Secure & Sent: Leadership for Church Planters

Gone Fishin' Eight

Heart Detox: The War for Your Soul by Vance K. Jackson

God Is Not ChatGPT

Make It Happen!

Here and Now: Embracing the Gift of Presence in Marriage

Seek God Passionately

God's Presence - a Critical Tool for Advancement

What Makes a Good Person?

Sustenance (S3-E8)

The Listener’s Bible®: NIV Edition

New International Version™  (Anglicised), Audio Edition

Holy Bible, New International Version™ (Anglicised), South Asian Audio Edition

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="label">51</div><div class="cl">Psalm 51#In Hebrew texts 51:1-19 is numbered 51:3-21.</div><div class="d">For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.</div><div class="q1"> 1Have mercy on me, O God,</div><div class="q2">according to your unfailing love;</div><div class="q1">according to your great compassion</div><div class="q2">blot out my transgressions.</div><div class="q1"> 2Wash away all my iniquity</div><div class="q2">and cleanse me from my sin.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 3For I know my transgressions,</div><div class="q2">and my sin is always before me.</div><div class="q1"> 4Against you, you only, have I sinned</div><div class="q2">and done what is evil in your sight;</div><div class="q1">so you are right in your verdict</div><div class="q2">and justified when you judge.</div><div class="q1"> 5Surely I was sinful at birth,</div><div class="q2">sinful from the time my mother conceived me.</div><div class="q1"> 6Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;</div><div class="q2">you taught me wisdom in that secret place.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 7Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;</div><div class="q2">wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.</div><div class="q1"> 8Let me hear joy and gladness;</div><div class="q2">let the bones you have crushed rejoice.</div><div class="q1"> 9Hide your face from my sins</div><div class="q2">and blot out all my iniquity.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 10Create in me a pure heart, O God,</div><div class="q2">and renew a steadfast spirit within me.</div><div class="q1"> 11Do not cast me from your presence</div><div class="q2">or take your Holy Spirit from me.</div><div class="q1"> 12Restore to me the joy of your salvation</div><div class="q2">and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 13Then I will teach transgressors your ways,</div><div class="q2">so that sinners will turn back to you.</div><div class="q1"> 14Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,</div><div class="q2">you who are God my Savior,</div><div class="q2">and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.</div><div class="q1"> 15Open my lips, Lord,</div><div class="q2">and my mouth will declare your praise.</div><div class="q1"> 16You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;</div><div class="q2">you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.</div><div class="q1"> 17My sacrifice, O God, is#51:17 Or The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;</div><div class="q2">a broken and contrite heart</div><div class="q2">you, God, will not despise.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 18May it please you to prosper Zion,</div><div class="q2">to build up the walls of Jerusalem.</div><div class="q1"> 19Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,</div><div class="q2">in burnt offerings offered whole;</div><div class="q2">then bulls will be offered on your altar.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="label">52</div><div class="cl">Psalm 52#In Hebrew texts 52:1-9 is numbered 52:3-11.</div><div class="d">For the director of music. A maskil#Title: Probably a literary or musical term of David. When Doeg the Edomite had gone to Saul and told him: &#8220;David has gone to the house of Ahimelek.&#8221;</div><div class="q1"> 1Why do you boast of evil, you mighty hero?</div><div class="q2">Why do you boast all day long,</div><div class="q2">you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God?</div><div class="q1"> 2You who practice deceit,</div><div class="q2">your tongue plots destruction;</div><div class="q2">it is like a sharpened razor.</div><div class="q1"> 3You love evil rather than good,</div><div class="q2">falsehood rather than speaking the truth.#52:3 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 5.</div><div class="q1"> 4You love every harmful word,</div><div class="q2">you deceitful tongue!</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 5Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin:</div><div class="q2">He will snatch you up and pluck you from your tent;</div><div class="q2">he will uproot you from the land of the living.</div><div class="q1"> 6The righteous will see and fear;</div><div class="q2">they will laugh at you, saying,</div><div class="q1"> 7&#8220;Here now is the man</div><div class="q2">who did not make God his stronghold</div><div class="q1">but trusted in his great wealth</div><div class="q2">and grew strong by destroying others!&#8221;</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 8But I am like an olive tree</div><div class="q2">flourishing in the house of God;</div><div class="q1">I trust in God&#8217;s unfailing love</div><div class="q2">for ever and ever.</div><div class="q1"> 9For what you have done I will always praise you</div><div class="q2">in the presence of your faithful people.</div><div class="q1">And I will hope in your name,</div><div class="q2">for your name is good.</div>
