Fervent Still

Praying Through Financial Stress

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God's Heart for Justice: A 5-Day Devotional on Compassion and Action

In the Fast Lane: Come to Me

Building a Life That Matters for Good -  Buckle Up: Accepting the Free Gift of God’s Grace

There Is No Law Against These Things

Building a Life That Matters for Good -  the Quest for Significance

Friendship vs. Dating: What Does the Bible Say About Relationship Beginnings?

Building Wealth God’s Way: Biblical Keys to Increase Your Net-Worth

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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk2SA">
 <div class="chapter ch13" data-usfm="2SA.13">
 <div class="label">13</div><div class="s1">Amnon and Tamar</div><div class="p"> 1In the course of time, Amnon son of David fell in love with Tamar, the beautiful sister of Absalom son of David.</div><div class="p"> 2Amnon became so obsessed with his sister Tamar that he made himself ill. She was a virgin, and it seemed impossible for him to do anything to her.</div><div class="p"> 3Now Amnon had an adviser named Jonadab son of Shimeah, David&#8217;s brother. Jonadab was a very shrewd man. 4He asked Amnon, &#8220;Why do you, the king&#8217;s son, look so haggard morning after morning? Won&#8217;t you tell me?&#8221;</div><div class="p">Amnon said to him, &#8220;I&#8217;m in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom&#8217;s sister.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5&#8220;Go to bed and pretend to be ill,&#8221; Jonadab said. &#8220;When your father comes to see you, say to him, &#8216;I would like my sister Tamar to come and give me something to eat. Let her prepare the food in my sight so I may watch her and then eat it from her hand.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. When the king came to see him, Amnon said to him, &#8220;I would like my sister Tamar to come and make some special bread in my sight, so I may eat from her hand.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 7David sent word to Tamar at the palace: &#8220;Go to the house of your brother Amnon and prepare some food for him.&#8221; 8So Tamar went to the house of her brother Amnon, who was lying down. She took some dough, kneaded it, made the bread in his sight and baked it. 9Then she took the pan and served him the bread, but he refused to eat.</div><div class="p">&#8220;Send everyone out of here,&#8221; Amnon said. So everyone left him. 10Then Amnon said to Tamar, &#8220;Bring the food here into my bedroom so I may eat from your hand.&#8221; And Tamar took the bread she had prepared and brought it to her brother Amnon in his bedroom. 11But when she took it to him to eat, he grabbed her and said, &#8220;Come to bed with me, my sister.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12&#8220;No, my brother!&#8221; she said to him. &#8220;Don&#8217;t force me! Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don&#8217;t do this wicked thing. 13What about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you.&#8221; 14But he refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped her.</div><div class="p"> 15Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, &#8220;Get up and get out!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 16&#8220;No!&#8221; she said to him. &#8220;Sending me away would be a greater wrong than what you have already done to me.&#8221;</div><div class="p">But he refused to listen to her. 17He called his personal servant and said, &#8220;Get this woman out of my sight and bolt the door after her.&#8221; 18So his servant put her out and bolted the door after her. She was wearing an ornate#13:18 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain; also in verse 19. robe, for this was the kind of garment the virgin daughters of the king wore. 19Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the ornate robe she was wearing. She put her hands on her head and went away, weeping aloud as she went.</div><div class="p"> 20Her brother Absalom said to her, &#8220;Has that Amnon, your brother, been with you? Be quiet for now, my sister; he is your brother. Don&#8217;t take this thing to heart.&#8221; And Tamar lived in her brother Absalom&#8217;s house, a desolate woman.</div><div class="p"> 21When King David heard all this, he was furious. 22And Absalom never said a word to Amnon, either good or bad; he hated Amnon because he had disgraced his sister Tamar.</div><div class="s1">Absalom Kills Amnon</div><div class="p"> 23Two years later, when Absalom&#8217;s sheepshearers were at Baal Hazor near the border of Ephraim, he invited all the king&#8217;s sons to come there. 24Absalom went to the king and said, &#8220;Your servant has had shearers come. Will the king and his attendants please join me?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 25&#8220;No, my son,&#8221; the king replied. &#8220;All of us should not go; we would only be a burden to you.&#8221; Although Absalom urged him, he still refused to go but gave him his blessing.</div><div class="p"> 26Then Absalom said, &#8220;If not, please let my brother Amnon come with us.&#8221;</div><div class="p">The king asked him, &#8220;Why should he go with you?