 6:13Neither yield your members to be weapons of sin by doing what is evil. But instead present yourselves to God as alive from the dead and offer your members to God as instruments of righteousness. 6:14For sin cannot dominate you because you are not under the regimen of the law but under the supply of grace.

6:15What about now? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? In no way! 6:16Don’t you know that to whomever you present yourselves as servants in obedience, you are the slaves of the one you obey, whether it is to sin resulting in death or it is to obedience to God resulting in righteousness?

6:17But even though you were slaves of sin, through the favor of God you are obeying from the heart that pattern of instruction which was given to you. 6:18And being set free from sin, you are becoming slaves of righteousness.

6:19I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your fallen human nature. For in the same way that you presented your bodies as slaves to impurity – even to sin leading to ever more sin – so now present your bodies as slaves of righteousness leading to being made holy. 6:20For when you were slaves of sin, you were free with respect to righteousness. 6:21But what benefit did you have at that time, through the things of which you are now ashamed? For the result of those things is death.

6:22But now, being set free from sin and being enslaved to God, you have the “fruit” of being made holy as the result of God’s eternal life. 6:23For the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is his eternal sinless life through the Anointed One, Jesus our Lord.

ROMANS CHAPTER 7

7:1Or are you ignorant, brethren (for I speak to men who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man for as long as he is alive? 7:2For example, the woman who has a husband is bound by law to the husband while he is alive, but if the husband dies she is freed from the bond of the law to the husband.

7:3Now if, while the husband is alive, she is intimate with another man, she will be called an adulteress. But if the husband dies, she is free from the law so that she is not an adulteress, even though she becomes another man’s wife.

7:4Therefore, my brethren, you also have died to the law (your previous “husband”) through the dead body of the Anointed One, so that you could be legally “married” to another, even to the One who has risen from the dead, so that we would bear fruit to God.

7:5For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which are exposed through the law worked in our members to bring forth the fruit of death. 7:6But now we have been freed from the demands of the law – dying to that in which we were held – so that we can be serving in newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter of the law.

7:7What can we say then? Does the law produce sin? In no way. However, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known impure desire was wrong unless the law had said, “You shall not lust.” 7:8For, based on the commandment, I see that sin has produced all sorts of lust in me, since without the law, sin seems “inactive.”

7:9And I was “alive” apart from the law once, but when the commandment came, sin “revived” and I died. 7:10And I found the commandment, which was for life, to be death. 7:11For sin, finding its opportunity through the commandment, was deceiving me and through it was killing me. 7:12Therefore, the law is truly holy and the commandment holy, just, and good.

7:13Did, then, that which is good become death to me? In no way! But sin, that it might be shown to be sin, produced death in me through that which is good so that because of the commandment, sin would be revealed as being exceedingly sinful.

7:14For we know that the law is spiritual. But I am carnal, having been sold as a slave to sin. 7:15For that which I do, I don’t approve of. And that which I don’t want to do, I practice. For I even do things that I detest.

7:16But if I practice these things and yet I don’t agree with them, I consent that the law is good. 7:17So now it is no longer “I” who do it but the sinful nature [of the soul-life] which lives in me.

7:18Now I know that in me, that is in my flesh, lives a nature which is not good. For the willingness to live righteously is present with me but actually doing that which is good is not. 7:19And the good which I want to do, I don’t do. But the evil which I don’t want to do, I practice. 7:20But if I practice that which I don’t want to do, it is no longer “I” who do it but the sinful nature which lives in me.

7:21I discover, then, this principle: that when I want to do good, evil is present. 7:22For I delight in the law of God with my inner man [the new, spiritual man] 7:23but I see a different principle working in my members, warring against God’s law which is in my mind and bringing me into captivity under the principle of the sinful nature which is in my members.

7:24Oh, what a miserable man I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 7:25I thank God that my deliverance is through Jesus the Anointed One, our Lord! So then, on one hand, I serve the law of God in my mind, but on the other hand, the flesh is subject to the principle of sin.

ROMANS CHAPTER 8

8:1There is, therefore, now no condemnation to those who are in the Anointed One, Jesus – those who don’t conduct their lives following the flesh but following the Spirit. 8:2This is because the law of the Spirit of God’s life operating in you through the Anointed One, Jesus, frees you from the principle of sin and death.

8:3For the law was ineffective, being weak because it only worked through the efforts of the flesh [i.e. will power, human reasoning, etc.]. But God, sending his own Son in the form of sinful humanity in order to treat the problem of sin, brought judicial judgment against it, opening the way to end sin in the human nature. 8:4This is so that the ordinances of the law would be fulfilled in those who don’t conduct their lives following the flesh but following the Spirit.*

*Please note that there is a great difference between “fulfilling the law” and keeping it. Here we see that through the Spirit, believers actually fulfill the law, not “keep” it.

8:5For those who are walking according to the flesh think about the things of the flesh, but those who are walking according to the Spirit have their mind filled with the thoughts {ideas, opinions, etc.} of the Spirit. 8:6For the mind focused on the flesh produces death, but the mind attuned to the Spirit brings God’s life and peace. 8:7This is because the fleshly mind is hostile to God, for it does not submit to the law of God. In fact, it’s not able to.

8:8Consequently, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 8:9But you are not controlled by the flesh but by the Spirit if, truly, the Spirit of God lives in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of the Anointed One, he is not of him. 8:10And if the Anointed One is in you, on the one hand, your body is without the power to do what is right because of sin, but, on the other hand, your spirit is full of God’s life because of being made right with God.

8:11Moreover, if the Spirit of him who resurrected Jesus from the dead lives in you, he who resurrected the Anointed One, Jesus, from the dead will even empower your perishable bodies to live righteously through his Spirit which lives in you.

8:12So then, brethren, we do not owe anything to the flesh which would compel us to live according to the flesh.

8:13For if you live according to the flesh, your expectation is only death. But if by the Spirit you put to death the fallen practices of the body, you will be full of God’s life. 8:14For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the mature sons of God.

8:15For you did not receive a spirit which takes you back to slavery to sin, resulting in fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship, through which we cry, “Abba, Father.”

8:16The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are children of God. 8:17And if we are children, then we are also heirs, truly heirs of God and joint heirs with the Anointed One, if in fact we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

8:18For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which will be revealed in us. 8:19For the creation is waiting with intense anticipation for the revealing of the mature sons of God.

8:20Now the creation was subjected to degradation, not voluntarily but because of him who subjected it in the hope 8:21that even the creation itself will also be delivered from the slavery of decay into the liberty of the children of God when they are glorified. 8:22For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers birthing pains until today.

8:23And not only this, but we also who have the initial offering {firstfruits} of the Spirit even groan within ourselves waiting to be placed as mature sons, i.e. the full release by ransom, the glorification of our body.

8:24For we are saved with this hope. But hope which is seen is not hope, for who hopes for something which he already sees? 8:25But if we hope for something which we don’t yet see, then we patiently wait for it.

8:26And in the same way the Spirit also helps us in our weaknesses. For we don’t even know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groaning which cannot be expressed in words. 8:27And he who searches the hearts also understands the thoughts of the Spirit; therefore, he intercedes for the ones set apart for God according to the will of God.

8:28Now we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, specifically to those who are called according to his purpose. 8:29For whom he foreknew, he also predetermined that they would be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brethren. 8:30And whom he predetermined, those he also calls. And whom he calls, those he also makes righteous. And whom he makes just, those he also glorifies.*

*This is something which will happen at his coming.

8:31What then can we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 8:32He who didn’t spare his own Son but delivered him up for us all, how will he not also, through our relationship with him, freely give us all these things?

8:33Who is the one who accuses God’s chosen? It is God who considers them innocent. 8:34Who is the one who condemns? It is the Anointed One, Jesus, who died, and even more, who rose from the dead, who is in the place of supreme honor and authority of God, and who also intercedes for us. 8:35What could separate us from the love of the Anointed One? Will affliction, or anguish, or persecution, or hunger, or nakedness, or danger, or sword be able to?

8:36Even as it is written, “For your sake we are put to death all day long. We are considered as sheep ready for slaughter” (Ps 44:22). 8:37But in all these things we are completely victorious through the One who loved us.

8:38For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, nor powers, nor things which now are, nor things in the future, 8:39nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in the Anointed One, Jesus our Lord.

ROMANS CHAPTER 9

9:1I speak the truth in the Anointed One; I do not lie. My conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit 9:2that I have great sorrow and unceasing pain in my heart.

9:3For I would be willing to make a vow to be banished** from the Anointed One if it could help my brethren, my relatives according to human lineage 9:4who are Israelites. For from them comes the placement as sons, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God and the promises. 9:5From them also came the fathers and from them the Anointed One came according to human lineage: the One who is over all, the blessed God for all eternity. Amen.

**Even though Paul might have “wished” this, it is completely impossible.

9:6But it is not as though the word of God has become ineffective. For not all the ones who are of Israel are that “Israel,” 9:7and not all who are God’s children are from the physical seed of Abraham. But we read, “Your seed will receive their name through Isaac” (Gen 21:12).

9:8That is to say, it is not the children of earthly lineage who are the children of God, but it is the children of the promise who are considered to be “seed.” 9:9For this is the word of the promise, “About this time next year I will visit you and Sarah will have a son” (Gen 18:10).

9:10And not only this, when Rebecca had conceived both Jacob and Esau through only one intimate act with our father Isaac, 9:12it was said to her: “The older will serve the younger.” 9:11This was said before they were born, having done nothing either good or bad, showing that the purpose of God according to his choosing will stand, not through works, but through him who calls. 9:13Even as it was written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I detested” (Mal 1:2,3).

9:14What can we say then? Is God unjust? In no way! 9:15For he said to Moses, “I will show mercy to whom I choose to show mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I choose to have compassion” (Ex 33:19).

9:16So then God’s favor is not gained by the one who is determined or by the one who strives but by God showing mercy.

9:17For the scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I raised you up so that I might demonstrate my power against you and so that my name would be widely proclaimed throughout the whole earth” (Ex 9:16). 9:18So then he has mercy on whom he wishes and whom he chooses to, he hardens.

9:19So then you will say to me, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” (2 Chr 20:6). 9:20That is no doubt true. But who are you, oh man, who disputes with God? Can the thing which is made say to him who made it, “Why did you make me like this?”

9:21Or doesn’t the potter have power over the clay, on the one hand, to make a vessel of great value, and, on the other hand, to make another for dirty use – from one batch of clay?

9:22What if God, wishing to demonstrate his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much leniency vessels of wrath which were prepared for destruction 9:23so that, in contrast, he could make known the abundance of his glory through vessels of mercy which he prepared ahead of time for the purpose of being glorified.

9:24This is what he has prepared for us whom he also called out, not only from among the Jews but also from among the Gentiles. 9:25As he said also in Hosea, “I will call them my people who were not my people and her ‘beloved’ who was not loved” (Hos 2:23). 9:26“And it will be that in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God’” (Hos 1:10).

9:27And Isaiah cried out concerning Israel saying, “Even though the sons of Israel would be as numerous as the sand of the sea, only a remnant will be saved. 9:28For the Lord will fulfill his word in righteousness upon the earth, thoroughly and quickly” (Is 10:22,23). 9:29And, as Isaiah has said before, “Except the Lord of the heavenly armies had left behind a Seed for us, we would have become like Sodom and have been like Gomorrah” (Is 1:9).

9:30What can we say then? That the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is through faith.

9:31But Israel, pursuing righteousness by following the law, did not arrive at the righteousness which is in the law. 9:32Why not? Because they sought it through works instead of by faith. They stumbled against the stone of stumbling 9:33just as it is written, “Look, I lay a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense in Zion. But he who is believing on him will not be disgraced” (Ps 118:22; Is 28:16).

ROMANS CHAPTER 10

10:1Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God is for them that they may be saved. 10:2For I testify concerning them that they have a zeal for God, but not according to a correct understanding. 10:3For being ignorant of God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they do not submit themselves to the righteousness of God.

10:4For the Anointed One is the end of the law resulting in righteousness for everyone who is believing. 10:5For Moses writes about the righteousness of the law saying, “The one who keeps them must live by them” (Lev 18:5).

10:6But the righteousness of faith says this, “Don’t say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (That is, to bring the Anointed One down.) 10:7Or, ‘Who will descend into the unmeasurable depths?’ (That is, to bring the Anointed One up from the dead.)”

10:8But what does it say? “The word* which has been proclaimed is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (Deut 30:12-14). That is the message of the faith which we proclaim.

*Words of God spoken in or by the Holy Spirit; RHEMA in the Greek language.

10:9Therefore, if with your mouth you make a covenant to take Jesus as your Master and are believing in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be being saved.

10:10For with the heart man believes into righteousness and with the mouth a covenant is made which results in salvation. 10:11As the scripture says, “Whoever is believing on him will not be disgraced” (Is 28:16).

10:12For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek for the same Lord is Lord of all and is abundantly available to all who call upon him. 10:13For, everyone who is calling on the name of the Lord will be being saved.

10:14How then can they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how can they be believing in him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without someone proclaiming him? 10:15And how can they proclaim unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who proclaim the good news of peace, who bring good news of good things!” (Is 52:7).

10:16But they didn’t all listen to the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” (Is 53:1). 10:17So faith comes through hearing and hearing by the word which is spoken {RHEMA, Gk} by God.

10:18But I say, “Didn’t they hear?” Certainly, “Their sound went out into all the earth and their words to the ends of the world” (Ps 19:4). 10:19But I ask, “Didn’t Israel know?” First Moses says, “I will provoke you to jealousy with that which is not a nation and I will anger you with a nation deprived of understanding” (Deut 32:21).

10:20Then Isaiah was very bold and says, “I was found by those who didn’t seek me. I was revealed to those who weren’t asking for me” (Is 65:1). 10:21But concerning Israel he says, “All the day long I opened my arms to a resistant and argumentative people” (Is 65:2).

ROMANS CHAPTER 11

11:1I say then, “Did God repudiate his people?” In no way! For I also am an Israelite of the seed of Abraham of the tribe of Benjamin. 11:2God did not repudiate his people whom he already knew. Or don’t you know what the scripture says about Elijah, how he conversed with God concerning Israel saying, 11:3“Lord, they have killed your prophets; they have overthrown your altars. I alone am left and they demand my life.” 11:4But what is the divine answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal” (I Kings 19:10,14,18).

11:5In the same way, then, at this present time also there is a remnant, i.e. those who were chosen through grace. 11:6But if it is by grace it is no longer by works; otherwise, grace is no longer grace. 11:7What then? That which Israel anxiously seeks for he didn’t obtain. But the chosen obtained it and the rest were hardened.

11:8This is according to what is written, “God gave them a spirit of slumber, eyes that don’t see and ears that don’t hear, until this very day” (Is 29:10,13). 11:9And David says, “Let their religious feasts become a snare, a trap, and an obstacle as a repayment to them. 11:10Let their eyes be darkened so that they don’t see and have their backs constantly bent over in servitude” (Ps 69:22,23).

11:11I say then, “Did they stumble so that they would fall without any chance to return?” In no way! But through their error, salvation has come to the Gentiles to provoke them to jealousy.

11:12Now if their error resulted in “wealth” for the world and their loss in riches for the Gentiles, how much more would their fulness provide? 11:13But I speak to you who are Gentiles. To the extent that I am truly a sent one to the Gentiles, I magnify my service 11:14if by any means I may provoke those who are my people to jealousy and through this may save some of them.

11:15For if their rejection results in the reconciling of the world, what will their being received be if not life from the dead? 11:16And if the offering of the first part of the bread dough is holy, so is the rest of the batch. And if the root is holy, so are the branches.

11:17But if some of the branches were broken off and you, being a wild olive branch, were grafted in among them and became a partaker with them of the root of the fatness of the olive tree, 11:18don’t exult over the other branches. But if you exult remember, it is not you who supports the root but the root which supports you.

11:19You might say then, “Those branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” 11:20Well, they were broken off through their unbelief and you stand by your faith. Don’t be proud but be reverent. 11:21For if God didn’t spare the natural branches, it may be that he won’t spare you either.

11:22See, then, both the goodness and the severity of God! On one hand, towards those who fell, God shows severity, but, on the other hand, toward you, God demonstrates his goodness, if you continue in his goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. 11:23And they also, if they don’t continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in. For God is able to graft them in again. 11:24For if you were cut off from that which is by nature a wild olive tree and were grafted into a good olive tree contrary to nature, how much more readily will these which are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?

11:25For I don’t want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brethren, so that you don’t become unwise, i.e. that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the complete number of the Gentiles have entered in. 11:26And afterwards, all Israel will be saved, just as it is written, “A deliverer will come out of Zion and he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob.” 11:27“And this will be my covenant to them when I take away their sins” (Is 59:20,21; 27:9).

11:28On the one hand, concerning the good news, they are enemies because of you, but, on the other hand, concerning being chosen, they are loved because of the Fathers. 11:29For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

11:30For just as in the past you resisted persuasion by God but now have been shown mercy in spite of your disobedience, 11:31in the same way these who also are currently resisting persuasion by God’s mercy, will also obtain mercy. 11:32For God has closed up all in disobedience so that he might have mercy on all.

11:33Oh, the profound abundance of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and his ways are untraceable! 11:34For, “Who has understood the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” 11:35“Or who has first given to him so that it will be paid back to him again?” (Is 40:13; Job 41:11). 11:36For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory for all eternity. Amen.

ROMANS CHAPTER 12

12:1I beg you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as living sacrifices, holy, acceptable to God, which is your logical way to serve. 12:2And don’t be conformed to the patterns of this age but be being transformed by the renovation of your mind, so that you can verify through experience what is the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God.

12:3Through the grace that was given me, I now say to everyone who is among you not to think highly of himself instead of what you should think. But rather he should think rationally according to how God has assigned to each one a portion of faith.

12:4For just as our physical body has many members but all the members don’t have the same function, 12:5so we who are many are one body in the Anointed One and each one members of the others. 12:6But each one has different gifts according to the grace that was given to us.

If we have the gift of prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of our faith; 12:7or the gift of service, let us give ourselves to service; or the gift of teaching, let us dedicate ourselves to teaching. 12:8He who encourages should be engaged in his encouraging. He who gives should do it with generosity. He who leads must do so with diligence. He who shows mercy should do so willingly.

12:9Let love be without hypocrisy, abhorring that which is evil but clinging to that which is good. 12:10Concerning love for the brethren, show affection for each other, honoring the others by giving them preference. 12:11Don’t be lazy in earnest service, but instead be fervent in your spirit, serving the Lord as a slave. 12:12Always be rejoicing in the hope;* be patient in affliction; be continuing constantly in prayer; 12:13be a partner in helping with the necessities of those set apart for God; be eager to show hospitality.

12:14Bless those who persecute you. Bless them and don’t curse them. 12:15Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. 12:16Use God’s wisdom in relating to each other, not thinking proud thoughts but associating with those who are lowly. Don’t be conceited. 12:17Don’t pay back wrongs with wrongs. Consider carefully how to behave honorably in the sight of all men.

12:18As much as you possibly can, be at peace with everyone. 12:19Don’t take revenge yourselves, beloved, but yield to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance belongs to me, I will repay, says the Lord” (Lev 19:18).

12:20“But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. For by doing this you will pile up coals of fire on his head” (Pr 25:21,22). 12:21Don’t be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.

*”The hope” mentioned here is the hope of being glorified.

ROMANS CHAPTER 13

13:1Let every soul be submitted to the civil authorities. For there is no authority unless it is from God. And the civil authorities that exist are arranged by God. 13:2Therefore, whoever rebels against the civil authority opposes the arrangement of God and those who rebel will receive judgment. 13:3For rulers are not a terror to those who do good works but to those who are evil.

Do you want to avoid being afraid of the one in authority? Do what is right and he will commend you for it. 13:4For he is a servant of God for your good. But if you practice what is evil you should be afraid, for he has a good reason to be armed {“carry the sword,” Gk}, seeing that he is a servant of God, punishing with his anger the one who does evil.

13:5Therefore, it is necessary for you to be submissive, not only because of possible punishment but also for conscience’ sake. 13:6This is the reason you also must pay taxes to them, for they {the secular authorities} are servants of God continually doing his work.

13:7Pay what is due to everyone: tribute to whom tribute is due; taxes to whom taxes are due; respect to whom respect is due; honor to whom honor is due. 13:8Owe no one anything except to love each other, for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

13:9For all this: “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not kill; You shall not steal; You shall not covet;” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 13:10Love does no wrong to his neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law.

13:11And I also say this: Be recognizing the season, for it is already time for you to wake up out of sleep, for our ultimate salvation [the glorification of the body] is now nearer than when we first believed. 13:12The night is far gone and the day approaches. Let us, therefore, throw off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light.

13:13Let us walk decently as people do during the day, not in wild parties and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and lewd behavior, and not in quarrels and jealousy. 13:14But clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus the Anointed One and don’t make any provision for the flesh to satisfy its carnal cravings.

ROMANS CHAPTER 14

14:1Receive those who are weak in faith, but not to disputes about details. 14:2One man has faith to eat all things, but he who is weak in faith eats only vegetables. 14:3The one who eats everything must not treat the one who eats only vegetables with contempt and the one who eats only vegetables must not judge the one who eats everything, for God has received him.

14:4Who are you who judges someone else’s servant? He will stand or fall to his own master. But he will be upheld, for the Lord is powerful enough to uphold him. 14:5One man thinks that one day is more important than another. Another thinks that every day is the same. Let each one be fully persuaded in his own mind.

14:6He who honors a day, honors it to the Lord, and he who eats, eats to the Lord, for he is thankful to God. And he who doesn’t eat, doesn’t eat to the Lord, yet he still is thankful to God. 14:7For none of us lives to himself and none dies to himself. 14:8For whether we live, we live to the Lord, or whether we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.

14:9For the Anointed One died, rose up, and became alive again so that he would be Lord of both the dead and the living.

14:10But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you too, why do you treat your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of the Anointed One. 14:11For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow to me and every tongue will acknowledge me as God” (Is 45:23).

14:12So then each one of us will give an account of ourselves to God. 14:13Let us, therefore, not judge each other anymore but determine this instead: that no one place any motive for stumbling in his brother’s way or any snare. [See 1 Jn 2:9-11]. 14:14I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean of itself, except that to him who thinks that anything is unclean, it is unclean to him.

14:15But if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Don’t damage someone for whom the Anointed One died by what you eat. 14:16Therefore, don’t let something which is good [i.e. your freedom to eat anything] become something others can criticize. 14:17For the experience of the kingdom of God does not consist of food and drink but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

14:18For he who serves the Anointed One in all these considerations is acceptable to God and approved by men also. 14:19So then let us pursue the things which lead to peace and the ways through which we may build up each other.

14:20Don’t damage the work of God for the sake of food. On the one hand, all things are clean; however, on the other hand, it is wrong to offend someone else with what you eat. 14:21It is best not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything by which your brother is offended.

14:22The faith which you have, have to yourself before God. Happy is he whose conscience does not condemn him for the things he allows himself to do. 14:23But he who has doubts is condemned by his conscience if he eats something without being sure it is right because he eats it without faith. For anything which is not of faith is sin.

ROMANS CHAPTER 15

15:1Now we who are strong ought to bear with the consciences of those who are weak and not merely please ourselves. 15:2Let each one of us seek to please his neighbor for his good and for building him up.

15:3For the Anointed One also did not please himself, but as it is written, “The scorn of those who reviled you, God, fell upon me” (Ps 69:9). 15:4For whatever was written beforehand was written for our instruction so that through patience and through the support of the scriptures, we might have hope.

15:5Now may the God of patience, even the One who comes alongside to help, grant you to have this same understanding with respect to each other according to the Anointed One, Jesus, 15:6so that with one passion and with one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One.

15:7Therefore, receive each other just as the Anointed One also received you, to the glory of God. 15:8For I say that the Anointed One has been made a servant of those of the “circumcision” for the truth of God, to fulfill the promises given to the fathers, 15:9and so that the Gentiles would glorify God for his mercy, as it is written, “Therefore, I will praise you among the Gentiles and sing to your name.” 15:10And again he says, “Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people.” 15:11And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise him” (2 Sam 22:50).

15:12Yet again Isaiah says, “There will be the root of Jesse, even the One who rises up to rule over the Gentiles. The Gentiles will have hope because of him” (Ps 18:49; 117:1; Is 11:10).

15:13Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace through faith so that you may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. 15:14And I myself am persuaded concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of kindness, filled with all wisdom, thus being able to admonish each other.

15:15But I write to you this way with even more boldness to remind you of these things because of the grace that was given me by God. 15:16This is so that I would be a servant of the Anointed One, Jesus, to the Gentiles, serving the good news from God to them as a priest so that the offering up of the Gentiles might be made acceptable, having been made holy by the Holy Spirit.

15:17I have my reasons, then, to boast in the Anointed One, Jesus – things with respect to God. 15:18But I don’t dare mention anything except those things which the Anointed One has done through me by word and work, in the power of signs and wonders even in the power of the Holy Spirit, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles 15:19so that from Jerusalem and all around as far as Illyricum I have fully proclaimed the good news of the Anointed One.

15:20But I made it my goal to announce the good news message where the name of the Anointed One had not already been heard so that I would not build on another man’s foundation 15:21even as it is written, “Those to whom no news of him came will see and those who have not heard will understand” (Is 52:15).

15:22For this reason also, I was held back these many times from coming to you. 15:23But now, not having any more opportunities to serve here in these areas and having a longing to come to you for many years, 15:24whenever I go to Spain I will come to you. For I hope to see you on my journey and to be sent forward on my way by you after first, taking part in and being satisfied by having fellowship with you.

15:25But now, I am going to Jerusalem to serve those set apart for God. 15:26For those in Macedonia and Achaia wanted to make a certain contribution to the poor among those set apart for God who are at Jerusalem. 15:27In fact, they were pleased to do so because they are indebted to them. For since the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, they owe it to them to serve them in physical things.

15:28Then, after having finished this service and having confirmed this “fruit” to them, I will stop by you on the way to Spain. 15:29And I know that when I come to you, it will be in the full complement of the blessing of the Anointed One.

15:30Now I beg you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus the Anointed One and by the love you have in the spirit, that you strive together with me in your prayers to God for me 15:31so that I would be delivered from those who are disobedient in Judea and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be well received by those set apart for God.

15:32Pray also that I may come to you with joy by the will of God and be refreshed together with you. 15:33Now may the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

ROMANS CHAPTER 16

16:1I highly recommend to you Phoebe, our sister who is a servant of the gathering of the called-out ones that is at Cenchrea, 16:2so that you would receive her in the Lord in a way which is appropriate for those set apart for God and that you would assist her in anything which she might need from you. For she herself has also helped many others, including myself.

16:3Greet Priscilla and Aquila my fellow workers in the Anointed One, Jesus, 16:4who risked their own necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the gatherings of the called-out ones of the Gentiles. 16:5And greet the gathering of the called-out ones which is in their house. Greet Epaenetus, who is worthy of love, who is the first fruits of Asia to the Anointed One.

16:6Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you. 16:7Greet Andronicus and Junia, my relatives and my fellow prisoners who are well-known among the sent ones and who also were in the Anointed One before me. 16:8Greet Ampliatus, who is loved in the Lord. 16:9Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in the Anointed One and Stachys, my beloved.

16:10Greet Apelles, who has been approved in the Anointed One. Greet those who are of the household of Aristobulus. 16:11Greet Herodion, my relative. Greet those of the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord.

16:12Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa who work hard in the Lord. Greet Persis, the beloved who has done much work in the Lord. 16:13Greet Rufus, the chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine.

16:14Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brethren who are with them. 16:15Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister Olympas, and all the holy ones who are with them. 16:16Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the gatherings of the Anointed One’s called-out ones send you greetings.

16:17Now I plead with you, brethren, be wary of those who are creating divisions and trying to trap others for their own groups which is contrary to the teaching you learned, and turn away from them. 16:18For such people do not serve our Lord, the Anointed One, but their own selfish ambitions, and through their plausible arguments and slick words they deceive the hearts of the gullible.

16:19But news of your obedience has been spread to everyone, everywhere. Therefore, I rejoice about you. But I want you to be wise about what is good and pure toward what is evil. 16:20And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One be with you.

16:21Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you, along with Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my relatives. 16:22I Tertius, who writes this letter for Paul, greet you in the Lord. 16:23Gaius, my host and of the whole gathering of the called-out ones, greets you. Erastus, the treasurer of the city, greets you and Quartus the brother.*

16:25Now to him who is able to establish you according to my message of good news, even the proclaiming of Jesus the Anointed One – which is about the revelation of the mystery that has been kept in silence from eternal times, 16:26but which now, following the mandate of the eternal God, is being revealed by means of the prophetic scriptures and is being made known to all the nations for obedience of faith – 16:27to the One and only all-wise God, to him is the glory forever through Jesus the Anointed One. Amen.

*The most ancient manuscripts do not include verse 24.

Words in this translation found in italics are words which are implied by the Greek text but do not represent actual words in the Greek text. This practice is common in almost all modern translations. Occasionally, this translator has added words to the translation which represent his own ideas and opinions which, although they are based on his own biblical understanding, are not part of the actual Greek text. Such words are enclosed in brackets like this [ ]. The reader should understand these words as being the opinion of the translator. In contrast to this, the words in these braces { } indicate legitimate, alternative translations or explanations. Words within parentheses () are part of the original Greek text. Such parentheses are often used in other New Testament translations also.

The First Letter Of Paul To The

CORINTHIANS (1)

FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 1

1:1Paul, called to be a sent one of Jesus the Anointed One, through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, 1:2to the gathering of the called-out ones which is in Corinth, to those separated to the Anointed One, Jesus, and called by God to be holy, together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One, both their Lord and ours:

1:3Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus, the Anointed One. 1:4I always thank my God concerning you for the grace of God, which was given to you in the Anointed One, Jesus, 1:5that in everything you are being enriched in him, in all his word and in all understanding, 1:6to the degree that the evidence of the character of the Anointed One is being established in your lives.

1:7Consequently, you are not lacking in any gift while you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One. 1:8He is the One who will continue establishing you until the end so that there will be no accusation against you in the day of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One. 1:9God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with his Son, Jesus the Anointed One, our Lord.

1:10Now I appeal to you, brethren, through the name of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One, that you all speak the same thing and that there would be no divisions among you, but that you would be adjusted together into the same understanding and the same opinions. 1:11For those who are of Cloe’s household have spoken to me about you, my brethren, saying that there are contentions among you.

1:12Now I mean this: that each one of you says, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of the Anointed One. 1:13Is the Anointed One divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized into the name of Paul? 1:14I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius 1:15so that no one would say that they were baptized into my name. 1:16I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides that, I don’t remember whether I baptized anyone else.

1:17For the Anointed One did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the good news message, not using words full of human wisdom which would take away the effectiveness of the cross of the Anointed One.

1:18For, on one hand, the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are on the path of destruction, but, on the other hand, to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1:19For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and the understanding of the intelligent I will bring to nothing” (Is 29:14).

1:20Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this world? Hasn’t God made the wisdom of this world foolish? 1:21For God in his wisdom ordained that the world could not find him through its own wisdom. Instead, his well conceived plan is to be saving those who are believing through the foolishness of what we are proclaiming.

1:22The Jews ask for signs and the Greeks seek after wisdom, 1:23but we announce the crucified Anointed One which is an offense to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles. 1:24But to those who are called – both Jews and Greeks – the Anointed One is the power of God and the wisdom of God, 1:25because the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

1:26Just look at how you were called brethren: not many wise humanly speaking, not many mighty, and not many noble are called. 1:27But God chose the foolish ones of the world in order to shame those who are wise, and God chose the weak ones of the world in order that the strong would be disgraced. 1:28And He chose the lowly ones of the world, the ones who are despised, yes and even the ones who are nothing, in order to inactivate {render unemployed} the ones that now exist [including the present evil, heavenly rulers], 1:29so that no flesh would be able to boast before God. 1:30And it is because of him that you are in the Anointed One, Jesus, who made available to us in himself wisdom from God, righteousness, holiness, and liberation. 1:31The result then is in agreement with what has been written, “He who boasts, let him boast in the Lord” (Jer 9:24).

FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 2

2:1And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with elevated speech or wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. 2:2For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus the Anointed One and him crucified. 2:3And I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 2:4And my speech and my proclaiming were not with persuasive words of wisdom but with the demonstration of the Spirit and of power 2:5so that your faith would not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

2:6We do speak wisdom, however, among those who are mature, yet it is not a wisdom of this age nor of the heavenly rulers of this age, who are being rendered powerless. 2:7But we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, even the wisdom which has been hidden, which God predetermined before the ages for our glory.

2:8This is a wisdom which none of the rulers of this age understood, for if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 2:9But as it is written, “Things which eyes have not seen nor ears heard and which have never entered into the heart of man – things which God is preparing for those who love him!” (Is 64:4).

2:10But God reveals them to us through the Spirit, for the Spirit searches out all things, even the profound things of God. 2:11For which man knows the hidden things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? In this same way, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.

2:12But we have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit which is from God so that we might know the things that are freely given to us by God. 2:13These are the things about which we also speak, not in words which human wisdom teaches, but which the Spirit teaches using spiritual words to describe spiritual things.

2:14Now the soulish man does not understand the things of the Spirit of God. They are foolishness to him and he cannot comprehend them because they are spiritually discerned. 2:15But he who is spiritual understands all things, yet he himself is correctly understood by no one unspiritual. 2:16“For who has known the mind of the Lord so that he should instruct him?” (Is 40:13). But we are laying hold of the mind of the Anointed One through being transformed.

FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 3

3:1Brethren, I couldn’t speak to you as to spiritual individuals but as to fleshly, even as to infants in the Anointed One. 3:2I fed you with milk, not with meat, for you were not yet able to handle it. No, you are not even able now, 3:3for you are still carnal. For when there is jealousy and competition among you, aren’t you just fleshly? Aren’t you following the natural, human tendencies?

3:4For when one says, “I am a follower of Paul,” and another, “But I am a follower of Apollos,” aren’t you just acting like mere carnal men? 3:5Who then is Apollos? And who is Paul? Just servants through whom you believed, receiving from each one according to what the Lord gave him.

3:6I planted, Apollos watered, but it was God who gave the increase. 3:7So then neither is he who plants anything or he who waters anything, but God who gives the growth is everything. 3:8Now he who plants and he who waters are one, but each will receive his own reward according to his own work. 3:9For we are God’s co-workers. You are God’s planted fields and God’s building.

3:10According to the grace of God which was given to me as a wise master builder, I laid a foundation and others build on it. But let each one be careful how he builds on it. 3:11For no one can lay any other foundation than that which has been laid, which is Jesus the Anointed One. 3:12But if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, or wood, hay, or stubble – 3:13everyone’s work will be clearly seen, for the “day” will expose it because it will be revealed by the fire. The fire itself will test everyone’s work, thus revealing what kind it is. 3:14If anyone’s work which he built survives, he will receive a reward. 3:15If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet only by passing through the fire himself.

3:16Don’t you know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? 3:17If any man dishonors the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God – which is you – is holy.

3:18Let no one deceive himself. If any man thinks that he is wise among you in this age, he should become foolish so that he may become wise. 3:19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written that “He catches the wise in their own craftiness” (Job 5:13). 3:20And again, “The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless.”

3:21Therefore let no one glorify certain men [special leaders, etc.]. For all things are yours, 3:22whether Paul; or Apollos; or Cephas; or the world; or life; or death; or present things; or things in the future: all are yours, 3:23and you are the Anointed One’s, and the Anointed One is God’s.

FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 4

4:1This is how people should think of us: as lower-ranking servants* of the Anointed One and caretakers of the mysteries of God.

*The Greek word is literally, “under rower” which was a lower order of seaman, possibly the slaves which labored on the lower deck of oarsmen in a Roman galley ship. There is no doubt that this “under rower” was not the captain of the ship

4:2Speaking of this subject, it is required of caretakers that they are found to be faithful. 4:3And yet I give very little importance to how I might be judged by you or by any human judgment. In fact, I don’t even judge myself. 4:4For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not even justified by this, but he who judges me is the Lord.

4:5Therefore, judge nothing before the time until the Lord comes who will both shine his light on the things hidden in the darkness and expose the secret meditations of our hearts. Then each one will have his praise from God.

4:6Now these things, brethren, I have applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes so that in our case you would learn not to think more highly of us than the things which I have written so that no one would try to make one of us seem greater than the other. 4:7For who makes people different? And what does anyone have that they didn’t receive? But if you have received something, why do you brag about it as if it hadn’t been given to you by someone else?

4:8You are already filled. You have already become rich. You have started to reign without us. Yes, and I wish that you actually did reign [in the coming millennial kingdom] so that we also could reign with you.

4:9For I think God has designated us, the sent ones, to be like the disgraced ones at the end of the parade of those condemned to die in the arena; as a spectacle to the cosmos, both to angels and to men. 4:10We are fools for the Anointed One’s sake, but you are wise in the Anointed One. We are weak, but you are strong. You have honor, but we have dishonor.

4:11Even to this present time we both hunger and thirst; we are poorly clothed, are beaten, and have no fixed residence. 4:12We labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure it; 4:13being slandered by others, we appeal to them. We are like the rubbish of the world; we are like all the floor sweepings until this time.

4:14I don’t write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children, I say this as a warning to you. 4:15For though you have ten thousand instructors in the Anointed One, yet you don’t have many fathers. For in the Anointed One, Jesus, I begot you through the message of good news. 4:16I beg you, therefore, to become imitators of me! [Instead of being “filled, rich, reigning,” etc.]

4:17For this reason I sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord and who will remind you of the way I walk in the Anointed One, just as I teach everywhere in every gathering of the called-out ones. 4:18Now some have become proud, as though I were not coming to you. 4:19But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills. And I will not assess the words of those who are self-important, but the power. 4:20For the kingdom of God is not in words but in power. 4:21What do you want? Should I come to you with a rod or in love and a spirit of gentleness?

FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 5

5:1It is actually reported that there is sex outside of the marriage union among you and such impure sex that even the Gentiles don’t practice it, i.e. that one of you has had sex with his father’s wife. 5:2And you are proud and did not mourn instead so that he who has done this act might be taken away from among you.

5:3For although I am physically absent, yet I am present in spirit and have already judged him who has done this thing as if I were present. 5:4In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are gathered together and my spirit is with you with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5:5deliver such a person to Satan for the destruction of his flesh so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

5:6Your proud boasting is not approved. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole lump of dough? 5:7Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new, unmixed batch since you should be unleavened. For our passover lamb has been sacrificed, even the Anointed One.

5:8Therefore, let us keep the feast, not with old yeast, neither with the yeast of depraved behavior and sin, but with the unleavened bread of purity and truth.

5:9When I wrote to you in my letter not to have fellowship with those who practice sex outside of the marriage bond, 5:10I did not mean with the sexually immoral of this world, or with those who are eager for wealth, or with those who take advantage of others, or with those who worship something other than God, for then you would need to leave this world.

5:11But as it is, I wrote to you not to have fellowship with anyone who is called a brother but who is practicing sex outside of the marriage union, or is eager for wealth, or is someone who worships something other than God, or is someone who speaks badly about others, or is a drunkard, or is a person who takes advantage of others. Don’t even share a meal with someone like that.

5:12For what business do I have judging those who are outside in the world? Don’t you judge those who are within? 5:13But those who are outside God will judge. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.

FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 6

6:1Do any of you having a dispute with his neighbor dare to go to court before the unrighteous instead of before those who have been set apart for God? 6:2Or don’t you know that those who have been set apart for God will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? 6:3Don’t you know that we will judge angels? How much more should we be able to judge the things that belong to this life?

6:4If, then, you need to decide a legal dispute about things belonging to this life, would you set someone to judge who is looked down on in the gathering of the called-out ones? 6:5I say this to shame you. What? Can’t you find among yourselves even one wise man who would be able to decide between his brethren? 6:6But, instead, a brother goes to court against another brother to have his case decided by unbelievers.

6:7Now it is already a serious failure among you that you even have lawsuits against each other! Why not instead let yourselves be wronged? Why not instead let yourselves be defrauded? 6:8Instead, you yourselves act unjustly and defraud and do it to your brethren!

6:9Or don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit the coming kingdom of God? Don’t be deceived: neither those who have sex outside of marriage, nor those who worship something besides God; nor adulterers, nor cross dressers, nor homosexuals, 6:10nor thieves, nor those who are eager for wealth, nor drunkards; nor slanderers, nor those who take advantage of others will inherit the kingdom of God [the millennial kingdom].

6:11And some of you were like this, but you are being washed, but you are being made holy, but you are being made righteous through the name of the Lord Jesus the Anointed One – namely by the Spirit of our God.

6:12It is possible for me to do anything, but not all things are beneficial. It is possible for me to do anything, but I will not be brought under the control of any of them.

6:13Foods are for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. But the body is not for sex outside of the marriage bond but for the Lord and the Lord for the body. 6:14And God, who raised up the Lord, will also raise us up through his power.

6:15Don’t you realize that your bodies are members of the Anointed One? Should I take the members of the Anointed One and make them members of an immoral woman?* God forbid! 6:16Or don’t you know that he who is joined to an immoral woman* is one body with her? For, “The two,” says he, “will become one flesh” (Gn 2:24). 6:17But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with the Lord.

*The Greek word here is literally “prostitute” but I have used “immoral woman” instead. This phrase was chosen because the sex act, which results in the “one flesh” condition, is not limited only to prostitutes. Today, immoral sex is so rampant, that very few need to seek prostitutes to sin against their own bodies. Sex with an “immoral woman” brings the same spiritual results as sex with a professional prostitute. 6:18Flee sex outside of the marriage bond. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who has sex outside of the marriage covenant sins against his own body. 6:19Or don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you? This is something which you have received from God. You are no longer your own master 6:20because you have been purchased with a high price. Therefore, glorify God in your body.

FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 7

7:1Now concerning the things about which you wrote, about whether it is morally right for a man to have sex with a woman, I say: 7:2because of the temptation of sexual sins, let each man have his own wife and let each woman have her own husband. 7:3Let the husband meet his wife’s sexual needs and likewise also the wife meet her husband’s sexual needs. 7:4The wife does not have rights over her own body, but the husband does. In the same way also the husband does not have rights over his own body, but the wife does.

7:5Don’t deprive each other of this privilege, except by mutual consent for a time so that you may spend undistracted time in fasting and prayer. Then you should come together again so that Satan doesn’t tempt you because of your lack of self control.

7:6I say this by way of concession, not as a commandment. 7:7I wish that all men were even as I myself am. However, each man has his own gift from God, some in this area and someone else in another area. 7:8But I say to the unmarried and to the widows that it is good for them if they remain even as I am. 7:9But if they do not have control over themselves, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

7:10But to the married ones I give this advice, yet not I, but the Lord: that the wife should not separate from her husband. 7:11But if she separates, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And the husband should not separate from his wife.

7:12But to the rest I say (not the Lord): If any brother has an unbelieving wife and she is content to live with him, he should not leave her. 7:13And if the woman has an unbelieving husband who is content to live with her, she should not leave her husband. 7:14For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the brother; otherwise your children would be considered unclean, but now they are holy.

7:15Yet if the unbeliever wants to separate, let him leave. The brother or the sister is not bound as a slave in such cases. For God has called us to peace. 7:16For how do you know, oh wife, whether you will rescue your husband from destruction? Or how do you know, oh husband, whether you will rescue your wife?

7:17Only as the Lord has distributed a portion to each one, as God has called each one, let him walk in it. This is what I recommend in all the gatherings of the called-out ones.

7:18Was any man called being circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised. Has anyone been called in uncircumcision? Let him not be circumcised. 7:19Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but obeying what God tells us to do is what matters. 7:20Let each man remain in that situation in which he was when he was called.

7:21Were you called being a bondslave? Don’t let it hinder you. But if you can become free, use it instead. 7:22For he who was called in the Lord being a bondslave is the Lord’s free man. Likewise, he who was called being free is the Anointed One’s slave. 7:23You were bought with a price; don’t become slaves of men. 7:24Brethren, let each man remain with God in the situation in which he was called.

7:25Now concerning virgins, I have no commandment from the Lord, but I give my advice as one who has obtained mercy from the Lord to be trustworthy. 7:26I think, therefore, because of the present distressing circumstances, that it is good for a man to remain as he is.

7:27Are you bound to a wife? Don’t seek to be loosed. Are you loosed from a wife? Don’t seek a wife. 7:28But if you marry, you have not sinned. If a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Yet those who marry will have affliction in the flesh from which I would prefer to spare you.

7:29But I say this: brethren, the time is growing ever shorter. Therefore, from now on, those who have wives should live as though they had none; 7:30those who weep, as though they did not weep; those who rejoice, as though they did not rejoice; those who buy, as though they did not have possessions and 7:31those who use the world, as not overindulging themselves in it, for the form of this world will disappear.

7:32But I would like you to be free from cares. He who is unmarried cares about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord. 7:33But he who is married cares about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and so his attention is divided. 7:34So also the woman who is unmarried and the virgin care about the things of the Lord, so that they may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world, how she may please her husband.

7:35I say this for your own benefit, not to put restraints on you, but for something beautiful, i.e. that you may devote your attention to the Lord without distraction.

7:36But if any man thinks that he is behaving himself improperly with respect to his virginity, and if she [the one he is desiring to marry] is past puberty {the flower of her age, Gk}, as she must be in order to marry, let him do what he wishes. He does not sin. Let them marry. 7:37But he who stands firm in his heart, not having strong passions, but has control over his own desires, having decided in his heart to keep his own virginity; he does well. 7:38So then, he who gives up his virginity by getting married does well and he who does not marry does even better.

7:39A wife is bound to her husband for as long as her husband is alive. But if the husband dies, she is free to be married to whomever she wishes, only in the Lord. 7:40But in my opinion, she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I also have the Spirit of God.

FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 8

8:1Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge inflates the ego, but love builds up. 8:2If any man thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he needs to know. 8:3But if any man loves God, this one understands that which is from him.

8:4Therefore, concerning eating things which have been sacrificed to idols, we know that no idol is anything in this world and that there is no God but one. 8:5For though there are things which are called gods, whether in heaven or on earth – as there are many gods and many lords – 8:6yet for us there is only one God, the Father, of whom are all things and into whom we have come, and one Lord, Jesus the Anointed One, through whom are all things, including ourselves.

8:7However, not all men have that knowledge. Some are still used to thinking of the idol as being something real. So when they eat something sacrificed to an idol, their conscience, being weak, is contaminated. 8:8But food does not gain us God’s approval. Neither if we don’t eat are we worse off, nor if we do eat are we better off.

8:9But be careful so that this liberty of yours doesn’t become a stumbling block to the weak ones. 8:10If, for example, someone sees you who have knowledge, sitting in an idol’s temple eating meat, if he is weak, won’t his conscience be emboldened to partake of [participate in] idolatrous sacrifices [rituals often involving prostitution]? 8:11In this way, through your “knowledge,” the weak brother for whom the Anointed One died is destroyed. 8:12And thus, sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against the Anointed One.

8:13Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again so that I don’t cause my brother to stumble.

FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 9

9:1Am I not free? Am I not a sent one? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? 9:2If I am not a sent one to others, yet at least I am to you, for the seal of my having been sent is you in the Lord. 9:3My defense to those who examine me is this:

9:4Don’t we have the right to eat and to drink? 9:5Don’t we have the right to be accompanied by a wife who is a believer, just like the rest of the sent ones, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas? 9:6Or myself and Bar-Nabas, don’t we have a right to not work secularly? 9:7What soldier ever serves paying his own expenses? Who is it who plants a vineyard and doesn’t eat the fruit from it? Or who shepherds a flock and doesn’t drink the milk of the flock?

9:8Do I just say these things humanly speaking or doesn’t the law say the same thing also? 9:9For it is written in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle the ox while threshing grain” (Deut 25:4). Is it simply that God cares for the oxen 9:10or does he principally say it for our benefit?

Yes, it was written for our sake because he who plows ought to plow in hope and he who threshes, to thresh in the hope of partaking. 9:11If we sowed into you spiritual things, is it a great problem if we reap natural things from you? 9:12If others partake of this privilege concerning you, how much more could we? Nevertheless we did not use this privilege. Instead, we put up with all things so that we would not present an obstacle for anyone to the message of good news about the Anointed One.

9:13Don’t you know that those who work with the sacred things eat of the things of the temple and those who attend the altar have their portion from the altar? 9:14In a similar way, the Lord has ordained that those who proclaim the good news should live from the good news message. 9:15But I have used none of these things nor am I writing this to insist that it should be done for me. For it would be better for me to die rather than that anyone would make my boasting void.

9:16For if I announce the good news, I have nothing to boast about. It is a necessity which has been laid upon me. Woe to me if I don’t proclaim the good news message. 9:17For if I do it willingly I have a reward, but if unwillingly, I still have had a stewardship entrusted to me.

9:18What is my reward then? That, when I proclaim the good news, I present the good news without financial cost so as not to use my full right in the good news message. 9:19For though I was free from all men, I made myself a slave to all so that I might gain more of them.

9:20So to the Jews I became as a Jew so that I might gain Jews; to those who are under the law, I became as if I were under the law – not being myself actually under the law – so that I might gain those who are under the law. 9:21To those who don’t have the law, I became as if I didn’t have the law – not being without law with respect to God, but under the law of the Anointed One – so that I might gain those who don’t have the law.

9:22To the weak I became weak so that I might gain the weak. I have become all things to all men so that I, by using all legitimate means, might save some. 9:23And I do all things for the sake of the good news message so that I may be a joint partaker in the rewards of it.

9:24Don’t you know that those who run in a race all run but only one receives the prize? You should run in the same way so that you may obtain it. 9:25And everyone who strives to excel in sports exercises self-control in all things. Now they do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one.

9:26Therefore, I run in this way, not with uncertainty. I fight in this way, not as if I were just beating the air. 9:27But I treat my body severely and bring it into subjection unless after I have preached to others, I myself would be rejected.

FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 10

10:1For I don’t want you to be unaware brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea 10:2and were all “baptized” into Moses [into that which Moses received] in the cloud and in the sea. 10:3They all ate the same spiritual food 10:4and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from a spiritual rock which followed them – and that rock was the Anointed One.

10:5However, God was not pleased with most of them, for their corpses were scattered in the wilderness. 10:6Now these things are examples for us so that we should not long after sinful things, as they also longed. 10:7Neither should we worship anything other than God as some of them did, as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play” [in an idolatrous, drunken orgy] (Ex 32:6,18,19,25).

10:8Neither let us have sex outside of the marriage bond, as some of them did and in one day twenty-three thousand of them were killed. 10:9Neither let us try the Lord’s patience too much, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents. 10:10Neither should we complain as some of them complained and were destroyed by the Destroyer.

10:11Now these things which happened to them were written as a warning to us, upon whom the ends of the ages have come! 10:12Therefore, let him who thinks he stands be careful so that he doesn’t fall. 10:13There is no test of your faithfulness {temptation} which you experience which is not common to all humans. But God, who is faithful, will not allow you to be tested beyond what you are able to bear but will with the test also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.

10:14Furthermore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 10:15I speak to you as to wise men. Consider carefully what I say. 10:16The cup of blessing which we celebrate, isn’t it our fellowship together in the blood of the Anointed One? The bread which we break, isn’t it our fellowship together in the body of the Anointed One? 10:17This is because we who are many are one bread and one body, since we all partake of the one bread. 10:18Consider Israel, humanly speaking. Aren’t they companions since they eat the sacrifices that come from the altar together?

10:19What am I saying then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything or that an idol is anything? No! 10:20But I do say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God. I do not want you to become participants with demons.

10:21You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and of the table of demons. 10:22Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he is?

10:23Everything is possible, but not all things are beneficial. Everything is possible, but not all things build up yourself or others. 10:24Let no one seek his own interests, but each one should seek his neighbor’s well-being.

10:25Whatever is sold in the marketplace, eat, asking no question for conscience’ sake, 10:26for, “The earth is the Lord’s and all the abundance of it” (Ps 24:1).

10:27If an unbeliever invites you to a feast and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set in front of you, asking no question for conscience’ sake. 10:28But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in an idolatrous sacrifice,” don’t eat it, for his sake who disclosed it and for conscience’ sake. 10:29When I say conscience, I don’t mean your own, but the other’s. For why should my liberty be judged by someone else’s conscience? 10:30If I partake with thankfulness, why am I spoken against for that for which I give thanks?

10:31Therefore, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 10:32Don’t do anything which is offensive, either to Jews, or to Greeks, or to the gathering of the called-out ones of God, 10:33just as I also seek to be inoffensive to all men in all things, not seeking my own advantage, but the benefit of the many so that they may be being saved.

FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 11

11:1Be imitating me in the way that I follow the Anointed One. 11:2Now I praise you that you remember everything about the way I lived and you hold tightly onto the instructions which I delivered to you.

11:3But I want you to know, that the head of every man is the Anointed One, the head of the woman is the man, and the head of the Anointed One is God. 11:4Every man when praying or prophesying, having his head down {or, lowered},* disgraces his true head: the Anointed One.

* This posture signals an attitude of submission to another man or men.

11:5And every woman praying or prophesying with her head uncovered dishonors her head: the man. For it is the same as if she were shaved bald. 11:6For if a woman is not covered, let her also be shaved. But if it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut or to be shaved, let her be covered.

11:7For a man is obligated not to have his head covered (signaling submission to human authority) because he possesses the image and glory of God. But the woman is the glory of man. 11:8You see, the man was not taken out of the woman, but the woman was taken out of the man.

11:9Therefore, the man was not made for the woman, but the woman was made for the man. 11:10For this reason, the woman should have a sign of her submission to authority on her head for the sake of the angels. 11:11Nevertheless, in the Lord neither is the woman complete without the man nor the man complete without the woman. 11:12For as the woman was taken out from the man, so the man also comes out from the woman. But all things are from God.

11:13Make this judgment for yourselves. Is it proper for a woman to pray to God uncovered? 11:14Doesn’t even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him? 11:15But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her. For her hair is given her as a covering.

11:16But if anyone has a strong disagreement about this, we have no such custom, neither do the gatherings of the called-out ones of God.

11:17But in giving you the following instructions, I do not praise you. You are not coming together for the better but for the worse. 11:18For first of all, when you come together in the gathering of the called-out ones, I hear that divisions exist among you and I partly believe it. 11:19For it is inevitable that separations occur among you so that it can be clear who those are who are approved by God.

11:20When, therefore, you assemble yourselves together, the supper you eat is not of the Lord. 11:21For in your eating, each one takes his own meal before the other. One goes hungry and another is drunk. 11:22What? Don’t you have houses in which to eat and drink? Or don’t you value the gathering of the called-out ones of God and so shame those who don’t have much? What should I say to you? Should I praise you? I don’t praise you in this matter!

11:23For I received from the Lord that which also I delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed, during the meal took bread, 11:24and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Remember me when you do this.”

11:25In the same way also he took the cup after they had eaten their meal, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. As often as you drink it together, remember me.” 11:26For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup together, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

11:27Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord being unworthy* will be liable for the body and the blood of the Lord. 11:28But let a man examine himself and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 11:29For whoever still eats and drinks but does not discern the Lord’s body* eats and drinks in an irreverent manner and so eats and drinks judgment upon himself.

*This “unworthiness” must be linked to “not discerning the Lord’s body” in verse 29. In fact, following the context of the entire passage, the judgments described seem to be intimately linked to how we treat other members of the body rather than to other kinds of sins. (See chapter 10:16,17).

11:30This is the reason that many among you are weak and sick and some have even died.** 11:31But if we rightly discern our own responsibility with respect to the other members, we will not be judged. 11:32But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we will not be condemned along with the world.

**This could mean physical and/or spiritual death.

11:33Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for each other. 11:34If anyone is too hungry to wait for the others, let him eat at home so that your coming together is not for judgment. And the remaining matters I will arrange when I come.

FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 12

12:1Now, brethren, I don’t want you to be ignorant concerning spiritual gifts. 12:2You know that when you were Gentiles, you were led by those voiceless idols, being carried away by various impulses. 12:3Therefore, I want to make it clear to you that no one speaking in the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is cursed,” and no man can truly declare that Jesus is his Master, but by the Holy Spirit.

12:4Now there are different kinds of gifts but the same Spirit. 12:5And there are various kinds of ministries yet the same Lord. 12:6And there are different ways of working but it is the same God who is operating in and through all things.

12:7But to each one is given an expression of the Spirit for the benefit of all. 12:8For to one is given the “word of wisdom” through the Spirit, and to another the “word of knowledge” according to the same Spirit; 12:9to another faith in the same Spirit; to another gifts of healing in the one Spirit; 12:10to another workings of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another different kinds of languages; to another the interpretation of such languages.

12:11But through all these things, One – even the Spirit himself – works, distributing to each one individually according to his purposes.

12:12For as the physical body is one and has many members and all the members of the body, being many, are one – so also is the Anointed One. 12:13For in one Spirit we are all immersed {baptized} into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free. And one Spirit was provided for us to drink.

12:14Yet the body is not one member but many. 12:15If the foot were to say, “Because I am not the hand, I am not part of the body,” is it, therefore, not part of the body? 12:16Or if the ear were to say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not part of the body,” is it, therefore, not part of the body? 12:17If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the smelling be?

12:18But now God has set each one of the members in the body just as it pleased him. 12:19And if they were all one member, where would the body be? 12:20But now they are many members, but one body. 12:21And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you,” or, again, the head to the feet, “I don’t need you.”

12:22Instead, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. 12:23Those parts of the body, which we think are less honorable, to these we give more abundant honor and our less beautiful parts we beautify even more, 12:24whereas our attractive parts have no need.

But God joined the members of the body together, giving greater honor to the part which is lacking 12:25so that there would be no separations in the body but that each of the members of the body would care for each other. 12:26The result should be that if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it, or if one member is honored, all the members will rejoice with it.

12:27Now you are the body of the Anointed One and each member is assigned a “part” to fulfill. 12:28And, indeed, this is how God has arranged things in the gathering of the called-out ones: first he placed sent ones, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, then gifts of healing, helping others, guidance and various types of languages. 12:29Are all sent ones? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? 12:30Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak with different languages? Do all interpret? 12:31But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you an even more excellent way.

FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 13

13:1If I speak in the languages of men and of angels but don’t have love, I have become like a sounding brass instrument or a clanging cymbal. 13:2And if I have the gift of prophecy, understand the mysteries, have every last bit of knowledge and if I have all faith – enough to remove mountains – but don’t have love, I am nothing. 13:3And if I donate all my goods to feed the poor and if I give my body to be burned, but don’t have love, it doesn’t benefit me at all.

13:4Love is patient in all situations and is kind. Love is not jealous. Love does not show itself off; is not proud; 13:5does not behave itself inappropriately; is not self-seeking; is not quick to take offense; does not keep track of wrongs against it; 13:6does not rejoice because of other’s sins but rejoices with the truth; 13:7covers all negative things; believes all things; hopes all things; endures all things.

13:8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will be rendered useless; where there are different languages, they will cease; where there is knowledge, it will disappear. 13:9For now we understand only partially and we prophesy imperfectly. 13:10But when that which is perfect has come, that which is only partial will be superseded.

13:11When I was a child, my speech was childish, my feelings were childish, my thoughts were childish. Now that I have become a man, I have put away childish things. 13:12For now we see in a mirror, obscurely,* but then face to face. Now I understand partially, but then I will know him completely, just as I also am thoroughly known by him right now. 13:13But these things are enduring: faith, hope and love, these three, and the greatest of these is love.

*The mirrors of those times, usually a polished metal, did not give a very good reflection as our glass ones do today. Perhaps their reflection was very fuzzy and imperfect. Therefore, “seeing as in a mirror” would be to see imperfectly or “obscurely.”

FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 14

14:1Follow after love, yet earnestly desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you might prophesy. 14:2For he who speaks in a unknown language does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him. But in the spirit he speaks mysteries. 14:3But he who prophesies, speaks edification, exhortation, and consolation to men. 14:4He who speaks in an unknown language edifies himself but he who prophesies builds up the gathering of the called-out ones.

14:5Now my desire is that you all speak with different languages but even more that you would prophesy. He who prophesies is “greater” than he who speaks with different languages, unless he interprets what is said so that the gathering of the called-out ones may receive edification.

14:6But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking with unknown languages, how will it benefit you if I don’t speak to you either through revelation, knowledge, prophesying, or teaching? 14:7Even things without life when making a sound, whether a flute or harp, if they don’t give a distinctive sound, how will it be known what is being played? 14:8For example, if the trumpet makes an indistinct sound, who will prepare himself for war?

14:9So you also, unless you speak with your tongue, speech which is easy to understand, how will anyone know what is being spoken? For you will be speaking into the air.

14:10For example, there are many kinds of languages in the world and no language is without its own meaning. 14:11But if I don’t know the meaning of the words, I will appear to be a foreigner to him who speaks and he who speaks will be a foreigner to me. 14:12So you also, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, seek them in a way which will result in the abundant edifying of the called-out ones.

14:13Therefore, let him who speaks in a different language pray that he may interpret it. 14:14For if I pray in an unknown language, my spirit prays, but I don’t understand the words. 14:15What is better then? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with understanding also. I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with understanding also.

14:16Or else if you bless with the spirit, how will someone who does not know that language say “Amen” at your giving thanks, since he doesn’t know what you said? 14:17For you really do give thanks well, but the other is not built up. 14:18I thank God that I speak in unknown languages more than all of you. 14:19However, in the gathering of the called-out ones I would rather speak five words with my understanding so that I might instruct others also than ten thousand words in an unknown language.

14:20Brethren, don’t have the mentality of children. Yet with respect to meanness you should be like babies, but in understanding be like men. 14:21In the law it is written, “By men of strange tongues and by the lips of strangers I will speak to this people, yet even then they will not hear me, says the Lord” (Is 28:11,12). 14:22Therefore, these different languages are a sign not to those who believe but to the unbelieving. But prophesying is a sign not only to the unbelieving but to those who believe also.

14:23If then the whole group of called-out ones is assembled together and everyone speaks with an unknown language and some people who are uneducated or unbelieving come in, won’t they say that you are crazy? 14:24But if everyone prophesies and someone unbelieving or uneducated enters, he is reproved by all and he is judged by all 14:25since the secrets of his heart are being revealed. And so he will fall down on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you.

14:26What is the proper way to conduct your meetings then, brethren? When you come together, each one has a psalm; has a teaching; has a revelation; has a message in an unknown language; has an interpretation. Let everything be done for building up the others.*

*In church meetings, everything spoken should have the purpose of edifying others, not glorifying or calling attention to the speaker.

*14:27If anyone speaks in an unknown language, it should be done by two, or at the most three people, with each taking their turn. And someone should interpret. 14:28But if there is no interpreter, let him keep quiet in the gathering of the called-out ones. Let him speak to himself and to God.

14:29And let two or three of the prophets speak and let the others discern if what they say is from God. 14:30But if a revelation comes to another sitting nearby, let the one speaking be quiet. 14:31For you all can prophesy one by one

so that all may learn and all may be encouraged. 14:32And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets,* 14:33for God is not a God of confusion but of peace.

*Paul is teaching us that in true prophesying, the prophet does not lose control of himself. He is not possessed by or taken over by a spirit or the Holy Spirit. His spirit is always under his own control, i.e. “subject” to himself.

As it is whenever the called-out ones – the ones who have been set apart for God – get together, 14:34the women should be quiet, [not loud and pushy] in the gatherings. For it is not permitted for them to speak disruptively, but let them be in subjection as the law also teaches. 14:35And if they wish to learn more about anything, let them ask their own husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak disruptively in the assembly.**

**In chapter 11, verse 5, Paul mentions women praying or prophesying when they are submissive, i.e. with their head covered. Without a doubt, this is something which happened in gatherings of the called-out ones. Thus, they were “speaking” in the meetings. These women surely were not prophesying to themselves. Once two or three people get together, whether they are men or women, this already constitutes a “church” meeting (Mt 18:20). Therefore, this passage cannot be understood as a total prohibition on women speaking in meetings. I have offered the above translation as a way which seems to harmonize with the rest of Paul’s teaching.

14:36What? Did the word of God come forth from you? Or did it come to you alone? 14:37If any man thinks of himself as a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord. 14:38But if any man is without understanding, he won’t understand this. 14:39Therefore, my brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy and don’t forbid to speak with other languages. 14:40But let all things be done decently and in order.

FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 15

15:1Now I reaffirm to you, brethren, the good news that I announced to you, which you also received, in which also you stand, 15:2by which you also are being saved, if you are holding tightly onto the word which I proclaimed to you, unless you believed insincerely.

15:3For I delivered to you truths from among the primary ones which I also received, i.e. that the Anointed One died for our sins according to the scriptures; 15:4and that he was buried; and that he has been raised on the third day according to the scriptures; 15:5and that he appeared to Cephas and then to the twelve. 15:6After that he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive until today, but some of whom have fallen asleep {died}; 15:7then he appeared to James; then to all the sent ones.

15:8Then – being the least important of them all, like a child born as a miscarriage – he appeared to me also. 15:9For I am the least of the sent ones, one who is not worthy to be called a sent one because I persecuted the called-out ones of God. 15:10But by the grace of God I am what I am and his grace which was given to me was not ineffective, but I labored more abundantly than they all. Yet it wasn’t I, but the grace of God which was with me. 15:11Whether then it was I or they – we proclaimed and you believed.

15:12Now if the Anointed One is proclaimed as having been raised from the dead, how can some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 15:13For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then the Anointed One has not been raised either. 15:14And if the Anointed One has not been raised, then our proclaiming is in vain and your faith is also useless.

15:15Furthermore, we would be found to be false witnesses of God if we testified concerning God that he raised up the Anointed One, whom he didn’t raise up, if it is true that the dead are not raised. 15:16For if the dead are not raised, neither has the Anointed One been raised. 15:17And if the Anointed One has not been raised, your faith has no benefit for you. You are still in your sins.

15:18Then too those who have fallen asleep {died} in the Anointed One have perished. 15:19If then we have placed our only hope in the Anointed One’s resurrected life (and he has not resurrected), we are the most to be pitied of all men.

15:20But actually the Anointed One has been raised from the dead, thus becoming the firstfruits of those who are asleep. 15:21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also came through a man.

15:22For as in Adam all die, so also all who are in the Anointed One will be made alive. 15:23But each in his own order: the Anointed One the firstfruits; then those that are the Anointed One’s at his coming. 15:24Then the culmination {fulfillment} comes when he will deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father, as soon as he has rendered inoperative all other rule, all other authority, and other power. 15:25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.

15:26The last enemy to be rendered inoperative is death, 15:27for he will surely put all things in subjection under his feet. But when he said, “All things are put in subjection,” it is evident that he who subjected all things to him is excepted. 15:28And when all things have been subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who subjected all things to him so that God the Father may be all in all.

15:29Otherwise what will they do who are immersed {baptized} to identify with the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they immersed {baptized} to identify with the dead? 15:30Why also are we in danger all the time? 15:31I die daily – which corresponds to your boasting about me, brethren, which boasting I understand to be in the Anointed One, Jesus our Lord.**

**This is a particularly difficult sentence to translate. The Greek is not at all clear. There are very many different translations of this verse, some of which are pure gibberish. This translation is offered as an attempt to make sense of what Paul is trying to say.

15:32When I fought with beasts at Ephesus, from a man’s point of view, how did it profit me if the dead are not raised? Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. 15:33Don’t be deceived. Bad friendships corrupt good morals. 15:34Be righteously sober and do not sin, for some are ignorant concerning God. I say this to your own shame.

15:35But some will ask, “How are the dead raised?” And, “What kind of body will they have?” 15:36You foolish one, that which you sow doesn’t sprout unless it first “dies.” 15:37And when you sow, you don’t sow the physical form that will come from it, but bare grain, which might be of wheat or of some other kind. 15:38But God gives it a physical form according to his pleasure and to each kind of seed a “body” of its own. 15:39Furthermore, all flesh is not the same kind of flesh. But there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another flesh of birds, and another of fish.

15:40There are also celestial bodies and earthly bodies. But the glory of the celestial is one type and the glory of the earthly is another. 15:41There is one type of glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars.

Just as one star differs from another star in degree of glory, 15:42this is how it will also be in the resurrection of the dead.

The physical body is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption. 15:43It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 15:44It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. Since there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

15:45So also it is written, “The first man Adam was made as a living soul – the last Adam became the Spirit which imparts God’s own life.” 15:46However, that which is spiritual doesn’t come first but that which is natural and then that which is spiritual. 15:47The first man was made out of the earth and, therefore, is earthly. The second man is of the Lord from heaven.

15:48Those who are earthly, follow the pattern of the earthly man. Those who are heavenly exhibit the pattern of the heavenly One. 15:49And as we have been clothed with the image of the earthly man, we will also be clothed with the image of the heavenly man.

15:50Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither does that which is corruptible inherit incorruption.

15:51Look, I will tell you a secret. We will not all sleep {die}, but we will all be changed 15:52in an instant, in the blink of an eye, at the sounding of the final trumpet. For that trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised incorruptible and we will be changed together with them.

15:53For this corruptible being must be clothed with incorruption and this mortal body must be clothed with immortality.

15:54But when that which is corruptible will have been clothed with incorruption and this mortal body will have been clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will come to pass, “Death is swallowed up in victory” (Is 25:8). 15:55Oh death, where is your victory? Oh death, where is your sting? 15:56The “sting” which causes death is sin and it is the law which gives “force” to sin.* 15:57But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus the Anointed One. 15:58Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor in the Lord is not futile.

*The law gives “force” to sin by exposing sins of which we were previously unconscious and reinforcing the knowledge of God’s displeasure concerning those already known.

FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 16

16:1Now concerning the collection for those who have been set apart for God, you should follow the same instructions which I gave to the gatherings of the called-out ones in Galatia. 16:2On the first day of the week let each one of you set aside something according to how he has prospered so that no collections will be made when I come. 16:3And when I arrive, I will send whomever you approve with letters to carry your gift to Jerusalem. 16:4And if it seems good for me to go also, they will go with me.

16:5But I will come to you after I have passed through Macedonia, for I intend to pass through Macedonia. 16:6But perhaps I will stay there with you for a while or even spend the winter there so that you may send me out on my journey wherever I go. 16:7For I do not wish to see you now, when I am just quickly passing through, for I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits it.

16:8But I will remain at Ephesus until Pentecost, 16:9for a great door of effective service has been opened for me. But there are many adversaries.

16:10Now if Timothy comes, see to it that he is well received, thus having no reason to be anxious while he is with you, for he does the work of the Lord, as I also do. 16:11Therefore, let no one look down on him. But send him forward on his journey in peace so that he may come to me, for I expect him with the brethren.

16:12But concerning Apollos, the brother, I pleaded with him to come to you with the brethren, but he was not at all willing to come at this time. But he will come when he has an opportunity.

16:13Be watchful. Stand firmly in the faith. Behave like men. Be strong. 16:14Let everything you do be done in love. 16:15Now I plead with you, brethren (you know the household of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have agreed among themselves to serve those who have been set apart for God), 16:16that you also be yielding with them and with everyone who helps in the work and labors.

16:17I rejoiced at the arrival of Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, for that which was lacking on your part they supplied. 16:18For they refreshed my spirit and yours. Consequently, be able to recognize ones such as these.

16:19The gatherings of the called-out ones in Asia send you salutations. Aquila and Priscilla send you fond greetings in the Lord, along with the gathering of the called-out ones which is in their house.

16:20All the brethren greet you. Greet each other with a holy kiss. 16:21I, Paul, send my greetings written by my own hand. 16:22If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be anathema {cursed}. Maranatha {Come Lord Jesus}. 16:23The grace of the Lord Jesus the Anointed One be with you. 16:24My love is with you all in the Anointed One, Jesus.

Words in this translation found in italics are words which are implied by the Greek text but do not represent actual words in the Greek text. This practice is common in almost all modern translations. Occasionally, this translator has added words to the translation which represent his own ideas and opinions which, although they are based on his own biblical understanding, are not part of the actual Greek text. Such words are enclosed in brackets like this [ ]. The reader should understand these words as being the opinion of the translator. In contrast to this, the words in these braces { } indicate legitimate, alternative translations or explanations. Words within parentheses () are part of the original Greek text. Such parentheses are often used in other New Testament translations also.

The Second Letter Of Paul To The

CORINTHIANS (2)

SECOND CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 1

1:1Paul, a sent one of the Anointed One, Jesus, through the will of God and Timothy our brother, to the gathering of the ones called out by God which is at Corinth, together with all those set apart for God in the whole of Achaia: 1:2Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus the Anointed One.

1:3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One, the all compassionate Father and God of all encouragement, 1:4who comes alongside to help us in all our suffering so that we may be able – through the encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged by God – to strengthen others who are experiencing any suffering themselves. 1:5For as the sufferings of the Anointed One are abundant in our lives, our encouragement is also abundant in the same measure through the Anointed One.

1:6Now if we are afflicted, it is for your encouragement and salvation, or if we are encouraged, it is for your encouragement also, enabling you to endure the same sufferings which we also suffer. 1:7And our hope for you is firm, because we know that as you are participants in the sufferings so also you will be partakers of the encouragement.

1:8For we don’t want you to be unaware, brethren, of the suffering which we experienced in Asia. There we were under extreme pressure, far beyond our strength to withstand, so much so that we despaired even of life itself.

1:9But on our part, we already have had the sentence of death pronounced upon ourselves so that we would not have confidence in ourselves but in God who raises the dead. 1:10It is he who delivers us out of so great a death, will deliver us, and on whom we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us.

1:11You also are cooperating in this deliverance through your prayers for us. The result is that because of the gift of deliverance provided to us through the prayers of many, many people will also give thanks for you.

1:12Our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the simplicity and sincerity of God in the world and even more so towards you. This conduct was not the result of fleshly wisdom but of the grace of God.

1:13For we are not writing to you anything new or different than what you have already read and accepted and I hope that you will accept it to the end.

1:14Furthermore – as you have at least partially understood from us – we are your motive for rejoicing just as you also will be ours in the day of our Lord Jesus. 1:15And due to this confidence, I had decided to come to visit you first so that you might have a second benefit. 1:16Then, leaving you, I planned to go on to Macedonia and after Macedonia come back to you. Then, from there, you could send me on my way to Judea.

1:17Therefore, when I made this plan, did I show instability? Or the things that I plan, do I plan according to the natural man so that I would say “yes” or “no” but not carry through with it? 1:18But as God is faithful, our word toward you is not yes or no {without certainty}.

1:19For the Son of God, Jesus the Anointed One, who was proclaimed among you by us – even by me, Silvanus and Timothy – was not yes or no {something uncertain}, but in him is yes! 1:20For with as many of the promises of God as there are: in him is the “Yes!” And also through him is the “Amen!” which resounds through us to the glory of God.

1:21Now he, who establishes us with you in the Anointed One and has anointed us, is God, 1:22who also sealed us and gave us the guarantee which is the Spirit in our hearts. 1:23But I call God as a witness concerning my soul that it was to spare you that I put off coming to Corinth. 1:24Not that we have any dominion over your faith, but we are helpers of your joy. For you stand by faith yourselves.

SECOND CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 2

2:1But I determined this in myself: that I would not come again to bring you sorrow. 2:2For if I make you sorry, who then is he who makes me glad but he who is made sorry by me? 2:3And I wrote to you about this very thing unless perhaps when I came I would be distressed by those with whom I ought to rejoice. But I had confidence in you all that you would all share my joy.

2:4For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears, not that you would be made sorrowful but that you might know the abundance of love which I have for you.

2:5But if anyone has caused sorrow, he hasn’t grieved me so much as all of you (not to press the point too much). 2:6The punishment of such a one by the majority is sufficient. 2:7Therefore, taking the other side, now you should instead forgive him and comfort him, unless by any means, such a one would be consumed with too much grief.

2:8Therefore, I appeal to you to confirm your love for him. 2:9For I also wrote for this purpose: so that I might test you to see whether or not you are obedient to God in all things. 2:10But to whom you forgive anything, I forgive also. For what I have forgiven (if I have forgiven anything), I have forgiven it in the presence of the Anointed One for your sakes 2:11so that Satan might not gain any advantage over us. For we are not ignorant of his strategies.

2:12Now when I came to Troas on behalf of the good news concerning the Anointed One, a door was opened to me by the Lord, 2:13but I had no peace in my spirit because I didn’t find Titus my brother. So, saying my goodbyes to them, I went on to Macedonia.

2:14But thanks be to God, who always leads us in a triumphal procession in the Anointed One and makes manifest through us the sweet aroma of his knowledge in every place.

2:15For through the Anointed One we are a sweet aroma of God, both to those who are being saved and to those who are on their way to being destroyed. 2:16To the one the aroma* is coming from our death with the Anointed One, pointing to their death. To the other it is an aroma which comes from more and more of God’s own life in us. And who is adequate for such wonderful things?

*The wise men who visited Jesus as a child brought three gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. Gold, a metal which does not oxidize, represents the incorruptible nature of God. Frankincense is a sweet incense whose smoke rises upward, symbolizing the Anointed One’s resurrection. Myrrh was a spice used in embalming dead bodies, giving a sweet smell to overpower the natural one. It seems possible that Paul may have been referring to frankincense and myrrh when he speaks about the “sweet aroma” which applies to two different situations, life and death. Although the “aroma” related to death could possibly be the stench of decay which, in fact, a few translations do use, this does not harmonize well with the “sweet aroma to God” of verse 15.

2:17For we are not like so many others, turning the word of God into a money-making business. But instead, having no ulterior motives, we speak from God in the Anointed One – God himself being our witness.

SECOND CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 3

3:1Are we again needing to show our credentials? Or do we need, as some others do, letters of recommendation to you or from you? 3:2You are our “letter,” written on your hearts, being understood and read by all men. 3:3It is evident that you are a letter of the Anointed One ministered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets that are hearts of flesh.

3:4We have this confidence through the Anointed One before God. 3:5Not that we are competent in and of ourselves to say that anything came from ourselves. But our competence is from God 3:6who also made us qualified dispensers of a new covenant – not of the letter but of the Spirit – for the letter of the scriptures kills but the Spirit imparts the life of God.

3:7But if the ministry of condemnation, which was written by engraving on stones, came with glory – so that the children of Israel could not look at Moses’ face without turning away because of the glory of his face which was fading – 3:8how much more glorious will the ministry of the Spirit be?

3:9For although the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness greatly exceeds it in glory. 3:10For truly that which had been made glorious is not so glorious in this respect because of the glory which far surpasses it. 3:11For if that which is being discarded had glory, that which remains is much more glorious. 3:12Having, therefore, such a hope, we are very bold.

3:13This is not like Moses, who put a veil on his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at something which in the end is being discarded.

3:14But their minds were hardened, for until this present day at the reading of the old covenant, the same veil remains since it is not being revealed to them that the old covenant is discarded in the Anointed One. 3:15But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts. 3:16But whenever a heart turns to the Lord the veil is taken away.

3:17Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 3:18But we all, with our faces unveiled, through seeing and then reflecting the glory of the Lord are being transformed into that same image from glory to glory. This work is being done by the Spirit of the Lord.

SECOND CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 4

4:1Therefore, seeing we have this service since we have obtained mercy, we don’t become discouraged. 4:2But we have renounced the hidden, shameful things and do not walk in dishonest conduct or use the word of God to snare followers, but by straightforwardly living the truth, we submit ourselves to examination by every man’s conscience in the sight of God.

4:3But even if our good news message is hidden, it is hidden to those who are on their way to being destroyed, 4:4in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that the light of the good news of the glory of the Anointed One – who is the image of God – would not shine into them.

4:5For we don’t proclaim ourselves but the Anointed One, Jesus as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake.

4:6It is the very same God who said, “Light, shine out of darkness,” who has shined into our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus the Anointed One. 4:7But we have this treasure in vessels made from the earth (Gen 2:7) so that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves.

4:8We are afflicted in every way, yet not restricted in our work; in difficulties, yet not despairing; 4:9being persecuted, yet not forsaken; thrown down, yet not destroyed; 4:10always experiencing while in the body the dying of Jesus in order that the life of Jesus may also be being revealed through our physical bodies.

4:11For we who live are constantly delivered to death through Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be being manifested in our mortal bodies. 4:12So then the death of Jesus is working in us just as the life of God is working in you.

4:13But having the same spirit of faith, according to that which is written, “I believed, therefore I spoke,” we also believe and, therefore, we also speak, 4:14knowing that he who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus and will present us to himself together with you. 4:15For all things are for your sakes so that grace, being super abundant in many, would overflow in thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

4:16Therefore, we do not give up. Even though our outer man is being destroyed, yet our inner spiritual man is growing up day by day. 4:17For the light affliction of this present time secures for us an extremely abundant, eternal weight of glory, 4:18which we understand while contemplating the things which are unseen and not the things which are visible. For the things which are visible are just for a season, but the things which are unseen are eternal.

SECOND CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 5

5:1For we know that if our earthly tent-dwelling is destroyed [our physical body], we have a building from God, an eternal “house” in the heavens which is not made by human hands [our glorified body]. 5:2For we truly groan for this, greatly desiring to put on as a garment our habitation which is coming from heaven 5:3so that, being so clothed, we will not be found naked.

5:4For truly we who are in this earthly “tent” groan, being burdened, not simply wanting to put something off, but to put on our immortal body so that that which is mortal might be swallowed up by the eternal life of God.*

*In this passage Paul reveals the truth about the “mansions”or “dwelling places” which Jesus is preparing for us (Jn 14:2). They are not physical houses or mansions at all, but new, glorified bodies in which we will live for eternity.

5:5Now he who works this very thing out for us is God, who gave the Spirit to us as the guarantee.

5:6Therefore, we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the physical body, we are absent from the Lord. 5:7(For our walk is by faith, not by sight). 5:8The reason for our confidence is that we consider it a good thing to be absent from this body and to come home to the Lord. 5:9Therefore, we also strive earnestly toward one goal: to be completely pleasing to him, whether at home or absent.

5:10For all of us will be transparently exposed before the judgment seat of the Anointed One so that each one may receive a just recompense for the things he has done while in the earthly body, corresponding to what he has practiced, whether it is good or bad.

5:11Knowing, therefore, the fear of the Lord, we persuade men. But we, on our part, have already been made transparent before God and I hope that we have been made transparent to your consciences also.

5:12It is not that we are commending ourselves to you again, but we say this to give you a reason to be proud of us so that you may have an answer for those who pride themselves in outward appearances but do not have righteous character. 5:13For if we appear to have lost our minds, it is to God, or whether we are behaving rationally, it is to you, 5:14for the love of the Anointed One is what motivates us.

We understand things in this way: that since One died on behalf of all men, then all have died too. 5:15And, since he died for everyone, those who are alive should no longer live by their own life, but by the life of the One who died and rose again for us.