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 <div class="label">53</div><div class="cl">Psalm 53#In Hebrew texts 53:1-6 is numbered 53:2-7.</div><div class="d">For the director of music. According to mahalath.#Title: Probably a musical term A maskil#Title: Probably a literary or musical term of David.</div><div class="q1"> 1The fool says in his heart,</div><div class="q2">&#8220;There is no God.&#8221;</div><div class="q1">They are corrupt, and their ways are vile;</div><div class="q2">there is no one who does good.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 2God looks down from heaven</div><div class="q2">on all mankind</div><div class="q1">to see if there are any who understand,</div><div class="q2">any who seek God.</div><div class="q1"> 3Everyone has turned away, all have become corrupt;</div><div class="q2">there is no one who does good,</div><div class="q2">not even one.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 4Do all these evildoers know nothing?</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1">They devour my people as though eating bread;</div><div class="q2">they never call on God.</div><div class="q1"> 5But there they are, overwhelmed with dread,</div><div class="q2">where there was nothing to dread.</div><div class="q1">God scattered the bones of those who attacked you;</div><div class="q2">you put them to shame, for God despised them.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 6Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!</div><div class="q2">When God restores his people,</div><div class="q2">let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!</div>
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 <div class="label">4</div><div class="s1">Present Weakness and Resurrection Life</div><div class="p"> 1Therefore, since through God&#8217;s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone&#8217;s conscience in the sight of God. 3And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus&#8217; sake. 6For God, who said, &#8220;Let light shine out of darkness,&#8221;#4:6 Gen. 1:3 made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God&#8217;s glory displayed in the face of Christ.</div><div class="p"> 7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus&#8217; sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. 12So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.</div><div class="p"> 13It is written: &#8220;I believed; therefore I have spoken.&#8221;#4:13 Psalm 116:10 (see Septuagint) Since we have that same spirit of#4:13 Or Spirit-given faith, we also believe and therefore speak, 14because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. 15All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.</div><div class="p"> 16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.</div>
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 <div class="label">5</div><div class="s1">Awaiting the New Body</div><div class="p"> 1For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, 3because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.</div><div class="p"> 6Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7For we live by faith, not by sight. 8We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.</div><div class="s1">The Ministry of Reconciliation</div><div class="p"> 11Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. 12We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. 13If we are &#8220;out of our mind,&#8221; as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14For Christ&#8217;s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.</div><div class="p"> 16So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:#5:17 Or Christ, that person is a new creation. The old has gone, the new is here! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people&#8217;s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20We are therefore Christ&#8217;s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ&#8217;s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21God made him who had no sin to be sin#5:21 Or be a sin offering for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.</div>
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 <div class="label">17</div><div class="s1">Water From the Rock</div><div class="p"> 1The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2So they quarreled with Moses and said, &#8220;Give us water to drink.&#8221;</div><div class="p">Moses replied, &#8220;Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 3But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, &#8220;Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4Then Moses cried out to the Lord, &#8220;What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5The Lord answered Moses, &#8220;Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.&#8221; So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7And he called the place Massah#17:7 Massah means testing. and Meribah#17:7 Meribah means quarreling. because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, &#8220;Is the Lord among us or not?&#8221;</div><div class="s1">The Amalekites Defeated</div><div class="p"> 8The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. 9Moses said to Joshua, &#8220;Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 10So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12When Moses&#8217; hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up&#8212;one on one side, one on the other&#8212;so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.</div><div class="p"> 14Then the Lord said to Moses, &#8220;Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 15Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner. 16He said, &#8220;Because hands were lifted up against#17:16 Or to the throne of the Lord,#17:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain. the Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation.&#8221;</div>