&#8221; 27But Absalom urged him, so he sent with him Amnon and the rest of the king&#8217;s sons.</div><div class="p"> 28Absalom ordered his men, &#8220;Listen! When Amnon is in high spirits from drinking wine and I say to you, &#8216;Strike Amnon down,&#8217; then kill him. Don&#8217;t be afraid. Haven&#8217;t I given you this order? Be strong and brave.&#8221; 29So Absalom&#8217;s men did to Amnon what Absalom had ordered. Then all the king&#8217;s sons got up, mounted their mules and fled.</div><div class="p"> 30While they were on their way, the report came to David: &#8220;Absalom has struck down all the king&#8217;s sons; not one of them is left.&#8221; 31The king stood up, tore his clothes and lay down on the ground; and all his attendants stood by with their clothes torn.</div><div class="p"> 32But Jonadab son of Shimeah, David&#8217;s brother, said, &#8220;My lord should not think that they killed all the princes; only Amnon is dead. This has been Absalom&#8217;s express intention ever since the day Amnon raped his sister Tamar. 33My lord the king should not be concerned about the report that all the king&#8217;s sons are dead. Only Amnon is dead.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 34Meanwhile, Absalom had fled.</div><div class="p">Now the man standing watch looked up and saw many people on the road west of him, coming down the side of the hill. The watchman went and told the king, &#8220;I see men in the direction of Horonaim, on the side of the hill.&#8221;#13:34 Septuagint; Hebrew does not have this sentence.</div><div class="p"> 35Jonadab said to the king, &#8220;See, the king&#8217;s sons have come; it has happened just as your servant said.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 36As he finished speaking, the king&#8217;s sons came in, wailing loudly. The king, too, and all his attendants wept very bitterly.</div><div class="p"> 37Absalom fled and went to Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. But King David mourned many days for his son.</div><div class="p"> 38After Absalom fled and went to Geshur, he stayed there three years. 39And King David longed to go to Absalom, for he was consoled concerning Amnon&#8217;s death.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk2SA">
 <div class="chapter ch14" data-usfm="2SA.14">
 <div class="label">14</div><div class="s1">Absalom Returns to Jerusalem</div><div class="p"> 1Joab son of Zeruiah knew that the king&#8217;s heart longed for Absalom. 2So Joab sent someone to Tekoa and had a wise woman brought from there. He said to her, &#8220;Pretend you are in mourning. Dress in mourning clothes, and don&#8217;t use any cosmetic lotions. Act like a woman who has spent many days grieving for the dead. 3Then go to the king and speak these words to him.&#8221; And Joab put the words in her mouth.</div><div class="p"> 4When the woman from Tekoa went#14:4 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts spoke to the king, she fell with her face to the ground to pay him honor, and she said, &#8220;Help me, Your Majesty!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5The king asked her, &#8220;What is troubling you?&#8221;</div><div class="p">She said, &#8220;I am a widow; my husband is dead. 6I your servant had two sons. They got into a fight with each other in the field, and no one was there to separate them. One struck the other and killed him. 7Now the whole clan has risen up against your servant; they say, &#8216;Hand over the one who struck his brother down, so that we may put him to death for the life of his brother whom he killed; then we will get rid of the heir as well.&#8217; They would put out the only burning coal I have left, leaving my husband neither name nor descendant on the face of the earth.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 8The king said to the woman, &#8220;Go home, and I will issue an order in your behalf.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9But the woman from Tekoa said to him, &#8220;Let my lord the king pardon me and my family, and let the king and his throne be without guilt.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 10The king replied, &#8220;If anyone says anything to you, bring them to me, and they will not bother you again.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 11She said, &#8220;Then let the king invoke the Lord his God to prevent the avenger of blood from adding to the destruction, so that my son will not be destroyed.&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;As surely as the Lord lives,&#8221; he said, &#8220;not one hair of your son&#8217;s head will fall to the ground.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12Then the woman said, &#8220;Let your servant speak a word to my lord the king.&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;Speak,&#8221; he replied.</div><div class="p"> 13The woman said, &#8220;Why then have you devised a thing like this against the people of God? When the king says this, does he not convict himself, for the king has not brought back his banished son? 14Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But that is not what God desires; rather, he devises ways so that a banished person does not remain banished from him.