5:16Therefore, from now on we view no one simply as a natural man even though, in the past, we knew the Anointed One as a natural man but now we no longer think of him in that way. 5:17This is because when anyone is in the Anointed One, there is a new creation inside of him. The original man has been superseded {passed by, Gk}, look, a completely new being has been generated [the new spiritual man].

5:18And all these things are from God, who reconciled us to himself through the Anointed One and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation 5:19which is this: that God was in the Anointed One reconciling the world to himself, not taking into account the sins they have done. This is the message of reconciliation which he has given us.

5:20We, therefore, are ambassadors for the Anointed One as though God were appealing to you through us. We plead with you on behalf of the Anointed One: be reconciled to God! 5:21He who knew no sin, the Father made to be a sin offering for us so that we would become an exhibition of the righteousness of God through him.

SECOND CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 6

6:1And working together with him, we plead with you also not to receive the grace of God without results, 6:2for he says, “At an acceptable time I listened to you and in the day of salvation I helped you” (Is 49:8). Look here! Right now is the acceptable time! Pay attention! Now is the day of salvation!

6:3We are careful to give no cause for offense in anything so that our service is not discredited. 6:4But in everything we conduct ourselves as servants of God: in much patience; in afflictions; in necessities; in difficulties; 6:5in beatings; in imprisonments; in facing angry mobs; in hard work; in sleepless nights; in fastings; 6:6in purity; in knowledge; in longsuffering; in kindness; in the Holy Spirit; in sincere love; 6:7by the word of truth; by the power of God; by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left; 6:8through honor and infamy; amid slander and praise; amid being considered deceivers while teaching the truth; 6:9as unknown and yet well known; as dying and yet look, we are alive (with God’s life); as being disciplined by God and yet not killed; 6:10as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many spiritually rich; as having nothing and yet possessing all things.

6:11We are speaking freely to you, oh Corinthians; our heart is wide open. 6:12You are not being restricted by us but you are restricted by your own natural passions. 6:13Now respond in the same way (I speak to you as my children). You, too, open your hearts to what I am about to say.

6:14Don’t be unequally joined with unbelievers. For what fellowship does righteousness have with sin? What communion does light have with darkness? 6:15And what agreement does the Anointed One have with Belial? What portion does a believer have with an unbeliever? 6:16And what agreement does a temple of God have with idols?

For each of us is a temple of the living God, just as God said, “I will live in them and walk among them, and I will be their God and they will be my people” (Lev 26:12).

6:17Therefore: “Come out from among them and be separate,” says the Lord, “and don’t touch anything unclean” (Is 52:11). “And I will receive you 6:18and will be a Father to you and you will be my sons and daughters,” says the Lord Almighty.

SECOND CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 7

7:1Therefore, having these promises beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from everything which contaminates our flesh and spirit, making our holiness complete in the fear of God. 7:2Open up to us. We have wronged no one. We have corrupted no one. We have taken advantage of no one.

7:3I don’t say this to condemn you, for as I have said before, you are in our hearts so much that neither life or death can change it. 7:4I realize that I am being very bold toward you and I also have a lot to boast about you. I am filled with comfort; I overflow with joy in all our affliction.

7:5For when we had come to Macedonia our flesh had no relief, but we were afflicted on every side. On the outside were battles and on the inside were fears. 7:6Nevertheless, he who strengthens the lowly, even God, consoled us by the coming of Titus, 7:7and not by his coming only, but also by the encouragement with which he was encouraged by you when he told us of your longing for us, your mourning, and your zeal for me. Therefore, I rejoiced even more.

7:8Even though I made you sorry with my letter, I don’t regret it though I did regret it (for I now see that that letter made you sorry, but only for a while). 7:9Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry but that you were made sorry to repentance. For you were made sorrowful in a godly way so that you might experience no damage because of us.

7:10For godly sorrow produces repentance which results in irrevocable salvation. But the sorrow which the world experiences produces death.

7:11Look here, this is how this very thing worked in your case. You were made sorry in a godly way. What seriousness it produced in you, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation against sin, what reverent fear, what longing for holiness, what zeal! How you righted the wrong! In everything you showed yourselves to be clear in this matter.

7:12So, although I wrote to you, I didn’t write for his sake who did the wrong, nor for his sake who was wronged, but so that our earnest care for you might be shown to you in the sight of God.

7:13Therefore, we have been comforted. And in our comfort, we rejoiced abundantly more for the joy which Titus had because his spirit had been refreshed by you all.

7:14For if I have boasted to him about you concerning anything, I was not embarrassed, but as we spoke everything to you in truth, so the boasting which I did to Titus was also found to be truth. 7:15And he feels great affection for you when he remembers your obedience to the Lord, how well you received him with fear and trembling. 7:16I rejoice that in everything I have confidence in you.

SECOND CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 8

8:1Furthermore, brethren, we want to tell you about the grace of God which has been given to the gatherings of the called-out ones of Macedonia, 8:2how that in their trials of affliction they had an abundance of joy and in their deep poverty they abounded in the richness of their generosity.

8:3For according to their ability, (I am a witness), yes, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own free will, 8:4begging us and requesting to participate in this grace and fellowship of ministering to those who have been set apart for God. 8:5And they did this not only as we had hoped, but first they gave themselves to the Lord and to us through the will of God.

8:6This was such a blessing that we exhorted Titus that as he had already begun, so he would complete this grace in you also. 8:7But as you abound in everything: in faith, in expression of that faith, in knowledge, in all diligence and in your love for us, see that you abound in this grace also.

8:8I don’t say this as a commandment but to test the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. 8:9For you know that this is why our Lord Jesus the Anointed One, even though he was rich, became poor for your sakes so that you, through his poverty, might become spiritually rich. 8:10And in my opinion, it would be good for you who were ready and willing a year ago 8:11to now complete the doing also so that as there was the readiness of will, so there may be the completion of it also according to your ability.

8:12For if the willingness is there, your offering is accepted according to what you have and not according to what you don’t have. 8:13For I don’t say this so that others may be eased and you end up in hardship 8:14but in the interest of fairness. Your abundance can be a supply to their lack at this present time and, at another time, their abundance may become a supply for your lack so that there may be equality. 8:15As it is written, “He who gathered much had nothing left over and he that gathered little had no lack” (Ex 16:18).

8:16But thanks be to God who put the same earnest care for you in Titus’ heart. 8:17For he not only accepted our appeal, but being very diligent himself, he went to you of his own free will. 8:18And we have sent with him the brother whose praise with respect to the good news is spread through all the gatherings of the called-out ones.

8:19Furthermore, he was also appointed by the gatherings of the called-out ones to travel with us to participate in this blessing, which is being served by us for the glory of the Lord. He was appointed also because of our eagerness 8:20to avoid the possibility that anyone could accuse us of anything about the way in which we administer this large gift. 8:21For we are careful for everything to be done honestly and equitably, not only in the sight of the Lord but also in the sight of men.

8:22And we have also sent with them one of our brothers who has been tested many times and in many ways and has shown himself to be diligent, causing us to have great confidence in his faithfulness.

8:23If anyone inquires about Titus, he is my associate and my fellow worker. Or if anyone asks about our brethren, they are sent ones of the gatherings of the called-out ones. They are the glory of the Anointed One.

8:24Therefore, give them a demonstration of your love, showing them why we boast about you in all the gatherings of the called-out ones.

SECOND CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 9

9 9:1Concerning this financial service to those who are set apart for God, it is unnecessary for me to write to you 9:2since I see your eagerness, which I boasted about to those in Macedonia by saying that Achaia has been prepared for a year already. And your zeal has stirred up many of them.

9:3But I have sent the brethren so that our boasting about you in this regard may not be found empty and also so that – even as I already said – you might be prepared. 9:4This is to avoid the possibility that, if anyone comes with me from Macedonia and finds you unprepared, we (not to mention you) would be embarrassed because of our confidence.

9:5Therefore, I thought it necessary to press the brethren to go before us and receive the gift which you promised ahead of time so that in this way it would be a blessing and not a result of pressure we put on you. 9:6But I say this: He who sows meagerly will accordingly reap little and he who sows liberally will consequently reap abundantly. 9:7Let each man do according to what he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or because of obligation, for God loves a cheerful giver.

9:8And God is able to make all grace abound to you so that always, in all things, you may have enough to abundantly participate in every good work. 9:9As it is written: “He has scattered abroad; he has given to the poor; his righteousness remains forever” (Ps 112:9).

9:10And he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed and increase the fruits of your righteousness. 9:11In this way, you will be enriched in everything by your generosity which causes us to give thanks to God.

9:12For this ministry of service not only takes care of the needs of those set apart for God but also results in many thanking God. 9:13They glorify God for the way you are living out your confession of the good news concerning the Anointed One, seeing the proof of this in your openhearted sharing with them and, in fact, with all. 9:14They also pray for you and long to be with you because of the transcendent grace of God which is upon you. 9:15Thank God for his inexpressible gift!

SECOND CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 10

10:1Now I Paul appeal to you through the meekness and mercy of the Anointed One – I who in your presence am humble among you but now that I am absent am bold toward you – 10:2yes, I plead with you that when I am present I will not have to be bold with the confidence with which I plan to be bold against some who think of us as if we walked according to the flesh.

10:3For though we walk in bodies of flesh, we don’t fight according to the flesh. 10:4For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly but mighty in God to cast down strongholds,10:5overthrowing human reasonings and all “superior” arguments which rise up to oppose the knowledge of God, taking every wrong concept captive to the obedience of the Anointed One. 10:6And we are prepared to correct all unwillingness to hear once your obedience to God is perfected.

10:7This is the way you can think about the situation. If anyone thinks that he is the Anointed One’s, let him also consider this: that even as he is the Anointed One’s, so are we. 10:8For even if I boast quite a lot concerning our capacity (which the Lord gave for building you up and not for casting you down), I will not be ashamed. 10:9In no way did I intend to frighten you with my letters.

10:10My critics say: “His letters are weighty and forceful, but his bodily presence is weak and his speech is unimpressive.” 10:11Let such a person understand this: that what we are in words in our letters when we are absent, we will also be in actions when we are present. 10:12For we do not presume to classify ourselves or to compare ourselves with certain of those who endorse themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves with themselves, lack understanding.

10:13Yet we will not boast beyond our measure but according to the measure of the sphere which God apportioned to us as a measure, which extends even to you. 10:14For by including you in our sphere, we aren’t overreaching ourselves since we came even as far as you with the message of good news about the Anointed One.

10:15We are not boasting beyond our measure – that is, in what other men have done – but have hope that, as your faith grows, our sphere will be enlarged even more abundantly by you 10:16so that we can proclaim the good news even to the regions beyond you. We have no interest in boasting in someone else’s work. 10:17But he who boasts, let him boast in the Lord. 10:18For it is not he who endorses himself who is approved but whom the Lord endorses.

SECOND CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 11

11:1I wish that you could put up with me in a little foolishness, but you really do put up with me. 11:2For I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy, for I pledged you in marriage to one husband so that I might present you as a pure virgin to the Anointed One. 11:3But I fear that in some way, just as the serpent deceived Eve by his cleverness, your minds would be seduced from the simplicity and the purity that is in the Anointed One. 11:4For if someone comes announcing another Jesus whom we did not announce, or promoting another spirit which you did not already receive, or proclaiming a different good news message which you did not accept through us, I fear you might put up with him.

11:5For I conclude that I am not a bit inferior to the “great” sent ones. 11:6Even though I am unskilled in public speaking, yet I am not inferior in knowledge. In every way we made this evident to you in all things. 11:7Or did I commit a sin by humbling myself so that you might be exalted because I proclaimed the good news of God to you free of charge?

11:8I “robbed” other gatherings of the called-out ones, receiving financial support from them so that I could serve you. 11:9When I was present with you and was in need, I wasn’t a burden on anyone, for when the brethren came from Macedonia, they supplied my needs. In everything I kept myself from being a financial burden to you and I will continue to do so. 11:10As the truth of the Anointed One is in me, no one will stop me from this boasting in the regions of Achaia. 11:11Why? Because I don’t love you? God knows.

11:12But what I do, I will continue to do, so that I may cut off the opportunity of those whose purpose is to get resources {raise money} for their “ministries,” boasting that they are supported in the same way we are.

11:13For such men [those who seek money from men] are false sent ones who work deceitfully, transforming themselves into sent ones of the Anointed One.* 11:14And it is no wonder, for even Satan transforms himself into an angel of light. 11:15It is no great thing, therefore, if his servants also transform themselves into “ministers of righteousness” whose end will be according to their works.

*It is true that believers are taught to financially support those who do God’s work. However, such workers must NEVER look to men for their needs but only to God. If and when such men begin to urge, pressure, and beg other men to support them, they have left the will of God. They have begun to walk in the flesh using earthly techniques. When God sends someone, he supplies all their needs from his abundant riches. When men send themselves to “work for God,” being led by their own pride, ambition, etc., then they must manipulate others for their support. Paul’s assessment of such workers is very harsh yet true. Such fleshly, human efforts are, at their roots, Satanic.

11:16I say again, let no one think of me as foolish. But if you do, yet receive me as a fool so that I also may boast a little. 11:17That which I am about to say I don’t say according to the Lord. Instead, this confident boasting of mine is really foolishness.

11:18Seeing that many boast in their natural advantages, I will boast also. 11:19Being wise yourselves, you put up with the foolish gladly. 11:20For you put up with someone if he brings you into bondage to himself, if he takes your money, if he takes advantage of you, if he exalts himself, or even if he strikes you on the face!

11:21I say this in disgust as though we had been weak. Yet in whatever way anyone else is bold (I speak foolishly), I am bold also. 11:22Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I. 11:23Are they servants of the Anointed One? (I speak as someone who has lost their mind) I am more: in work more abundantly and in prisons more frequently, being beaten excessively and often facing death.

11:24Five times I received forty stripes minus one from the Jews. 11:25Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I suffered shipwreck. I have been in the deep sea a night and a day; 11:26in frequent journeys; in danger on rivers; in danger from robbers; in danger from my countrymen; in danger from the Gentiles; in danger in the city; in danger in the wilderness; in danger on the sea; in danger among false brethren; 11:27in labor and exertion; in sleeplessness often; in hunger and thirst; in frequent fastings; in coldness and nakedness.

11:28Besides these things that affect the physical body, there is something which presses upon me daily, i.e. the care for all the gatherings of the called-out ones. 11:29Who is weak and I don’t feel weak also? Who is caused to stumble and I don’t burn with anger? 11:30If I must boast, I will boast about the things that concern my weakness.

11:31The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is blessed forever, knows that I don’t lie. 11:32In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king guarded the city of the Damascenes in order to arrest me. 11:33But I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped from his hands.

SECOND CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 12

12:1Although it is not appropriate for me to boast, I will arrive at the subject of visions and revelations of the Lord. 12:2I know a man in the Anointed One who fourteen years ago (whether in the body, I don’t know, or whether out of the body, I don’t know, only God knows), was caught up all the way to the third heaven. 12:3And I know that this man (whether in the body or out of the body, I don’t know, only God knows) 12:4was caught up into Paradise and there understood words communicated without speech which man is not permitted to speak.

12:5On behalf of such a one I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except in my weaknesses. 12:6Yet if I wanted to boast, I would not be foolish because I would speak the truth. But I refrain so that no one would think of me above that which he sees me to be or hears from me.

12:7And because of the exceeding greatness of the revelations so that I would not think too highly of myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to afflict me so that I would not become proud.

12:8Concerning this thing I sought the Lord three times so that it might be taken away from me. 12:9Yet he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in human weakness.” Therefore, I will gladly boast instead in my weaknesses so that the power of the Anointed One may rest upon me. 12:10For this reason I take pleasure in weaknesses, in insults, in necessities, in persecutions, in difficulties for the Anointed One’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am powerful.

12:11By saying all this, I have become foolish. You drove me to it. For I ought to have been commended by you, for I was in no way inferior to the “super sent ones” though I am nothing. 12:12Truly the signs of a sent one were done among you in all patience by signs and wonders and mighty works. 12:13For what is it that made you feel inferior to the rest of the gatherings of the called-out ones except that I myself was not a financial burden to you? Forgive me this “wrong.”

12:14Look, this is the third time I am ready to come to you and still I will not be a financial burden to you, for I don’t seek what you have, but you. For the children should not have to save up for the parents but the parents for the children. 12:15I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If, in this way, I love you more abundantly, am I loved less because of it? 12:16But let it be that way. I myself was not a financial burden to you. But, being crafty, I caught you by cleverness.

12:17Did I take monetary advantage of you by any one of those whom I have sent to you? 12:18I summoned Titus and I sent the brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you in any way? Didn’t we walk in the same spirit? Didn’t we walk in the same steps? 12:19Do you think all this time that we are defending ourselves to you? We speak in the Anointed One in the sight of God. Dear brothers, all these things are for the purpose of building you up.

12:20But I am afraid that when I come, I will find you in a condition of which I don’t approve and you also will find me acting in a way that you will not like. If by some chance there is arguing, jealousy, outbursts of anger, exclusion of others, backbiting, slander, arrogance, disagreements...

12:21I am afraid that on this next visit my God will humble me along with you and I will mourn for many who have been living in sin and have not repented of their impure relationships: of engaging in sex outside of marriage and of the unholy sexual behavior which they have been practicing.

SECOND CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 13

13:1This is the third time I am coming to you so that “By the mouth of ‘two or three witnesses’ every word will be established” (Deut 19:15). 13:2I gave you a warning when I was with you the second time which, being absent, I now repeat: On my return I will not be lenient to those who have sinned previously or to anyone else.

I will not spare my words 13:3since you seek proof that the Anointed One, who is not weak towards you but is powerful among you, speaks through me. 13:4For he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we, together with him, will live through the power of God toward you.

13:5Test yourselves, whether you are in the faith or not! Examine your own lives! Or don’t you realize that Jesus the Anointed One is in you unless you are counterfeits? 13:6But I hope that you realize that we are not counterfeits.

13:7Now we pray to God that you practice nothing evil, not in order that we may appear approved, but so that you may do that which is right (even if we might be thought of as deceivers). 13:8For we can’t do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. 13:9For we rejoice whenever we are weak but you are strong.

This is what we pray for: your being made perfect. 13:10For this reason I write these things while absent so that I may not have to deal sharply with you when present, according to the ability which the Lord gave me for building up and not for tearing down.

13:11Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfected; be comforted; be of the same opinion; live in peace and the God of love and peace will be with you. 13:12Greet each other with a holy kiss. 13:13All those who are set apart for God greet you. 13:14May the grace of the Lord Jesus the Anointed One, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Words in this translation found in italics are words which are implied by the Greek text but do not represent actual words in the Greek text. This practice is common in almost all modern translations. Occasionally, this translator has added words to the translation which represent his own ideas and opinions which, although they are based on his own biblical understanding, are not part of the actual Greek text. Such words are enclosed in brackets like this [ ]. The reader should understand these words as being the opinion of the translator. In contrast to this, the words in these braces { } indicate legitimate, alternative translations or explanations. Words within parentheses () are part of the original Greek text. Such parentheses are often used in other New Testament translations also.

The Letter Of Paul To The

GALATIANS

GALATIANS CHAPTER 1

1:1Paul, a sent one – not sent by men, neither through any human means but by Jesus the Anointed One and God the Father who raised him from the dead – 1:2and all the brethren who are with me, to the gatherings of the called-out ones in Galatia:

1:3Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus the Anointed One, 1:4who offered himself up for our sins in order to be rescuing us out of this present degenerate age according to the will of our God and Father, 1:5to whom is the glory for all eternity. Amen.

1:6I am amazed that you are so quickly exchanging your calling, which is through the grace of the Anointed One, to an altered message, 1:7which is not a completely different message but there are some who are causing trouble for you by corrupting the good news message concerning the Anointed One.

1:8But though we or an angel from heaven proclaims to you any message alongside of that which we announced to you, let him be set aside for destruction. 1:9As we have said before, so I now repeat: if anyone proclaims to you any message concerning the Anointed One alongside of that which you received from us, let him be set aside for destruction.

1:10For am I now seeking God’s favor or am I striving to please men? If I were still pleasing men I would not be a servant of the Anointed One.

1:11For I want you to know, brethren, concerning the good news which was proclaimed by me that it is not of human origin. 1:12For neither did I receive it from any man nor was I taught it by men but it came to me directly through revelation from Jesus the Anointed One.

1:13For you have heard of my conduct in the past while I was still in Judaism, how excessively I persecuted the community of God’s called-out ones and devastated it. 1:14And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my countrymen, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

1:15But when it pleased God – who set me apart even from my mother’s womb – he called me through his grace 1:16for the purpose of revealing his Son in me so that I might proclaim him among the nations. From the beginning I did not consult with flesh and blood, 1:17neither did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were sent ones before me, but I went away into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.

1:18Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days. 1:19But I saw none of the other sent ones except James the Lord’s brother. 1:20(Now concerning these things which I am writing to you, look, before God, I am not lying).

1:21Next I came to the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 1:22My face was still unknown to the gatherings of the called-out ones of Judea which are in the Anointed One, 1:23but they only heard it said that “He who once persecuted us now proclaims the faith which he tried to destroy,” 1:24and they glorified God because of me.

GALATIANS CHAPTER 2

2:1Then fourteen years later I went up to Jerusalem again, this time with Bar-Nabas, also taking Titus with me. 2:2I went up concerning the revelation which was given to me and I laid before them the good news message which I proclaim among the Gentiles. But I did this privately before those who seemed to have a reputation, in case in some way I was running or had run in vain.

2:3But not even Titus who was with me, who is a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. 2:4But this became an issue because of some false brethren who were secretly brought in to spy out our liberty which we have in the Anointed One, Jesus, so that they might enslave us to the law. 2:5But we did not yield in subjection to them, no, not even for an hour so that the truth of the good news might continue with you.

2:6Now from those who seemed to be something special (whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God doesn’t recognize such human distinctions) they, I say, who seemed to be important imparted nothing to me.

2:7But, on the contrary, they realized that I had been entrusted with the good news to the uncircumcised just as Peter was with the good news to those who are circumcised. 2:8(For he who works in Peter as a sent one to the “circumcision” works in me also towards the Gentiles.)

2:9When they saw the grace that was given to me, James, Cephas, and John – those who had the reputation of being pillars – gave to Bar-Nabas {son of encouragement} and me the right hand of fellowship that we should go to the nations but they would go to those who are circumcised. 2:10They only emphasized that we should remember the poor, which very thing I was also zealous to do.

2:11But when Cephas came to Antioch, I resisted him to his face because of his wrong behavior. 2:12For before certain brothers had come from James, he ate with the Gentiles, but when they came, he drew back and separated himself, fearing those who emphasized circumcision. 2:13And the rest of the Jews also betrayed their convictions along with him so much so that even Bar-Nabas was carried away with their duplicity.

2:14But when I saw that they did not act correctly according to the truth of the good news message, I said to Cephas in front of everyone, “If you, being a Jew, live as the Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel the Gentiles to judaize?”

2:15We, being Jews by nature and not Gentile sinners, 2:16realize that a man is not made just by keeping the law but through the faith of Jesus the Anointed One. We Jews also believe into the Anointed One, Jesus, so that we would be being made righteous by the faith of the Anointed One and not by practicing the law. This is because by keeping the ordinances of the law no one will be made righteous.

2:17But if, while we sought to be made righteous in the Anointed One [instead of by the law], we ourselves sometimes sin, is the Anointed One a minister of sin? Never! 2:18But if I try to rebuild those things which were destroyed in the Anointed One [i.e. the law], this is how I really make myself a sinner [by striving in the flesh to be righteous].

2:19For since I “legally” died with the Anointed One, I died to the law also, in order that God would now be my life source. 2:20I am [and am being] crucified with the Anointed One. Therefore, I no longer live by my own life but I live by the life of the Anointed One who is in me and the life which I now live in the physical body, I live through the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me.

2:21In this way I do not make the grace of God void, for if righteousness could be achieved through keeping the law, then the Anointed One died for nothing.

GALATIANS CHAPTER 3

3:1Oh foolish Galatians, who has brought you under their evil spell before whose eyes Jesus the Anointed One was revealed as having been crucified? 3:2I only want to know this from you. Did you receive the Spirit by obeying the law or by hearing and then believing? 3:3Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit are you now going to be perfected through fleshly effort? 3:4Did you suffer so many things in vain, if it really was in vain?

3:5Therefore, he who ministers the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does he do it by keeping the law or by hearing from God and then acting in faith? 3:6Consider the example of Abraham who believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.

3:7Therefore, understand that those who live according to faith are the true sons of Abraham. 3:8And the scripture predicted that God would make the Gentiles just by faith when he announced the good news beforehand to Abraham saying, “All the nations will be blessed through you” (Gen 12:3; 18:18; 22:18). 3:9So then those who are living according to faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

3:10For everyone who depends on the works of the law to be right with God is under a curse, for it is written, “Everyone who does not continue to practice all things that are written in the book of the law is cursed” (Deut 27:26).

3:11Now the fact that no one is considered just before God by keeping the law is obvious, for: “The one who exhibits righteous character is the one who conducts his life by faith” (Hab 2:4). 3:12And keeping the law is not faith. Instead, “He who keeps the laws will live by them” (Lev 18:5).

3:13The Anointed One liberated us from the curse of the law, having become cursed for us, for it is written, “Everyone who hangs on a wooden beam is cursed” (Deut 21:23). 3:14In this way the blessing of Abraham can come upon the Gentiles in the Anointed One, Jesus, so that they might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

3:15Brethren, I am going to use a human example here: Even when men make a covenant {contract}, once it has been agreed upon, no one makes it void or adds to it. 3:16Now the heavenly promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He did not say, “And to your seeds,” as if there were many, but only one: “And to your seed,” which is the Anointed One.

3:17Now I say this: Since a covenant {contract} had already been ratified by God, the law which came four hundred and thirty years later does not make it void so as to abolish the promise. 3:18For if the inheritance is through the law it is not any longer by a promise. But God granted it to Abraham through a promise.

3:19Of what use then is the law – which was set in order by angels and given by the hand of a mediator? It was added to make men conscious of their sins until the Seed would come concerning whom the promise had been made. 3:20(Now mediation involves more than one person, but God is one.)

3:21Is the law then against the promises of God? Never! For if there had been a law given which could impart God’s life, truly, righteousness would have been produced through the law. 3:22But the scriptures show that everyone is guilty of sin so that the promise which comes by the faith of Jesus the Anointed One might be being supplied to those who are believing.

3:23But before faith came, we were kept protected under the law, being held by it for the faith which would be revealed later. 3:24So the law has become our tutor to bring us to the Anointed One so that we might be being made righteous through faith. 3:25But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor, (the law). 3:26For you are all children of God through faith in the Anointed One, Jesus.

3:27For as many of you as are being immersed into the Anointed One, are putting on the Anointed One as a garment. 3:28In Him there can be neither Jew nor Greek. There can be neither bondslave nor free. There can be no male and female, for you all are one in the Anointed One, Jesus. 3:29And if you are the Anointed One’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise.

GALATIANS CHAPTER 4

4:1But I say that as long as the heir is an infant, he is no different from a slave, even though he is the master of all, 4:2but is under guardians and stewards until the day appointed by the father. 4:3So also, when we were children, we were enslaved under the earthly principles of the law.

4:4But when the time came for the fulfillment of his promises, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 4:5so that he could release, by full payment of the ransome price, those who were under the law in order that we might receive the special placement in God’s family as mature sons.

4:6And because you are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, which is crying “Abba, Father.” 4:7The result is that now you are no longer a slave to the law but a son, and if a son, then also an heir of God.

4:8However, at that time not knowing God, you submitted yourselves to the religious regulations of those “gods” that by nature are not gods at all. 4:9But now knowing God, or rather being known by God, how is it that you turn back again to practice a weak and useless series of regulations to which you desire to be enslaved as you were before?

4:10For example, you observe special religious days, months, seasons, and years. 4:11I am worried about you if, in some way, I have labored among you in vain. 4:12I beg you brethren, become as I am, for I also have become as you are.

You have never treated me badly. 4:13You remember that because of an infirmity of the flesh I proclaimed the good news message to you the first time. 4:14You didn’t despise or reject that which was an annoyance in my physical body but you received me as a messenger of God, as if I were the Anointed One, Jesus himself.

4:15Where then did your joy go? For I testify that, if possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me. 4:16So have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?

4:17They (the Judaizers) zealously seek you, but not for your benefit. Instead, they want to alienate you from your sole dependence on Jesus so that you would be zealous for them. 4:18But it is good to be zealous for a good thing always and not only when I am present with you.

4:19My little children, for whom I labor in birth pains again until the Anointed One is fully formed in you, 4:20I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.

4:21Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, don’t you understand what the law says? 4:22For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the maidservant and one by the free woman.

4:23However, the son by the maidservant was born through the efforts of the flesh but the son by the free woman was born through the promise. 4:24These things contain an allegory. For these women represent two covenants. One is from mount Sinai, bearing children for bondage to the law,* which is Hagar.

*Mount Sinai is where Moses was given the law.

4:25Now this Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the Jerusalem that now is, for she is in bondage to the law with her children. 4:26But the Jerusalem which is above is free, which is our mother. 4:27For it is written, “Rejoice, you barren one who has never given birth. Break out and shout, you who have never had birth pangs. For the children of the woman who is left alone are more than she who has a husband” (Is 54:1).

4:28Now we brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. 4:29But just as it was then, he who was born through the efforts of the flesh persecuted him who was fathered by the Spirit. It is the same way today.

4:30However, what does the scripture say? “Send away the maidservant and her son, for the son of the maidservant will not inherit with the son of the free woman” (Gen 21:10). 4:31Therefore, brethren, we are not children of the maidservant but of the free woman.

GALATIANS CHAPTER 5

5:1For freedom the Anointed One set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and don’t be tangled up again in a yoke of bondage to the law. 5:2Understand this: I, Paul, say to you, that if you are circumcised, the Anointed One ceases to be of any benefit to you. 5:3Now I affirm to everyone who receives circumcision that he is under an obligation to practice the entire law. 5:4But when you want to be made righteous by keeping the law, grace becomes ineffective for you and so the Anointed One becomes inoperative in you.

5:5For our confidence is in the expectation of righteousness, which is produced in you by the Spirit through faith. 5:6For in the Anointed One, Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision can empower anyone to live righteously, but faith operating through love does.

5:7You were running well. Who has driven you back from being persuaded by the truth? 5:8This gullibility did not come from the One who called you. 5:9A little yeast* leavens the whole lump of dough.

*In this context, this means a little law keeping.

5:10I have confidence in you in the Lord that you will not think in any other way. But he who troubles you will one day face the judgment, whoever he is. 5:11But I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, i.e. the law, why am I still persecuted? For then the offense of the cross has been taken away. 5:12I wish that those who are causing you these problems would just cut themselves off {Gk amputate, castrate}.

5:13For you, brethren, were called to freedom. Only don’t use your freedom as an opportunity to gratify the flesh, but through love serve each other as slaves. 5:14For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev 19:18). 5:15But if you bite and devour each other, be careful that you are not consumed by one another.

5:16But I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not perform the carnal desires of the flesh. 5:17For the flesh yearns for what is against the nature of the Spirit and the Spirit for what is against the nature of the flesh, for these are in opposition to each other. The result is that you must not practice everything you desire to do. 5:18Now when you are being directed by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

5:19Now the works of the flesh are obvious, which are these: sex outside of the marriage bond, impure relationships, unholy sexual behavior, 5:20worshipping anything other than God, witchcraft and drug use, holding onto anger, arguments, jealousies, angry outbursts, selfish ambition, excluding others, separating into special, select groups, 5:21envying others, drunkenness, wild parties, and such similar things of which I warn you right now, even as I already warned you, that those who practice such things will in no way inherit the coming kingdom of God [the Milennium].

5:22But the fruit which the Spirit produces is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 5:23meekness, self-control. There is no law against such virtues. 5:24Furthermore, those who of the Anointed One, Jesus, crucify the flesh with its appetites and impure desires. 5:25Since we have God’s life in our spirit, we should walk by the spirit.

5:26Let us not become proud, competing with each other and envying each other.

GALATIANS CHAPTER 6

6:1Brethren, if anyone is caught in any sin, you who are spiritual should restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness, being careful yourself so that you don’t become tempted also. 6:2Carry each other’s burdens and so fulfill the law of the Anointed One.

6:3If a man thinks of himself as something special when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 6:4But let each man critically examine his own work. Then he will keep his boasting to himself and not seek for the approval of others. 6:5For everyone will be responsible for his own works. 6:6But let the one who is taught in the word share all good things with him who teaches.

6:7Don’t be deceived! Don’t imagine you can fool God! For whatever a man sows is exactly the same thing which he will reap. 6:8For he who sows by following the desires of his flesh will, from this fleshly activity, reap destruction. But he who sows by submitting to the Spirit will, from the Spirit, reap increasingly more of the eternal life of God.

6:9And let us not become discouraged in doing good, for at the appointed time we will reap if we don’t grow weary. 6:10Therefore, since we still have some time left, let us do good to all men and most of all to the members of the family of the faith.

6:11Notice how large the letters are which I write to you in my own handwriting. 6:12Those who want to make a good show to others in the flesh are the ones who compel you to be circumcised so that they won’t be persecuted for the cross of the Anointed One. 6:13Yet even those who receive circumcision don’t keep the law themselves but they want to have you circumcised so that they may boast in your flesh.*

*These liked to brag about how many “converts” they made by having them circumcised.

6:14But I will not boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One, through which the world is crucified to me and I to the world. 6:15For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision can empower anyone to live righteously, but the new creation in our spirit does. 6:16And as many as walk by this standard, may peace and mercy be upon them, even upon the Israel of God.

6:17From here on, let no one trouble me, for I carry the scars of Jesus “branded” on my body. 6:18The grace of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One be with your spirit, brethren. Amen.

The Letter Of Paul To The

EPHESIANS

EPHESIANS CHAPTER 1

1:1Paul, a sent one of the Anointed One, Jesus, through the will of God, to those set apart for God who are at Ephesus, even the faithful in the Anointed One, Jesus: 1:2May you have grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus, the Anointed One.

1:3May the God and Father of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One be blessed, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in the Anointed One. 1:4For through his love, he chose us to be in him before the foundation of the world so that we would be holy and without defect before him.

1:5He has predetermined that we would be placed as his mature sons through Jesus the Anointed One according to the good pleasure of his will, 1:6resulting in a celebration of the glory of his grace which he granted to us in the Beloved.

1:7It is in him that we have our release by the full payment of the ransom price, which is his blood, even the release from bondage to our sins, according to the liberality of his grace 1:8which he lavished upon us. 1:9Now he is making known to us the mystery of his will which he planned in himself with all wisdom and intelligence in order to satisfy his greatest desires.

1:10His plan is this: by the careful management of events through the passage of time until the end, to rejoin together everything under the headship of the Anointed One himself, both the things in the heavens and the things on the earth.

It is in him also that 1:11we were chosen to be his inheritance – having been selected for this privilege beforehand according to his purpose – who does everything according to the counsel of his own will. 1:12As a result, we who first hoped in the Anointed One serve for the exalting of his glory.

1:13This exalting also includes you, who, having heard the word of the truth, the good news of your salvation, believed into Him and were sealed with the Holy Spirit of the promise. 1:14The Holy Spirit is the guarantee of this inheritance until God takes full possession of those he liberated by paying the full ransom price, resulting in the exalting of his glory.

1:15For this reason I also, having heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and the love which you show toward all those set apart for God, 1:16do not cease to give thanks for you, mentioning you in my prayers. 1:17I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One, the Father of glory, would give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation through fully and correctly knowing him personally.

1:18I pray that you would have the eyes of your heart enlightened so that you would understand the hope to which he calls us, the riches of the glory of his inheritance in those separated to himself, 1:19and the exceeding greatness of his power for those who are believing. It was the operation of this strength of his power 1:20which he wielded in the Anointed One when he raised him from the dead and made him sit in the place of supreme honor and authority in the heavenly places.

1:21Now he is far above all rule, authority, power, dominion, and every name which is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come. 1:22All things have been subjected under his feet. And it has been granted to him to be head over all things to the gathering of the called-out ones 1:23which is his body, the full measure of the One who is fulfilling all things.

EPHESIANS CHAPTER 2

2:1In the past you were under the dominion of death because of your errors and sins 2:2in which you once walked, following the course of this world which is controlled by the prince of the powers of the air, the spirit which now works in the sons of disobedience. 2:3We also all once lived in the same way, yielding to the cravings of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the carnal nature and of the mind, and were by nature children led by strong natural passions, just like everyone else.

2:4But God, being rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us, 2:5even when we were under the dominion of death because of our sins, gave us his own life together with the Anointed One (it by grace you are being saved) 2:6and now raises us up with him and makes us sit with him in the heavenly places in the Anointed One, Jesus. 2:7This is so that in the ages to come he might show the unlimited riches of his grace through his kindness toward us in the Anointed One, Jesus.

2:8For by grace you are being saved through faith which is not your own but instead is a gift from God. 2:9This saving is not by our own works so that no man will be able to claim any credit. 2:10For we are his epic, poetic masterpiece, formed into a people in the Anointed One, Jesus, for the purpose of carrying out his good works which God previously prepared so that we would be occupied with them.

2:11Therefore, remember that once you – the Gentiles by birth who are called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (referring to something done to the body by human hands) – 2:12that you were at that time separated from the Anointed One, alienated from the community of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

2:13But now in the Anointed One, Jesus, you who once were far off are brought near by the blood of the Anointed One. 2:14For he is our peace, the One who made both Jews and Gentiles one, having broken down the partition barrier between them, having destroyed the motive for antagonism in his physical body through his death.

2:15He did this by deactivating the law* made up of commandments and decrees so that he could create in himself from the two, one new “man,” so making peace. 2:16This was so that he could reconcile them both to God together in one body through the cross, having put to death the animosity.

*It is true that Jesus said that he did not come to destroy the law but instead to fulfill it (Mt 5:17). The “deactivation” of the law cited in this verse is possible because Jesus already fulfilled all the law and the prophets with his life, death, and resurrection. Therefore, it now could be, and in fact needed to be, deactivated.

2:17And so peace was announced to you who were at a distance and also to those who were near; 2:18for through him we both have our access through one Spirit to the Father. 2:19So then you are no longer foreigners and strangers but you are fellow citizens with those set apart for God and members of the family of God.

2:20You are being built upon the foundation of the sent ones and prophets; the Anointed One Jesus himself being the keystone. 2:21It is through him that each part of the building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 2:22It is in him that you also are being built together by the Spirit into a dwelling place for God.

EPHESIANS CHAPTER 3

3:1For this reason, I Paul, the prisoner of the Anointed One, Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles – 3:2if, in fact, you have heard of the grace of God which was granted to me to dispense to you – 3:3am writing to say that this divine mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I already wrote before in few words.

3:4When you read what I wrote, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of the Anointed One, 3:5which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men but has now been revealed to his holy sent ones and prophets through the Spirit. 3:6It is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in the Anointed One Jesus through the good news message.

3:7This is the message of which I was made a servant according to the gift of that grace of God which was given me through the operation of his power.

3:8This grace was given to me, who am less than the least of all those set apart for God, in order to proclaim among the nations the spiritual riches of the Anointed One which are beyond human comprehension 3:9and to make all men understand God’s plans: i.e. our participation in this secret purpose which for ages had been kept hidden in God who created all things.

3:10This is being done with the intention that now the multifaceted wisdom of God would be made known to the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places through the called-out ones. 3:11This is according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in the Anointed One, Jesus our Lord, 3:12in whom we have boldness and confident access to the Father through our faith in him.

3:13Therefore, I ask you not to become faint-hearted because of my sufferings which are for your sake, which really are for your glory.

3:14For this reason I bow my knees to the Father 3:15from whom every part of his family both in the heavens and on earth takes its name. 3:16I pray that he would grant you, according to the abundance of his glory, to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inward spiritual man.

3:17I pray that the Anointed One would make his home in your hearts through faith for the purpose that you – being rooted and grounded in his love – 3:18would be able to understand with all those set apart for God what is the width and length and height and depth* 3:19and to know the love of the Anointed One which exceeds human knowledge so that you could be filled with all the fulness of God.

*Perhaps an allegoric reference to the dimensions of the promised land which the Jews were (as we also are) encouraged to enter into and possess.

3:20Now to him who is able to do super abundantly beyond all that we ask or imagine according to the power that works in us, 3:21to him be the glory in the community of the called-out ones and in the Anointed One, Jesus, for all generations, even for the ages of the ages. Amen.

EPHESIANS CHAPTER 4

4:1I, therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk in a way which is worthy of the calling with which you were called, 4:2with all lowliness and meekness, patiently bearing with each other in love. 4:3Be diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

4:4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you also were called in one hope of your calling. 4:5There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 4:6one God and Father of all, who is over all, through all, and in you all. 4:7But to each one of us was given grace corresponding to the measure of the gift of the Anointed One. 4:8Therefore, he said, “When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts to men” (Ps 68:18).

4:9Now this, “He ascended,” how is that important except that he also descended through death, into the lower parts of the earth? 4:10He who descended is the same One who also ascended far above all the heavens so that he might fulfill all things.

4:11And he gave as servants to the called-out ones some to be sent ones, some prophets, some proclaimers of the good news, some shepherds and instructors 4:12for the perfecting of those separated for God, for the work of serving, for building up the body of the Anointed One 4:13until we all arrive at the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to a fully grown spiritual man, even to the measure of the stature of the fulness of the Anointed One.