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 <div class="label">18</div><div class="s1">Jethro Visits Moses</div><div class="p"> 1Now Jethro, the priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses, heard of everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, and how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.</div><div class="p"> 2After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro received her 3and her two sons. One son was named Gershom,#18:3 Gershom sounds like the Hebrew for a foreigner there. for Moses said, &#8220;I have become a foreigner in a foreign land&#8221;; 4and the other was named Eliezer,#18:4 Eliezer means my God is helper. for he said, &#8220;My father&#8217;s God was my helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5Jethro, Moses&#8217; father-in-law, together with Moses&#8217; sons and wife, came to him in the wilderness, where he was camped near the mountain of God. 6Jethro had sent word to him, &#8220;I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 7So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and then went into the tent. 8Moses told his father-in-law about everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel&#8217;s sake and about all the hardships they had met along the way and how the Lord had saved them.</div><div class="p"> 9Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians. 10He said, &#8220;Praise be to the Lord, who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians. 11Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.&#8221; 12Then Jethro, Moses&#8217; father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses&#8217; father-in-law in the presence of God.</div><div class="p"> 13The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. 14When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, &#8220;What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 15Moses answered him, &#8220;Because the people come to me to seek God&#8217;s will. 16Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God&#8217;s decrees and instructions.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 17Moses&#8217; father-in-law replied, &#8220;What you are doing is not good. 18You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. 19Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people&#8217;s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. 20Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. 21But select capable men from all the people&#8212;men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain&#8212;and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. 23If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 24Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. 25He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 26They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.</div><div class="p"> 27Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own country.</div>
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 <div class="label">19</div><div class="s1">At Mount Sinai</div><div class="p"> 1On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt&#8212;on that very day&#8212;they came to the Desert of Sinai. 2After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.</div><div class="p"> 3Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, &#8220;This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 4&#8216;You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles&#8217; wings and brought you to myself. 5Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6you#19:5,6 Or possession, for the whole earth is mine. 6 You will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.&#8217; These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 7So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the Lord had commanded him to speak. 8The people all responded together, &#8220;We will do everything the Lord has said.&#8221; So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord.</div><div class="p"> 9The Lord said to Moses, &#8220;I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you.&#8221; Then Moses told the Lord what the people had said.</div><div class="p"> 10And the Lord said to Moses, &#8220;Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes 11and be ready by the third day, because on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, &#8216;Be careful that you do not approach the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain is to be put to death. 13They are to be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on them. No person or animal shall be permitted to live.&#8217; Only when the ram&#8217;s horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 14After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes. 15Then he said to the people, &#8220;Prepare yourselves for the third day. Abstain from sexual relations.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 16On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. 17Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain#19:18 Most Hebrew manuscripts; a few Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint and all the people trembled violently. 19As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.#19:19 Or and God answered him with thunder</div><div class="p"> 20The Lord descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up 21and the Lord said to him, &#8220;Go down and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see the Lord and many of them perish. 22Even the priests, who approach the Lord, must consecrate themselves, or the Lord will break out against them.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 23Moses said to the Lord, &#8220;The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, because you yourself warned us, &#8216;Put limits around the mountain and set it apart as holy.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 24The Lord replied, &#8220;Go down and bring Aaron up with you. But the priests and the people must not force their way through to come up to the Lord, or he will break out against them.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 25So Moses went down to the people and told them.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="label">20</div><div class="s1">The Ten Commandments</div><div class="p"> 1And God spoke all these words:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pi3"> 2&#8220;I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.</div><div class="li1"> 3&#8220;You shall have no other gods before#20:3 Or besides me.</div><div class="li1"> 4&#8220;You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.</div><div class="li1"> 7&#8220;You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.</div><div class="li1"> 8&#8220;Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.