</div><div class="p"> 15&#8220;And now I have come to say this to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. Your servant thought, &#8216;I will speak to the king; perhaps he will grant his servant&#8217;s request. 16Perhaps the king will agree to deliver his servant from the hand of the man who is trying to cut off both me and my son from God&#8217;s inheritance.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 17&#8220;And now your servant says, &#8216;May the word of my lord the king secure my inheritance, for my lord the king is like an angel of God in discerning good and evil. May the Lord your God be with you.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 18Then the king said to the woman, &#8220;Don&#8217;t keep from me the answer to what I am going to ask you.&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;Let my lord the king speak,&#8221; the woman said.</div><div class="p"> 19The king asked, &#8220;Isn&#8217;t the hand of Joab with you in all this?&#8221;</div><div class="p">The woman answered, &#8220;As surely as you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything my lord the king says. Yes, it was your servant Joab who instructed me to do this and who put all these words into the mouth of your servant. 20Your servant Joab did this to change the present situation. My lord has wisdom like that of an angel of God&#8212;he knows everything that happens in the land.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 21The king said to Joab, &#8220;Very well, I will do it. Go, bring back the young man Absalom.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 22Joab fell with his face to the ground to pay him honor, and he blessed the king. Joab said, &#8220;Today your servant knows that he has found favor in your eyes, my lord the king, because the king has granted his servant&#8217;s request.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 23Then Joab went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. 24But the king said, &#8220;He must go to his own house; he must not see my face.&#8221; So Absalom went to his own house and did not see the face of the king.</div><div class="p"> 25In all Israel there was not a man so highly praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the top of his head to the sole of his foot there was no blemish in him. 26Whenever he cut the hair of his head&#8212;he used to cut his hair once a year because it became too heavy for him&#8212;he would weigh it, and its weight was two hundred shekels#14:26 That is, about 5 pounds or about 2.3 kilograms by the royal standard.</div><div class="p"> 27Three sons and a daughter were born to Absalom. His daughter&#8217;s name was Tamar, and she became a beautiful woman.</div><div class="p"> 28Absalom lived two years in Jerusalem without seeing the king&#8217;s face. 29Then Absalom sent for Joab in order to send him to the king, but Joab refused to come to him. So he sent a second time, but he refused to come. 30Then he said to his servants, &#8220;Look, Joab&#8217;s field is next to mine, and he has barley there. Go and set it on fire.&#8221; So Absalom&#8217;s servants set the field on fire.</div><div class="p"> 31Then Joab did go to Absalom&#8217;s house, and he said to him, &#8220;Why have your servants set my field on fire?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 32Absalom said to Joab, &#8220;Look, I sent word to you and said, &#8216;Come here so I can send you to the king to ask, &#8220;Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there!&#8221;&#8198;&#8217; Now then, I want to see the king&#8217;s face, and if I am guilty of anything, let him put me to death.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 33So Joab went to the king and told him this. Then the king summoned Absalom, and he came in and bowed down with his face to the ground before the king. And the king kissed Absalom.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk2SA">
 <div class="chapter ch15" data-usfm="2SA.15">
 <div class="label">15</div><div class="s1">Absalom&#8217;s Conspiracy</div><div class="p"> 1In the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him. 2He would get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone came with a complaint to be placed before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him, &#8220;What town are you from?&#8221; He would answer, &#8220;Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.&#8221; 3Then Absalom would say to him, &#8220;Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you.&#8221; 4And Absalom would add, &#8220;If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that they receive justice.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him. 6Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts of the people of Israel.</div><div class="p"> 7At the end of four#15:7 Some Septuagint manuscripts, Syriac and Josephus; Hebrew forty years, Absalom said to the king, &#8220;Let me go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the Lord. 8While your servant was living at Geshur in Aram, I made this vow: &#8216;If the Lord takes me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the Lord in Hebron.