4:14This is so that we would no longer be infants tossed back and forth and carried along with every new wind* of teaching, by the deceptive tactics of men who through false wisdom draw us into their error of making the spiritual life into a method {mechanism, “way,” or system}.**

*The Greek word here is “wind,” possibly indicating that the source of such errors is the prince of the powers of the air, who is the devil. There is no doubt that there are powerful, malignant, spiritual intelligences behind the many “movements” or “winds” which sweep through the church shifting the focus from Jesus to other things. These include, but are not limited to: Practices, phenomena, experiences, “correct” pronunciation of Jesus’ or God’s name, etc.

**The Greek word here is “methodeia” or method. An extremely common error is committed by those who try to substitute an intimate communion with the Anointed One and following him with some kind of “way,” “how-to” method, belief system, authority structure, practice, phenomena, etc. which supposedly makes us pleasing to God. Such things are often associated with the aforementioned winds or movements.

4:15But by speaking what is true in love to each other we should grow up into him in all things who is the head, even the Anointed One. 4:16It is from him that the whole body is being fitted and joined together through the life which every member distributes to the others – according to the functioning of each individual part supplying its portion. This is what makes the body grow as it builds itself up in love.

4:17Therefore, I say this – and I am confident that this exhortation is from the Lord – that you should no longer walk in the same way that the Gentiles walk: i.e. in the futility of their own intellectual reasonings. 4:18Since their understanding is darkened, they are alienated from the life of God.

This is because of the ignorance that is in them which comes from the hardness of their hearts. 4:19These, who have stopped caring about what is right or wrong, give themselves over to immoral behavior to greedily practice all kinds of sexual impurity.

4:20But this is not what you have learned from the Anointed One, 4:21if it is really true that you have heard from him and were taught by him. Therefore, according to the truth that is in Jesus, 4:22you should, with respect to your former behavior, put away the old human life whose corruption is exposed through its illusory, fleshly cravings.

4:23Allow the Spirit to renovate your mind. 4:24And clothe yourself with the new “man” which – corresponding to God’s own nature – has been created [by being born inside of you] in righteousness and true holiness. 4:25Therefore, putting away that which is false [i.e. the old ways of thinking and acting], everyone should speak truth with his neighbor, for we are members of each other.

4:26If you are angry, even so, do not sin. Don’t let the sun set while you are still angry, 4:27thus giving the devil a foothold. 4:28Anyone who was a thief should not steal anymore, but instead he should work hard, laboring with his hands at some respectable occupation so that he will have something to give to others in need.

4:29Don’t allow any degenerate speech to come out of your mouth. But if you speak, say something edifying according to the need of the moment so that it will transmit grace to those who are listening. 4:30Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit of God with your words or actions by whom you were sealed for the day of deliverance from the fallen body.

4:31Let all resentment, displays of temper, anger, complaining, and criticizing be put away from you along with all vindictiveness. 4:32Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving each other just as God also forgave you in the Anointed One.

EPHESIANS CHAPTER 5

5:1Therefore, be imitators of God as children who are loved. 5:2Walk in love, in the same way that the Anointed One also loved us and gave himself up for us as an offering and a sacrifice to God with a pleasing fragrance.

5:3But don’t let such things as sex outside of the marriage bond and all sexual impurity or the desire for wealth even be mentioned among you, which is the characteristic of those set apart to God. 5:4Neither should you use obscenities, engage in frivolous conversation, or tell dirty jokes, which are not appropriate; instead be giving thanks.

5:5For you know this without a doubt: no one who engages in sex outside of the marriage bond, who practices impure sexual acts, nor anyone who is greedy (who is really worshipping money as an idol) has any inheritance in the coming kingdom of the Anointed One and of God [the millennial kingdom or the “Millennium”].

5:6Let no one deceive you with useless words disputing this truth. For it is because of these very things that the punishment of God comes on the sons of disobedience. 5:7Therefore, don’t participate with them in these activities.

5:8For you were once in darkness but now you are in the light of the Lord. Live as children of light. 5:9For the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth, 5:10demonstrating what is pleasing to the Lord.

5:11Have no co-participation with the works of darkness which benefit no one but instead even reprove them. 5:12For it is shameful even to speak of the things which they do in secret.

5:13But all things when they are reproved are exposed by the light, for the light is what reveals everything. 5:14Therefore, he says, “Awake, you who are sleeping, and arise from the dead and the Anointed One will give you light.”

5:15Therefore, be very careful how you live, not as unwise, but as wise, 5:16making the most of the time which is left because these are evil days. 5:17Moreover, don’t be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is. 5:18And don’t be drunk with wine which produces lack of self control but be being filled to fulness with the Spirit.

5:19Express the spiritual meditations of your heart to each other in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody from your heart to the Lord, 5:20giving thanks to God, even the Father, always for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One.

5:21Submit yourselves to each other in the fear of the Anointed One. 5:22Wives, be completely yielded to your own husbands as if to the Lord. 5:23For the husband is the head of the wife just as the Anointed One also is the head of the called-out ones, he himself being the Savior of the body.

5:24But as the called-out ones are completely yielded to the Anointed One, so let the wives also be yielded to their husbands in everything. 5:25Husbands, love your wives just as the Anointed One also loved the gathering of the calledout ones and gave himself up for her 5:26so that he might make her holy and purify her by the washing in the water of the word which he speaks {rhema, Gk}.

5:27This is so that he might present to himself as a bride those of the glorious gathering of the called-out ones who are without stains or wrinkles or any such things, since it is necessary for her to be holy and without defect to be a partner in this marriage.

5:28So also husbands ought to love their own wives as they love their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself. 5:29For no man ever hated his own body but nourishes and cherishes it just as the Anointed One also does the called-out ones 5:30because we are members of his body.

5:31For this reason a man leaves his father and mother and coheres* to his wife and the two become one flesh (Gen 2:24). 5:32This mystery is profound, but I am actually speaking about the Anointed One and the gathering of the called-out ones. 5:33Nevertheless, each one of you should love his own wife even as himself. And the wife should be reverent towards her husband.

* Greek: “to be glued” or “cemented.” This is the “marriage bond” of ch. 5:5.

EPHESIANS CHAPTER 6

6:1Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 6:2Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise) 6:3so that your life would go well and you would live for many years on the earth.

6:4And you fathers, don’t provoke your children to anger but nurture them in the discipline and counsel of the Lord.

6:5Slaves [and employees], be obedient to those who are your earthly masters with respect and humility, being focused on your work, just as you would do for the Anointed One.

6:6Don’t do your work only when others are watching or by just trying to impress others 6:7but do your work willingly as if working for the Lord and not for men. As servants of the Anointed One, do the will of God from the heart 6:8since you know that whatever good thing each one does, he will receive back from the Lord in the same measure whether he is a slave or free man.

6:9And you masters [employers], treat them in the same way. Give up intimidation as a means of controlling them, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in the heavens and there is no favoritism with him.

6:10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 6:11Put on the whole armor of God so that you will be able to stand against the strategies of the devil. 6:12For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood but against the fallen princes, against the spiritual authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the evil spiritual beings in the heavenly places.

6:13Therefore, take up the complete armor of God so that you may be able to resist temptation through the difficult times and, having persevered through everything, to stand firmly in the Anointed One without sinning.

6:14Stand, therefore, having encircled your waist with truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 6:15having put on your feet the preparation of the good news message of peace; 6:16additionally take up the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts [fearful thoughts and doubts] of the evil one. 6:17And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word which God speaks {rhema, Gk}.

6:18By means of all prayer and petitions, be interceding in the Spirit at all times, staying alert with all perseverance in your intercession for all those set apart for God. 6:19Pray also for me that the right words would be given to me when I open my mouth and that I would have boldness when making known the mystery of the good news. 6:20This is the message for which I am an ambassador in chains. But I ask for your prayers so that even in chains I would speak boldly as I ought to speak.

6:21But so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything. 6:22In fact, I have sent him to you for this very purpose so that you may know our state of affairs and that he may comfort your hearts.

6:23Peace be to the brethren and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus the Anointed One. 6:24May grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus the Anointed One with an incorruptible love.

Words in this translation found in italics are words which are implied by the Greek text but do not represent actual words in the Greek text. This practice is common in almost all modern translations. Occasionally, this translator has added words to the translation which represent his own ideas and opinions which, although they are based on his own biblical understanding, are not part of the actual Greek text. Such words are enclosed in brackets, like this [ ]. The reader should understand these words as being the opinion of the translator. In contrast to this, the words in these braces { } indicate legitimate, alternative translations or explanations. Words within parentheses () are part of the original Greek text. Such parentheses are often used in other New Testament translations also.

The Letter Of Paul To The

PHILIPPIANS

PHILIPPIANS CHAPTER 1

1:1Paul and Timothy, servants of the Anointed One, Jesus, to all those set apart for God in the Anointed One, Jesus, who are at Philippi, along with the watchmen and servants: 1:2Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus the Anointed One.

1:3I thank my God every time I remember you. 1:4In every prayer of mine for all of you, I always pray with joy 1:5because of your partnership in spreading the good news message from the beginning until now.

1:6I am confident of this very thing: that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the “day” of Jesus the Anointed One. 1:7It is appropriate for me to think about you all this way because you are near to my heart. This is because you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my captivity and in the defense of, and in the establishing of, the good news message.

1:8For God is my witness, how much I long for you all with the tender mercies of the Anointed One, Jesus. 1:9And I pray that your love would abound increasingly, being tempered with all understanding and insight 1:10so that you would be discerning about the different situations which come along.

In this way you will be pure and blameless in the day of the Anointed One 1:11having your lives filled with all the qualities {fruits} of righteousness which come through Jesus the Anointed One, to the glory and praise of God.

1:12Now I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me, instead of being bad, have worked out for the progress of the good news 1:13so that it became evident throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that my chains are because of the Anointed One.

1:14And the majority of the brethren in the Lord, becoming confident by seeing how I endure my captivity, are more abundantly bold to speak the word of God fearlessly. 1:15It is true that some proclaim the Anointed One because of envy, striving to appear superior, but others do so with a good heart. 1:16The one group proclaims the Anointed One from selfish ambition, not sincerely, imagining that they are making my chains more unbearable by proclaiming openly while I am unable to do so.

1:17The other ones do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed by God for the defense of the good news. 1:18What is the result? That in every way, whether with wrong motives or in truth, the Anointed One is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice, yes, and will continue to rejoice.

1:19For I know that this will work to further my salvation through your prayers and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus the Anointed One.

1:20Accordingly, it is my sincere expectation and hope that I will not disgrace myself in any way. Instead, I trust that with all boldness as always, so now also, the Anointed One will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. 1:21For me to live is the Anointed One and to die is gain.

1:22But if I live on in the physical body – if this will bring fruit from my work – then I don’t know what to choose. 1:23So I am torn between the two, having the desire to depart and be with the Anointed One, for it is far better. 1:24Yet to remain here in this body is more necessary for your sake. 1:25And having this confidence, I know that I will remain, yes, and stay with you all for your progress and joy in the faith.

1:26In this way your rejoicing together with me will abound in the Anointed One, Jesus, when I am present with you again. 1:27Only let the way you live be worthy of the message of the good news of the Anointed One so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your condition, that you stand firm in one spirit with one soul co-laboring in the faith of the good news.

1:28Don’t be frightened in any way by those opposing you. To them your lack of fear is a sign of future destruction, but to you it is proof of your salvation which comes from God. 1:29It has been graciously granted to you on behalf of the Anointed One not only to believe into him but also to suffer for his sake. 1:30This is the same battle which you saw that I have and now you hear that I am still having.

PHILIPPIANS CHAPTER 2

2:1Therefore, if there is any comfort in the Anointed One, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of spirit, if any tender mercies and compassion, 2:2make my joy complete by being of the same opinion, having the same love, being in unity, having the same understanding.

2:3Don’t do anything through rivalry or through selfish ambition, but having humility, each one should consider the other better than himself. 2:4Each one of you should not look out for his own interests only, but each of you should also look out for the interests of others.

2:5You should have the mindset which the Anointed One, Jesus had 2:6who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be retained. 2:7Instead, he emptied himself, taking on the form of a servant, even being made into the likeness of men. 2:8Then, being found in human form, he humbled himself even further and became obedient even to death, yes, the humiliating, painful death of the cross.

2:9For this reason also God has highly exalted him and has given him the name which is above every name 2:10so that at the name of Jesus every knee would bow – of heavenly beings, of earthly beings and beings under the earth – 2:11and so that every tongue would confess that Jesus the Anointed One is the Supreme Authority, to the glory of God the Father.

2:12So then my beloved, even as you have always obeyed the Lord, not only when I was present, but now much more in my absence, be working out your own salvation with reverent fear and trembling. 2:13For it is God who works in you, both to desire and to accomplish what pleases him.

2:14Do everything without complaining or arguing 2:15so that you may be without defect or mixture, children of God without faults in the middle of the corrupt and depraved generation of this world, among whom you shine like heavenly stars.

2:16Display through your living the results of the word of God’s life so that I will have something to boast about in the day of the Anointed One, showing that I did not run in vain nor labored without results. 2:17Yes, and if it happens that my life is poured out as a sacrifice in the service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 2:18In the same way, you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

2:19But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon so that I also may be cheered up when I learn about your condition. 2:20For I have no one else who thinks just as I do who will genuinely care for your welfare. 2:21For everyone else just seeks some personal benefit, not caring about what is important to Jesus the Anointed One.

2:22But you have seen his character, that as a child works with his father, this is the way that he served with me in the good news. 2:23Therefore, I hope to send him right away as soon as I see what is going to happen with me. 2:24But I trust in the Lord that I myself will come soon also.

2:25I thought it was necessary to send Epaphroditus to you – my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier who is your messenger whom you sent to take care of my needs – 2:26since he was longing after you all and was distressed because you heard that he was sick.

2:27In fact, he was very sick and almost died but God had mercy on him, and not only on him, but also on me so that I wouldn’t have sorrow on top of sorrow. 2:28Therefore, I have sent him with more urgency so that when you see him again you can rejoice and so I too could be free from sorrow. 2:29Receive him, therefore, in the Lord with great joy and respect him 2:30because he came near to death for the work of the Anointed One, risking his life to serve me in a way which you were unable to do personally.

PHILIPPIANS CHAPTER 3

3:1Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you again is not tiresome for me, but it is a safety precaution for you. 3:2Beware of the dogs, beware of the destructive teachers, beware of the “religious cutters.”* 3:3For we are the circumcision who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in the Anointed One, Jesus, and have no confidence in the natural man 3:4even though I might have motives for having confidence in the natural man.

*Here Paul is talking about Jews who insisted on the circumcision of the Gentiles, using extremely derogatory words to describe them. This verse could also be applied to anyone who insists on the need for external, religious practices in order to be right with God.

If anyone else thinks that he has reason to have confidence in the natural man, I have even more. 3:5I was circumcised on the eighth day, born from the stock of Israel from the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; with respect to the law: a Pharisee; 3:6concerning zeal: persecuting the gatherings of the called-out ones; concerning righteousness which comes from following the law: blameless.

3:7However, whatever things were advantageous to me naturally speaking, these I consider detrimental because of the Anointed One. 3:8Yes, I really consider all such things to be detrimental because of the excellency of the knowledge of the Anointed One, Jesus my Lord, for whom I experienced the loss of all things and consider them to be as garbage to be thrown out so that I may gain the Anointed One.

3:9I want to be found in him not having a righteousness of my own which comes from keeping the law but one which is through the faith of the Anointed One, i.e. God’s own righteousness which is ours through faith. 3:10I want to know him and the power of his resurrection – which comes through participating in his sufferings and becoming integrated into his death – 3:11so that in this way I may be experiencing the resurrection from the dead.

3:12Not that I have already fully obtained it or have already been perfected but I press on so that I may take possession of that for which the Anointed One, Jesus also took possession of me.

3:13Brethren, I do not consider that I have yet taken full possession of it. But this one thing I do: forgetting the things which are behind and stretching forward to the things which are in front, 3:14I press on toward the goal to gain the prize to which God calls us from above in the Anointed One, Jesus.

3:15Therefore, let those of us who are mature see things in this way. But if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this to you also. 3:16Nevertheless, let us continue to walk by the understanding which we have already received. 3:17Brethren, be co-imitators of the Anointed One together with me.

Notice and observe those who walk according to our example. 3:18For many are conducting their lives – about whom I often spoke to you before and now speak about with weeping – as those who oppose the operation of the cross of the Anointed One in their lives. 3:19Their destiny is destruction. Their god is their carnal desires and what they imagine is their “glory” is really their shame. Their thinking is merely earthly.

3:20But our citizenship has its source in the heavens, from where we also wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus the Anointed One. 3:21He will remake our lowly, physical body into a new body which is like his glorious one by the power with which he is able to subject all things to himself.

PHILIPPIANS CHAPTER 4

4:1Therefore, my brethren whom I love and for whom I long, who are my joy and crown: stand firmly in the Lord, my beloved!

4:2I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to get along in the Lord. 4:3Yes, I beg you also – who truly share my work and burden – help these women, for they labored with me in the good news message along with Clement also and with the rest of my fellow-workers whose names are in the book of God’s life.

4:4Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say, “rejoice!” 4:5Let your godly behavior be known to all men. The Lord is always present here with us. 4:6Don’t be anxious about anything but in everything through prayer and asking with thankfulness let your requests be made known to God. 4:7And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will keep watch over your hearts and your thoughts in the Anointed One, Jesus.

4:8Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are agreeable, whatever things are admirable, if there is any virtue and if there is anything worthy of praise, meditate on these things. 4:9The things which you have learned, received, heard, and seen in me, practice these things and the God of peace will be with you.

4:10But I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now, after some time has passed, you have remembered me again by sending a gift. Certainly, you always did remember me, but you lacked opportunity to demonstrate it.

4:11Not that I speak because of need, for I have learned in whatever circumstances I am in to be content. 4:12I know what it is to be in need and I know how to act when there is plenty. Through everything and in all situations I have learned the secret: how to both be filled and to be hungry, both to have plenty and to be without. 4:13I am strengthened in everything in him who empowers me – the Anointed One.

4:14However, you did a good thing by helping with my affliction. 4:15And you yourselves also know, you Philippians, that in the beginning of the good news ministry when I left Macedonia, no gathering of called-out ones participated with me in the area of giving and receiving except you.

4:16Even when I was in Thessalonica you sent gifts several times to help with my needs. 4:17Not that I am looking for gifts, but I want you to have fruit that will be credited to your account.

4:18But I have more than enough of everything. I am satisfied, having received from Epaphroditus the things that you sent, which is a sacrifice with a sweet smelling aroma, acceptable and very pleasing to God. 4:19And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in the Anointed One, Jesus.

4:20Now to our God and Father is the glory for ever and ever. Amen. 4:21Greet all those set apart for God who are in the Anointed One, Jesus. The brethren who are with me send greetings to you. 4:22All those here who are set apart for God send greetings to you, especially those that belong to Caesar’s household.

4:23May the grace of the Lord Jesus, the Anointed One be with your spirit.

Words in this translation found in italics are words which are implied by the Greek text but do not represent actual words in the Greek text. This practice is common in almost all modern translations. Occasionally, this translator has added words to the translation which represent his own ideas and opinions which, although they are based on his own biblical understanding, are not part of the actual Greek text. Such words are enclosed in brackets, like this [ ]. The reader should understand these words as being the opinion of the translator. In contrast to this, the words in these braces { } indicate legitimate, alternative translations or explanations. Words within parentheses () are part of the original Greek text. Such parentheses are often used in other New Testament translations also.

The Letter Of Paul To The

COLOSSIANS

COLOSSIANS CHAPTER 1

1:1Paul, a sent one of the Anointed One, Jesus, through the will of God along with Timothy our brother, 1:2to those set apart for God, even the faithful brethren in the Anointed One who are at Colossae: May you have grace and peace from God our Father. 1:3We always give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One when we pray for you, 1:4because we have heard of your faith in the Anointed One, Jesus, and of the love which you have toward all those set apart for God.

1:5This is a result of the hope which is stored up for you in the heavens, about which you already heard through the word of the truth of the good news message. 1:6This message which came to you is the same one which has gone out to all the world, bearing fruit and increasing as it also has been doing in you, ever since you heard and knew about the grace of God in truth.

1:7This is the message which you learned from Epaphras our beloved fellow-servant who is a faithful servant of the Anointed One on your behalf. 1:8It was he who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.

1:9For this reason, since the day we heard about it, we also have not stopped praying and asking God for you that you would be filled with the complete knowledge of his purpose through having all spiritual wisdom and understanding.

1:10We pray that you would live in a way which is worthy of the Lord, pleasing him in everything, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God. 1:11We pray that you would be strengthened with all power according to his glorious strength, resulting in a life of patience and endurance, 1:12as you are joyfully giving thanks to the Father. It is he who is qualifying you to have a share of the inheritance in the realms of light together with all those set apart for God.

1:13It is also he who is delivering us out from under the power of the darkness and is transferring us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. 1:14It is through him that we have the release – the liberation from our sins – by the full payment of the ransom price: the shedding of his blood.

1:15He, the Son, is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 1:16For through him all things were created, both in the heavens and on the earth – the things which are visible and those things which are invisible – whether thrones, or dominions, or lordships, or rulers, all things have been created through him and for him.

1:17He existed before all things and by him all things hold together. 1:18And he is the head of the body, the gathering of the called-out ones. He is the beginning of everything and also the firstborn from the dead, so that he might have the preeminence in all things.

1:19For the Father was very pleased for all his fulness to reside in him 1:20and that through him he would restore all things to their former state of harmony with himself – including things in the heavens and things on the earth – having made peace through the blood of his cross.

1:21But in the past you were alienated from God and were his enemies; your corrupt thoughts produced your evil works. 1:22Yet now he is reconciling you to himself in his physical body through death in order to present you before himself: holy, without blemish, and above reproach.

1:23This will be the result if you continue in the faith, being established, continuing steadfastly without being moved away from the hope of the good news which you heard. This is the message which is being proclaimed in all creation under heaven of which I Paul was made a servant.

1:24Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake. I fill up on my part, in my body, that which is lacking of the afflictions of the Anointed One for his body’s sake which is the entire group of called-out ones. 1:25It is for them that I have become a servant according to the commission which God has given me to proclaim to you the word of God in its fulness. 1:26This is the mystery which has been hidden for ages and generations but now has been revealed to those he set apart for himself.

1:27These are those from among the Gentiles to whom God was pleased to reveal the overflowing abundance of the glory contained in this mystery which is this: the Anointed One being in you, giving you the hope of being glorified.

1:28It is him we proclaim, admonishing everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom so that we may present each one perfected in the Anointed One. 1:29This is the result for which I also strenuously labor, striving according to his power which works through me mightily.

COLOSSIANS CHAPTER 2

2:1For I want you to know how much of an inner struggle I have for you, for those at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in person. 2:2I yearn that their hearts would be comforted and be knitted together in love. Also, I desire that they would have the “wealth” of complete confidence in God, which comes through a full understanding of the mystery of God – even the Father revealing himself – which is the Anointed One.*

*This truth is further revealed in chapter 1, verse 5.

2:3It is in him that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden. 2:4I say this so that no one will mislead you with persuasive talk. 2:5For though I am absent in person, yet I am with you in the spirit, rejoicing and seeing your godly character and the firmness of your faith in the Anointed One.

2:6In the same way that you received the Anointed One, Jesus the Lord, walk in him, 2:7thus being rooted and built up in him and being established in your faith just as you were taught, overflowing with thanksgiving.

2:8Be careful so that no one leads you away as plunder for themselves** using philosophy and empty, deceptive ideas, which is the way men often operate, following the worldly pattern which is not the way of the Anointed One.
**They do this by persuading you to listen to and trust in them.

2:9Understand this: all the fulness of the divine nature dwells in him bodily. 2:10And you are being filled with him who is the head of all principality and power! 2:11It is also in him that you are being circumcised with a circumcision, not done with human hands, but instead through the stripping off of the entirety of the sins of the flesh by the spiritual circumcision which occurs in the Anointed One.

2:12Since you are being buried together with him through the death which baptism symbolizes, you are also being co-resurrected with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. 2:13And you – being “dead” because of your sins, which is the “uncircumcised” condition of your flesh – to you, I say, he gives God’s life together with himself, graciously rescuing us from all of our sins.

2:14He blots out the array of written ordinances which were against us and even opposed to us. He has taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross. 2:15He also strips off from us the domination of the principalities and the powers, clearly exposing how they operate, he himself triumphing over them.

2:16Therefore, since the written ordinances have been “blotted out,” let no one judge you with respect to religious ordinances such as what kind of meat you eat, what you drink, or concerning a religious feast day, or observing a new moon, or a Sabbath day. 2:17This is because these things are just a shadow of the spiritual things which were to come, but the fulfillment of them is now in the Anointed One.

2:18Don’t let anyone cheat you out of your reward by insisting on voluntary submission to men and giving reverence to human messengers. Such men emphasize things which they claim to have “seen” without any genuine basis whatsoever and have an overinflated, fleshly idea of their own importance. 2:19When you reverence and submit to them, you are not holding securely to the Head, from whom the whole body, being supplied and knit together through the “joints and ligaments,” increases with the increase of God.

2:20Since you are dying together with the Anointed One to the essence of this world, why, as though still a part of the world, do you subject yourselves to earthly, religious ordinances 2:21such as: don’t touch this, don’t eat that, or don’t handle some other thing? 2:22These are just regulations concerning perishable things, all of which are consumed by using them. These are just human precepts and doctrines!

2:23These are things which have an appearance of wisdom in “worship” which humans invent, self-humiliation, and severity to the body but are of no value with regard to truly dealing with the appetites of the flesh.

COLOSSIANS CHAPTER 3

3:1Since then you are being raised together with the Anointed One, earnestly seek that which is on high, where the Anointed One is seated in the place of supreme honor and authority of God. 3:2Fix your thoughts on the things which are heavenly and not on the things that are just earthly types and shadows. 3:3For you died {and are dying} together with the Anointed One, yet God’s life within you is kept hidden for now in God, together with the Anointed One. 3:4But, when the Anointed One who is that life in you is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glorious splendor.

3:5Be putting to death, therefore, that which is part of your earthly nature: i.e. sex outside of the marriage bond, unclean sexual acts, lustfulness, longing for what is prohibited, and seeking wealth which is really worshipping money as an idol. 3:6It is because of these things that the punishment of God is coming on the children of disobedience.

3:7You once behaved like this when you lived practicing these things, 3:8but now you must put them all away: i.e. strong natural impulses, fits of temper, holding grudges, slandering others, and using filthy language. 3:9Don’t take advantage of others, since you are putting off the old man with his fallen behavior 3:10and are putting on the new man who has a renewed kind of understanding of how to behave, corresponding to the image of the One who created him.

3:11In the Anointed One there is no place for Greek and Jew, those who are circumcised and those who are uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free man, but the Anointed One is the “all” and is in all believers. 3:12Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, long-suffering; 3:13bearing with each other and forgiving each other. If any one has a complaint against someone else, just as the Lord forgave you, you do the same.

3:14And above all these things put on love, which is the bond of spiritual perfection. 3:15Let the peace of the Anointed One be what directs your hearts. It is this peace to which you also were called in one body. Always be thankful.

3:16Let the word of the Anointed One live richly inside of you in all wisdom, as you teach and admonish each other with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to God.

3:17And whatever you do, whether speaking or doing, do everything in the name of {in the reality of} the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

3:18Wives, yield yourselves completely to your own husbands, as is appropriate in the Lord. 3:19Husbands, love your wives unconditionally and don’t be bitter towards them. 3:20Children, obey your parents in all respects for this is very pleasing to the Lord. 3:21Fathers, don’t provoke your children so that they don’t become discouraged.

3:22Servants [or employees], obey those who are your human masters in everything, not just when someone is watching or as simply pleasing men, but do it with a sincere heart, fearing the Lord.

3:23Whatever you do, do with your whole heart as if doing it for the Lord and not for men, 3:24knowing that it is from the Lord that you will receive the reward of the inheritance.*

* Inheriting all that God has, all that He is, and all that He will newly create.

This is because you are actually serving the Lord, the Anointed One. 3:25But he who does wrong to others will receive the just “reward” for the wrong that he has done, for there is no favoritism with God.**

**This truth includes believers, who will receive their “reward” before the judgment seat of the Anointed One, which will be a great surprise for many.

COLOSSIANS CHAPTER 4

4:1Masters, give to your servants [and employees] that which is fair and just, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven. 4:2Continue persistently in prayer, being spiritual ly awake and thankful. 4:3And pray for us, too, that God would open to us a door for the word, enabling us to speak the mystery of the Anointed One (for which I am also in chains) 4:4so that I may proclaim it in the best possible way.

4:5Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside of the Anointed One, wisely using the available time. 4:6Let your speech always be with grace, “seasoned with salt,” so that you may know how you can best answer each one.

4:7Tychicus will tell you about all my business. He is a beloved brother, faithful servant, and fellow slave in the Lord 4:8whom (together with Onesimus the faithful and much loved brother who is one of you) I have sent to you for this very purpose so that you may know our situation and so that he may comfort your hearts. 4:9They will let you know everything which is going on here.

4:10Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you along with Mark the cousin of Bar-Nabas (about whom you received instructions to receive if he comes to you), 4:11and Jesus, called Justus, who are of the “circumcision.” These are my only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are Jews, men who have been a comfort to me.

4:12Epaphras, a servant of the Anointed One, Jesus, who is one of you, greets you. He is always praying earnestly for you so that you may stand perfected and be in complete conformity with all the will of God. 4:13For I testify about him that he has a deep concern for you, for those in Laodicea, and for those in Hierapolis.

4:14Luke the beloved physician and Demas send greetings to you. 4:15Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea along with Nympha and the gathering of the called-out ones that is in her house.

4:16When this letter has been read among you, cause it to be read also in the gathering of the called-out ones of the Laodiceans. You should read the letter “from” Laodicea* too.

*The Greek word here is “from” which indicates the origin of this letter. Yet it is unlikely that the Laodiceans wrote a letter to the Colossians. Instead, this letter was probably written by Paul to the Laodiceans but would be sent “from” them to the Colossians.

4:17Say to Archippus, “Pay careful attention to the ministry which you have received from the Lord and fulfill it.” 4:18This is a greeting from me, Paul, written with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.

Words in this translation found in italics are words which are implied by the Greek text but do not represent actual words in the Greek text. This practice is common in almost all modern translations. Occasionally, this translator has added words to the translation which represent his own ideas and opinions which, although they are based on his own biblical understanding, are not part of the actual Greek text. Such words are enclosed in brackets, like this [ ]. The reader should understand these words as being the opinion of the translator. In contrast to this, the words in these braces { } indicate legitimate, alternative translations or explanations. Words within parentheses () are part of the original Greek text. Such parentheses are often used in other New Testament translations also.

The First Letter Of Paul To The

THESSALONIANS (1)

FIRST THESSALONIANS CHAPTER 1

1:1Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the gathering of the called-out ones of the Thessalonians in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus the Anointed One: May you have grace and peace. 1:2We always give thanks to God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. 1:3We also continually remember your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus the Anointed One before our God and Father.

1:4We know, brethren, you who are loved by God, that he has chosen you 1:5because our message of good news came to you not only in words, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with deep conviction.

You know very well how we conducted ourselves for your benefit when we were among you. 1:6And you became imitators of us, even of the Lord, welcoming the word in much affliction, yet with the joy of the Holy Spirit 1:7so much so that you became an example to all those who are believing in Macedonia and in Achaia.

1:8For from you the word of the Lord has been spread abroad, not only in Macedonia and Achaia but in every place your faith towards God has been talked about so much that we don’t need to say anything.

1:9For they themselves report how it was when we came to you: how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God 1:10and to wait for his Son from the heavens whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, the One who is rescuing us from the coming wrath.

FIRST THESSALONIANS CHAPTER 2

2:1For you know brethren, concerning our coming to you, that it has not been futile. 2:2But having suffered before and having been shamefully treated at Philippi (as you know), we became even bolder in our God to speak the good news of God to you in the face of great opposition.

2:3For our appeal to you was not based on error, nor did it involve any immoral behavior nor any kind of deceit. 2:4But seeing that we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the good news, this is the way we speak, not as pleasing men but pleasing God who tests our hearts.

2:5For we were never at any time found to be using flattery to try to convince you, as you know; nor were we subtly trying to get your money, God is our witness; 2:6nor were we seeking honor from men, neither from you nor from others, even when we could have tried to impress you as being “sent ones” of the Anointed One.

2:7But we were gentle while among you like a nursing mother who carefully cares for her own children. 2:8Our concern for you was so great that we were even willing to give you not only the good news message from God but also our own souls because you had become very dear to us.

2:9For you remember brethren our labor and strenuous toil, how we worked day and night so that we would not be a financial burden to any of you. This is how we proclaimed the good news of God to you. 2:10You and God are witnesses of how holily, righteously, and blamelessly we behaved ourselves toward you who are believing.

2:11You know how we treated each one of you like a father treats his own children, exhorting you, encouraging you, and testifying to you 2:12that you should conduct your lives in a way which is appropriate for someone whom God has invited into his own kingdom and glory.

2:13For this reason we also thank God without ceasing that when you heard the word of God from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as it truly is: the word of God, which also is working in you who are believing.

2:14For you, brethren, became imitators of the gatherings of the called-out ones of God which are in Judea in the Anointed One, Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews. 2:15These are the ones who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They are not pleasing to God and are hostile towards everyone. 2:16They are even trying to keep us from speaking to the nations so that they may be being saved. By so doing, they are constantly filling up the measure of their sins. But wrath will come upon them in the end.

2:17But we brethren – being taken away from you for a short time and being physically absent but not absent in heart – we really wanted to come back and see you face to face. 2:18We did, in fact, try to come back to you. I, Paul, tried several times but Satan hindered us.

2:19For what is our hope or joy or crown of rejoicing? Isn’t it you when we are together in the presence our Lord Jesus at his coming? 2:20For you are our glory and our joy.

FIRST THESSALONIANS CHAPTER 3

3:1Therefore, when we couldn’t wait any longer we thought it best to be left behind at Athens alone. 3:2So we sent Timothy, our brother and co-worker together with God in the message of the good news about the Anointed One, to strengthen you and to comfort you in your faith. 3:3We didn’t want anyone to be upset by our suffering because you know that this is our destiny.

3:4For truly, when we were with you we forewarned you that we were going to suffer affliction. And as you know, it happened. 3:5For this reason also, when I couldn’t stand to wait any longer, I sent someone so that I might find out about your faith – if by some means the tempter had tempted you and our work there would have been in vain.

3:6But when Timothy came back to us from you, he brought us good news about your faith and love, saying that you always have good memories about us and that you even long to see us, just as we also long to see you.

3:7Because of this, brethren, we were comforted about you in the middle all our distress and affliction by hearing about your faith. 3:8For now our life has meaning if you stand fast in the Lord. 3:9How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in his presence concerning you?

3:10We are earnestly praying day and night that we may see you again and take care of anything which might be lacking in your faith. 3:11Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way back to you.

3:12And may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love toward each other and toward all men, just as we also abound in love toward you. 3:13In this way he can establish your hearts to be irreproachable in holiness when you are in the presence of our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones.

FIRST THESSALONIANS CHAPTER 4

4:1Finally then, brethren, we plead with you and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you learned from us how to live in a way that pleases God (just as you are doing now) that you continue to do so even more. 4:2For you know the instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 4:3For this is the will of God: your being made holy.

I want to emphasize specifically that you abstain from sex outside of the marriage bond. 4:4Each one of you must know how to act with respect to his own body in holiness and honor, 4:5not in the passion of carnal desire like the Gentiles who don’t know God.

4:6No one should go beyond God’s limits, fraudulently using his brother or sister for their own pleasure, because the Lord is the one who will take revenge on the offenders concerning all these things about which we already warned you and solemnly testified. 4:7For God has not called us to contaminate ourselves with sexual activities outside of marriage but to holiness.

4:8Therefore, he who rejects this teaching does not reject mere human opinion but rejects God who has given us his Holy Spirit.

4:9But concerning the love of the brethren, you don’t need anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love each other. 4:10And in fact, you practice this with respect to all the brethren who are in all of Macedonia. But we exhort you, brethren, that you do so more and more.

4:11Also, you make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your hands just as we instructed you. 4:12This is so that your life would be attractive to outsiders and also so that you would not be in need of anything.

4:13But we don’t want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have “fallen asleep” {died} so that you don’t grieve like the other people who have no hope. 4:14For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring those who have “fallen asleep” in Jesus with him when he returns.

4:15We say this to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain here until the coming of the Lord will in no way arrive ahead of those who have fallen asleep {died}.

4:16For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shouted command from an archangel and with the sounding of the trumpet of God. At that moment, the dead in the Anointed One will resurrect first, 4:17and then we who are alive and are still here will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 4:18Therefore, comfort each other with these words.

FIRST THESSALONIANS CHAPTER 5

5:1But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you don’t need anything to be written to you. 5:2For you know perfectly well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 5:3But just when they are laying out* their plans for peace and security, then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman and there will be no way to escape.

*The Greek work here is “lego” which can also be translated “lull to sleep.” Therefore, this verse could possibly read: “But just when everyone is lulled to sleep by peace and security, then sudden destruction will come upon them...”

5:4But you, brethren, are not in darkness so that that day would surprise you like a thief. 5:5For you are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. 5:6So then let us not “sleep” spiritually as many do, but let us be watchful and be sober. 5:7For those who sleep, sleep during the night and those who are drunk are drunk at night.

5:8But since we are of the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 5:9For God has not appointed us to suffer his wrath but instead to be taking possession of our ongoing salvation through our Lord Jesus the Anointed One 5:10who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep, we would share God’s life together with him.

5:11Therefore, exhort one another and build each other up just as you also are doing.

5:12But we plead with you, brethren, to recognize those who are tirelessly working among you, caring for you in the Lord, and advising you. 5:13Have a high regard for them in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.

5:14And we exhort you, brethren, admonish those who are doing nothing, encourage the fainthearted, support the weak, be patient with everyone. 5:15See that no one repays someone who wrongs them with another wrong. Instead, always follow after that which is good toward each other and toward all.

5:16Always rejoice; 5:17pray without ceasing; 5:18give thanks in every circumstance, for this is the will of God in the Anointed One, Jesus, for you. 5:19Don’t quench the Spirit. 5:20Don’t despise prophesyings. 5:21Test all things and hold tightly to that which is good. 5:22Refrain from practicing any form of evil.

5:23And may the God of peace himself make you completely holy, and may your whole spirit, entire soul, and whole body be found without any faults at all in the presence of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One. 5:24He who called you is faithful. It is he who will also do this.

5:25Brethren, pray for us. 5:26Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. 5:27I direct you by the Lord to read this letter to all the brethren. 5:28May the grace of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One be with you.

The Second Letter Of Paul To The

THESSALONIANS (2)

SECOND THESSALONIANS CHAPTER 1

1:1Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the gathering of the called-out ones of the Thessalonians in God our Father and in the Lord Jesus the Anointed One: 1:2May you have grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus the Anointed One.

1:3We are compelled to always give thanks to God for you, brethren. Your lives are worthy of such thanksgiving because your faith grows remarkably and your love for each other overflows, 1:4with the result that we boast about you in the gatherings of the called-out ones of God concerning your patience and faith during all your persecutions and through the sufferings which you endure. 1:5This is clear evidence of the righteous judgment of God so that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer.

1:6It is also clear that God considers it justice to pay back with suffering those who cause you to suffer 1:7and to give you who are suffering rest together with us. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed, descending from heaven with his powerful angels; 1:8taking revenge with flaming fire on those who don’t know God and on those who don’t obey the message of good news about our Lord.

1:9These individuals will suffer the penalty of eternal destruction which comes from the face of the Lord and from the radiant brilliance of his power. 1:10This will occur on the day in which he will be glorified in his holy ones and be admired in all those who have believed (because our testimony to you was believed).

1:11This is the reason that we always pray for you so that our God would consider you worthy of this calling. We also pray that by his power you would fulfill every one of his good desires and complete every work of faith. 1:12In this way the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you and you will be glorified in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus the Anointed One.

SECOND THESSALONIANS CHAPTER 2

2:1Now we beg you, brethren – concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One and our gathering together to him – 2:2not to become easily agitated in your mind or be disturbed, neither by any spirit, nor by any “word,” nor by any letter claiming to be from us declaring that the day of the Lord [the millennial kingdom] has arrived.

2:3Don’t let anyone fool you in any way. For that “day” will not come unless the great apostasy comes first and the man of the sin is revealed. This is the one destined for destruction, 2:4even the one who will set himself against and exalt himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped so that he will sit in the temple of God, thus declaring himself to be God. [The sin of verse 3.]

2:5Don’t you remember that when I was still with you, I told you these things? 2:6Yet for now, remember that there is something restraining this event so that he will be revealed at the right time. 2:7For the secret plan to perpetrate this sin is already in operation, only there is something which is restraining it right now until it is taken out of the way.*

*This “something” is the restraining hand of God.

2:8And then the law violator will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the intense brightness of his presence.

2:9This is the one whose appearing will be supported by the operation of Satan with all kinds of power, signs, and pseudo miracles. 2:10Using every kind of deception concerning the injustice of his programs and policies, he will mislead the ones who are going to be destroyed. These are ones who, because they didn’t love the truth, didn’t receive it so that they might have been saved.

2:11And for this reason God will send upon them a strong delusion so that they will believe the lie, 2:12and so that those who didn’t believe the truth but approved of the injustice of the man of the sin might all be judged.

2:13But we are compelled to always give thanks to God for you brethren who are loved by the Lord because God chose you from the beginning to receive a complete salvation through being made holy by the Spirit and by having faith in the truth. 2:14This is what he called you to through our good news message so that you could be obtaining the glory of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One. 2:15So then, brethren, stand firm and hold onto the precepts which you were taught, whether by words or by letters from us.