</div><div class="li1"> 12&#8220;Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.</div><div class="li1"> 13&#8220;You shall not murder.</div><div class="li1"> 14&#8220;You shall not commit adultery.</div><div class="li1"> 15&#8220;You shall not steal.</div><div class="li1"> 16&#8220;You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.</div><div class="li1"> 17&#8220;You shall not covet your neighbor&#8217;s house. You shall not covet your neighbor&#8217;s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.&#8221;</div><div class="b"></div><div class="p"> 18When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19and said to Moses, &#8220;Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 20Moses said to the people, &#8220;Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 21The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.</div><div class="s1">Idols and Altars</div><div class="p"> 22Then the Lord said to Moses, &#8220;Tell the Israelites this: &#8216;You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven: 23Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.</div><div class="p"> 24&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you. 25If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it. 26And do not go up to my altar on steps, or your private parts may be exposed.&#8217;</div><div class="b"></div>
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 <div class="book bk2SA">
 <div class="chapter ch5" data-usfm="2SA.5">
 <div class="label">5</div><div class="s1">David Becomes King Over Israel</div><div class="p"> 1All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, &#8220;We are your own flesh and blood. 2In the past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns. And the Lord said to you, &#8216;You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 3When all the elders of Israel had come to King David at Hebron, the king made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel.</div><div class="p"> 4David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years. 5In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.</div><div class="s1">David Conquers Jerusalem</div><div class="p"> 6The king and his men marched to Jerusalem to attack the Jebusites, who lived there. The Jebusites said to David, &#8220;You will not get in here; even the blind and the lame can ward you off.&#8221; They thought, &#8220;David cannot get in here.&#8221; 7Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion&#8212;which is the City of David.</div><div class="p"> 8On that day David had said, &#8220;Anyone who conquers the Jebusites will have to use the water shaft to reach those &#8216;lame and blind&#8217; who are David&#8217;s enemies.#5:8 Or are hated by David&#8221; That is why they say, &#8220;The &#8216;blind and lame&#8217; will not enter the palace.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9David then took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of David. He built up the area around it, from the terraces#5:9 Or the Millo inward. 10And he became more and more powerful, because the Lord God Almighty was with him.</div><div class="p"> 11Now Hiram king of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs and carpenters and stonemasons, and they built a palace for David. 12Then David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.</div><div class="p"> 13After he left Hebron, David took more concubines and wives in Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him. 14These are the names of the children born to him there: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, 15Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, 16Elishama, Eliada and Eliphelet.</div><div class="s1">David Defeats the Philistines</div><div class="p"> 17When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, they went up in full force to search for him, but David heard about it and went down to the stronghold. 18Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; 19so David inquired of the Lord, &#8220;Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hands?&#8221;</div><div class="p">The Lord answered him, &#8220;Go, for I will surely deliver the Philistines into your hands.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 20So David went to Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them. He said, &#8220;As waters break out, the Lord has broken out against my enemies before me.&#8221; So that place was called Baal Perazim.#5:20 Baal Perazim means the lord who breaks out. 21The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried them off.</div><div class="p"> 22Once more the Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; 23so David inquired of the Lord, and he answered, &#8220;Do not go straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the poplar trees. 24As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the poplar trees, move quickly, because that will mean the Lord has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army.&#8221; 25So David did as the Lord commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon#5:25 Septuagint (see also 1 Chron. 14:16); Hebrew Geba to Gezer.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk2SA">
 <div class="chapter ch6" data-usfm="2SA.6">