#15:8 Some Septuagint manuscripts; Hebrew does not have in Hebron.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9The king said to him, &#8220;Go in peace.&#8221; So he went to Hebron.</div><div class="p"> 10Then Absalom sent secret messengers throughout the tribes of Israel to say, &#8220;As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets, then say, &#8216;Absalom is king in Hebron.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221; 11Two hundred men from Jerusalem had accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and went quite innocently, knowing nothing about the matter. 12While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David&#8217;s counselor, to come from Giloh, his hometown. And so the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom&#8217;s following kept on increasing.</div><div class="s1">David Flees</div><div class="p"> 13A messenger came and told David, &#8220;The hearts of the people of Israel are with Absalom.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 14Then David said to all his officials who were with him in Jerusalem, &#8220;Come! We must flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom. We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake us and bring ruin on us and put the city to the sword.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 15The king&#8217;s officials answered him, &#8220;Your servants are ready to do whatever our lord the king chooses.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 16The king set out, with his entire household following him; but he left ten concubines to take care of the palace. 17So the king set out, with all the people following him, and they halted at the edge of the city. 18All his men marched past him, along with all the Kerethites and Pelethites; and all the six hundred Gittites who had accompanied him from Gath marched before the king.</div><div class="p"> 19The king said to Ittai the Gittite, &#8220;Why should you come along with us? Go back and stay with King Absalom. You are a foreigner, an exile from your homeland. 20You came only yesterday. And today shall I make you wander about with us, when I do not know where I am going? Go back, and take your people with you. May the Lord show you kindness and faithfulness.&#8221;#15:20 Septuagint; Hebrew May kindness and faithfulness be with you</div><div class="p"> 21But Ittai replied to the king, &#8220;As surely as the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether it means life or death, there will your servant be.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 22David said to Ittai, &#8220;Go ahead, march on.&#8221; So Ittai the Gittite marched on with all his men and the families that were with him.</div><div class="p"> 23The whole countryside wept aloud as all the people passed by. The king also crossed the Kidron Valley, and all the people moved on toward the wilderness.</div><div class="p"> 24Zadok was there, too, and all the Levites who were with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set down the ark of God, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until all the people had finished leaving the city.</div><div class="p"> 25Then the king said to Zadok, &#8220;Take the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the Lord&#8217;s eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling place again. 26But if he says, &#8216;I am not pleased with you,&#8217; then I am ready; let him do to me whatever seems good to him.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 27The king also said to Zadok the priest, &#8220;Do you understand? Go back to the city with my blessing. Take your son Ahimaaz with you, and also Abiathar&#8217;s son Jonathan. You and Abiathar return with your two sons. 28I will wait at the fords in the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.&#8221; 29So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem and stayed there.</div><div class="p"> 30But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went; his head was covered and he was barefoot. All the people with him covered their heads too and were weeping as they went up. 31Now David had been told, &#8220;Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.&#8221; So David prayed, &#8220;Lord, turn Ahithophel&#8217;s counsel into foolishness.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 32When David arrived at the summit, where people used to worship God, Hushai the Arkite was there to meet him, his robe torn and dust on his head. 33David said to him, &#8220;If you go with me, you will be a burden to me. 34But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, &#8216;Your Majesty, I will be your servant; I was your father&#8217;s servant in the past, but now I will be your servant,&#8217; then you can help me by frustrating Ahithophel&#8217;s advice. 35Won&#8217;t the priests Zadok and Abiathar be there with you? Tell them anything you hear in the king&#8217;s palace. 36Their two sons, Ahimaaz son of Zadok and Jonathan son of Abiathar, are there with them. Send them to me with anything you hear.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 37So Hushai, David&#8217;s confidant, arrived at Jerusalem as Absalom was entering the city.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkJHN">