2:16Now may our Lord Jesus the Anointed One himself and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope through grace, 2:17comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.

SECOND THESSALONIANS CHAPTER 3

3:1Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may spread freely and be glorified even as it also is with you. 3:2And pray that we may be delivered from unreasonable and evil men, for not all have the faith.

3:3But the Lord is faithful. It is he who will establish you and protect you from the evil one. 3:4And we have confidence in the Lord concerning you that you now do and will keep on doing the things which we passed on to you. 3:5And may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of the Anointed One.

3:6Now we charge you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One that you withdraw yourselves from every brother who will not work and is not living according to the example which they received from us.

3:7For you know how you ought to imitate us, for we were not idle while we were among you, 3:8neither did we look for free food from anyone, but we worked hard, laboring night and day so that we would not be a financial burden to any of you.

3:9This is not because we didn’t have the freedom to do so, but we chose to live this way to make ourselves an example to you so that you could imitate us. 3:10For even when we were with you, we charged you saying: “If anyone won’t work, neither let him eat.”

3:11For we hear about some who pass their time among you idly, who don’t work at all but spend their time meddling in other people’s affairs.* 3:12Now those who are like this we charge and exhort in the Lord Jesus the Anointed One that they work without disturbing others and earn money to pay for the food they eat.

3:13But you, brethren, don’t be discouraged in doing good.

3:14And if anyone won’t listen to our words from this letter, notice who he is and don’t continue to have close relationships with him so that he may be ashamed. 3:15Yet don’t consider him to be an enemy but admonish him as a brother.

3:16Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in everything. The Lord be with you all.

3:17This is my greeting in my own handwriting which is the evidence of authenticity in every letter which I Paul, write.

3:18The grace of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One be with you all.

*Some even have the audacity to call this “ministry.”

Words in this translation found in italics are words which are implied by the Greek text but do not represent actual words in the Greek text. This practice is common in almost all modern translations. Occasionally, this translator has added words to the translation which represent his own ideas and opinions which, although they are based on his own biblical understanding, are not part of the actual Greek text. Such words are enclosed in brackets, like this [ ]. The reader should understand these words as being the opinion of the translator. In contrast to this, the words in these braces { } indicate legitimate, alternative translations or explanations. Words within parentheses () are part of the original Greek text. Such parentheses are often used in other New Testament translations also.

The First Letter Of Paul To

TIMOTHY (1)

FIRST TIMOTHY CHAPTER 1

1:1Paul, a sent one of the Anointed One, Jesus, according to the commandment of God our Savior, namely the Anointed One, Jesus our hope: 1:2To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Anointed One, Jesus our Lord.

1:3I asked you to remain at Ephesus when I was going to Macedonia so that you would direct certain men not to teach a different doctrine, 1:4neither to pay attention to superstitious myths and endless genealogies which generate questions instead of ministering God through faith. Now I repeat this request.

1:5The genuine result of the message which has been given is love out of a pure heart, a clear conscience, and unhypocritical faith. 1:6Some, having deviated from these qualities, have turned aside to useless discussions. 1:7They desire to be teachers of the law even though they don’t really understand what they are saying or the things that they emphatically assert.

1:8But we know that the law is good if a man uses it correctly, 1:9which is using it with the following understanding: that the law is not made for a righteous man but for the rebellious and the unrighteous; for the ungodly and the sinners; for the unholy and the morally unrestrained; for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers; for assassins; 1:10for the sexually immoral; for pedophiles; for slave traders; for liars; for those who don’t keep their word; and for those who practice anything else which is in opposition to healthy teaching 1:11and not in harmony with the message of good news of the glory of the blessed God with which I was entrusted.

1:12I thank him who enabled me, even the Anointed One, Jesus our Lord, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service 1:13even though before I was a blasphemer, a persecutor, and arrogant. However, I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly, being in unbelief, 1:14and so the grace of our Lord abounded exceedingly towards me with the faith and the love which are in the Anointed One, Jesus.

1:15This is a reliable saying and worthy to be accepted by everyone: that the Anointed One, Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.

1:16However, for this reason I received mercy, that in me as a foremost sinner, Jesus the Anointed One could demonstrate all his patience as a pattern to those who would later be believing into him, thus obtaining the eternal life of God. 1:17Now to the King of the ages, who is both immortal and invisible, the one and only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

1:18I pass on to you this instruction, Timothy my child, according to the prophecies which were given concerning you so that by them you might fight the good fight, 1:19holding onto faith and onto a clear conscience.

Some, having thrust these things away from themselves, have made shipwreck of their faith, 1:20including Hymenaeus and Alexander whom I delivered to Satan so that this chastisement might teach them not to say things which bring reproach to God.

FIRST TIMOTHY CHAPTER 2

2:1I, therefore, desire first of all that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for everyone, 2:2especially for kings and all those who are in positions of secular authority so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all reverent respect for God and honesty. 2:3This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 2:4who is willing for all men to be saved and to be coming to the knowledge of the truth.

2:5For there is one God and also one mediator between God and men: the Anointed One, Jesus, who is himself a man. 2:6It is he who gave himself as a ransom for all, who was martyred at the appointed time. 2:7This is the message of which I was appointed a herald and a sent one (I speak the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles concerning faith and truth. 2:8I desire, therefore, that men everywhere pray, lifting up holy hands without getting angry with each other and having arguments.

2:9In the same tone of holiness, women should dress themselves in modest apparel, having reverence and restraint, not seeking attention with braided hair and gold or pearls or expensive clothes. 2:10Instead, they should clothe themselves with good works which is appropriate for women professing a reverent respect for God.

2:11Let a woman learn in quietness with all subjection. 2:12Moreover, I do not permit a woman to teach or to have dominion over a man but to be quiet. 2:13For Adam was formed first, then Eve, 2:14and Adam was not deceived but the woman, being deceived, fell into sin. 2:15But they will be saved through child-bearing* if they continue in faith, love, and holiness together with discretion.

*It seems as if there are two ways to understand this assertion. The first is that through the difficulties and challenges of bearing and rearing children, God’s ongoing work of salvation will operate in mothers to a fuller extent. The second possibility is that when a woman follows a truly holy life, one of the effects of the curse, i.e. having pain in childbirth, will be lessened or removed. It certainly does not mean that a woman’s salvation is dependent upon her having many children.

FIRST TIMOTHY CHAPTER 3

3:1This saying is true: “If a man wishes to serve as a watchman, he desires to do a valuable service.”

3:2The watchman, therefore, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, not a heavy drinker, self-controlled, exhibiting good behavior, given to hospitality, able to teach, 3:3peaceable, not quick to strike someone else [including his wife], but gentle, not someone who likes to argue, not someone greedy for money, 3:4someone who administers his own household well and has children who are obedient and who respect him 3:5(for if a man doesn’t know how to administer his own household, how can he care for the called-out ones of God?), 3:6not a young person or recent convert so that he doesn’t begin to think highly of himself and so fall into judgment, just as the devil did.

3:7Furthermore, he must be respected by those who are outside of the Anointed One so that he doesn’t become a disgrace, being caught by the devil in his trap.

3:8In the same way, servants selected for some special duty among the called-out ones must be honest, not saying one thing but doing another, not drinking a lot of wine, not greedy for money, 3:9holding the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 3:10And let these be tested first also, and then let them serve if they are above reproach.

3:11In the same way, women* who serve must have a good reputation, must not be someone who speaks judgmentally about others, must be circumspect and faithful in all things.

*Some understand this to refer to the wives of the “selected servants” rather than to women who might serve in this capacity.

3:12Let such servants be husbands of one wife, leading their children and their own households well. 3:13For those who have served their own households well gain for themselves a good reputation and great confidence in the faith which is in the Anointed One, Jesus.

3:14Although I am hoping to come to you soon, 3:15I am writing these things now so that if I am delayed for a while, you may know how people ought to conduct themselves among those of the habitation of God – the community of the called-out ones of the living God – whose support and basis is the Truth. 3:16It is beyond all question that the mystery of the incarnate Holiness is great:

He appeared in a human body,
was declared to be righteous by the Spirit, was seen by chosen messengers (who later carried the message),
was proclaimed among the nations,
was believed on in the world,
was taken up in glorious splendor.**

**Possibly a hymn which was sung in the Christian gatherings of Paul’s time.

FIRST TIMOTHY CHAPTER 4

4:1But the Spirit clearly says that in end times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons. 4:2Such errors come through hypocritical men who teach things which are not true, whose consciences have been seared as if with a hot iron.

4:3These oppose the necessity of marriage [before having sex] and teach abstinence from certain kinds of food, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by believers who have fully understood the truth.* 4:4For every creature of God is good and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving 4:5since it is sanctified through the word of God and prayer.

*It is significant that in these “last days” false teachers will reject true holiness, (which would demand not engaging in sexual acts outside of the marriage union) and substitute it with little, legalistic principles which are easy for the flesh to perform.

4:6If you remind the brethren of these things you will be a good servant of the Anointed One, Jesus, being nourished by the words of the faith and of the good teaching which you have followed until now. 4:7But refuse superstitious myths and fables repeated by old women. Instead, exercise yourself toward a life which reflects reverence for God.

4:8Bodily exercise is somewhat profitable but reverent respect of God is profitable in every way, having the promise of more of God’s own life in this present time and also in the age which is coming. 4:9This saying is true and well worth receiving. 4:10We labor and strive towards this goal because we have set our hope on the living God who is the Savior of all men, specifically of believers. 4:11Declare and teach these things.

4:12Don’t let anyone think poorly of you because of your youth but be an example to those who believe: in your words, in the way you live, in love, in faith, and in purity. 4:13Until I come, pay careful attention to the public reading of the scriptures,** to exhortation, and to teaching.

**This admonition was probably given because the majority of the believers were illiterate. Therefore, public reading of the scriptures was one of the few ways in which they could become familiar with them. This verse reinforces the value of the daily reading of the scriptures by all Christians, whether it be publicly or privately.

4:14Don’t neglect the gift that is in you, which was recognized in you by prophecy, together with the laying on of the hands of the older, spiritually mature brothers. 4:15Be diligent in these things, giving yourself completely to them so that your spiritual progress will be evident to everyone.

4:16Be circumspect about yourself and your teaching. Continue in these things, for by doing this you will further your own salvation and also the salvation of those who hear you.

FIRST TIMOTHY CHAPTER 5

5:1Don’t rebuke an older, spiritually mature brother but exhort him as a father, the younger men as brethren, 5:2the older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters in all purity. 5:3Give proper respect and care to widows who are truly widows. 5:4But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let these relatives learn first to show their respect towards their own family by taking care of their parents, for this is acceptable in the sight of God.

5:5The true spiritual widow is one who is really left alone, has set her hope on God, and continues in her petitions and prayers night and day. 5:6But the one who spends her time seeking sensual pleasure is spiritually dead even though she is still physically alive. 5:7Teach them these things so that they may be above criticism.

5:8But if anyone does not provide for his own relatives and specifically for his own household, he has refused to be persuaded by God and is behaving worse than an unbeliever.

5:9Don’t allow any widow to be enrolled to be supported by the brethren who is under sixty years of age. Also, she must have been the wife of one man; 5:10have a reputation for good works; have raised children; have been hospitable to strangers; have washed the feet of those set apart for God; have helped the afflicted; and have been diligently involved in every kind of good work.

5:11But refuse to enroll younger widows because when their sensual desires rise up, which are contrary to the nature of the Anointed One, they want to marry, 5:12which will bring them into condemnation because they have abandoned their initial conviction to remain single.*

*This decision was probably a necessary step to gain the financial support of the brethren.

5:13And on top of that when they are supported by others they learn to be idle, spending their time just visiting from one house to another. And not only are they doing nothing but they also become gossips and meddle in the affairs of others, talking about things which they should not discuss.

5:14Therefore, I think it best for the younger widows to marry (instead of being supported by the brethren), bear children, and manage their households, giving no basis for those who are opposed to Christianity to criticize them, 5:15for some widows have already been turned aside from following the Lord, being led away by Satan.

5:16If any believer has female relatives who are widows, let them support them so that the gathering of the called-out ones is not burdened with this. In this way they can take care of those who are really widows.

5:17Let the older, spiritually mature brothers whose care for others is an outstanding example be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and in teaching. 5:18For the scripture says, “You shall not muzzle the ox when he is treading out the grain” (Deut 25:4). And, “The worker is worthy of his wages” (Lev 19:13).

5:19Don’t receive an accusation against an older, spiritually mature brother, except when it is confirmed by two or three witnesses. 5:20Those who sin reprove in front of everyone so that the rest may be warned also.

5:21I charge you in the sight of God, the Anointed One, Jesus, and the chosen angels that you observe these things without giving preference to one above the other or doing anything because of favoritism.

5:22Don’t lay hands quickly on anyone, so you do not participate in other men’s sins.* Keep yourself pure. 5:23Do not drink only water any longer but use a little wine for your stomach’s sake and for your frequent illnesses.

*When you “lay hands” on someone you are, to some degree, giving your approval to what they are doing. Therefore, if you “lay hands” on someone “quickly” i.e. without knowing their life and character, you also bear some responsibility for the damage caused to others by their later errors and sins.

5:24Some men’s sins are obvious right now, going before them to the judgment, but with other men they will only be revealed later. 5:25In the same way also, there are some good works that are obvious right now but those that are not cannot always remain hidden.

FIRST TIMOTHY CHAPTER 6

6:1Those who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their own masters worthy of respect so that the name of God and our teaching is not slandered. 6:2And those who have believing masters should not despise them, because they are brethren. Instead let them serve their masters* because those who are benefitted are believing and loved by God. Teach and exhort these things.

*This teaching about slaves can and should be applied to those who are employed in any manner in the secular world, having superiors over them.

6:3If anyone teaches something different, refusing to agree with sound words – even the words of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One and to the teaching which is according to reverence towards God – this shows that he 6:4is full of himself, lacks understanding, has an unhealthy interest in controversies, and likes to debate about the meaning of words. Such a person is the cause of envy, arguments, and accusations, and is suspicious of other’s motives.

6:5These useless contentions come from men whose minds are warped and who are devoid of the truth, who even suppose that to accumulate wealth is a sign of godliness. 6:6But godliness with contentment is great gain.

6:7For we brought nothing into this world, neither can we carry anything out of it. 6:8Therefore, if we have food and clothing we will be content.

6:9But those who make up their mind to be rich fall into many difficulties and a trap, by following many foolish and harmful desires which drown men in losses and destruction. 6:10For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, which some by reaching after it have been led astray from the faith and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

6:11But you, oh man of God, flee these things and follow after righteousness, a life which reflects reverence for God, faith, love, patience, and meekness. 6:12Fight the good fight of the faith, lay hold on the eternal life of God to which you were called and concerning which you agreed to live out that which you professed to believe in front of many witnesses.

6:13I charge you before God who gives life to all things and before the Anointed One, Jesus – whose behavior before Pontius Pilate was acknowledged to be a faithful testimony of the character of God – 6:14that you keep this instruction without spot and without reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One.

6:15This is he who, at the proper time, will reveal in himself, the Father who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 6:16who alone has immortality, and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen nor can see, to whom belongs honor and eternal power. Amen.

6:17Charge those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their confidence in riches which are undependable but in God who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 6:18Charge them to do good so that they may be rich in good works, being ready to share with others and willing to be generous, 6:19thus storing up for themselves a good foundation for the future so that they may fully lay hold of the eternal life of God.

6:20Oh Timothy, guard that which has been deposited in you. Avoid fruitless arguments with those of opposing views, especially those based on so called “knowledge” 6:21which some claiming to have, have entered into error concerning the faith. Grace be with you.

Words in this translation found in italics are words which are implied by the Greek text but do not represent actual words in the Greek text. This practice is common in almost all modern translations. Occasionally, this translator has added words to the translation which represent his own ideas and opinions which, although they are based on his own biblical understanding, are not part of the actual Greek text. Such words are enclosed in brackets, like this [ ]. The reader should understand these words as being the opinion of the translator. In contrast to this, the words in these braces { } indicate legitimate, alternative translations or explanations. Words within parentheses () are part of the original Greek text. Such parentheses are often used in other New Testament translations also.

The Second Letter Of Paul To

TIMOTHY (2)

SECOND TIMOTHY CHAPTER 1

1:1Paul, a sent one of the Anointed One, Jesus, through the will of God, concerning the announcement of the message of the life of God which is in the Anointed One, Jesus. 1:2To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Anointed One, Jesus our Lord. 1:3I thank God whom I serve – as my forefathers did – with a clear conscience while I remember you constantly in my prayers, night and day.

1:4Remembering your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy, 1:5having been reminded of your sincere faith which first resided in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and, I am persuaded resides in you also.

1:6For this reason I remind you to fan the flame of the gift of God which was confirmed in you through the laying on of my hands. 1:7For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but of power, love, and self-control.

1:8Therefore, don’t be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord nor of me, his prisoner, but suffer hardship for the good news together with me according to the power of God.

1:9It is he who is saving us and is calling us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace which was given to us in the Anointed One, Jesus, before the ages of time.

1:10This purpose has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior the Anointed One, Jesus, who rendered death ineffective and brought the eternal life of God – even immortality – to light through the good news message. 1:11It is for this message that I was appointed a herald, a sent one, and a teacher.

1:12This is also the reason that I suffer these things. Yet I am not ashamed, for I know the One in whom I have believed and I am persuaded that he is able to safeguard the deposit which he has put in me until the day of his appearing.

1:13Maintain the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me through faith and love which are in the Anointed One, Jesus. 1:14Guard that beautiful thing which was deposited in you through the Holy Spirit which lives in us.

1:15You already know that all those who are in Asia have turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. 1:16May the Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chain. 1:17Instead, when he came to Rome he sought me diligently and found me.

1:18May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord in that “day” because of the many things he ministered to me at Ephesus, as you know very well.

SECOND TIMOTHY CHAPTER 2

2:1You, therefore, my child, be strengthened in the grace which is in the Anointed One, Jesus. 2:2And the things which you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit the same things to faithful men who are competent to teach others also.

2:3Endure hardship with me as a good soldier of the Anointed One, Jesus. 2:4No soldier entangles himself in the affairs of this life so that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. 2:5And also, if someone competes as an athlete, he is not awarded unless he has competed according to the rules. 2:6The hard-working farmer must be the first to partake of the fruits of his labor. 2:7Consider what I say for the Lord will give you understanding in all these things.

2:8Always remember that Jesus the Anointed One who is of the seed of David has risen from the dead according to my message of good news 2:9for which I suffer hardship, so much so as to be locked up as a criminal. But the word of God is not restrained. 2:10Therefore, I endure all things for the sake of the chosen ones in order that they also may fully attain the salvation that is in the Anointed One, Jesus, which is accompanied by eternal glory.

2:11This is a completely reliable saying: “For to the extent that we enter into death together with him, we will be sharing God’s life together with him.

2:12If we endure to the end, we will also reign with him.

If we deny him, he also will disown us before the Father [see Mt 10:33].

2:13If we do not continue in faith, he still remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself in us.”

2:14Remind the brethren of these things, solemnly exhorting them in the presence of the Lord not to argue over words which benefits no one but instead only damages the faith of those who are listening.

2:15Be diligent to present yourself approved before God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, since he uses the word of the truth correctly.

2:16But avoid those who engage in earthly, empty discussions, for they only promote more ungodliness 2:17and their words will spread like an infectious disease among those who feed on them. An example of such men are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 2:18men who have missed the mark concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is past already and thereby overthrowing the faith of some.

2:19However, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are his.” And, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord remove themselves from sinful behavior.”

2:20Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver but also of wood and of earthenware. Some are for honorable uses [i.e. decoration, eating, drinking, etc.] and some for dishonorable uses [i.e. chamber pots, wash basins, etc.] 2:21If a man, therefore, purifies himself from these previously mentioned errors, he will be a vessel of honor, having been made holy, suitable for the master’s use and prepared for every good work.

2:22Flee from youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace together with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 2:23Don’t get involved with foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they only produce quarrels. 2:24For the Lord’s servant must not argue, but be gentle towards all, ready to teach, enduring evil, 2:25correcting in meekness those who oppose you.

This is so that God can give them a chance to repent and fully understand the truth. 2:26In this way they can recover themselves out of the snare of the devil where they were taken captive by him whenever he wished.

SECOND TIMOTHY CHAPTER 3

3:1But you must understand this: in the last days times of unrestrained savagery will come. 3:2For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, speaking evil about others, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3:3without natural affection, unwilling to live in peace with others, false accusers, without self-control, controlled instead by animal-like impulses, not lovers of what is good, 3:4covenant breakers,* stubborn, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.

*This could easily include our present day plague of those who break the marriage covenant by divorcing their spouses.

3:5Some of these will even profess a form of “religion” but deny the power of God to free them from their sinful desires. Turn away from such people. 3:6For these are the kind of men who creep into other men’s houses and take captive gullible women who are overwhelmed with sins, led away by various fleshly passions.

3:7These men are always “learning” but are never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 3:8And just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses so these also oppose the truth. They are men whose minds are corrupted and are, therefore, rejected concerning the faith. 3:9But they will not prevail on the day of judgment. For their foolish lack of understanding will be exposed to everyone, just as theirs (Jannes and Jambres) also was.

3:10But you have carefully followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, patience, 3:11persecutions, and sufferings, i.e. the things which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra, including the afflictions which I endured. Yet you have seen that the Lord delivered me out of all of them. 3:12In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in the Anointed One, Jesus, will be persecuted.

3:13But evil men – specifically those who bring others under their spell – will just get worse and worse, both deceiving others and being deceived themselves.

3:14But you should hold onto the things which you have learned and of which you have been assured, knowing from whom you have learned them. 3:15And continue in the divine writings that you have known from childhood which are able to instruct you, resulting in more salvation through faith which is in the Anointed One, Jesus.

3:16Every scripture, when inspired by God, is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction concerning righteousness 3:17so that the man of God may be completely prepared for accomplishing every good work.

SECOND TIMOTHY CHAPTER 4

4:1I earnestly urge you in the sight of God and of the Anointed One, Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing and at the establishing of his coming kingdom: 4:2proclaim the word, be urgent both when it is convenient and when it is inconvenient, reprove, rebuke, and exhort with all long-suffering and teaching!

4:3For the time will come when they will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, will accumulate to themselves teachers who harmonize with their own carnal cravings. 4:4They will turn away from hearing the truth and turn aside to fiction.

4:5But you should be sober in all things. Endure hardship. Do the work of proclaiming the good news. Fulfill your ministry. 4:6For I am already being poured out as an offering and the time of my being released is near. 4:7I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have persevered in the faith. 4:8Therefore, the crown of righteousness is reserved for me, which the Lord, the Righteous Judge will give me as a recompense on that day, and not only to me but also to all those who have loved his appearing.

4:9Be diligent to come to me soon 4:10for Demas has abandoned me, having loved this present world, and has gone to Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia; Titus to Dalmatia. 4:11Only Luke is with me. Take Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service to others. 4:12But Tychicus I sent to Ephesus.

4:13Bring with you the cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus when you come and the books, especially the parchments. 4:14Alexander the coppersmith did many evil things against me. The Lord will recompense to him according to his works. 4:15You, too, should beware of him, for he vehemently opposed our words.

4:16At my first defense no one took my part but all forsook me. May it not be charged to their account. 4:17But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and so that all the Gentiles could hear it. And I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.

4:18The Lord will deliver me from every evil work and will preserve me for his coming kingdom which is heavenly in nature; to whom is the glory for all eternity. Amen.

4:19Greet Priscilla and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus. 4:20Erastus stayed at Corinth but Trophimus I left sick at Miletus. 4:21Be diligent to come before winter. Eubulus greets you along with Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brethren.

4:22The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.

The Letter Of Paul To

TITUS

TITUS CHAPTER 1

1:1Paul, a servant of God and a sent one of Jesus the Anointed One, for the benefit of the faith of God’s elect and to spread the knowledge of the truth which leads to reverent respect for God.

1:2I do this because of the hope of the eternal life of God, which God, who is completely trustworthy, committed himself to grant us before the ages of time. 1:3But now in his chosen time, he has made known this word of his by the proclamation of the message with which I was entrusted, according to the commandment of God our Savior.

1:4To Titus, my true child in our mutual faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and the Anointed One, Jesus our Savior. 1:5I left you in Crete to do this favor for me: that you would additionally correct the things that were lacking and point out the older, more spiritually mature brothers in every city, as I instructed you.

1:6Such men are ones who are blameless, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, men who are not accused of behaving like the unsaved or of being disobedient to God. 1:7For the watchman must be blameless as God’s steward; not self-willed, not quick to get angry, not quarrelsome, not someone who strikes others [including his wife], not greedy for money; 1:8but given to hospitality, a promoter of virtue, discrete, just, holy, self-controlled; 1:9holding faithfully to the word which is according to the correct teaching so that he may be able to encourage others by teaching and to reprove those who contradict the truth.

1:10For there are many men who are not subject to God – deceivers who are full of useless words – especially the Judaizers, 1:11whom it is essential to silence. These men disrupt whole households by teaching the law, which is not binding upon believers, for the shameful purpose of gaining money.

1:12One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, depraved animals, lazy gluttons.” 1:13This testimony is true. Therefore, cut off this tendency immediately by rebuking them so that they may be sound in the faith and 1:14not adhering to Jewish sayings, specifically the commandments of men who have turned away from the truth.

1:15To the pure all things are pure but to those who are defiled and without faith nothing is pure, but both their minds and their consciences are contaminated. 1:16They profess that they know God but they deny him by their actions and are detestable, disobedient, and useless for any genuinely good work.

TITUS CHAPTER 2

2:1But you should speak the things which are obviously healthy teaching: 2:2i.e. that older men should not be heavy drinkers but should be serious, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in patience.

2:3That older women in the same way should be reverent in character, not slanderers nor enslaved to drinking a lot of wine, teachers of that which is good. 2:4This is so that they may train the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, 2:5to be self-controlled, pure from carnality, good homemakers and kind, being yielded to their own husbands so that people will not speak evil about the word of God.

2:6Also exhort the younger men to be self-controlled. 2:7In everything show yourself to be a model of good works; in your teaching demonstrate integrity, solemnity, and having something genuine to say: 2:8healthy words which cannot be condemned so that anyone who is opposed to this message may be ashamed, having nothing bad to say about us.

2:9Exhort servants to be in subjection to their own masters and to be pleasing to them in everything: not talking back, 2:10not stealing, but showing true faithfulness so that the teaching of our Savior will be honored in every way.

2:11For through the favor of God, salvation has been revealed, 2:12instructing us that having denied ungodly behavior and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and reverently in this present age 2:13while we are waiting for the blessed hope: i.e. the manifestation of the glory of the great God, even our Savior, Jesus the Anointed One.

2:14It is he who gave himself for us so that he might liberate us from all sin and purify for himself a special people who are full of zeal for good works.

2:15Speak these things, exhorting and admonishing others with God’s authority. Don’t let anyone treat you with contempt.

TITUS CHAPTER 3

3:1Remind the brethren to be submissive and obedient to civil rulers and secular authorities; to be ready for every good work; 3:2to speak evil of no one; not to be argumentative; to be gentle, demonstrating meekness toward all men.

3:3For we also once were foolish, disobedient, and deceived, being slaves to various carnal cravings and pleasures, living in depravity and jealousy, being hated and hating others.

3:4But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love toward man was revealed – 3:5not because of righteous works which we did ourselves but according to his mercy – he saves us, through the washing of being regenerated {having God’s life born inside of us} and the ongoing renewing of the Holy Spirit 3:6which he pours out upon us richly through Jesus the Anointed One, our Savior.

3:7This is so that, being made just by his grace, we might be made heirs of God, which is the expectation of those who have the eternal life of God.

3:8This is a trustworthy saying and I want you to confidently affirm this: that those who are believing into God would remember to practice good works. These things are good and beneficial for everyone. 3:9But turn away from foolish arguments, genealogies, quarrels, and debates about the law. Such things don’t benefit anyone and are useless. 3:10Avoid an argumentative man after reproving him once or twice, 3:11knowing that such a person is twisted inside and is sinning, being condemned by his own actions.

3:12When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, come to me promptly in Nicopolis because I have decided to spend the winter there. 3:13Send Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey with diligence, making sure that they don’t lack anything.

3:14And let those among us also learn to practice honest occupations to meet everyday needs so that they are not unfruitful. 3:15All those who are with me send you greetings. Greet those who are our loved ones in the faith.

Grace be with you all.

Words in this translation found in italics are words which are implied by the Greek text but do not represent actual words in the Greek text. This practice is common in almost all modern translations. Occasionally, this translator has added words to the translation which represent his own ideas and opinions which, although they are based on his own biblical understanding, are not part of the actual Greek text. Such words are enclosed in brackets, like this [ ]. The reader should understand these words as being the opinion of the translator. In contrast to this, the words in these braces { } indicate legitimate, alternative translations or explanations. Words within parentheses () are part of the original Greek text. Such parentheses are often used in other New Testament translations also.

The Letter Of Paul To

PHILEMON

PHILEMON CHAPTER 1

1:1Paul, a prisoner of the Anointed One, Jesus and Timothy our brother to: Philemon who is beloved and is our co-worker, 1:2to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow-soldier, and to the gathering of the called-out ones in your house. 1:3Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus the Anointed One.

1:4I thank my God always, mentioning you in my prayers, after 1:5hearing about your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all those set apart for God. 1:6I pray that the fellowship you have with God through your faith will become increasingly productive through the full understanding of every good thing which Jesus the Anointed One is doing in you.

1:7I had much joy and comfort because of your love since the hearts of those set apart for God have been refreshed through you, brother. 1:8Therefore, even though I have all boldness in the Anointed One to insist that you do that which is right, 1:9yet for love’s sake I plead with you instead, being such a one as Paul the aged and now also a prisoner of the Anointed One, Jesus.

1:10I plead with you on behalf of my child whom I have begotten while in my bonds, Onesimus, 1:11who at one time was unprofitable to you but now is profitable to you and to me. 1:12I have sent him back to you, asking you to receive him with my own feelings of compassion.

1:13I would have preferred to keep him with me so that on your behalf he might minister to me while I am in the chains of the good news message.

1:14But I wouldn’t do anything without your consent so that your good deed would not be from compulsion, but from your own free will. 1:15For perhaps it was for this very reason he left you for a time so that you could receive him forever, 1:16no longer as a slave but more than a slave – as a beloved brother, especially to me but how much more to you, both humanly speaking and in the Lord.

1:17If then you consider me to be a partner, receive him as myself. 1:18But if he has wronged you at all or owes you anything, put that on my account. 1:19I, Paul, write it with my own hand; I will repay it. (Although, even though I shouldn’t mention it, you even owe me yourself).*

*It is possible that Paul says this because Philemon was converted through his evangelistic efforts.

1:20Yes, brother, let me have joy in the Lord because of you. Refresh my heart in the Anointed One. 1:21I write to you having confidence in your obedience to God, knowing that you will do even beyond what I say.

1:22But at the same time prepare me a place to stay also, for I hope that through your prayers I will be allowed to come to you.

1:23Epaphras, my fellow-prisoner in the Anointed One, Jesus, greets you, 1:24as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke who are my co-workers.

1:25The grace of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One be with your spirit. Amen.

The Letter To The

HEBREWS

HEBREWS CHAPTER 1

1:1At many times and in various ways, God, having spoken long ago to the fathers through the prophets, 1:2has in these last days spoken to us in his Son – whom he appointed heir of all things and through whom also he made the universe.

1:3Who, being the radiance of his glory and the exact image of his essence – the One sustaining all things by the power of his word – when he by himself had made purification of our sins, sat down in the place of supreme honor and authority of the Majesty on high, 1:4having become so much superior to the angels since he has inherited a greater and more elevated name than they.

1:5For to which of the angels did he say at any time, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you?” (Ps 2:7). And again, “I will be a Father to him and he will be a Son to me?” (2 Sam 7:14). 1:6And again, when he brought the firstborn into the world he said, “And let all the angels of God worship him.” 1:7On the one hand, concerning the angels he said, “Who makes his angels spirits and his ministers a flame of fire” (Ps 104:4).

1:8But, on the other hand, he said concerning the Son, “Your throne, oh God, is forever and ever and the scepter of your kingdom is the scepter of uprightness. 1:9You have loved righteousness and hated sin. Therefore, God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of extreme joy in the presence of your companions” (Ps 45:6,7).

1:10And, “You Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth. And the heavens are the works of your hands. 1:11They will be destroyed, but you remain. They will all get old like clothing 1:12and you will roll them up as a cloak and they will be changed. But you are the same and your years will never end” (Ps 102:25-27).

1:13But to which of the angels has he said at any time, “Sit here in this place of honor and authority until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet?” (Ps 110:1). 1:14Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to serve for the sake of those who are about to inherit the culmination of our salvation?*

*This “culmination” of our salvation is the glorification of our body.

HEBREWS CHAPTER 2

2:1Therefore, it is extremely important for us to hold onto the things which we heard so that in no way we would carelessly let go of them.

2:2For since the word spoken through angels was unchangeable and every sin and disobedience received a just reward, 2:3how will we escape a similar judgment if we neglect so great a salvation, which was initially received through the words of the Lord, being confirmed to us by those who heard him? 2:4God also “testified” to the truth of their words through both signs and wonders, through various works of power, and through impartations of the Holy Spirit all according to his own will.

2:5For he did not put the coming inhabitable world about which we speak in subjection to angels. 2:6But someone testified somewhere saying, “What is man that you think about him? Or the son of man that you have selected him? 2:7You made him a little lower than the angels. Yet, you crowned him with glory and honor and set him over the works of your hands. 2:8You put all things in subjection under his feet” (Ps 8:4-6).

For since he subjected “all things” to him, he left nothing that is not subjected to him. But now we don’t yet see all things subjected to him. 2:9But we do see him who was made a little lower than the angels, even Jesus who because he was willing to endure the suffering of death – so that by the grace of God he would experience death for everyone – is now crowned with glory and honor.

2:10For it seemed right to him – for whom are all things and through whom are all things – in leading many sons into glorious splendor, to complete the human experience of the author of their salvation through those sufferings.

2:11Now both he who makes holy and those who are being made holy are all from one Source. This is the reason he is not ashamed to call them “brothers,” 2:12saying, “I will declare your name to my brethren. In the midst of the assembly will I sing praise to you” (Ps 22:22). 2:13And again, “I will trust in him.” And further, “Look, it is I and the children whom God has given me” (Is 8:17,18).

2:14Since then the children are alike in having flesh and blood, in the same way he also became a partaker of it with them so that through death he would render powerless the one who has the dominion of death, that is the devil, 2:15and to set free all those who because of the fear of death were in bondage throughout their lifetime.

2:16For truly he did not assume the likeness of angels but assumed the likeness of the seed of Abraham. 2:17The reason for this is that he was obligated to be made like his brethren in every way so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in the things pertaining to God to be able to atone for the sins of the people.

2:18For since he suffered while being tested himself, he is able to help those who are now being tested.

HEBREWS CHAPTER 3

3:1Therefore, holy brethren, who share in a calling from heaven, carefully contemplate the Sent One and High Priest of our agreement with God, even Jesus, 3:2who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses was also faithful in everything related to God’s dwelling place.

3:3But he has been considered worthy of more glory than Moses, in the same way that he who builds a house has more honor than the house. 3:4For every house is constructed by someone, but he who made all things is God.

3:5And Moses, on one hand, was faithful over all God’s house as a servant, as a testimony of those things which were to be spoken afterward. 3:6But the Anointed One, on the other hand, was faithful as a Son over his house, whose house we are if we firmly hold our confidence and the rejoicing of our hope to the end.

3:7Therefore, as the Holy Spirit said, “Today, if you will hear his voice, 3:8don’t harden your hearts, as in the ‘provocation’ during the time of testing in the wilderness, 3:9where your fathers tested me and tried me while they saw my works for forty years. 3:10Therefore, I was disgusted with that generation and said, ‘They always err in their hearts and they don’t understand my ways.’ 3:11So I swore in my anger that they would not enter into my rest” (Ps 95:7-11).

3:12Have a clear understanding of this, brethren, so that there won’t be in any one of you a diseased heart of unbelief, causing you to fall away from the living God. 3:13But encourage each other every day as long as it is called “today” so that none of you would become hardened by the illusion of sin.

3:14For we will become co-participants with the Anointed One in his coming kingdom and glory if we hold tightly onto our initial confidence until the end. 3:15As it is said, “Today, if you will hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as the Jews did in the time which they provoked God” (Ps 95:7,8).

3:16For certain ones of them, even though they had heard, rebelled. In fact, wasn’t it all those who came out of Egypt through the works of Moses? 3:17And with whom was he disgusted for forty years? Wasn’t it with all those who sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? 3:18And to whom did he swear an oath that they would not enter into his rest, but to those who were disobedient? 3:19So we see that they were not able to enter into the “rest” that God had planned because of disobedience {or, unbelief}.

HEBREWS CHAPTER 4

4:1Therefore, since we have a promise reserved for us of entering into his rest, let us reverently fear so that none of us would be judged to be failing to enter into it.

4:2For we have had good news announced to us also, just as they did, but the word of the spies’* report which they heard did not benefit them because it was not combined with faith in those who heard it.

*These are the ones who spied out the promised land for Moses (Deut 1:22-46).

4:3For we who are believing can enter into that rest as shown when he said, “As I swore in my anger, they will not enter into my rest although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.”*

*This shows that a “rest” is still available since “they” didn’t enter in (Ps 95:11).

4:4For he has said somewhere concerning the seventh day (the Sabbath rest) the following: “And God rested on the seventh day from all of his works” (Gen 2:2). 4:5And about this subject again he says, “They will not enter into my rest!” (Ps 95:11).

4:6Since then it remains clear that some would enter into it and those to whom the good news was announced before failed to enter in because of disobedience, 4:7he again confirms a certain day, i.e. “Today,” as the time during which we must enter in. He affirms this by saying through David such a long time later (just as has been said before), “Today, if you will hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts” (Ps 95:7,8).

4:8For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spoken later of another “day.” 4:9Therefore, it is clear that a kind of “Sabbath rest” remains available for the people of God. 4:10For he who has entered into God’s rest has also ceased from doing his own works, just as God did from his. 4:11Let us, therefore, be diligent to enter into that rest so that no one would come under judgment by following the same pattern of disobedience!

4:12For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any two-edged sword, for penetrating even as far as the separation of soul and spirit, of both “joints and marrow,” and is able to discern the thoughts and meditations of our hearts. 4:13And there is no created being that is not transparent in his sight but all things are stripped bare and exposed before the eyes of him to whom we must give an account.

4:14Having then a great high priest who has gone into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us keep our agreement with God.**

**This “agreement” of ours with God is an extremely serious thing. It is the covenant sealed by the sacrifice of His own life.

4:15For we don’t have a high priest who is not able to sympathize with our weaknesses but one who has been tested in all aspects of life just as we are, yet without sin. 4:16Let us, therefore, draw near to the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at just the right time.

HEBREWS CHAPTER 5

5:1For every high priest, being taken from among men, is appointed for men to take care of the things relating to God so that he would offer both gift offerings and sacrifices for sins. 5:2Since he also is hampered with weaknesses, he can be compassionate with the ignorant and erring. 5:3And also because of this, he must make offerings for his own sins as well as for those of the people.

5:4Yet no one takes this honor upon himself but must be called by God, just as Aaron was. 5:5In the same way, the Anointed One also did not glorify himself to be made high priest but this was accomplished by him who spoke to him when he said, “You are my Son, this day have I begotten you” (Ps 2:7). 5:6And also in another place he says, “You are a priest forever after the priestly order of Melchizedek” (Ps 110:4).

5:7Who in the days of being in a physical body, having offered up both requests and earnest entreaties – with intense crying and tears to him who was able to deliver him from death – was heard because of his reverence.

5:8Even though he was a Son, he learned what it means to suffer through his obedience. 5:9Then, his human experience having been made complete through these tests, he became the source of eternal salvation to all those who are obeying him, 5:10having been called by God as a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

5:11It is about him that we have many things to say which are difficult to explain since you have become slow to understand what you hear. 5:12For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you again need someone to teach you the basic principles of the original pronouncements of God and have become like those who need milk and not solid nourishment.

5:13For everyone who drinks “milk” is inexperienced with the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. 5:14But solid spiritual nourishment is for adults, even those who through use have had their faculties of spiritual perception trained to discern between what is excellent and what is wrong.

HEBREWS CHAPTER 6

6:1Therefore, advancing beyond the elementary instructions about the Anointed One, let us persevere onward to perfection, not laying again a foundation of repentance from acts which lead to death and of faith toward God, 6:2of the teaching about baptisms, of laying on of hands, of the resurrection of the dead and of the age-lasting judgment. 6:3Of course we will do this as God leads us.

6:4But concerning those who were once enlightened, who have tasted of the heavenly gift, who were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 6:5who have also sampled the good word of God and the powers of the coming age* 6:6and then have fallen away, it is impossible to restore them to repentance again since they themselves re-crucify the Son of God by exposing him to public disgrace through their actions.

*The “coming age” is the Kingdom age also known as the Millennium, not eternity.

6:7For the soil which has drunk the rain that frequently comes upon it shares the blessing of God if it produces herbs for those who cultivate it. 6:8But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is rejected and soon will be cursed – whose end is to be burned.

6:9But concerning you beloved, we are persuaded of better things than these, even your taking possession of your ongoing salvation, though we speak like this. 6:10For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and the labor of love which you showed in his name in that you served those set apart for God and, in fact, are still serving them.