 <div class="label">6</div><div class="s1">The Ark Brought to Jerusalem</div><div class="p"> 1David again brought together all the able young men of Israel&#8212;thirty thousand. 2He and all his men went to Baalah#6:2 That is, Kiriath Jearim (see 1 Chron. 13:6) in Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name,#6:2 Hebrew; Septuagint and Vulgate do not have the Name. the name of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim on the ark. 3They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart 4with the ark of God on it,#6:3,4 Dead Sea Scrolls and some Septuagint manuscripts; Masoretic Text cart 4 and they brought it with the ark of God from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill and Ahio was walking in front of it. 5David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with castanets,#6:5 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint (see also 1 Chron. 13:8) songs harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals.</div><div class="p"> 6When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. 7The Lord&#8217;s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God.</div><div class="p"> 8Then David was angry because the Lord&#8217;s wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah.#6:8 Perez Uzzah means outbreak against Uzzah.</div><div class="p"> 9David was afraid of the Lord that day and said, &#8220;How can the ark of the Lord ever come to me?&#8221; 10He was not willing to take the ark of the Lord to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. 11The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and the Lord blessed him and his entire household.</div><div class="p"> 12Now King David was told, &#8220;The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God.&#8221; So David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. 13When those who were carrying the ark of the Lord had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. 14Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, 15while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.</div><div class="p"> 16As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart.</div><div class="p"> 17They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord. 18After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord Almighty. 19Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes.</div><div class="p"> 20When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, &#8220;How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 21David said to Michal, &#8220;It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord&#8217;s people Israel&#8212;I will celebrate before the Lord. 22I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 23And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk2SA">
 <div class="chapter ch7" data-usfm="2SA.7">
 <div class="label">7</div><div class="s1">God&#8217;s Promise to David</div><div class="p"> 1After the king was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, 2he said to Nathan the prophet, &#8220;Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 3Nathan replied to the king, &#8220;Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying:</div><div class="pm"> 5&#8220;Go and tell my servant David, &#8216;This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? 6I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. 7Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, &#8220;Why have you not built me a house of cedar?&#8221;&#8198;&#8217;</div><div class="pm"> 8&#8220;Now then, tell my servant David, &#8216;This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. 9I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth. 10And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning 11and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders#7:11 Traditionally judges over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies.</div><div class="pm">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: 12When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. 13He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. 15But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me#7:16 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts you; your throne will be established forever.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 17Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.</div><div class="s1">David&#8217;s Prayer</div><div class="p"> 18Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said:</div><div class="pm">&#8220;Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? 19And as if this were not enough in your sight, Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant&#8212;and this decree, Sovereign Lord, is for a mere human!#7:19 Or for the human race</div><div class="pm"> 20&#8220;What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, Sovereign Lord. 21For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant.</div><div class="pm"> 22&#8220;How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. 23And who is like your people Israel&#8212;the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt?#7:23 See Septuagint and 1 Chron. 17:21; Hebrew wonders for your land and before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt, from the nations and their gods. 24You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, Lord, have become their God.</div><div class="pm"> 25&#8220;And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, 26so that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, &#8216;The Lord Almighty is God over Israel!&#8217; And the house of your servant David will be established in your sight.</div><div class="pm"> 27&#8220;Lord Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, &#8216;I will build a house for you.&#8217; So your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. 28Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant. 29Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Sovereign Lord, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk2SA">
 <div class="chapter ch8" data-usfm="2SA.8">