 <div class="chapter ch11" data-usfm="JHN.11">
 <div class="label">11</div><div class="s1">The Death of Lazarus</div><div class="p"> 1Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2(This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) 3So the sisters sent word to Jesus, &#8220;Lord, the one you love is sick.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4When he heard this, Jesus said, &#8220;This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God&#8217;s glory so that God&#8217;s Son may be glorified through it.&#8221; 5Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, 7and then he said to his disciples, &#8220;Let us go back to Judea.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 8&#8220;But Rabbi,&#8221; they said, &#8220;a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9Jesus answered, &#8220;Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world&#8217;s light. 10It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 11After he had said this, he went on to tell them, &#8220;Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12His disciples replied, &#8220;Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.&#8221; 13Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.</div><div class="p"> 14So then he told them plainly, &#8220;Lazarus is dead, 15and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 16Then Thomas (also known as Didymus#11:16 Thomas (Aramaic) and Didymus (Greek) both mean twin.) said to the rest of the disciples, &#8220;Let us also go, that we may die with him.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Jesus Comforts the Sisters of Lazarus</div><div class="p"> 17On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18Now Bethany was less than two miles#11:18 Or about 3 kilometers from Jerusalem, 19and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.</div><div class="p"> 21&#8220;Lord,&#8221; Martha said to Jesus, &#8220;if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 23Jesus said to her, &#8220;Your brother will rise again.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 24Martha answered, &#8220;I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 25Jesus said to her, &#8220;I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 27&#8220;Yes, Lord,&#8221; she replied, &#8220;I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 28After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. &#8220;The Teacher is here,&#8221; she said, &#8220;and is asking for you.&#8221; 29When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.</div><div class="p"> 32When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, &#8220;Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 33When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34&#8220;Where have you laid him?&#8221; he asked.</div><div class="p">&#8220;Come and see, Lord,&#8221; they replied.</div><div class="p"> 35Jesus wept.</div><div class="p"> 36Then the Jews said, &#8220;See how he loved him!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 37But some of them said, &#8220;Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Jesus Raises Lazarus From the Dead</div><div class="p"> 38Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39&#8220;Take away the stone,&#8221; he said.</div><div class="p">&#8220;But, Lord,&#8221; said Martha, the sister of the dead man, &#8220;by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 40Then Jesus said, &#8220;Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 41So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, &#8220;Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 43When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, &#8220;Lazarus, come out!&#8221; 44The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.</div><div class="p">Jesus said to them, &#8220;Take off the grave clothes and let him go.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">The Plot to Kill Jesus</div><div class="p"> 45Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. 46But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.</div><div class="p">&#8220;What are we accomplishing?&#8221; they asked. &#8220;Here is this man performing many signs. 48If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 49Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, &#8220;You know nothing at all! 50You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 51He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. 53So from that day on they plotted to take his life.</div><div class="p"> 54Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea. Instead he withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.</div><div class="p"> 55When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. 56They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple courts they asked one another, &#8220;What do you think? Isn&#8217;t he coming to the festival at all?&#8221; 57But the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who found out where Jesus was should report it so that they might arrest him.</div>
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