6:11But we want each one of you to demonstrate your diligence to the very end, being inspired by the certainty of the hope of being glorified. 6:12We also want you not to become sluggish but instead to become imitators of those who through faith and perseverance are inheriting the promises.

6:13For when God made his promise to Abraham, since he could swear an oath by no one greater, he swore an oath by himself 6:14saying, “Surely with blessings I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply you” (Gen 22:16,17). 6:15Then through patiently persevering, he obtained the promise.

6:16For men swear an oath by what is greatest and in all their disputes their oath is given for a final confirmation. 6:17In the same way, God pledged himself with an oath, wishing to show the supremacy and the unchangeableness of his purpose to the heirs of the promise.

6:18This was so that by two unchangeable things – one of which being that it is impossible for God to lie* – we who have fled for refuge may have strong encouragement to hold onto the hope of being glorified which is set before us.

*The other “unchangeable thing” being the holiness of God himself (Ps 89:35).

6:19We have this hope as an anchor of the soul, which is both immovable and trustworthy and which is holding within the inner veil of the heavenly holy of holies 6:20where Jesus as a forerunner entered for us, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

HEBREWS CHAPTER 7

7:1For this Melchizedek was the king of Salem and priest of God Most High – who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 7:2to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all the spoils – (being first translated, “King of righteousness,” and then also “King of Salem,” which means “King of peace”).

7:3He was without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but was the exact image of the Son of God and as such continues as a priest forever.

7:4Now consider how great this man was to whom even Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth out of the choice spoils. 7:5And truly, those who are of the sons of Levi who receive the priest’s office have a commandment according to the law to receive tithes from the people, that is from their brethren, even though they too have come out of the loins of Abraham.

7:6But he who does not descend from their lineage received tithes from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises. 7:7And without question, it is always the less important one who is blessed by the greater. 7:8And here men who die receive tithes, but in that case, someone received them about whom it is testified that he is alive.

7:9And so in a manner of speaking, even Levi who received tithes had paid tithes through Abraham, 7:10since he was still “in the loins of his father Abraham” when Melchizedek met him.

7:11Now if perfection was achieved through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek who was not part of the order of Aaron? 7:12For when the priesthood is changed it becomes necessary to change the law also. 7:13For he about whom these things are said belongs to another tribe from which no man has served at the altar. 7:14For it is evident that our Lord has risen out of the tribe of Judah, a tribe about which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests.

7:15And what is even clearer is that another priest arises just like Melchizedek 7:16who has not been made a priest by the law – made up of commandments for governing human activities – but through the power of an indestructible life. 7:17For it was testified concerning him, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek” (Ps 110:4).

7:18For in this pronouncement there is an annulling of the previous commandment because of its weakness and ineffectiveness 7:19(for the law was unable to make anyone perfect), but now a better hope has been introduced through which we can come near to God and be made perfect.

7:20But in this case it was not done without an important swearing of an oath. 7:21For, on the one hand, they were made priests without the swearing of an oath but he, on the other hand, was made a priest with an oath sworn by him who said to him, “The Lord swore an oath and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.’” 7:22It was through this oath then that Jesus has become the guarantor of a much better covenant.

7:23And by necessity those priests were more numerous because death prevented them from continuing on indefinitely. 7:24But he because he exists eternally, has a priesthood which is unchangeable.

7:25Therefore, he is also able to save completely {to perfect} those who are continually drawing near to God through him because he is always alive to intercede for them. 7:26For we have clearly seen just such a high priest, who, since he is holy, sincere, pure, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens, 7:27does not have a daily necessity like those other high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for his own sins and then for the sins of the people. For he already did this once for all when he offered up himself.

7:28For the law appointed as high priests men who have weaknesses, but the word of the oath which was after the law completed everything by appointing a Son who is eternal.

HEBREWS CHAPTER 8

8:1Now the summation of everything which we are saying is this: We have such a high priest who sat down in the place of supreme honor and authority on the throne of the Majesty in the heavens (Rev 3:21), 8:2a priest of the holiest of all, even of the true tabernacle which the Lord set up and not man. 8:3Indeed, every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore, it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer.

8:4Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, seeing that here there are already those who offer the gifts according to the law, 8:5who serve in what is just an earthly copy and a shadow of the heavenly things. This is in accordance with how Moses was warned by God when he was about to make the tabernacle. “Now be careful,” he said, “that you make everything according to the pattern of that which was revealed to you on the mountain” (Ex 25:40).

8:6But now he has obtained a superior ministry since he is also the mediator of a better covenant which has been established upon better promises. 8:7For if that first covenant had been without defects, then there would have been no reason to seek a place for a second one. 8:8But finding fault with it, he said, “Look, the days are coming, says the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.

8:9“This will not be along the lines of the covenant {contract} that I made with their fathers at the time that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. But they didn’t adhere to my covenant and so I turned away from them, says the Lord. 8:10But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will place my laws in their thoughts and I will also inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be God to them and they will be a people for me.

8:11“Furthermore, in no way will everyone teach his neighbor and everyone teach his brother saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all will know me, from the least to the greatest. 8:12For I will be merciful with respect to their wrongs and I won’t remember their sins anymore” (Jer 31:31-34).

8:13By saying, “A new covenant” he made the first one obsolete. And the one which is obsolete and failing from age is nearing extinction.

HEBREWS CHAPTER 9

9:1The first tabernacle, indeed, had a set of rules of divine service and the earthly sanctuary. 9:2For the first part of the tabernacle, which is called the Holy Place, was carefully equipped, containing the lampstand and the table for the showbread.

9:3And after the second veil was an inner tabernacle called the Holy of Holies, 9:4having a golden incense censer* and the ark of the covenant covered inside and outside with gold in which was a golden pot holding the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant.

*Some translations say “incense altar” here. But that altar really belonged to the Holy Place, not to the Holy of Holies. It was placed directly in front of the veil which separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. When the High Priest entered into the Holy of Holies he took the “censor” part from the incense altar with burning incense in it into the Holy of Holies (Ex 40:26; Lev 16:12). Therefore, it was the “censor” part of that altar which pertained to the Holy of Holies, not the altar itself.

9:5And above it were cherubim of glory overshadowing the propitiatory cover which are things that we will not speak about in great detail for now.

9:6Now having these things carefully prepared in this way, the priests go continually into the first part of the tabernacle, fulfilling the services. 9:7But the high priest goes alone into the second part only once a year and not without blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins the people committed through ignorance.

9:8Through this arrangement, the Holy Spirit is showing that open access for everyone into the Holiest Place had not yet been revealed while the first tabernacle was still in use.

This tabernacle was only a figure of something in the future which was set up for a limited time 9:9where both gifts and sacrifices were offered which cannot purify the moral consciousness of the worshipper concerning what is right and what is wrong. 9:10This is because it only deals with meats, drinks, and various ceremonial washings which are human ordinances imposed until a time of reform came.

9:11But the Anointed One has come as a high priest of the good things which had been planned in the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with human hands, that is to say, not of this creation. 9:12He entered into that Holiest Place once for all – not through the blood of goats and calves but through his own blood – having found an eternal liberation for us.

9:13For if the blood of goats and bulls and ashes of a heifer sprinkled on the defiled ones purified their flesh to make it clean, 9:14how much more will the blood of the Anointed One – who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God – purify your moral consciousness concerning right and wrong so that you don’t perform acts which produce death, enabling you to serve the living God?

9:15And for this reason he is the mediator of the new covenant – since a death has taken place for the release by payment of the ransom for those who violated the first covenant – so that those who have been called may be receiving the promise of the eternal inheritance.

9:16For where there is a will {or “testament”}, the one who made it must have died. 9:17For a will is only valid where there has been a death, since it has no validity while the one who made it is still alive.

9:18Therefore, even the first covenant {or “testament”} was not dedicated without blood signifying a death. 9:19For when Moses had spoken every commandment to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the scroll itself and all the people 9:20saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded for you.”

9:21Furthermore, he sprinkled the tabernacle and all the service utensils in the same way with the blood. 9:22And according to the law, almost all things are cleansed with blood, for without the shedding of blood (a death) there is no release from sin. 9:23It was necessary, therefore, for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed in this way. But the heavenly things themselves have been cleansed with better sacrifices than those.

9:24For the Anointed One did not enter into holy places made with human hands, which are merely types of the true ones, but into heaven itself and is now appearing before the face of God for us. 9:25Neither does he need to offer himself often (since the high priest entered into the holiest place every year with the blood of another) 9:26or else he would have had to suffer frequently since the foundation of the world.

But now, once, at the end of the ages, he has been manifested to abolish sin by the sacrifice of himself. 9:27And seeing that it has been reserved for men to die only once and after this comes the judgment, 9:28so also the Anointed One, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time to those who wait for him – having put aside the problem of sin – to bring them the final step of their salvation.*

*This “salvation” refers to the “redemption” or glorification of the body.

HEBREWS CHAPTER 10

10:1For the law, being a shadow of the good things to come and not the very substance of those things, keeps on offering the same earthly sacrifices every year which can never make those who draw near perfect.

10:2If it were able, wouldn’t they have ceased to be offered? This is because once the worshippers had been thoroughly purified, they would no longer have sins to trouble their consciences. 10:3But through those sacrifices there is a yearly reminder of sins. 10:4For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to cut off and carry away sins.

10:5Therefore, coming into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings don’t satisfy your true intentions. Instead, you have prepared a human body for me. 10:6You had no real pleasure in whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin.” 10:7“Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God, (just as it is written about me in the rolled up scroll)’” (Ps 40:6-8).

10:8By first saying, “Sacrifices and offerings don’t satisfy your true intentions, neither do you take pleasure in them,” (which are the things offered according to the law) 10:9and then saying, “Look, I have come to do your will,” he does away with the first in order to establish the second. 10:10Through this choice of his, we are made truly holy through the unique and final offering of the body of Jesus the Anointed One.

10:11And, on one hand, every priest daily stands officiating, offering the same sacrifices over and over, which can never take away sins. 10:12But he, on the other hand, when he had offered one sacrifice for sins, sat down for eternity in the place of honor and authority of God, 10:13from here on waiting until his enemies are made the footstool of his feet.

10:14For by one offering he consummated his work forever for those who are being made holy. 10:15And the Holy Spirit also testifies this fact to us, for he has said beforehand, 10:16“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord. I will impress my laws on their hearts, and inscribe them upon their minds.” Then he said, 10:17“And their sins and their violations of the law I won’t remember anymore” (Jer 31:33,34).

10:18Now where there is a liberation from these sins, there is no further offering for sin required.*

*Once the transformation process is finished, the liberated person does not keep on sinning. Therefore, no more offering is required.

10:19Therefore, brethren, let us have confidence to enter into the Holiest Place by the blood of Jesus. 10:20We can enter in through the veil by this new and living way which he consecrated for us (which was through the offering of his body).

10:21So, having such a great high priest over the house of God, 10:22let us draw near to him with a sincere heart, being fully assured through faith, having our hearts purified from a degenerate sense of what is right and wrong, and having our bodies washed with pure water. 10:23Let us be taking possession of “the hope”* which we profess without wavering, for he who made the promise is faithful. 10:24And let us consider how to stir up each other to love and good works.

*”The hope” mentioned here is the hope of glory: i.e. being glorified with Jesus. **These are those who have disobeyed him and disrespected his authority.

10:25Don’t abandon gathering together with each other, as is the habit of some, but be encouraging each other even more as you see the day of the Lord coming near.

10:26But if we continue sinning willingly after we have received the full understanding of the truth, there is no longer a sacrifice for sins left for us. 10:27But, instead, there is a certain fearful expectation of judgment and the fire of God’s burning jealousy which will consume those who are the opposite of his holy nature. 10:28Anyone disregarding Moses’ law was killed without compassion based on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 10:29How much worse punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled the Son of God under foot,** has considered the blood of the covenant with which he is being made holy as something of little value, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?

10:30For we know him who said, “Revenge is mine, I will repay those who rebel.” And again saying, “The Lord will judge his people” (Deut 32:35,36). 10:31It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

10:32But remember the former days, during which, after you had been enlightened, you endured a great trial of sufferings. 10:33This was a result of being made a public spectacle, both through contemptuous verbal abuse and public persecution and also by being partners with those who were abused in this way. 10:34For you had compassion on those who were imprisoned and accepted with joy the seizure of your possessions, knowing that you have in yourselves a better possession which is permanent.

10:35Therefore, don’t throw away your assurance, which has a great reward. 10:36For you need endurance so that having done the will of God, you may receive the promise. 10:37“For in just a ‘little while,’ the coming One will be here and will not delay. 10:38Now, the Lord says, the one who exhibits righteous character is the one who is conducting his life by faith, but if he shrinks back from me, my soul will not be pleased with him” (Hab 2:3,4).

10:39Yet we are not among those who draw back, resulting in destruction, but among those who have faith, resulting in the complete saving of the soul.

HEBREWS CHAPTER 11

11:1Now faith is when what is hoped for is made real to us in the spirit. It is when we have a genuine inner conviction concerning unseen things. 11:2For this is how those of old received God’s approval. 11:3By such faith we understand that the universe came into being by the word of God so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.

11:4By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, which was a testimony that he was righteous, God also testifying “upon” his gifts* and through it, even being dead, he still speaks.

*Perhaps by sending fire down from heaven to ignite the offering.

11:5By faith Enoch was translated so that he would not know death, and he was not found because God translated him. For before he was taken up, he had a testimony that God was entirely pleased with him.

11:6Yet without faith it is impossible to be pleasing to him, for he who is coming to God must believe that he is and that he rewards those who diligently seek after him.

11:7By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning things not yet seen, showed reverence and carefully prepared an ark for the deliverance of his household, through which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is through faith.

11:8By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed, going out to a place which he later was to receive as an inheritance. So he went out without knowing where he was going. 11:9By faith he lived as a stranger in the land which had been promised, dwelling in tents as did Isaac and Jacob, the co-heirs with him of the same promise. 11:10For he looked for the city which has the true foundations whose architect and builder is God.

11:11By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive a child when she was past childbearing age since she trusted the authority of the One who had promised. 11:12Therefore, also from one (and he being very old), there are being born a multitude as many as the stars of the heavens and innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

11:13These all died in faith, not having received the promises but they saw them and embraced them from far away, confessing that they were merely strangers and pilgrims on this earth. 11:14For those who say such things reveal that they are seeking a country of their own.

11:15And if indeed they had been fondly remembering that country which they left, they would have had the opportunity to return. 11:16But now they are reaching out for a better country, one that is heavenly in origin and nature. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he is preparing a city for them.

11:17By faith Abraham, being tested, offered up Isaac. He who had received the promises willingly offered up his only son, 11:18even the one of whom it was said, “Your seed will receive their name through Isaac.” 11:19He considered that God was even able to raise him up from the dead, from where he also, in a manner of speaking, received him back.

11:20By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning future things. 11:21By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph and worshipped, leaning on the top of his staff. 11:22By faith Joseph, when his end was near, mentioned the exodus of the children of Israel and gave instructions concerning his bones.

11:23By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents because they saw he was a beautiful child and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.

11:24By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 11:25choosing to share ill treatment with the people of God rather than to enjoy the temporary pleasures of sin. 11:26He considered the reproach of the Anointed One as being greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, for he looked away from everything else to the divine reward. 11:27By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the anger of the king, for he persevered by seeing the One who is invisible.

11:28By faith he observed the passover with the sprinkling of the blood so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch them. 11:29By faith they passed through the Red Sea as if on dry land, in which the Egyptians, while attempting to do so, were swallowed up.

11:30By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. 11:31By faith Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with those who were disobedient, because she received the spies in peace.

11:32And what more can I say? For there is not sufficient time to relate the stories of Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah, of David, Samuel, and the prophets. 11:33Who through faith conquered kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, 11:34quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, in weakness were made strong, became valiant in war, and pushed back armies of foreigners.

11:35Women received a resurrection of their dead and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance so that they might obtain a better resurrection. 11:36Others had trials of mocking and beating with whips and even of bonds and imprisonment.

11:37They were stoned; they were sawn in two; they were tested; they were slain with the sword; they went around in sheepskins and goatskins, being in need, being afflicted, being mistreated; 11:38they wandered in deserts, mountains, caves, and in the holes of the earth; these were ones of whom the world was not worthy.

11:39And all these have a testimony because of their faith, even without receiving the promise: the Anointed One. 11:40Now God has provided a greater advantage for us, so that it would not happen that they would complete their course of faith and yet we would not do so.

HEBREWS CHAPTER 12

12:1Therefore, seeing that we are surrounded with such a great number of these who have this testimony, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin which so easily gets in our way.

And let us also run the race that is set before us with endurance, 12:2fixing our eyes on Jesus, the originator and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, ignoring the dishonor, and sat down in the place of supreme honor and authority on the throne of God.

12:3Therefore, carefully consider how much it cost him to endure the negative impact which sinners had upon him so that you don’t become weary, fainting in your souls. 12:4You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood, fighting against your natural tendency to react in a sinful way.

12:5And you have totally forgotten the exhortation which reasons with you as with sons saying, “My son, don’t be inattentive to the discipline of the Lord or faint when you are corrected by him. 12:6For whom the Lord loves, he disciplines, and he chastises with a whip every son whom he receives” (Pr 3:11,12).

12:7If you experience such discipline, God is dealing with you as sons, for what son is there whom his father doesn’t discipline? 12:8But if you are without disciplinary correction in which all sons share, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 12:9Furthermore, we had natural fathers who corrected us and we gave them our respect. Shouldn’t we much more submit ourselves to the Father of spirits and have more of his life?

12:10For they, on the one hand, disciplined us for a short time as seemed right to them, but he, on the other hand, does it for our benefit so that we may share in his holiness.

12:11All such discipline doesn’t seem to be enjoyable but painful at that moment, yet afterward it produces the peaceable fruit of God’s righteousness in those who have been trained by it.

12:12Therefore, lift up the hands which have become weak and the feeble knees. 12:13And walk in a straight line so that that which is lame will not be put out of joint but be healed instead. 12:14Pursue peace with everyone and pursue being made holy, since without such holiness no one will come to know the Lord intimately through experience.

12:15Be watchful so that no one lacks the grace of God; so that no poisonous root of bitterness springs up to cause trouble and through it many others would be contaminated; 12:16and so that there wouldn’t be any sexually immoral or unclean person like Esau, who for one meal* sold his own birthright.

*One moment of sensual gratification.

12:17For you know that even when he afterward wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he did not find the condition of the heart necessary for repentance, even though he sought for it diligently with tears.

12:18But you have not come to that mountain burning with fire which can’t be touched, or to blackness, to darkness, or to storm, 12:19or the sound of a trumpet, or the voice of pronouncements which those who heard them begged that not one more word would be spoken to them.

12:20For they (the children of Israel) could not hold up under that which was ordered saying, “If even a domestic animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned or shot with an arrow” (Ex 19:12,13). 12:21And that spectacle was so fearsome that Moses said, “I am stricken with terror and am trembling” (Deut 9:19).

12:22But you have come to mount Zion, even to the city of the living God: the Jerusalem which is heavenly in origin and nature; and to innumerable angels; 12:23to the public festival gathering, even the assembly of the Firstborn composed of those who are registered in heaven; to God the Judge of all; to the spirits of just men who have completed their course of faith; 12:24to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant {contract}; and to the blood of sprinkling which speaks of better things than that of Abel.**
**Abel’s blood cried out for vengeance while Jesus’ blood speaks of liberation.

12:25See that you don’t reject him who speaks. For if they didn’t escape judgment when they rejected him who warned them on earth, how much more will you not escape judgment who turn away from the One who warns from heaven. 12:26His voice then shook the earth, but now he has promised saying, “One more time I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens” (Hag 2:6). 12:27And this word, “One more time,” indicates the substitution of those things which are shaken – since their time is over – so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.

12:28Therefore, since we are receiving an unshakeable kingdom, let us be having grace by which we may serve God acceptably with reverent respect and veneration. 12:29For our God is a consuming fire.

HEBREWS CHAPTER 13

13:1Let the love of the brethren continue. 13:2Don’t forget to show hospitality, even to strangers, for in this way some have had angels as guests without being aware of it. 13:3Remember those who are prisoners as if bound with them and remember those who are mistreated since you also are in the body.

13:4Let the marriage covenant be considered precious among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled since God will judge those who have sex outside of the marriage covenant and those who cheat on their spouses.

13:5Stay free from the love of money. Be content with the things that you have for he himself has said, “I will never leave you or in any way abandon you” (Deut 31:6) 13:6so that we can boldly say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not fear. What can mere men do to me?” (Ps 118:6).

13:7Be easily persuaded by those who are outstanding examples in the spiritual walk, men who spoke the word of God to you, and pay attention to the way they live. Imitate their faith. 13:8Jesus the Anointed One is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

13:9Don’t get carried away by various and strange teachings. For it is good for the heart to be established by grace, not by what we eat, since those who are preoccupied with these things derive no benefit from them.

13:10We have an altar from which those who serve in the tabernacle have no right to eat. 13:11For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the Holiest Place by the high priest as an offering for sin were burned outside the camp. 13:12Therefore, Jesus also, in order to make the people holy through his own blood, suffered outside the gate. 13:13Let us, therefore, go out to him outside the camp,* carrying his contemptuous treatment [as he carried his cross].

13:14For here we don’t have a permanent city, but we eagerly seek for one which is coming.

13:15Through him, then, let us continually offer up the sacrifice of praise to God which is the fruit of our lips declaring his name. 13:16But don’t forget to do good and to give to others, for God is very pleased with such sacrifices.

13:17Be easily persuaded by those who are outstanding examples in the spiritual walk and be yielding, for they lie awake sleepless for the sake of your souls as those who will give account to God, so that they may do this with joy and not with grief, since that would be harmful for you.

13:18Pray for us, for we are persuaded that we have a clear conscience, desiring to live honorably in all things. 13:19And I encourage you to do this even more so that I may be restored to you more quickly.

13:20Now may the God of peace – who brought back from the dead the Great Shepherd of the sheep, even our Lord Jesus – through the blood of an eternal covenant 13:21equip you to do every good work according to his will, working through you that which is acceptable in his sight by means of Jesus the Anointed One: to whom is the glory for the ages of the ages. Amen.

13:22But I urge you, brethren, bear with this word of exhortation which I have written to you in a few words. 13:23I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been released. I will see you with him if he comes quickly. 13:24Greet all those who are outstanding examples in the spiritual walk and all the holy ones. Those from Italy greet you.

13:25May grace be with you all. Amen.

*The “camp” signifies the larger group of people who often do not hear from God or understand his will.

The Letter Of

JAMES

JAMES CHAPTER 1

1:1James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus the Anointed One, to the twelve tribes of the Dispersion: greetings.

1:2Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you are encircled with various trials, 1:3knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 1:4And let patience work in you until it is complete so that you may be mature and perfected, with not one virtue missing.

1:5But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to everyone liberally without criticizing them and it will be given to him. 1:6But let him ask in faith without vacillating in his commitment to the Lord, for he who vacillates is like the waves of the sea driven by the wind and tossed to and fro. 1:7For that man should not imagine that he will receive anything from the Lord 1:8since he is a person of two minds and, therefore, is unstable in all his ways.

1:9But let the brother of low social status rejoice in his high spiritual ranking 1:10and the rich rejoice in his abasement because like the flowers of the grasses, his riches will disappear. 1:11For when the sun rises with the scorching wind and dries out the grass, it causes the flowers to fall off and the beauty of their “faces” is lost. So also the wealthy man, together with his activities, will fade away.

1:12Blessed is the man who endures trials, for after he has been thoroughly tested and approved, he will receive the crown of God’s life which the Lord promised to those who love him. 1:13Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted by God, for God is incapable of being tempted with evil and he himself tempts no one. 1:14But each man is tempted when he is lured away by his own carnal cravings and caught in a trap. 1:15Then the carnal craving, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin. And sin, when it grows up, produces death. 1:16Don’t be led away from the truth, my beloved brethren!

1:17Every good thing and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights with whom there is no uncertainty or shadow of deviation. 1:18Through his own decision he generated his own life in us through the word of truth so that we would be a kind of crowning glory of his creation.

1:19With this in mind, my beloved brethren, let everyone be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to get angry, 1:20for human anger does not result in the expression of God’s righteousness.

1:21Therefore, having put aside all immoral filth and abundant evil, receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to completely save your souls. 1:22But be those who put the word into practice and not someone who just hears it, deceiving yourself.

1:23For if anyone is merely a hearer of the word but doesn’t practice it, he is like a man who sees his natural face in a mirror: 1:24he sees himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what he looked like. 1:25But he who looks deeply into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and continues there – not being merely a forgetful hearer but one who practices it – this man will be blessed in what he does.

1:26If anyone among you thinks of himself as being “religious,” yet doesn’t keep a rein on his tongue but instead deceives himself, this man’s religion is useless.

1:27Religion which is spotless and pure before our God and Father is this: to visit the orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself uncontaminated by the world.

JAMES CHAPTER 2

2:1My brethren, don’t discriminate between people in your walk in the faith of the glorious Lord Jesus, the Anointed One. 2:2For if someone comes into your gatherings wearing a gold ring and dressed in expensive clothing, and another also comes in who is poor, wearing dirty clothing, 2:3and you treat the one who wears the expensive clothing with special respect and say, “Sit here in a good place,” but you say to the poor man, “You can stand over there,” or “Sit here on the floor beside my chair,” 2:4then aren’t you showing favoritism among yourselves and so have become like corrupt judges?

2:5Listen my beloved brethren, didn’t God choose those who are poor in this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to those who are loving him? 2:6But you have dishonored the poor man. Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and take you to court? 2:7Aren’t they the ones who slander the honorable name by which you are called?

2:8If, however, you fulfill the royal law according to the scriptures: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well. 2:9But if you discriminate between people, you commit sin and are exposed by the law as violators.

2:10For whoever keeps the whole law and yet errs in one point, he is as guilty as if he had broken all of them. 2:11For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you don’t commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a violator of the law.

2:12Therefore, you should speak and act as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. 2:13For the coming judgment will be without mercy for him who did not show any mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

2:14How is it beneficial, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but doesn’t do anything? Can this kind of “faith” be saving him? 2:15If a brother or sister is lacking clothing and doesn’t have enough to eat every day 2:16and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” and yet you don’t give them the things which are necessary for the body, of what use is it?

2:17In the same way faith, if it doesn’t result in actions, is exposed as being dead in itself. 2:18But someone might say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith without any actions and I will show you my faith through my actions.

2:19You believe that God is one? That’s good. The demons also believe this and shudder with fear. 2:20But would you be happy to know – you fruitless man – that faith separated from the resulting actions is dead?

2:21Wasn’t Abraham our father considered just by his actions when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 2:22Here you see that faith was working together with his actions and that through these actions his faith was consummated. 2:23So the scripture was fulfilled which says: “And Abraham believed God and he was, therefore, considered righteous,” and, “He was called the friend of God.”

2:24You see then that a man is considered just by actions and not by faith alone. 2:25And in the same way also, wasn’t Rahab the prostitute considered just because of her actions when she received the messengers and then sent them off another way? 2:26For as the body separated from the spirit is just a corpse, in the same way faith separated from actions is dead.*

*James is teaching us here that dead faith justifies no one.

JAMES CHAPTER 3

3:1Don’t many of you be teachers, my brethren, knowing that we will receive the more severe judgment. 3:2For we all make many mistakes. If someone never sins in his words, he is a perfect man, able to control the rest of his body also.

3:3Now when we put bridles into the horses’ mouths so that they obey us, we direct their whole body also. 3:4Think about the ships too. Even though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the helmsman wants to go.

3:5So also the tongue is a little member yet boasts about great things. Look at how much wood is kindled by a small fire! 3:6And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is a whole world of sin among our members which defiles the entire person, often creating a whirling fire of trouble among others and is itself set on fire by Gehenna.

3:7For all kinds of animals and birds, even reptiles and marine life, can be tamed or have been tamed by man’s powers. 3:8But no one is able to tame the tongue. It is an unrestrained evil, full of deadly poison. 3:9With it we bless our God and Father and with it we curse other men who are made after the likeness of God.

3:10Out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brethren, things should not be this way. 3:11Does a spring from the same source gush out both sweet water and bitter? 3:12My brethren, can a fig tree produce olives or a grapevine figs? Neither can one spring produce salt water and fresh water.

3:13Who is someone wise and understanding among you? Let him show by his good life that his works are a product of the gentleness which wisdom brings.

3:14But if your heart is full of sharp envy {rivalry, ambition} and contention, don’t rise up against and pervert the truth to try to achieve your objectives. 3:15This wisdom is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, soulish, and demonic. 3:16For where envy {rivalry, ambition} and contention exist, there is confusion and every kind of evil work.

3:17But those who have the wisdom which comes from above are first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, easily persuaded, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and without hypocrisy. 3:18And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

JAMES CHAPTER 4

4:1Where do the disputes and contentions among you come from? Isn’t this the source? It comes from the desire for personal gain which produces this “war” among you.

4:2You want something but you don’t have it so you are jealous of others and even want to kill them. But when you still don’t get what you want, you quarrel and fight trying to get it. The truth is: you don’t have something because you don’t ask for it.

4:3Furthermore, you ask and don’t receive it because you ask wrongly, intending to waste it on self-satisfaction. 4:4You adulteresses, don’t you know that loving the things of this world puts you in opposition to God? Whoever, therefore, chooses to be friendly with the system of this world makes himself an enemy of God. 4:5Or do you imagine that the scripture has no purpose when it says “The Spirit which lives in us longs after our heart with jealousy?” 4:6But he gives abundant grace. Therefore, the scripture says: “God arrays himself in battle against the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

4:7Therefore, be submitted to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 4:8Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands you sinners and purify your hearts you who are vacillating in your commitment to the Lord. 4:9Be afflicted, mourn, and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into sadness. 4:10Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord and he will exalt you.

4:11Don’t speak against each other, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks according to the law and judges using the law. But if you judge using the law, you aren’t someone who keeps the law, but a judge. 4:12There is only One lawgiver and judge, even he who is able to rescue or to destroy. But who are you who judges your neighbor?

4:13Listen here you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to a certain city, spend a year there, do some business, and make money.” 4:14But the truth is you have no idea what will happen tomorrow. What is your life really? For you are just like a vapor which appears for a little while and then vanishes away.

4:15Instead you should say, “If the Lord wills, we will both continue to live and do this or that.” 4:16But now you boast with your self-confidence. All such boasting is evil. 4:17To him, therefore, who knows what is right to do and doesn’t do it, to him it is sin.

JAMES CHAPTER 5

5:1See here you rich! Weep and howl over the calamities that are coming upon you. 5:2Your riches have rotted and your clothes have been eaten by moth larva. 5:3Your gold and your silver are corroded. Their corrosion will be a testimony against you and will consume your flesh like fire. You have accumulated riches in the last days.

5:4Don’t you remember the wages of the laborers who reaped your fields, the ones whom you took advantage of and underpaid? Those laborers are crying out and the cries of the reapers have entered into the ears of the Lord of the heavenly armies.

5:5You have indulged yourselves on the earth and lived luxuriously. You have fattened up your hearts as in a day of slaughter [like a calf fattened in confinement]. 5:6You have condemned and murdered the righteous One and he didn’t resist you.

5:7With all this in mind, brethren, be patient until the appearing of the Lord. Look, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it until it receives the early and the later rain. 5:8You also be patient. Stand firm in your hearts for the coming of the Lord approaches.

5:9Brethren, don’t murmur against each other so that you won’t be judged. Look, the Judge is standing just outside the door.

5:10Brethren, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord as an example of suffering and patience. 5:11See, we call those who endured “blessed.” You have heard of the patience of Job and you know the end which the Lord planned, thus showing that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.

5:12But above all things, my brethren, do not swear an oath, neither by heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath, but let your “yes” mean “yes,” and your “no,” “no” so that you don’t fall into hypocrisy.

5:13Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 5:14Is anyone among you sick?* Let him call for the older, spiritually mature brothers of the gathering of the called-out ones and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 5:15And the prayer of faith will heal the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

*This Greek word can mean both physical and spiritual weakness.

5:16Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is very effective. 5:17Elijah was a man with similar passions as we have, yet he prayed fervently that it would not rain and it didn’t rain on the earth for three years and six months. 5:18And he prayed again and the heaven gave rain and the earth brought forth its fruit.

5:19My brethren, if anyone among you deviates from the truth and someone helps him turn around, 5:20let him know that he who recovers a sinner from the delusion of his way saves a soul from death and covers a multitude of sins.

Words in this translation found in italics are words which are implied by the Greek text but do not represent actual words in the Greek text. This practice is common in almost all modern translations. Occasionally, this translator has added words to the translation which represent his own ideas and opinions which, although they are based on his own biblical understanding, are not part of the actual Greek text. Such words are enclosed in brackets, like this [ ]. The reader should understand these words as being the opinion of the translator. In contrast to this, the words in these braces { } indicate legitimate, alternative translations or explanations. Words within parentheses () are part of the original Greek text. Such parentheses are often used in other New Testament translations also.

The First Letter Of

PETER (1)

FIRST PETER CHAPTER 1

1:1Peter, a sent one of Jesus the Anointed One, to the expatriates who have been dispersed in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia 1:2who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father and are being made holy by the Spirit and by the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus the Anointed One, resulting in obedience to God. May your grace and peace be increased.

1:3May God be blessed, even the Father of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One, who according to his great mercy generated his life in us, which gives us a living hope because of the resurrection of Jesus the Anointed One from the dead. 1:4This life makes available to us an inheritance which is imperishable, pure, and perpetual, reserved in the heavens for us 1:5who are preserved through faith by the power of God for this salvation* which is ready to be unveiled in the last time.

*This “salvation” mentioned here is the unveiling of the “reserved inheritance” which is related to the glorification of our bodies at the coming of Jesus.

1:6This is something in which you exult, even though now for a short time it has been necessary for you to be distressed by various trials.

1:7These are necessary for the testing of your faith, which is more valuable than gold that will be destroyed and which is now being tested by fire but then will be presented as a motive for praise, glory, and honor when Jesus the Anointed One appears.

1:8He is the one whom you are loving (although you haven’t seen him) and in whom you are believing, (even though he is not visible now) so that you rejoice greatly with inexpressible joy and celebration 1:9as you are obtaining the final objective of your faith, even the complete salvation of your souls.

1:10It was regarding this salvation that the prophets, who prophesied about this grace which would come to you, sought and searched diligently. 1:11They were seeking to understand what the circumstances would be or, to what period of time, the Spirit of the Anointed One which was upon them was pointing when he made known ahead of time, the sufferings in* the Anointed One and the glorious results which will be ours because of them.

*The Greek word “EIS” used here indicates the point entered into or reached. It does not mean “of.” It may be that this refers to our sufferings to enter into Him (See verses 1:6,7) and not to His sufferings on our behalf.

1:12To whom it was revealed that they didn’t minister these things to their own generation but to us, namely the things which now have been announced to you by those who proclaimed the good news to you through the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. These are things which angels desire to look into.

1:13Therefore, having thoroughly prepared your mind, be circumspect and set your hope firmly on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus the Anointed One [the glorification of our bodies].

1:14Be obedient children, not conforming yourselves to your former carnal cravings as you did when you were in ignorance. 1:15But as he who is calling you is holy, you too be holy in every aspect of your living 1:16because it is written, “Become holy, since I am holy” (Lev 20:7).

1:17And if you call on him as Father, who will impartially judge each one according to what they have done, pass the time of your sojourning here in reverent fear. 1:18Do this knowing that you were not ransomed from your useless way of living, which you received from your ancestors, with perishable things such as silver or gold 1:19but with precious blood like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb, even the blood of the Anointed One.

1:20His sacrifice was indeed pre-planned before the world was established but was manifested in these last times for us. 1:21It is through him you are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him brilliant glory so that your faith and hope would be in God.

1:22Having your souls purified through your obedience to the truth resulting in sincere love of the brethren, love each other from a pure heart, fervently. 1:23You have been regenerated {have had God’s life born inside of you} not by perishable seed but by immortal seed: by God’s living word that exists eternally.

1:24For all humanity is like grass and all human glory is like the flowers of the grasses. The grass withers and its flowers fall off 1:25but the word of the Lord continues eternally. And this very same word is the good news which was proclaimed to you.

FIRST PETER CHAPTER 2

2:1Having put aside then all evil, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander, 2:2as newborn babies intensely crave the reasonable, unadulterated spiritual milk so that by it you may grow to full salvation 2:3since you have experienced that the Lord is good.

2:4He is the One we have come forward to worship as a living stone, on the one hand rejected by men but, on the other hand, chosen and precious to God. 2:5You, also, as living stones are being built up into a spiritual dwelling place for God and to be a holy priesthood which offers up spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus the Anointed One. 2:6Therefore, it is included in the scriptures, “Look, I set in place in Zion a chosen and valued keystone and he who is believing on him will not be disgraced” (Is 28:16).

2:7Therefore, for you who are believing, it is of supreme value; but to those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected was made the keystone of the arch,” 2:8and, “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense,” (Ps 118:22; Is 8:14) for they stumble at the word, being disobedient, to which also they were appointed.

2:9But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may display through your lives the virtuous character of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light – 2:10who in past times were not a people group but now are the people of God, who had not experienced mercy but now have experienced true mercy.

2:11Beloved, I appeal to you as sojourners and pilgrims, to keep your distance from carnal cravings which fight against {degrade} the soul, 2:12thus having exemplary behavior among the Gentiles so that even if they slander you as people who are evil, they may glorify God in the day of divine inspection because of your good works which they have seen.

2:13Be subject to all human governments for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme 2:14or to governors who are sent by him to punish those who do evil and commend those who do good. 2:15For it is the will of God that by doing good you would silence the ignorance of foolish men. 2:16Live as free people, but don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do what is wrong, but live as slaves of God.

2:17Honor all men. Love the brethren. Fear God. Honor the sovereign ruler. 2:18Slaves, be in subjection to your masters with all reverence, not only to the good and lenient, but also to the perverse. 2:19For it is acceptable, if for the sake of their conscience before God, someone endures affliction, suffering unjustly. 2:20For why would anyone praise you if, when you err and are punished for it, you endure it? But if, when you do what is right and suffer for it and you take it patiently, this is pleasing to God.

2:21For you were called to this since the Anointed One also suffered for you, giving you an example so that you should follow in his steps. 2:22He never sinned and neither was deceit found in what he said. 2:23When he was criticized, he did not reply with verbal abuse and when he suffered he didn’t retaliate but he yielded himself to him who judges righteously.

2:24He himself carried our sins in his body upon the wooden beam so that we, becoming dead to sins, could live out his righteousness. It is by his welts from beatings that you are delivered from sin. 2:25For you were like wandering sheep but have now returned to the Shepherd and watchman of your souls.

FIRST PETER CHAPTER 3

3:1In the same way, you wives yield yourselves to your own husbands so that even if some refuse to be persuaded by the word, they may without a word be won over by the behavior of their wives: 3:2by seeing your pure behavior coupled with reverence.

3:3Let them (the wives) not be seeking attention by trying to make themselves more attractive on the outside with fancy hairdos, gold jewelry, or beautiful clothes, 3:4but let their true beauty be that which is hidden in their hearts, the incorruptible adornment of a meek and quiet spirit, which is extremely precious in God’s eyes.

3:5For this is the way the holy women from the past who put their trust in God also adorned themselves, being yielded to their own husbands, 3:6just as Sarah submitted to Abraham calling him “master.” Similarly, you are now Sarah’s “children” if you do what is right and are not carried away by any uncontrolled emotions.

3:7You husbands, in a similar way, live with your wife with understanding since she is the weaker, feminine vessel and value her highly since you also are co-heirs of the grace of God’s life so that your prayers are not limited.

3:8Finally, all of you live in harmony, be compassionate, having brotherly love, being tender-hearted and friendly, 3:9not returning evil for evil or slander for slander but, on the contrary, blessing, for you were called to this so that you would inherit a blessing.

3:10For: “He who desires to enjoy his life and see good days, let him stop his tongue from speaking evil about others and his lips from uttering deceit” (Ps 34:12-16). 3:11“Let him turn away from evil and do good” (Ps 37:27). Let him seek peace and run after it. 3:12For the eyes of the Lord look favorably on the righteous and his ears are open to their prayers. But the face of the Lord is turned against those who practice evil.

3:13And who is he who will treat you badly if you become imitators of that which is good? 3:14But even if you do suffer for living virtuously, you are blessed! And don’t be afraid of their threats or be anxious.

3:15But venerate the Anointed One as your Master in your hearts, always being ready with gentleness and reverence to give an answer to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that is in you.

3:16Maintain a clear conscience so that whatever bad things people might say about you – criticizing the way you live in the Anointed One as if you were someone who practiced evil – may be proven wrong. 3:17For it is better, if it is the will of God for you to suffer, to suffer for doing good rather than for doing evil.

3:18For the Anointed One also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, so that he might bring us to God. Indeed his physical body was put to death but was restored to life by the Spirit, 3:19through which he also went and preached to the imprisoned spirits of 3:20those who were disobedient in the days of Noah. That was when God waited patiently while the ark was being prepared in which very few – only eight souls – were saved through the water.

3:21This is also an accurate picture of how our immersion {baptism} into the Anointed One is now saving us. This does not mean washing dirt off of the body but earnestly seeking to have a clear conscience toward God through the [death and] resurrection of Jesus the Anointed One operating in us.

3:22He is the One now occupying the place of supreme honor and authority with God, having gone into the heavens and having had angels, authorities, and powers put into submission to him.

FIRST PETER CHAPTER 4

4:1Since the Anointed One suffered while in the body, prepare yourselves also with the same mindset, for he who is suffering in the flesh is made to desist from sin 4:2so that you no longer should live the rest of your time in this body following human lusts, but doing the will of God.

4:3For we already wasted enough time in our past life practicing the base desires of the Gentiles: involving ourselves in unrestrained sexual activities, carnal cravings, drunkenness, orgies, drunken feasts, and worshipping idols which violates God’s law.

4:4Now they are surprised that you don’t run together with them in the same outpouring of carnality and, therefore, speak evil of you. 4:5These will have to give an answer to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 4:6For this purpose the good news message was even proclaimed to the dead so that, on the one hand, they might be judged as men concerning their carnal nature but, on the other hand, have the life which comes down from God in their spirits.

4:7But the end of all things is approaching. Therefore, exercise self-control and be diligent in prayer. 4:8Above all things be fervent in your love among yourselves, for love covers a great number of sins. 4:9Show hospitality to each other without grumbling. 4:10As each one has received a gift from God, use it to serve the others as good stewards of the many faceted grace of God.

4:11If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracle of God. If anyone serves, it should be with the ability which God gives so that God would be glorified in everything through Jesus the Anointed One, whose is the glory and the dominion for the ages of the ages. Amen.

4:12Beloved, don’t consider it strange that the burning fire has come to test you as though something abnormal was happening to you.

4:13But to the extent that you are participating in the Anointed One’s sufferings, be glad so that when his glory is revealed, you also may rejoice with joyful exultation [since you will be glorified with him].

4:14If others speak badly about you for the name of the Anointed One, you are blessed because the glory of God and the Spirit of God rest upon you. 4:15But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or a criminal, or as a meddler in other people’s affairs. 4:16But if anyone suffers as a Christian, he shouldn’t be ashamed, but let him praise God for having a part in the Anointed One’s sufferings.

4:17For the time has come for judgment to begin in the house of God. And if it begins first with us, what will be the end of those who are disobeying the good news message of God? 4:18And if the righteous are being saved with great difficulty, where will the ungodly and sinner end up?

4:19Therefore, let those who suffer according to the will of God also entrust their souls to a faithful Creator by doing what is right.

FIRST PETER CHAPTER 5

5:1The older, spiritually mature brothers among you I exhort – I who am also such a fellow brother and a witness of the sufferings of the Anointed One and also a participant in the glory which is about to be revealed – 5:2care for the flock of God which is among you, looking after them not because you have to, but willingly. Don’t do this as a way to make money but with a good attitude, 5:3not by exercising any control over the others but by becoming examples to the flock.

5:4And then at the appearing of the Chief Shepherd, you will receive the crown of glory that never fades away. 5:5In the same way, let the younger ones yield to the

older ones. In fact, all of you should be clothed with humility and yield to each other. For God arrays himself in battle against the proud but gives grace to the humble.

5:6Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that he may exalt you at the right time. 5:7Be casting all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 5:8Be sober; be watchful. Your adversary the devil walks around like a roaring lion seeking whom he can devour. 5:9Stand against him firmly in the faith, knowing that your brethren in other parts of the world are experiencing the same sufferings as you are.

5:10And the God of all grace – the One who calls you into his eternal glory in the Anointed One, Jesus – after you have suffered a “little while” will himself prepare you, support you, strengthen you, and establish you. 5:11To him be the glory and the dominion for all eternity. Amen.

5:12This letter was written down for me by Silvanus, whom I consider a faithful brother. I have written this short letter to you, instructing you and testifying about what the true grace of God is. Stand firmly in it.

5:13She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings and so does Mark my son. 5:14Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace be to all of you who are in the Anointed One.

The Second Letter Of

PETER (2)

SECOND PETER CHAPTER 1

1:1Simon Peter, a servant and sent one of Jesus the Anointed One, to those who through the equitable justice of our God and Savior Jesus the Anointed One are equally honored with us because of having obtained faith:

1:2May grace and peace be increased to you through the full knowledge of God – namely Jesus our Lord – 1:3since his divine power has provided us with everything that is necessary by the development of his life within us and the holiness which it produces, through fully knowing him who calls us to his own glory and virtuous character.

1:4With this objective, he has presented to us these tremendous and precious promises through which we can be becoming co-participants of his divine nature, escaping from the moral decay that operates in the world through carnal cravings.

1:5And for this very reason you should be becoming ever more diligent to add to your faith God’s virtuous character; and to virtuous character, increased understanding; 1:6and to understanding, self-control; and to self-control, patience; and to patience, holiness; 1:7and to holiness, brotherly affection; and to brotherly affection, God’s perfect love.

1:8For if these things are yours and are super abundant in your life, you will be neither idle nor unfruitful as a result of fully knowing our Lord Jesus the Anointed One. 1:9For he who lacks these things is blind, not seeing into the distant future, having forgotten the cleansing from his earlier sins.

1:10Therefore, brethren, be diligent to make your calling – even your having been divinely chosen – well established. For if you do these things, you will never fall short of it. 1:11In this way, an entrance into the age-lasting [Millennial] kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus the Anointed One will be made abundantly available to you.

1:12Therefore, I will not neglect to continually remind you of these things, though you know them and are established in the present truth. 1:13For I think it is right as long as I am in this earthly “tent” to stir you up by reminding you, 1:14knowing that the putting off of my “tent” is coming soon, even as our Lord Jesus the Anointed One has shown me. 1:15Therefore, I will be diligent so that after my decease you will always be able to remember these things.

1:16For we did not follow cleverly invented fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One but we were eyewitnesses of his glorious splendor.

1:17For he received from God the Father honor and radiant brightness. It was during that event that a voice came to him from the Majestic Glory saying, “This is my Son, the Beloved, in whom I take pleasure.” 1:18And we ourselves heard this voice which came out of heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain.

1:19And we also have the sure word of prophecy [the scriptures] to which you should pay attention, as if to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

1:20We should understand this first of all: that no prophecy of scripture came from personal inspiration. 1:21For no prophecy ever came by the choice of man but selected men spoke for God as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

SECOND PETER CHAPTER 2

2:1But there also arose false prophets among the people, just as among you too there will be false teachers who will craftily take others captive as their own followers, bringing ruin. These even refuse the authority of the One who bought them, thus bringing abrupt destruction upon themselves.

2:2And many will follow their destructive ways and because of this, people will speak badly about the way of the truth. 2:3And in their greediness for money, using carefully crafted words, they will use you for their personal gain. Their judgment, even though delayed, has not been cancelled and their destruction will not be postponed.

2:4For since God did not spare the angels when they sinned but chained them up in the darkness of Tartarus [probably Hades] to be reserved for judgment 2:5and did not spare the ancient world but preserved Noah, a proclaimer of righteousness, along with seven others when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly, neither will he spare those of you who walk in sin.

2:6Furthermore, he reduced the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes, judging them with a catastrophe, thus making them an example for those who would live sinfully. 2:7But he rescued righteous Lot who was very distressed by the unrestrained, lustful behavior of the wicked. 2:8(For the soul of that righteous man was tormented daily by seeing and hearing their sinful acts while he lived among them).

2:9By all this we see that the Lord knows how to rescue the godly out of trials and to reserve the sinful for punishment on the day of judgment.

2:10This is especially so for those who walk following the flesh, giving themselves over to their cravings for what is sexually impure, who reject the lordship of the Anointed One over them. These do not observe God’s limits, are arrogant, and are not even afraid to insult the glorious ones.* 2:11In contrast to this, angels, though greater in might and power than such carnal men, do not bring slanderous accusations against them [the fallen angels] before the Lord.

*Probably the fallen angles. See Jude 1:8,9.

2:12But these men, like wild animals without the ability to reason which are made to be captured and destroyed, shout reproachfully against those beings about which they are actually ignorant. But they will be destroyed in their depravity, 2:13receiving the “reward” of their evil ways.

These are those who are always the first to indulge themselves, daily seeking for all kinds of carnal pleasures. They are stains and blemishes when they eat together with you, taking pleasure in their delusions.

2:14They have eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, catching unstable souls in their traps. They have a heart which is trained in the desire for wealth, and consequently are children who are cursed. 2:15Turning their backs on the true way, they have fallen into error, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the “wages” [i.e. money and fame] of what was morally wrong. 2:16But he was rebuked for his sin by a dumb donkey which spoke with a man’s voice and stopped the insanity of the prophet.

2:17These are like springs without water and clouds driven by a storm for whom the blackness of darkness* has been reserved for the kingdom age {singular, Gk}.

*See Matthew 8:12; 25:30 and Jude 1:13.

2:18Using exaggerated, empty words, they seduce into sexual sin those who have just barely escaped from a life of error by appealing to their fleshly cravings. 2:19These talk about “liberty” but really they are slaves of carnal passion, for when someone is dominated by something, he is actually a slave to it.

2:20For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus the Anointed One, they are again entangled in them and overcome, their last condition has become worse than the first.

2:21For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment which was given to them. 2:22It has happened to them according to the true proverb: “The dog returns to his own vomit and the pig that is washed to wallowing in the mud.”

SECOND PETER CHAPTER 3

3:1Beloved, this is now the second letter which I have written to you and in both of them I strive to reawaken your sincerity of purpose by reminding you 3:2that you should remember the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets and the precepts of the Lord and Savior given to you through the sent ones.

3:3It is of primary importance to know that in the last days scoffers will come who will follow their own fleshly desires 3:4and say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For, since the time that the fathers passed away, everything has just gone on the same way as it always has since the beginning of creation.”

3:5But there is something they haven’t wanted to see: i.e. that a long time ago, there were heavens and an earth, which was partly out of the water and partly covered with water, which were held together by the word of God.

3:6And, by that same word, the world that then existed was destroyed by a flood of water. 3:7But the present heavens and the earth have been reserved for destruction by fire by the same word, waiting until the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

3:8But concerning this subject there is one thing of which you must not be unaware, beloved: i.e. that one day with the Lord is like one thousand years and one thousand years like one day.

3:9The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some consider slowness but is very patient with respect to us, not wishing that anyone would be utterly destroyed but that everyone would have a chance for repentance.

3:10But the day* of the Lord will come as a thief in the night during which the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will be dissolved by being set on fire, and the earth along with the works that are in it will be incinerated.

*This “day” which is the “day of the Lord,” is a one-thousand-year-long “day” and is also known as the “seventh day” and as the “millennium” or the “Millennial Kingdom.” Many different things will happen during that extended “day.”

3:11In view of the fact that these things are all going to be destroyed, what kind of persons ought you to be in all holy behavior and reverent respect for God, 3:12looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God, during which the heavens being on fire will be dissolved and the elements will melt, being burned up?

3:13But according to his promise, we look expectantly for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness makes its home. 3:14Therefore, beloved, since you are eagerly expecting these things, be diligent so that you may be found by him without defect, blameless, and in peace.

3:15And consider that the great patience of our Lord is an opportunity for more salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, also wrote to you. 3:16This is what he also has written in all his letters, speaking in them about these points, in which there are some things which are hard to understand and which the unenlightened and unstable distort to their own destruction, as they also do with the other scriptures.

3:17You then, beloved, knowing these facts beforehand, be on your guard so that you don’t fall from your own faithfulness, being carried away with the deceit of those who are without God’s restraint.

3:18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Master and Savior, Jesus the Anointed One. To him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.

Words in this translation found in italics are words which are implied by the Greek text but do not represent actual words in the Greek text. This practice is common in almost all modern translations. Occasionally, this translator has added words to the translation which represent his own ideas and opinions which, although they are based on his own biblical understanding, are not part of the actual Greek text. Such words are enclosed in brackets, like this [ ]. The reader should understand these words as being the opinion of the translator. In contrast to this, the words in these braces { } indicate legitimate, alternative translations or explanations. Words within parentheses () are part of the original Greek text. Such parentheses are often used in other New Testament translations also.

The First Letter Of

JOHN (1)

FIRST JOHN CHAPTER 1

1:1I am writing to you concerning that which was from the beginning: that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we have personally witnessed and our hands have handled – the Word {the Divine Expression} of God’s life.

1:2For God’s very own life was manifested and we have seen it and testify and declare to you the life – that eternal life of God – which was with the Father and was manifested to us.

1:3That which we have seen and heard we declare to you so that you too may have fellowship with us. Yes! And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus the Anointed One. 1:4We write these things to you so that your joy may be made complete.

1:5And this is the message which we have heard from him and announce to you: that God is light and there is no darkness whatsoever in him.

1:6If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we are deceivers and do not practice the truth. 1:7But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with each other and the blood of Jesus his Son purifies us from every kind of sin.

1:8If we say that we don’t have any sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 1:9When we agree with God’s judgment concerning our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all immorality of character.*

1:10If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us.

*Notice that God will do two separate things when we “agree with God’s judgment” (“speak together,” Gk) concerning our sins. First, he will forgive us. Then, he will “cleanse” us, which means he will work to clean up our lives so that we no longer sin.

FIRST JOHN CHAPTER 2

2:1Little children, I write these things to you so that you do not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father: Jesus the Anointed, the righteous One. 2:2He is the One who satisfied God’s demands concerning our sins and not only for ours but also for the entire world.

2:3And this is how we can be certain that we know him intimately: if we do what he leads us to do. 2:4He who says, “I know him” but does not follow his instructions is a liar and the truth is not in him. 2:5But whoever carefully observes what he shows him, the love of God has truly been perfected in him.

This is the way we know that we are truly in him: 2:6he who says he abides in him ought to conduct his life just as he conducted his life.

2:7Beloved, I am not writing new instructions to you but the old instruction which you had from the beginning. This “old instruction” is the word which you heard.

2:8And now, I am writing to you a new commandment, which is true in him and in you because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.

2:9It is this: he who says he is in the light but disrespects his brother is still in darkness even until now. 2:10He who loves his brother continues in the light and there is nothing in him which lures other brothers or sisters into sin. 2:11But he who disrespects his brother by luring him or her into sin is in darkness and walks in darkness and doesn’t know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

2:12I write to you little children because your sins are forgiven through his name. 2:13I write to you fathers because you know him profoundly who is from the beginning. I write to you young men because you have overcome the evil one.

I have written to you little children because you have become acquainted with the Father. 2:14I have written to you fathers because you have come to understand him who is from the beginning. I have written to you young men because you are strong, the word of God abides in you, and you have been victorious over the temptations of the evil one. 2:15Do not love the ways and values of this present world {kosmos, Gk}, neither love the things that are in this world. If anyone loves the ways, things, and values of this world, the love of the Father is not in him. 2:16For everything that is in this world – the impure desires of our flesh, the longings for what we see with our eyes, and the pride concerning our earthly life – does not have its source in the Father, but has its source in the system of this world [whose prince is the devil]. 2:17But the system {ways, values and things} of this world will disappear along with the fleshly cravings for it.

But he who does the will of God continues forever. 2:18Little children, it is the last period of time. And as you have heard that the one who takes the place of the Anointed One {antichrist} will come, even now many antichrists have already arisen. This is how we know that it is the last period of time.

2:19They went out from us but their source was not the same as ours. For if they had been from the same source, they would have continued with us, but they went out so that they might be exposed as not being from the same source that we have. 2:20But you have an anointing from the Holy One and you understand all these things.

2:21I have not written to you because you don’t know the truth but because you do know it and understand that no lie has its source in the truth. 2:22Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Anointed One? This is the essence of the one who takes the place of the Anointed One {antichrist}, someone who denies the Father and the Son. 2:23Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either. He who confesses the Son has the Father also.

2:24As for you, let that which you heard from the beginning remain in you. If that which you heard from the beginning continues in you, you also will continue in the Son and in the Father. 2:25And this is the promise which he promised us, even the eternal life of God.

2:26I have written these things to you concerning those who would lead you astray. 2:27And as for you, the anointing which you received from him remains in you so you don’t need to depend on any man to teach you. But just as his anointing teaches you concerning all things and is true and is no lie, even as it taught you until now, you should continue to abide in him. 2:28And now little children, continue in him so that when he is revealed we may have confidence and not be ashamed, and be separated from him at his appearing.

2:29Since you know that he is righteous, you understand that everyone who is expressing this righteousness is someone who is begotten by him.

FIRST JOHN CHAPTER 3

3:1Look at what kind of love the Father has granted to us, that we should be called “children of God himself.” The reason that the world does not recognize us is because it didn’t recognize him.

3:2Beloved, we are now the children of God but it is not yet unveiled what we will be. But we do know that when he is revealed, we will be glorified to be like him for we will see him then as he really is right now. 3:3And everyone who has this hope within himself purifies himself in order to be pure as he is pure.

3:4Everyone who sins rebels against God’s laws. Sin is rebellion against God. 3:5And you know that he was manifested to remove our sin. There is no sin in him; therefore, 3:6whoever abides in him does not sin. But whoever continues in sin has not seen him clearly and does not know him intimately.

3:7Little children, don’t let anyone lead you astray. He who exhibits righteousness is righteous in the same way as God is righteous. 3:8He who persistently practices sin has his source in the devil for the devil sinned from the beginning. The son of God was revealed for exactly this purpose: to destroy the works of the devil [to destroy sin].

3:9That which is fathered by God [i.e. the new spiritual man] does not sin because it is his [God’s supernatural] seed that has come to live in him. In fact, he [the new spiritual man] cannot sin because it is something which is fathered by God who is perfectly righteous.

3:10This is the way in which the offspring of God are revealed and the children of the devil are exposed: whoever does not express purity of character is not of God, neither he who does not love his brother.

3:11For this is the message which you heard from the beginning, that we should love each other. 3:12We must not be like Cain who had his source in the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he kill him? Because his works were actively evil and his brother’s righteous. 3:13Don’t be surprised then, brethren, if the world hates you.

3:14We know that we have crossed over from death into the life of God because we love the brethren. Anyone who does not love the brethren reveals that he still remains in death. 3:15In fact, whoever hates his brother is really a murderer and you know that no murderer has the eternal life of God abiding in him.

3:16This is the way we know his love because he laid down his life for the sake of serving us and, in the same way, we ought to lay down our lives for the sake of serving the brethren. 3:17For example, anyone who has this world’s wealth and sees his brother is in need but shuts up his feelings of compassion towards him, in what way does the love of God reside in him? 3:18Little children, our love must not consist of mere words or empty talking but of sincere actions.

3:19This is the way we know that we have our source in the truth and, therefore, can assure our consciences before him. 3:20But even if our conscience condemns us, God is greater than our conscience and understands everything.

3:21Beloved, if our conscience does not condemn us we have great confidence toward God 3:22and whatever we ask we receive from him because we follow his leading, doing the things that are pleasing in his sight.

3:23And this is what he commands, that we should be believing in the name of his Son, Jesus the Anointed One, and love each other according to what he has ordered us to do. 3:24And he who carefully follows his leading abides in him and he abides in him. And this is how we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit which he has given us.

FIRST JOHN CHAPTER 4

4:1Beloved, don’t believe every spirit, but scrutinize the spirits, whether or not they are of God because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 4:2This is the way you know the spirit that is from God: every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus the Anointed One has come in a human body is of God. 4:3Every spirit that does not acknowledge that Jesus the Son of God came in a human body is not of God. This is the spirit of the one who takes the place of the Anointed One {antichrist}, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

4:4Little children, your source is God and you will prevail over them because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 4:5They (the followers of those who take the place of the Anointed One) have their source in the world. Therefore, they speak what is in harmony with the world and so the world hears them.

4:6On the other hand, we have our source in God. He who knows God intimately hears us. He who does not have his source in God does not listen to us. In this way, we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

4:7Beloved, let us love each other for God is the source of genuine love and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God well. 4:8He who does not love does not know God intimately, for God is love. 4:9This is the way that the love of God was revealed to us. God has sent his only begotten Son into the world so that we might have God’s own life through him.

4:10Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the means of appeasing himself concerning our sins. 4:11Beloved, if God loved us so much, we also ought to love each other.

4:12No one has seen God the Father at any time, yet if we love each other, this is proof that God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. 4:13This is the way we know that we abide in him and he in us because he has given us a portion of his Spirit. 4:14And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.

4:15Whoever agrees with God that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him and he in God. 4:16And we have seen and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love. He who abides in love abides in God and God abides in him. 4:17This “abiding in him” is the way in which love is perfected in us so that we may have confidence on the day of judgment because the way he is (in his character, speech, and actions), this is the same way we are (in our character, speech, and actions) in this world.

4:18There is no fear in love, but perfect love throws fear out because fear brings mental torment. He who is fearful has not yet been made perfect in love. 4:19We have God’s love in us because he first loved us.

4:20If someone says, “I love God” but despises his brother, he is a liar. For he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how is it possible that he loves God who is not seeable? 4:21And this commandment we have from him, that he who loves God must love his brother also.

FIRST JOHN CHAPTER 5

5:1Whoever believes that Jesus is the Anointed One is conceived by God {has God’s life born into him}. And whoever loves him who fathered this new life also loves the one who is conceived by him.

5:2The evidence of our love for the children of God is that we love God and do what he leads us to do. 5:3For this is the expression of the love of God, i.e. when we follow his directions. And his directions are not a severe burden.

5:4That which is begotten of God [the new spiritual man] overcomes the world. This victory of overcoming the world is gained through our faith. 5:5And who is he who overcomes the world? It is the one who is actively believing, because Jesus is the Son of God.

5:6This is he who came by water and blood, even Jesus the Anointed One, not by the water only but by the water and by the blood. 5:7And it is the Spirit who testifies of this because the Spirit is the Spirit of truth. 5:8For there are three who testify: the Spirit, the water, and the blood, and the three agree as one.

5:9Since we accept the testimony of men, we should understand that the testimony of God carries much more weight. The testimony of God is this: he has testified concerning his Son. 5:10He who is believing into the Son of God has this same witness inside of himself. He who does not believe God is calling him a liar because he has not believed in what God has testified concerning his Son.

5:11And this is the evidence that God gave to us: his own eternal life. And this life is in his Son. 5:12He who is laying hold of the Son is possessing God’s eternal life. He who is not laying hold of the Son of God does not have God’s life.

5:13I have written these things to you so that you may be knowing that you have God’s eternal life, even you who are believing into the name of the Son of God. 5:14And this (having the Father’s own life) is the source of the confidence which we have with respect to him so we know that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

5:15And when we perceive that he is hearing us when we ask, we know that we will receive from him our petitions for which we have asked.

5:16If any man sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he may ask God and God will give him more of his own life. I say this concerning someone whose sin is not one which leads to death. There is a sin which leads to death. In that case, I do not say that we should even ask. 5:17All unrighteousness is sin. But there is sin which does not result in death.

5:18We know that that which is begotten by God [the new spiritual man] does not sin; therefore, he who is begotten by God keeps himself from habitually practicing sin and the evil one does not fasten himself onto him. 5:19We know that we have our source in God and that the whole world is held in the power of the evil one.

5:20And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us spiritual understanding so that we intimately know the true One. And we are in the true One, even in his Son, Jesus the Anointed One. This One is the true God – even the eternal life.

5:21Little children, guard yourselves from idols.*

*These are the things which take the place of God in your heart and life.

The Second Letter Of

JOHN (2)

SECOND JOHN CHAPTER 1

1:1The elder brother to the chosen lady and her children whom I love in truth. And you are not only loved by myself but also by all those who know the truth 1:2because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever.

1:3May grace, mercy, and peace be with you all from God the Father and from Jesus the Anointed One, the Son of the Father in truth and love.

1:4I rejoice greatly that I have encountered some of your children walking in truth according to the instructions we received from the Father.

1:5And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you but the one which we had from the beginning, that we love each other. 1:6And this is love: that we should walk according to what he leads us to do. This is the commandment, even as you heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.

1:7For many deceivers have gone out into the world, even those who do not confess that Jesus the Anointed One, the Son of God, came in a physical body. This is the sign of a deceiver and of the one who takes the place of the Anointed One {antichrist}.

1:8You yourselves need to be careful that you don’t lose the things which you have gained, in order that you receive a full reward. 1:9Whoever is violating and not abiding in the teaching of the Anointed One is not joined to God. He who abides in the teaching of the Anointed One is joined to both the Father and the Son.

1:10If any one comes to you and does not bring this teaching, don’t receive him into your house or even give him any greeting. 1:11For he who gives him a friendly greeting shares in his evil works.

1:12Although I have many things to write to you, I don’t want to write them with paper and ink but I hope to come to you and to speak face to face so that your joy may be made complete.

1:13The children of your chosen sister send you greetings.

Words in this translation found in italics are words which are implied by the Greek text but do not represent actual words in the Greek text. This practice is common in almost all modern translations. Occasionally, this translator has added words to the translation which represent his own ideas and opinions which, although they are based on his own biblical understanding, are not part of the actual Greek text. Such words are enclosed in brackets, like this [ ]. The reader should understand these words as being the opinion of the translator. In contrast to this, the words in these braces { } indicate legitimate, alternative translations or explanations. Words within parentheses () are part of the original Greek text. Such parentheses are often used in other New Testament translations also.

The Third Letter Of

JOHN (3)

THIRD JOHN CHAPTER 1

1:1The elder brother to Gaius the beloved, whom I love in truth. 1:2Beloved, I pray that you would prosper in all areas of life and be in good health in the same way that your soul prospers [through being transformed].

1:3For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of your faithfulness to the truth, even as you walk in truth. 1:4I don’t have any greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

1:5Beloved, you do a faithful work in whatever you do for those who are brethren, even when they are strangers to you. 1:6These have testified about your love towards them before the gathering of the called-out ones.

You do the right thing to help them along on their journey in a way which is worthy of God 1:7because they have gone out for the sake of the Name, taking nothing from the Gentiles.* 1:8We, therefore, ought to welcome such brothers so that we may be fellow-workers for the truth.

*This probably refers to Gentiles who have not been converted. John is implying us that we should not take money from the world to do spiritual work.

1:9I wrote some things to the community of the called-out ones. But Diotrephes, who is ambitious to be seen as “the leader” among them, doesn’t receive us.

1:10Therefore, if I come, I will call attention to the things which he does, which include spreading malicious rumors about us. And not being satisfied with this evil, he doesn’t receive the brethren who come from other places, and those who are willing to receive them he prohibits. And if they disobey him he throws them out of the gathering of the called-out ones.

1:11Beloved, don’t imitate what is evil but imitate that which is good. He who does good is of God. He who practices evil has not known God intimately through experience.

1:12Demetrius has a good testimony from all men and of the truth itself. Yes, we also testify concerning him and you know that our testimony is true.

1:13I have many things to write to you but I am unwilling to write them to you with pen and ink 1:14but I hope to see you soon and then we will speak face to face.

Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends by name.

Words in this translation found in italics are words which are implied by the Greek text but do not represent actual words in the Greek text. This practice is common in almost all modern translations. Occasionally, this translator has added words to the translation which represent his own ideas and opinions which, although they are based on his own biblical understanding, are not part of the actual Greek text. Such words are enclosed in brackets, like this [ ]. The reader should understand these words as being the opinion of the translator. In contrast to this, the words in these braces { } indicate legitimate, alternative translations or explanations. Words within parentheses () are part of the original Greek text. Such parentheses are often used in other New Testament translations also.

The Letter Of

JUDE

JUDE CHAPTER 1

1:1Jude, a slave of Jesus the Anointed One and brother of James, to those who are called – who are loved by God the Father and are kept secure by Jesus the Anointed One: 1:2May God’s mercy be real to you and may His peace and love be multiplied in your lives.

1:3Beloved, while I was being diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you to encourage you to earnestly struggle to continue in the faith which was once for all delivered to those separated for God.

1:4For there are certain men who have crept in secretly, even those who were already written about from ancient times, who will suffer the coming punishment. These are ungodly men who distort the grace of our God to justify unclean sexual behavior and who refuse the rulership of God over them, namely the lordship of Jesus the Anointed One.

1:5Now I want to remind you – even though you already understand all these things – that the Lord, having saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterwards destroyed those who were not believing. 1:6And even the angels, which did not remain in their own sphere of authority but left their proper place, he has kept perpetually bound with chains under darkness until the judgment of the great day.

1:7Also, consider Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring cities around them, who, in the same way, gave themselves over to practice sex outside of the marriage covenant and engaged in deviant sexual behavior. These are set before us as an example by suffering the judicial sentence of eternal fire.

1:8Yet in exactly the same way these people also, following their unclean imaginations, defile their bodies through sexual sins, reject God’s authority, and even insult glorious heavenly beings.

1:9In contrast to this, Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil as he disputed with him about the body of Moses, did not dare to speak slanderously against him but said, “The Lord rebuke you.”

1:10But these people speak slanderously of beings they really know nothing about and pervert themselves in the unclean practices which they know instinctively like animals without the ability to reason.

1:11Woe to them! For they have followed the way of Cain,* have run heedlessly after the error of Balaam who exercised his “ministry” for the sake of money, and will be destroyed as Korah was for opposing those whom God was truly using.

*Cain offered vegetables to God instead of a lamb. He imagined that what he could produce himself should be just as good for an offering as what God required.

1:12When you eat a meal together in an expression of God’s love, these people are right there in your midst like hidden reefs, fearlessly serving only themselves. They are like clouds without rain, carried here and there by the winds. They are like autumn trees without fruit, being twice dead, which will be uprooted.

1:13They are like wild waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame. They are wandering stars, for whom the outer darkness has been reserved during the kingdom age {singular, Gk}.

1:14It was concerning these that Enoch, the seventh descendant of Adam, prophesied saying, “Look, the Lord is coming with myriads of his holy ones 1:15to execute judgment upon all and to convict all the sinful among them of all their profane works which were immoral and all the offensive things which these boastful sinners have spoken which were in opposition to him.”**

**These “offensive things” include teachings and opinions which they claimed to be “from God” but which were really in opposition to his holy nature.

1:16These are complainers who, being discontented, are really following their own fleshly cravings. And through

**These “offensive things” include teachings and opinions which they claimed to be “from God” but which were really in opposition to his holy nature.

their talk, they exaggerate their own spiritual condition and flatter others to gain their own advantage.

1:17But you, beloved, remember that these were described beforehand through the words of the sent ones of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One. 1:18They explained to you that in the last time there will be deceivers following their own ungodly, unclean sexual desires. 1:19These are those who separate off their own groups of followers, who are being guided by the soul and are not holding onto the Spirit.

1:20But you, beloved, be building yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 1:21keeping yourselves in the love of God, and continually receiving the mercy of our Master, Jesus the Anointed One, thus enjoying the results of more of God’s eternal life.

1:22On some of the aforementioned people have mercy, but be using discernment! 1:23And some rescue with fear, snatching them out of the fire, while detesting even their garments which have been stained by their carnal behavior.

1:24Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to set you before the presence of his glory without blemish in joyful exultation, 1:25to the all-wise God our Savior, be glory, majesty, dominion, and power, both now and for all the ages. Amen.

Words in this translation found in italics are words which are implied by the Greek text but do not represent actual words in the Greek text. This practice is common in almost all modern translations. Occasionally, this translator has added words to the translation which represent his own ideas and opinions which, although they are based on his own biblical understanding, are not part of the actual Greek text. Such words are enclosed in brackets, like this [ ]. The reader should understand these words as being the opinion of the translator. In contrast to this, the words in these braces { } indicate legitimate, alternative translations or explanations. Words within parentheses () are part of the original Greek text. Such parentheses are often used in other New Testament translations also.

John’s God Given

REVELATION

REVELATION CHAPTER 1

1:1The Revelation of Jesus the Anointed One, which God gave him to show to his bondservant, even the things which, of necessity, will take place in the future. So made it known by sending his angel to his bondservant John 1:2who is a witness of the word of God, namely of the testimony of Jesus the Anointed One, even of everything which he saw.

1:3Blessed is the one who reads and the one who hears the words of the prophecy, staying attentive to the things that are written in it, for the time is closing in.

1:4John, to the seven communities of the called-out ones that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is, who was, and who is to come, from the seven spirits which are before his throne, 1:5and from Jesus the Anointed One, who is the faithful witness {or martyr}, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the governing powers of the earth.

To him who is loving us and is liberating* us from our sins through his own blood 1:6and is making us into a kings and priests to his God and Father – to him be the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

1:7Look, he will come with the clouds and every eye will see him – even those who pierced him. And all the tribes of the earth will beat their breasts with grief over him. This is how it must be. Amen.

*In many versions of the New Testament, Revelation 1:5 uses the word “wash” as in “washed us from our sins.” But this is probably a copyist error since the spelling of this word is very close to the Greek word for “free” or “liberate” found in other, more trustworthy manuscripts. According to R. N. Champlin, Ph.D., in his New Testament Commentary, the word “wash” is only found in later Greek manuscripts of lesser importance. Therefore, these are less reliable than earlier ones. Such manuscripts seem to be copying a manuscript labeled P.046 since the word “wash” first appears there.

1:8“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God, “who is, who was, and who is to come – the Almighty.”

1:9I John – your brother and partaker with you in the affliction, kingdom, and perseverance which are in Jesus – was on the island which is called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus the Anointed One.

1:10I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day and I heard a loud voice behind me, like the sounding of a trumpet, 1:11saying, “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven gatherings of the called-out ones: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”

1:12So I turned to see the voice which spoke with me, and, having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. 1:13There among the lampstands stood One resembling the Son of man, clothed with a garment which came down to his feet and with a golden band wrapped around his chest.

1:14And his head and his hair were shining brilliantly, being white like wool or snow; his eyes were like a flashing flame of fire; 1:15his feet were like radiant molten brass, as if it were being refined in a furnace with fire; and his voice was like the resonance of abundant rushing water.

1:16And he had seven stars in his right hand; a sharp two-edged sword proceeded out of his mouth; and his countenance was like the sun, shining with its full strength.

1:17Consequently, when I saw him, I fell down at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand upon me saying, “Don’t be afraid. I am the first and the last, 1:18even the living One. I was dead, but see here, now I am alive forever and ever. Therefore, I have the keys of {the power over} both death and Hades.

1:19“So then, write the things which you see, even the things which are and the things which will take place afterward. 1:20The secret of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven gatherings of the called-out ones and the seven lampstands are the seven gatherings of the called-out ones.”

REVELATION CHAPTER 2

2:1To the angel of the gathering of the called-out ones in Ephesus write: This is what he who holds the seven stars in his right hand, even he who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says: 2:2“I know your works, your arduous labor, and your perseverance, and that you don’t put up with men who are corrupt, even testing those who call themselves ‘sent ones’ but are not and finding them to be liars. 2:3And you have patiently endured many things for my name’s sake and have not grown weary.

2:4“But I have this against you, that you have abandoned your first love. 2:5Remember, therefore, from where you have fallen and repent and live as you did at first or else I will come to you swiftly and will remove your lampstand from its place unless you repent.

2:6“‘But you do have this which is good, that you detest the works of the Nicolaitans,* which I also detest. 2:7He who has a hearing ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the gatherings of the called-out ones. To him who overcomes, I will grant him to eat from the tree of life which is in the middle of the Paradise of God.”

*There is no known historical group with this name. The meaning is probably understood from the two Greek words of which it is composed, i.e. Nicao, meaning “to rise above” or “subdue,” and Laos meaning “the common people” or the “laity.” Thus this seems to indicate the beginning of the practice of having a special class of “ministers” who rise up over and dominate the rest, something which Jesus evidently detests.

2:8And to the angel of the gathering of the called-out ones in Smyrna write: This is what the first and the last, the One who was dead and lived again, says:

2:9“I know your affliction and your poverty (but you are rich in spiritual things) and the slander of those who call themselves ‘Jews’ (God’s people) but they are not, but instead are a congregation of Satan. 2:10Don’t be afraid of the things which you are about to suffer. Look, the devil intends to throw some of you into prison so that you will be tested and you will have affliction for ten days.** Be faithful unto death and I will give you the crown of God’s life.

**Possibly a reference to ten years of suffering.

2:11“He who has a hearing ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the gatherings of the called-out ones. He who overcomes will not be harmed by the second death.”

2:12And to the angel of the gathering of the called-out ones in Pergamum write: The One who has the sharp twoedged sword says: 2:13”I know where you live, even where Satan’s throne is, and that you are holding tightly to my name and do not deny my faith, even at the time in which Antipas [opposed to the things of the world], my faithful witness {martyr}, was killed among you where Satan resides.

2:14“But I have a few things against you because you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to lay a snare in front of the children of Israel: i.e. to partake of [participate in] idolatrous sacrifices,* namely to practice sexual immorality.

2:15“In a similar way, you also have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 2:16Therefore, repent or else I will come to you swiftly and I will wage war against them with the sword of my mouth.

2:17“He who has a hearing ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the gatherings of the called-out ones. To him who overcomes, I will grant him to eat from the hidden manna and I will give him a white stone and a new name will be written on the stone which no one knows except he who receives it.”

2:18And to the angel of the gathering of the called-out ones in Thyatira write: The Son of God who has eyes like a flashing flame of fire and feet like radiant molten brass, says these things:

2:19“I know your works: your love, faith, service, and endurance, and that your last works are more than the first. 2:20But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman ‘Jezebel,’ who calls herself a prophetess.* Yet she teaches and seduces my servants to practice sexual immorality, namely to partake of [participate in] idolatrous sacrifices.

*It seems possible that this teaching of Baalam and Jezebel was to entice the believers to participate in idolatrous rituals which often involved sex and orgies. While it is often thought that Jesus is admonishing the gatherings of the called-out ones not to eat certain foods, this seems very unlikely since Paul teaches us in 1 Corinthians chapter 8, etc. that these things are not of paramount importance and depend upon the conscience of each believer. Supporting the above translation is the fact that it harmonizes well with “Jezebel’s” other activities and her judgments. (See also Proverbs 30:20 NKJV with reference to one way in which the word “eat” was used in the Hebrew culture.)

2:21“And I gave her time to repent but she did not repent of her impure sexual behavior. 2:22Look, she will be thrown into a bed with sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great affliction, unless they repent of their acts; 2:23and I will destroy her children with death.

“Then all the gatherings of the called-out ones will know that I am the One who examines the innermost thoughts and the hearts. And I will repay each one of you according to your works.

2:24“But I say to the rest of you who are in Thyatira – to those who don’t have this teaching, who don’t know what they call ‘the deep things’ but which are really of Satan – I lay no other burden on you. 2:25Nevertheless, that which you have, hold securely until the time that I come.

2:26“And he who overcomes and he who keeps on doing my works until the end, I will give him authority over the nations. 2:27He will rule them with a scepter of iron just as the vessels of the potter are broken into shards since I also have received this from my Father. 2:28And I will give him the star of the dawn.

2:29“He who has a hearing ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the gatherings of the called-out ones.”

REVELATION CHAPTER 3

3:1And to the angel of the gathering of the called-out ones in Sardis write: He who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars says, “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive but you are, in fact, dead.

3:2“Become vigilant and strengthen the remaining ones who are about to be cast off, for I have not found your works to be complete in the presence of my God. 3:3Remember, therefore, the way in which you received and heard. Pay attention and repent! If, then, you are not vigilant, I will come upon you like a thief and you will not be aware of the time I will come upon you.

3:4“But you have a few names in Sardis who have not stained their garments. Therefore, they will walk with me in brilliant white, for they are worthy. 3:5He who overcomes will be clothed in radiant, white garments and in no way will I erase his name from the scroll of God’s life. And I will acknowledge his name before my Father and before his angels.

3:6“He who has a hearing ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the gatherings of the called-out ones.”

3:7And to the angel of the gathering of the called-out ones in Philadelphia write: The holy one, the true one, the one who has the key of David, the one who opens and no one shuts, and who shuts and no one opens says:

3:8“I know your works (look, I have set an open door before you which no one can shut) for you have a little strength, have kept my word, and have not denied my name. 3:9Look, I will deliver to you the ones from the congregation of Satan – those who say they are Jews (God’s people) but are not and are lying – see here, I will make them come and worship before your feet so that they will understand that I have loved you.

3:10“Because you kept my word steadfastly, I will also keep you from the hour of testing which is ready to come upon the entire world to test those who live on the earth. 3:11I will come promptly {at just the right time}. Hold securely what you have so that no one takes your crown.

3:12”He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God and he will not go out anymore. And I will write upon him the name of my God, the name of the city of my God – the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God – and my own new name.

3:13“He who has a hearing ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the gatherings of the called-out ones.”

3:14And to the angel of the gathering of the called-out ones in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true witness {or martyr}, the source of the creation of God, says:

3:15“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor boiling hot. You should be cold or boiling hot. 3:16But since you are lukewarm and neither boiling hot nor cold, I am about to vomit you out of my mouth.

3:17“For you say, ‘I am wealthy, have many possessions, and have no needs,’ yet you don’t realize that you

are really miserable, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 3:18I counsel you to buy from me gold purified by fire so that you would be truly wealthy, and have brilliant white clothing with which to cover yourselves so that the shame of your nakedness will not be exposed, and eye medicine to put on your eyes so that you may truly see.

3:19“As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline. Therefore, burn with zeal and repent. 3:20Look, I am standing outside the door and knocking. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him and he with me. 3:21He who overcomes, I will grant him to sit down with me in my throne, as I also overcame and sat down with my Father in his throne.

3:22“He who has a hearing ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the gatherings of the called-out ones.”

REVELATION CHAPTER 4

4:1After these things I looked and saw an open door in the heavens. And the first voice that I heard – the one which sounded like a trumpet speaking with me – said, “Come up here and I will show you the things which must happen after this.”

4:2Immediately, I was in the Spirit and, look, there was a throne set in the heavens and One sat upon it. 4:3The throne was like a jasper stone and sardius, and there was a rainbow arching over the throne which looked like emerald. 4:4And surrounding the throne were twenty-four thrones. And I saw twenty-four ancient ones sitting on these thrones clothed in radiant white garments and on their heads they wore golden crowns.

4:5And lightning, celestial voices, and thunder came out from the throne. And there were seven fiery torches burning in front of the throne which are the seven spirits of God.

4:6And in front of the throne, there was a pavement like a “sea” of transparent crystal, like clear ice. And beside the the throne, even surrounding the throne, there were four living beings* full of eyes, both in the front and in the back. 4:7And the first being was like a lion, the second being like a calf, the third being had a face like a man and the fourth being was like a flying eagle.

*Probably cherubim which cover the presence of God with their wings (Ps 80:1, Ez 10:12; 28:14).

4:8The four living beings each have six wings which are covered on both sides with eyes. And they never cease day and night saying, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was, who is, and who always will be.”

4:9And when these living beings glorify, honor, and thank the One who sits on the throne, even the One who lives eternally, 4:10the twenty-four ancient ones prostrate themselves before him who sits on the throne, worship him who lives eternally, and throw down their crowns before the throne saying, 4:11“You are worthy, our Lord and our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power, for you created all things and through your will they exist and were created.”

REVELATION CHAPTER 5

5:1And I saw on the right side of the One who sat on the throne a scroll written on both sides, which was sealed with seven seals. 5:2And I saw a powerful angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to break open its seals?” 5:3And no one in the heavens or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or examine it.

5:4So I wept profusely because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to examine it. 5:5But one of the ancient ones said to me, “Don’t weep! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome to be able to open the scroll and break open its seven seals.”

5:6And I looked and saw a Lamb, with the appearance of having been slain, standing in the center of the throne and of the four living beings and in the middle of the circle of the ancient ones. He has seven horns and seven eyes which are the seven spirits of God being sent out into all the earth.

5:7So he came forth,* having taken the scroll from the right side of the One who sat on the throne. 5:8And when he had taken the scroll, the four living beings and the twentyfour ancient ones prostrated themselves before the Lamb, each one having a harp and golden bowls full of incense which are the prayers of those set apart for God.

*It seems that the Lamb is appearing in the very “center” of the eternally invisible Father (See Col 1:15; Heb 11:27; Jn 6:46; I Tim 1:17; 6:16; etc.) and then “coming forth” from Him as He did when He came to earth (Jn 16:26). Unlike physical objects, spiritual things or beings can occupy the same space at the same time.

5:9And they sang a new song saying, “You are worthy to take the scroll and to break open its seals, for you were slain and thereby purchased for God with your blood men from every tribe, language group, people, and nation 5:10and made them to be a kings and priests to our God. And they will reign on the earth.”

5:11And in my vision, I heard the voices of many angels encircling the throne, the living beings, and the ancient ones. And the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands, 5:12declaring with a loud voice, “The Lamb who has been slain is worthy to receive the power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and blessing!”

5:13And every creature which is in the heavens, on the earth, under the earth, and in the sea and all things that are in them, I heard declaring, “May the blessing, the honor, the glory, and the dominion be to him who sits on the throne, namely to the Lamb for all eternity!” 5:14And the four living beings said, “Amen!” And the ancient ones prostrated themselves and worshipped.

REVELATION CHAPTER 6

6:1Then I saw when the Lamb broke open one of the seven seals and I heard one of the four living beings saying with a voice which sounded like thunder, “Come and see!” 6:2And I looked and saw a white horse and he who sat on it had a bow. Then a crown was given to him and he went out conquering and to conquer.

6:3And when he broke open the second seal, I heard the second living being saying, “Come and see!” 6:4And another horse went out which was fiery red and he who sat on it was granted to take peace from the whole earth so that they, the inhabitants of the earth, would kill each other. And a large sword was given to him.

6:5And when he broke open the third seal, I heard the third living being saying, “Come and see!” And I looked and saw a black horse and he who sat on it had a balance {or pair of scales} in his hand. 6:6And I heard a voice which seemed as if it was coming from among the four living beings saying, “A measure of wheat for a denarius and three measures of barley for a denarius and do not harm the supply of olive oil and of the wine.” (See 2 Kings 7:1).

6:7And when he broke open the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living being saying, “Come and see!”

6:8And I looked and saw a pale horse and the name of the one who sat on him was “Death” and Hades came with him. And they were given authority over one fourth of the earth to kill with the sword, with famine, with death, and by the wild animals of the earth.

6:9And when he broke open the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. 6:10And they cried with a loud voice saying, “How long, O Master, the holy and true One, how long will it be before you judge our cases and avenge our blood on those who live on the earth?”

6:11Then each one was given a brilliant, white robe and was told that they should be patient for a little while longer until the time came when those who are both their fellow servants and brethren would be killed just as they were.

6:12And I saw when he broke open the sixth seal and there was a huge earthquake. The sun became black as sackcloth woven of hair and the moon became as blood. 6:13And some of the stars of the heavens were thrown down to the earth as a fig tree drops its unripe figs when it is shaken by a strong wind. 6:14And the heaven was torn in two and was being rolled up like a scroll, and every mountain and island was shaken out of its place.

6:15Then the kings of the earth, the great men, the military commanders, the rich, and the strong, along with every slave and free person, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains. 6:16And they cried out to the mountains and the rocks saying, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One who sits on the throne, even from the wrath of the Lamb, 6:17for the great day of his anger has come and who is able to stand?”

REVELATION CHAPTER 7

7:1After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth so that no wind would blow on the earth, or on the sea, or on any tree.

7:2Then I saw another angel having the seal of the living God ascend from the rising sun. And he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels who were given a commission to damage the earth and the sea 7:3saying, “Don’t damage the earth, or the sea, or the trees until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”

7:4And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty and four thousand, who were sealed from every tribe of the children of Israel.

7:5From the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed; from the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand; from the tribe of Gad twelve thousand; 7:6from the tribe of Asher twelve thousand; from the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand; from the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand; 7:7from the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand; from the tribe of Levi twelve thousand; from the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand; 7:8from the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand; from the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand; and from the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed.

7:9I looked and saw a huge crowd which no one could count from every nation and from all tribes, peoples, and language groups, standing before the throne, even before the Lamb, clothed in radiant white robes having palm fronds in their hands.

7:10And they were crying out with a loud voice saying, “Salvation is from our God who sits on the throne, even from the Lamb!”

7:11And all the angels who were standing in a circle around the throne, around the ancient ones and the four living beings, prostrated themselves on their faces before the throne and worshipped God 7:12saying, “Amen! Blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and strength belong to our God for all eternity. Amen!”

7:13And one of the ancient ones spoke to me saying, “Who are these who are clothed in radiant white robes and where did they come from?” 7:14And I said to him, “My lord, you know.”

And he said to me, “These are those who are coming out of the tremendous, widespread persecution for they have washed their robes and made them white through the blood of the Lamb. 7:15Therefore, they are in front of the throne of God and they serve him day and night in his temple. And the One who sits on the throne will live together with them.

7:16“They will not be hungry anymore, nor be thirsty anymore, neither will the sun beat down on them nor any burning heat, 7:17for the Lamb – the One who is in the center of the throne – will be their shepherd and he will guide them to springs of water of the Father’s life. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

REVELATION CHAPTER 8

8:1And when he broke open the seventh seal, there followed a silence in heaven for about half an hour. 8:2And I saw the seven angels* who stand before God and seven trumpets were given to them. 8:3And another angel having a golden incense censer came and stood by the altar.

*Possibly the “seven spirits of God” (Rev 1:4, Heb 1:6, Ps 104:4.).

Then a large quantity of incense was given to him so that he could offer it together with the prayers of all those set apart for God upon the golden altar which was in front of the throne. 8:4And the smoke of the incense from the angel’s hand, together with the prayers of those set-apart ones, ascended before God.

8:5Then the angel took the incense censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it onto the earth. And it caused noises, thunder, lightning, and an earthquake. 8:6Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

8:7And the first sounded and it caused hail and fire mingled with blood, which were scattered onto the earth. And one third of the earth was burned up, including one third of the trees and all green vegetation.

8:8Then the second angel sounded and something like a huge mountain burning with fire was thrust up into the sea and one third of the sea became like blood. 8:9One third of the living creatures which were in the sea died and one third of the ships were destroyed.

8:10Then the third angel sounded and a large “star” fell from heaven burning like a torch. And it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 8:11The name of the “star” is called “Wormwood” {or “Calamity”}. One third of the waters became “wormwood” and many men died from the water because it became bitter.

8:12Then the fourth angel sounded and one third of the sun was struck, along with one third of the moon and one third of the stars so that they will give one third less light. Consequently, the daylight will be one third less bright and the night sky also.

8:13And I looked and I heard an eagle flying in midair, crying out with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe, to those who live on the earth because of the sounding of the trumpets of the other three angels, who will yet sound!”

REVELATION CHAPTER 9

9:1When the fifth angel sounded, I saw a “star” falling from the heavens to the earth. And he was given the key to the pit of the abyss. 9:2So he opened up the pit of the abyss and smoke billowed up out of the pit, like the smoke of a huge furnace. And the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke from the pit.

9:3And a kind of locust came out of the smoke onto the earth and a powerful capacity was given them, as earthly scorpions have “power.” 9:4They were told that they could not injure the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

9:5These were not permitted to kill men but to torment them for five months. And their torment was like the torment of a scorpion sting, when it stings a man. 9:6And in those days men will seek death but will not be able to find it. They will desire to die, but death will flee from them.

9:7And the shapes of the locusts were like horses prepared for battle. On their heads there was something resembling wreaths of gold and their faces were like men’s faces. 9:8And they had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lion’s teeth. 9:9They had breastplates like breastplates of iron and the sound of their wings was like the sound of many horse-drawn chariots rushing to war.

9:10And they had tails with a stinger like scorpions. And their power to hurt men for five months was in their tails. 9:11They have a king over them, the angel of the bottomless abyss. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in the Greek language he has the name Apollyon {the Destroyer}. 9:12The first “woe” is past. Look, there are still two “woes” after this.

9:13Then the sixth angel sounded and I heard a voice from the horns of the golden altar which is before God, 9:14saying to the sixth angel who had one of the trumpets, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates!” 9:15So the four angels were released who had been prepared for that hour, day, month, and year, so that they would kill one third of mankind. 9:16And the number of the armies of the cavalry was two hundred million {myriads of myriads}. I heard their number.

9:17And this is how I saw the “horses” in the vision. Those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, dark blue and yellow; the heads of the horses were like heads of lions and fire, smoke, and brimstone came out of their “mouths.”

9:18By these three plagues one third of mankind was killed: by the fire, the smoke, and the brimstone which came out of their mouths. 9:19For the power of the “horses” is in their mouth and in their tails. For their tails are like serpents and have “heads” with which they do damage.*

*These “horses” could possibly be some kind of vehicle or military equipment. The “tail like a serpent” could be a barrel of some kind of gun or launcher. The “fire,” “smoke,” and “brimstone” could signify the use of explosive projectiles.

9:20But the rest of mankind who were not killed with these plagues refused to repent of the works of their hands so that they would not worship demons, even the idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood which can neither see, hear, or walk. 9:21And they did not repent of their murders or of their drug use or of their sex outside of the marriage covenant or of their stealing from others.

REVELATION CHAPTER 10

10:1Then I saw another powerful angel coming down from the heavens and clothed with a cloud. A rainbow was over his head, his face was radiant like the sun, and his feet were like columns of fire.

10:2In his hand he had a small scroll which was open. He stood with his right foot on the sea and his left on the land 10:3and he cried with a loud voice like a roaring lion. And when he cried out, the seven thunders uttered their voices.

10:4And when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write but I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up the things which the seven thunders spoke and don’t write them down.”

10:5And the angel which I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his right hand to the heavens 10:6and swore an oath by the One who lives for all eternity – the One who created the heavens and everything in them, the earth and everything on it, and the sea and everything in it – that the time would not be extended any further, 10:7but at the time of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is ready to sound his trumpet, the secret plan of God will be completed, which is contained in the message of good news which was announced by his servants the prophets.*

*This is the “last trumpet.” (See 1 Cor 15:52 and 1 Thess 4:16).

10:8And the same voice which I had heard from heaven spoke to me again saying, “Go, take the small scroll which is open in the hand of the angel which stood on the sea and on the land.”

10:9So I went to the angel, saying to him, “Give me the small scroll.” And he said to me, “Take it and devour it. It will taste sweet as honey in your mouth, but it will be hard to digest.” 10:10So I took the small scroll out of the angel’s hand and ate all of it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth but when I had eaten it, my stomach was upset. 10:11And he

said to me, “You must prophesy again over many peoples, nations, language groups, and kings.”

REVELATION CHAPTER 11

11:1Then I was given a measuring rod. And the angel said, “Rise up and measure the temple of God, measure the altar, and measure those who worship in it. 11:2But the outer court of the temple leave out and don’t measure it, for it has been given over to the nations, for they will crush the inhabitants of the city of the holy ones under their feet for forty-two months.*

*The “inhabitants of the city of the holy ones” is quite possibly a reference to God’s people instead of Jerusalem.

11:3“Then I will give a special anointing to my two witnesses so that they will prophesy, clothed in sackcloth, one thousand two hundred and sixty days.” 11:4These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands which stand in the presence of the Lord of the earth [Zech 4:2,3]. 11:5And if anyone tries to hurt them, fire “comes out of their mouth” {singular, Gk} and consumes their enemies. And if anyone decides to hurt them, it has been determined that they will be killed in this way [See 2 Kings 1:10,12].

11:6These have authority to shut the heaven so that it doesn’t rain during the days of their prophecy. And they have authority over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with all kinds of calamities, as often as they think necessary.

11:7Then when they have finished their testimony, the beast which comes up out of the abyss will make war against them, prevail over them, and kill them.

11:8And their corpse {singular, Gk} will lie in the public square of the mega “city,” which is called spiritually “Sodom” and “Egypt”’ which is where their Lord was also crucified. 11:9And the peoples, tribes, language groups, and nations will see their corpse {singular, Gk} three and onehalf “days,” and will not allow their corpses {plural, Gk} to be buried.

11:10And those who live on the earth will be delighted because of their deaths, and will rejoice and send gifts to each other because these two prophets tormented those who live on the earth.

11:11But after the three and one-half “days” the breath of life from God entered into them and they stood up on their feet and tremendous fear fell on those who saw them. 11:12And they heard a loud voice from the heavens saying to them, “Ascend to this place!” So they went up into the heavens in the cloud and their enemies saw them.

11:13And at that time there was a huge earthquake and one tenth of the “city” fell and seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake. And the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of the heavens.

11:14The second “woe” has passed. Look, the third “woe” is coming swiftly. 11:15Then the seventh angel sounded* and this generated loud voices in heaven saying, “The dominion over this world has become that of our Lord and his Anointed One and he will reign for ever and ever.”**

*The “last trumpet.” (See 1 Cor 15:52 and 1 Thess 4:16). **The “secound coming” of Jesus the Anointed One.

11:16And the twenty-four ancient ones, who sit on their thrones in the presence of God, fell on their faces and worshipped God 11:17saying, “We give you thanks, O Lord God the Almighty, the One who is, who was, and who is coming because you have taken upon yourself your great power and reigned.

11:18“And the nations were angry, for their punishment has come – even the time for the dead to be judged and the time to give the just rewards to your servants the prophets, to those set apart for God, and to those who fear your name, both the insignificant and the important, and to utterly destroy those who pervert the earth.”

11:19Then the temple of God which is in heaven was opened and the ark of his covenant was seen there in his temple. And there followed lightning, celestial sounds, thunder, an earthquake, and huge hail.

REVELATION CHAPTER 12

12:1A tremendous sign also appeared in the heavens: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. 12:2She had a child in her womb and she cried out, being in labor and being in grievous pain to give birth.

12:3And another sign appeared in the heavens. There appeared an enormous fiery dragon with seven heads. There were ten horns on one of the heads and seven crowns, one on each of the heads. 12:4And his tail swept up one third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth so that when she gave birth he could devour her child.

12:5Then she gave birth to a son, a male, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. But her son was caught up to God, even to his throne [see Rev 2:27]. 12:6But the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God so that they could nourish her there for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.

12:7This event [of vs. 5] started a war in heaven. Michael and his angels went out to battle against the dragon. So the dragon and his angels fought against them. 12:8But they did not prevail, neither was their place in heaven found any more.

12:9So the enormous dragon, the old serpent, the one who is called “the Devil” and “Satan,” was thrown down. This deceiver of the whole world was thrown down to the earth and his angels were thrown down with him.

12:10And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, “Now, the salvation, the power, the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Anointed One have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, the one who accused them in the presence of our God day and night. 12:11And they* overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they didn’t love their soul lives, even to the point of death.

*By being called “they,” this male child is now revealed as being a group of people who had overcome the devil rather than just an individual.

12:12“Therefore, rejoice O heavens and the ones who live in them. Woe to the earth and to the sea because the devil has come down to you in a towering rage, knowing that he only has a short time.”

12:13Then when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. 12:14But the woman was given two wings of the great eagle so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place where she would be nourished for a time, times, and half a time, away from the face of the serpent.

12:15So the serpent poured water like a river out from his mouth after the woman, in order to carry her away with the river. 12:16But the earth helped the woman and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth. 12:17And the dragon became enraged with the woman and went out to make war with the rest of her offspring who obey what God tells them to do and have the evidence of Jesus in their lives.

REVELATION CHAPTER 13

13:1Then I stood on the sand beside the sea. And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads. On his horns were ten crowns and on his heads was the slanderous name. 13:2The beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power, his throne, and tremendous authority.

13:3And one of his heads seemed to have been wounded, resulting in death, but his deadly wound was healed. So the whole world admired the beast 13:4and they worshipped the dragon who gave his authority to the beast. And they worshipped the beast saying, “Who is like the beast? And who is strong enough to wage war against him?”

13:5And he was given a mouth speaking great things and slander. And he was given superhuman power to make war for forty-two months. 13:6So he opened his mouth to slander God and to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle and even those who live in the heavens.

13:7And it was granted to him to make war against those set apart for God and to overcome them. And he was given power over every tribe, people, language group, and nation. 13:8And all who live on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written in the scroll of God’s life of the Lamb who has been slain since the foundation of the world. 13:9If any one has a hearing ear, let him hear.

13:10If anyone is destined for captivity, he will go into captivity. If anyone is destined to be killed with the sword, he will be killed with the sword. This is the test of the patience and the faith of those set apart for God.

13:11Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth. He had two horns resembling a lamb, yet he spoke like the dragon. 13:12He exercises all the power of the first beast in his presence and he causes the earth and those who live on it to worship the first beast whose death wound was healed.

13:13And he does impressive miracles so that he even causes fire to come down out of heaven to the earth in front of men. 13:14So he deceives those who live on the earth through the miracles which were granted him to do in the presence of the beast and tells those who live on the earth to make an image of the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. 13:15And it was granted to him to give breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast could speak and decree that anyone who does not worship the image of the beast would be killed.

13:16And he forces everyone – the insignificant and the important, the rich and the poor, the free peoples and the slaves – to be given an impression of his character on their right hand or on their forehead,* 13:17in order that no one would be able to conduct business {buy or sell} except someone who has the impression of his character – either the name of the beast or the number of his name.

*This may mean that when people receive the “impression of his character” {CHARAGMA Greek} they adopt his religious position which then governs what they think (their forehead) and how they act (their right hand).

13:18Here is wisdom. He who has understanding, let him calculate the number of the beast because it is a man’s number, for his number is six hundred sixty-six.

REVELATION CHAPTER 14

14:1Then I looked and saw the Lamb standing on mount Zion. And with him were one hundred and forty-four thousand having his name and the name of his Father engraved on their foreheads. 14:2And I heard a voice from the heavens like the resonance of many rushing waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the sound which I heard was like the sound of many harpists playing their harps.

14:3And they sang a new song before the throne and in the presence of the four living beings and of the ancient ones. Yet no one is able to learn that song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand – those who had been purchased from the earth.

14:4These are those who were not defiled with women,* for they are virgins. These are those who are following the Lamb wherever he goes. These were purchased from among men as first-fruits to God and to the Lamb. 14:5And no lie was found in their mouth for they are unblemished.

*The common translation of this verse as rendered here makes the 144,000 only males. This does not seem in harmony with God’s heart toward women. Furthermore, it implies that marriage is “defiling” since only “virgins” are not “defiled.” Yet, God considers marriage holy. Therefore, a different reading may be warranted and even needed.

Tischendorf, in the 8th edition of his Greek text, uses the singular word “woman” here instead of the plural, “women.” This could possibly lead to the understanding that these were not physical “virgins” but were those who had not defiled themselves with the woman which could be Babylon the Great Prostitute. (See verse 8.)

14:6Then I saw another angel flying in mid-air, having eternal good news to proclaim to those who reside on the earth, even to every nation, tribe, language group, and people. 14:7And he called out with a loud voice saying, “Fear God and give him glory, for the time of his judgment has come. And worship the One who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the springs of water!”

14:8Then another, a second angel, followed saying, “The ‘Great Babylon’ is fallen, is fallen because of the wine of the passion of her defiling intercourse which she offered all nations to drink.”

14:9And another angel, a third, followed them saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast or his image or receives the impression of his character on his forehead, or on his hand – 14:10he himself will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is being mixed undiluted in the cup of his anger. For he will be put to the test by fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 14:11The smoke of their torturous test will ascend until the eon of the eons, and those who worship the beast or his image or whoever receives the impression of his name will have no respite day or night.”

14:12This is the test of the endurance of those set apart for God. This is for those who obey what God tells them to do and have the faith of Jesus. 14:13And I heard the voice from the heavens saying, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, for they will rest from their labors and their works follow after them.”

14:14Then I looked and saw a white cloud, and One like a Son of man was sitting on the cloud, having a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. 14:15And another angel came out from the temple, crying out with a loud voice to the one who sat on the cloud, “Send out your sickle and reap, for the time to reap has come because the harvest of the earth is ripe.”

14:16And he who sat on the cloud swept his sickle across the earth and the earth was reaped. 14:17Then another angel, also having a sharp sickle, came out from the temple which is in the heavens.

14:18And another angel – the one who has power over fire – came out from the altar and he called out with a loud voice to the one with the sharp sickle saying, “Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.” 14:19So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vintage from the “grapevine” of the earth and threw it into the huge winepress of the wrath of God.

14:20So the contents of the winepress were crushed outside the city and blood came out from the winepress as deep as the bridles of the horses and flowed for the distance of one thousand six hundred stadia [about 300 km].

REVELATION CHAPTER 15

15:1Then I saw another large and amazing sign in the heavens: seven angels having the final seven calamities, for through them the wrath of God is discharged. 15:2And I saw something like a “sea” of transparent crystal mingled with fire [See Rev 4:6].

And those who had been victorious over the beast, over his image, and over the number of his name, were standing on this “sea” of transparent crystal and had the harps of God. 15:3And they sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb saying, “Your works are great and marvelous, O Lord God, the Almighty. Your ways are righteous and true, you King of the eons. 15:4Who would not reverence you, O Lord, and glorify your name for you alone are holy? For all the nations will come and worship before you because your righteous acts have been revealed.”

15:5Then after these things, I looked and the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. 15:6And the seven angels which had the seven calamities came out from the temple, clothed with spotless, shining linen and with golden bands fastened around their chests.

15:7And one of the four living beings gave the seven angels seven golden bowls filled to the brim with the wrath of God who lives for all eternity.

15:8Then the temple was filled with a haze from the glory of God and from his power so that no one was able to enter into the temple until the seven calamities of the seven angels were concluded.

REVELATION CHAPTER 16

16:1Then I heard a loud voice coming out of the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God onto the earth!” 16:2So the first angel went and poured out his bowl onto the earth and it became a terrible, severe sore on the men who had the impression of the character of the beast and who worshipped his image.

16:3Then the second angel poured out his bowl onto the sea and it became like the blood of a dead man and every living creature in the sea died.

16:4Then the third angel poured out his bowl onto the rivers and the springs of water and they became blood.

16:5And I heard the angel of the waters saying, “You – the One who is and who was and is to come, the Holy One – are righteous in judging them in this way. 16:6For they poured out the blood of the holy ones and the prophets, so you have given them blood to drink, which is what they deserve.” 16:7And I heard a voice from the altar saying, “Yes, O Lord God the Almighty, your judgments are true and righteous.”

16:8And the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun and it was granted to it to scorch men with fire. 16:9And men were scorched with sweltering heat, so they cursed the name of God who has the authority over these calamities. But they didn’t repent and give him glory.

16:10And the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast and his kingdom was enveloped in darkness. So they gnawed their tongues because of the misery 16:11and they cursed the God of the heavens because of their misery and their sores. But they didn’t repent of their works.

16:12And the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates and its water dried up so that the way would be prepared for the kings that come from the east.

16:13Then I saw three unclean spirits resembling frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 16:14These are spirits of evil deities which do signs, going out to the kings of the entire world to gather them together for the battle of the great day of the Almighty God.

16:15“Pay attention! I will come like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays spiritually awake, taking care of his ‘garments’ so that he doesn’t walk naked and have everyone see his shame.” 16:16And they (the evil spirits) gathered them together in the place which is called in Hebrew HarMagedon. 16:17Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air. And a loud voice came out of the temple of the heavens, even from the throne, saying, “It is completed!”

16:18And there was lightning, celestial sounds, and thunder, and an enormous earthquake took place. This earthquake was more widespread and more powerful than any that have ever happened since there were men on the earth.

16:19And the “great city” was divided into three parts and the cities of the nations fell. And the “Great Babylon” was remembered before God to give to her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

16:20And every island fled away and mountains were not found. 16:21And huge hail came down out of heaven on the men,* every stone weighing about a talent [between 45 and 91 kg]. So the men cursed God because of the calamity of the hail, for the calamity of it was extremely great.

*The “men” here are the soldiers who are gathered together to fight against the Lord at Har-Magedon (vs 16). This is the “winepress” where God will crush the “grapes” (which are men) with huge hailstones coming down with incredible speed from the sky resulting in a river of blood about one meter deep. (See Rev 14:18-20).

REVELATION CHAPTER 17

17:1And one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me saying, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who sits on many waters 17:2with whom the kings of the earth defiled themselves. And those who live on the earth have been intoxicated with the wine of her defiling intercourse.” 17:3So he carried me away in the Spirit to a desolate place. There I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

17:4The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold, precious stones, and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of the things which she seduced men to idolize, which is the impurity of her defiling intercourse.

17:5And upon her forehead a name was written, MYSTERY, THE GREAT BABYLON, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE OBJECTS OF LUST {IDOLATRY, WHAT THE WORLD WORSHIPS} OF THE EARTH.

17:6Then I realized that the woman was drunk with the blood of those set apart for God and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I was astonished with great astonishment.

17:7And the angel said to me, “Why were you astonished? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carried her which has the seven heads and the ten horns. 17:8The beast that you saw existed, then came to nothing, but is about to ascend out of the abyss and then go away to destruction. And those who live on the earth will be astonished – those whose names have not been written in the scroll of God’s life from the founding of the world – when they see the beast: how he once existed, then came to nothing, but will appear again.

17:9“Here is the mind that has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sits 17:10and they are also seven kings. The five have fallen,* the one is, the other has not come yet, but when he comes, he must continue for a little while.

*This “five have fallen” must include the corresponding mountains and heads.

17:11“And the beast which existed and came to nothing is himself also an eighth. He is from the same source as the seven and he will be led to destruction.

17:12“And the ten horns which you saw (on the last head) are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they will receive authority as kings with the beast for a brief time. 17:13These have one purpose so they give their power and authority to the beast.

17:14“These will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will be victorious over them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings. And those who accompany him are the called, ‘chosen’ and ‘faithful.’” 17:15And he said to me, “The waters which you saw where the prostitute sits are peoples, multitudes, nations, and language groups.

17:16“And the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these will pursue the prostitute with hatred and will strip her of her treasures, cause her to be naked [humiliated], devour her flesh, and then burn her up completely with fire. 17:17For God has put it in their hearts to fulfill his decree, even to carry out this one judgment and to give their kingdoms to the beast until the words of God are fulfilled.

17:18“And the woman whom you saw is that pervasive ‘city’ which dominates the kings of the earth.”

REVELATION CHAPTER 18

18:1After these things I saw another angel descending from the heavens having great power and the earth was illuminated by his glory. 18:2And he cried out with a loud voice saying, “The Great Babylon is fallen, is fallen and has become a habitation of demons, a den of every unclean spirit, and a stronghold of every impure and detestable winged creature.

18:3“For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her defilement and the kings of the earth have

had defiling intercourse with her, and the merchants of the earth have become wealthy through the influence of her self-indulgence.”

18:4And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out from her, my people, so that you don’t get involved in her sins and so that you don’t end up partaking of her calamities. 18:5For her collective sins have even reached to heaven and God will punish her offenses.

18:6“He will pay her back according to what she has done, even double according to her works. In the cup which she mixed, pour out to her double. 18:7To the degree that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, to that degree give her torment and grief. For she says in her heart, ‘I sit like a queen, am not a widow, and will never see sorrow.’”

18:8Therefore, in one day her calamities will come: i.e. death, sorrow, and famine. And she will be completely burned up with fire, for the Lord God who judges her is mighty.

18:9And the kings of the earth who had defiling intercourse with her, namely “living luxuriously,” will weep and beat their breasts over her when they see the smoke of her burning fire, 18:10keeping far away because of the fear of her torment saying, “Woe, woe, that enormous city, that powerful city Babylon, for in one hour your judgment has come!”

18:11And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her for no one buys their merchandise any more: 18:12merchandise of gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet garments, all aromatic wood, every item of ivory; every item made of expensive wood, of brass, of iron, or of marble; 18:13cinnamon, spices, incense, ointment, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, grain, cattle, sheep, merchandise of horses, vehicles, and even the bodies and souls of men.

18:14And the ripe fruits which your soul craved have gone away from you, and all the shiny and luxurious things have been destroyed, and you will never find them again. 18:15The merchants of these things, who were made wealthy by selling these things to her, will keep far away because of the fear of her torment, weeping, and mourning 18:16saying, “Woe, woe, the enormous ‘city,’ the one who was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and lavished with gold, precious stones, and pearls! 18:17For in one hour such tremendous wealth was destroyed.”

So every ship captain, all those who sail in ships, seamen, and as many as work at sea, stood far away 18:18and cried out seeing the smoke of her burning fire saying, “What could ever again be like the enormous ‘city?’”

18:19And they threw dust on their heads and cried, weeping and mourning, saying, “Woe, woe, that enormous ‘city,’ through which all who had their ships in the sea were made wealthy by selling her valuable goods, for in one hour she has been destroyed!”

18:20Rejoice over her, O heaven, along with those set apart for God, the sent ones, and the prophets, for God has judged your case against her. 18:21And a powerful angel lifted up a stone like a huge millstone and threw it into the sea saying, “This is the way in which Babylon, the enormous city, will be thrown down and will never be found again.

18:22“And the sound of harpists, musicians, flute-players, and trumpeters will never be heard in you again; and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you again; and the sound of a mill will never be heard in you again; 18:23and the light of a lamp will never shine in you again; and the voice of the bridegroom and the bride will never be heard in you again: because your businessmen were the famous men of the earth and because all the nations were led astray by the deception of what you caused men to idolize.” [See Js 4:4].

18:24And the blood of prophets and of those set apart for God was discovered in her, along with the blood of all those who have ever been killed on the earth.

REVELATION CHAPTER 19

19:1After these things I heard something like the roaring sound of a large crowd in the heavens saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God! 19:2For his judgments are correct and just, for he has judged the great prostitute – she who corrupted the earth with her defiling intercourse – and he has taken revenge for the blood of his servants at her hand.”

19:3And a second time they said, “Hallelujah!” And her smoke rises up forever and ever. 19:4And the twenty-four ancient ones and the four living beings fell down and worshipped God who sits on the throne, saying, “Amen! Hallelujah!”

19:5And a voice came out from the throne saying, “Give praise to our God all you his servants, you who fear him, both the insignificant and the important!”

19:6And I heard something like the sound of a huge crowd, like the sound of rushing water, and like the voice of roaring thunder saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns! 19:7Let us rejoice and exult, and let us give the glory to him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, for his wife has prepared herself!”

19:8And it was granted to her to dress herself in fine linen, spotless and radiant. For the fine linen is [represents] the righteous acts of those set apart for God.

19:9And he said to me, “Write: Those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb are blessed.” Then he said to me, “These words of God are true.” 19:10And I fell down at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Be careful not to do that. I am a fellow servant with you and with your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of who and what Jesus is comes through those speaking for God by the Spirit.”

19:11Then I saw the heavens opened, and look, there was a white horse and he who sat on it was called “Faithful and True.” He is the One who judges and wages war in righteousness. 19:12His eyes are flaming fire. On his head are many diadems having names written on them, even names which no one understands but he himself.

19:13He is clothed in a garment dipped in blood and his name is called “The Word of God.” 19:14And the armies of the ones in the heavens followed him on white horses, clothed in fine linen, spotless and brilliant.

19:15A sharp double-edged sword came out of his mouth so that he would strike the nations with it, and he will rule them with a scepter of iron. And he treads the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God, the Almighty. 19:16He has on his garment, even on his thigh, a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

19:17Then I saw an angel standing in the sun and he cried out with a loud voice calling to all the birds that fly in mid-air, “Come and be gathered together to the great feast of God 19:18so that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, both the insignificant and the important.”

19:19And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the One who sat on the horse and against his army. 19:20And the beast was captured along with the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, with which he deceived those who received the impression of the character of the beast and those who worshipped his image.

These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with brimstone. 19:21And the rest were killed with the sword of the One who sat on the horse, even the sword which came out of his mouth. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.*

*This seems to be another reference to the “winepress battle” where Jesus speaks his word and gigantic hailstones fall on the opposing soldiers, thus annihilating the armies of the beast and thereby providing a great “feast” for the carrion eating birds.

REVELATION CHAPTER 20

20:1Then I saw an angel coming down out of the heavens having the key to the abyss and a large chain in his hand. 20:2And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent which is the devil and Satan who has deceived the entire world, and bound him for one thousand years.

20:3So he threw him into the abyss, locked it, and sealed it over him so that he could not be deceiving the nations any more until the thousand years are fulfilled. After this he must be released for a little while.

20:4Then I saw thrones and they** sat upon them, and the reward of judging was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, even for the word of God, and whoever had not worshipped the beast or his image and had not received the impression of his character on their forehead or on their hand.* And they lived and reigned with the Anointed One for one thousand years.

**See Revelation 2:27 and 12:5.

*Accepting the religion of the beast, which then directs their thoughts and their actions.

20:5(The rest of the dead did not live again until the one thousand years are fulfilled.) This is the first resurrection. 20:6He is blessed and holy who has a share in the first resurrection. The second death has no influence upon such a person. They will be priests of God and of the Anointed One and will reign with him for one thousand years.

20:7And when the thousand years are fulfilled, Satan will be released from his prison 20:8and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war, the soldiers numbering as many as the sand of the sea.

20:9And they went up over the breadth of the earth and encircled the camp of the holy ones and the beloved city. But fire came down out of heaven and devoured them.

20:10Then the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet also already are, and they will be tormented day and night until the eon of the eons.

20:11Then I saw an enormous white throne and the One who sat upon it, from whose presence the earth and the heavens fled away and no place was found for them.

20:12And I saw the dead, the important and the insignificant, standing before the throne and scrolls were opened. And another scroll was opened which is the scroll of God’s life. Then the dead were judged for their works according to the things which were written in the scrolls. 20:13And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and everyone was judged according to his works.

20:14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, even the lake of fire. 20:15And if anyone was not found written in the scroll of God’s life he was thrown into the lake of fire.

REVELATION CHAPTER 21

21:1And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 21:2And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride being adorned for her husband.

21:3And I heard a loud voice out of the throne saying, “Look, the dwelling place of God is now with men and he will live with them, they will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 21:4And he will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death will exist no more, neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain any more, for these previous things have passed away.”

21:5And he who sits on the throne said, “Look, I make all things new.” And he said, “Write: for these words are reliable and true.”

21:6Then he said to me, “It has been completed. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will freely give water to the one who is thirsty from the fountain of God’s life. 21:7“He who overcomes will inherit all things and I will be his God, and he will be my son.

21:8“But concerning those who are fearful, those who are without faith, those whose sin produces a foul stench, those who are murderers, those who practice sex outside of the marriage bond, those who use drugs and practice witchcraft, those who worship something other than God, and all those who are liars – their assigned share will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”*

*The “first death” is the death of the body, the “second death” is the destruction of the soul.

21:9Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls which were filled to the brim with the seven last calamities came and spoke with me saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

21:10And he carried me away in the Spirit to a large and lofty mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem, coming down out of the heavens from God, 21:11having the glory of God.

Her brilliance was like a very precious stone, like a gemstone, transparent as crystal, 21:12having a large, high wall with twelve gates. And at the gates there were twelve angels. The gates had names written on them which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. 21:13On the east there were three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. 21:14The wall of the city had twelve foundations and on them were written the twelve names of the twelve sent ones of the Lamb.

21:15And he who spoke with me had a golden measuring rod to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. 21:16The city is laid out in a square pattern so the length and width of it are equal.

Then he measured the city with the rod and it was twelve thousand stadia {about 2,200 km}. The length, width, and height of it are equal.* 21:17And he measured its wall, which measured one hundred and forty and four cubits {about 66 meters}, using human measurements according to the angel.

*Even though the width, length and height are equal, it is not a cube, but a mountain, i.e. Mount Zion (Hb 12:22).

21:18And the building of the wall was jasper and the city was of pure gold, spotless and transparent. 21:19The foundations of the wall of the city were decorated with all varieties of precious stones. The first foundation was decorated with jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; 21:20the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, carnelian; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst.

21:21And the twelve gates were twelve pearls. Each one of the gates was made of a single pearl. And the city square of the city was pure gold, like transparent crystal. 21:22I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty is her temple – even the Lamb.

21:23And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on her, for the glory of God is her light and her lamp is the Lamb. 21:24The nations of the saved will walk by her light and the kings of the earth will bring their glory

into her. 21:25And there will never be a time when her gates will be shut for there will be no night there. 21:26And they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations to her.

21:27And nothing unholy, or he who worships anything other than God, which is a lie, will ever enter into it, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s scroll of God’s life.

REVELATION CHAPTER 22

22:1And he showed me a river of water of the Father’s life, transparent as clear ice, flowing out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 22:2In the center of the city square, and on both sides of the river was the tree of God’s life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, producing its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree were for ministering to the nations. 22:3And the curse will be no more. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it and his servants will serve him. 22:4They will see his face and his name will be on their foreheads.

22:5And there will be no more night. They will not need lamps or sunlight, for the Lord God will be their light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

22:6Then he said to me, “These words are reliable and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants these things which must take place in a short space of time.

22:7“Understand this, I will come promptly {at just the right time}. He who pays careful attention to the words of the prophecy of this scroll is blessed.”

22:8And I, John, am he who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. 22:9And he said to me, “Be careful not to do that! I am a fellow-servant with you and with your brethren the prophets and with those who pay careful attention to the words of this scroll. Worship God!”

22:10And he said to me, “Don’t seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, for the time is closing in. 22:11He who is unrighteous, let him continue to be unrighteous; and he who is filthy, let him continue to be filthy; and he who is righteous, let him continue to be righteous; and he who is holy, let him continue to be holy.”

22:12“Look, I will come promptly {at just the right time} and my reward is with me to recompense each man according to his work. 22:13I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. 22:14Those who “wash their robes” [purify their lives] are blessed, since in this way they may have the right to eat of the tree of God’s life and may enter into the city by the gates.

22:15“Outside are the dogs, those who practice witchcraft and use drugs, those who practice sex outside of the marriage union, the murderers, and those who worship something other than God {idolaters}, even everyone who loves and does what is false {the opposite of the truth}.

22:16“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to proclaim these things to you for the benefit of the gatherings of the calledout ones. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright star of the dawn.”

22:17And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And he who hears, let him say, “Come!” And he who is thirsty, let him come; he who desires it, let him take the water of the Father’s life without cost.

22:18I testify to every man who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: if any man adds to them, may God add to him the calamities which are written in this scroll. 22:19And if anyone takes away from the words of the scroll of this prophecy, may God take away his part from the tree of God’s life and from the holy city – things which are written about in this scroll.

22:20He who testifies concerning all these things says, “Truly I will come promptly {at just the right time}.” Amen, come, Lord Jesus.

22:21May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with those set apart for God. Amen.

Words in this translation found in italics are words which are implied by the Greek text but do not represent actual words in the Greek text. This practice is common in almost all modern translations. Occasionally, this translator has added words to the translation which represent his own ideas and opinions which, although they are based on his own biblical understanding, are not part of the actual Greek text. Such words are enclosed in brackets, like this [ ]. The reader should understand these words as being the opinion of the translator. In contrast to this, the words in these braces { } indicate legitimate, alternative translations or explanations. Words within parentheses () are part of the original Greek text. Such parentheses are often used in other New Testament translations also.

Other Free Christian Books

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Christian books written by this translator:

THY KINGDOM COME

LET MY PEOPLE GO!

GENUINE SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY

BABYLON

ANTICHRIST

SIGNS OF THE END

REPENTANCE UNTO LIFE

SEEDS

SEEDS 2

FROM GLORY TO GLORY

THE HIDDEN GOSPEL

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Translators email: davidwdyer@yahoo.com