 <div class="label">8</div><div class="s1">David&#8217;s Victories</div><div class="p"> 1In the course of time, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Metheg Ammah from the control of the Philistines.</div><div class="p"> 2David also defeated the Moabites. He made them lie down on the ground and measured them off with a length of cord. Every two lengths of them were put to death, and the third length was allowed to live. So the Moabites became subject to David and brought him tribute.</div><div class="p"> 3Moreover, David defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went to restore his monument at#8:3 Or his control along the Euphrates River. 4David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand charioteers#8:4 Septuagint (see also Dead Sea Scrolls and 1 Chron. 18:4); Masoretic Text captured seventeen hundred of his charioteers and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He hamstrung all but a hundred of the chariot horses.</div><div class="p"> 5When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand of them. 6He put garrisons in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, and the Arameans became subject to him and brought tribute. The Lord gave David victory wherever he went.</div><div class="p"> 7David took the gold shields that belonged to the officers of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. 8From Tebah#8:8 See some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 1 Chron. 18:8); Hebrew Betah. and Berothai, towns that belonged to Hadadezer, King David took a great quantity of bronze.</div><div class="p"> 9When Tou#8:9 Hebrew Toi, a variant of Tou; also in verse 10 king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer, 10he sent his son Joram#8:10 A variant of Hadoram to King David to greet him and congratulate him on his victory in battle over Hadadezer, who had been at war with Tou. Joram brought with him articles of silver, of gold and of bronze.</div><div class="p"> 11King David dedicated these articles to the Lord, as he had done with the silver and gold from all the nations he had subdued: 12Edom#8:12 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Syriac (see also 1 Chron. 18:11); most Hebrew manuscripts Aram and Moab, the Ammonites and the Philistines, and Amalek. He also dedicated the plunder taken from Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah.</div><div class="p"> 13And David became famous after he returned from striking down eighteen thousand Edomites#8:13 A few Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Syriac (see also 1 Chron. 18:12); most Hebrew manuscripts Aram (that is, Arameans) in the Valley of Salt.</div><div class="p"> 14He put garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites became subject to David. The Lord gave David victory wherever he went.</div><div class="s1">David&#8217;s Officials</div><div class="p"> 15David reigned over all Israel, doing what was just and right for all his people. 16Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was recorder; 17Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelek son of Abiathar were priests; Seraiah was secretary; 18Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Kerethites and Pelethites; and David&#8217;s sons were priests.#8:18 Or were chief officials (see Septuagint and Targum; see also 1 Chron. 18:17)</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk2SA">
 <div class="chapter ch9" data-usfm="2SA.9">
 <div class="label">9</div><div class="s1">David and Mephibosheth</div><div class="p"> 1David asked, &#8220;Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan&#8217;s sake?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 2Now there was a servant of Saul&#8217;s household named Ziba. They summoned him to appear before David, and the king said to him, &#8220;Are you Ziba?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;At your service,&#8221; he replied.</div><div class="p"> 3The king asked, &#8220;Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show God&#8217;s kindness?&#8221;</div><div class="p">Ziba answered the king, &#8220;There is still a son of Jonathan; he is lame in both feet.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4&#8220;Where is he?&#8221; the king asked.</div><div class="p">Ziba answered, &#8220;He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel.</div><div class="p"> 6When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor.</div><div class="p">David said, &#8220;Mephibosheth!&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;At your service,&#8221; he replied.</div><div class="p"> 7&#8220;Don&#8217;t be afraid,&#8221; David said to him, &#8220;for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 8Mephibosheth bowed down and said, &#8220;What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul&#8217;s steward, and said to him, &#8220;I have given your master&#8217;s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. 10You and your sons and your servants are to farm the land for him and bring in the crops, so that your master&#8217;s grandson may be provided for. And Mephibosheth, grandson of your master, will always eat at my table.&#8221; (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)</div><div class="p"> 11Then Ziba said to the king, &#8220;Your servant will do whatever my lord the king commands his servant to do.&#8221; So Mephibosheth ate at David&#8217;s#9:11 Septuagint; Hebrew my table like one of the king&#8217;s sons.</div><div class="p"> 12Mephibosheth had a young son named Mika, and all the members of Ziba&#8217;s household were servants of Mephibosheth. 13And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king&#8217;s table; he was lame in both feet.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkJOB">
 <div class="chapter ch35" data-usfm="JOB.35">
 <div class="label">35</div><div class="p"> 1Then Elihu said:</div><div class="q1"> 2&#8220;Do you think this is just?</div><div class="q2">You say, &#8216;I am in the right, not God.&#8217;</div><div class="q1"> 3Yet you ask him, &#8216;What profit is it to me,#35:3 Or you</div><div class="q2">and what do I gain by not sinning?&#8217;</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 4&#8220;I would like to reply to you</div><div class="q2">and to your friends with you.</div><div class="q1"> 5Look up at the heavens and see;</div><div class="q2">gaze at the clouds so high above you.</div><div class="q1"> 6If you sin, how does that affect him?</div><div class="q2">If your sins are many, what does that do to him?</div><div class="q1"> 7If you are righteous, what do you give to him,</div><div class="q2">or what does he receive from your hand?</div><div class="q1"> 8Your wickedness only affects humans like yourself,</div><div class="q2">and your righteousness only other people.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 9&#8220;People cry out under a load of oppression;</div><div class="q2">they plead for relief from the arm of the powerful.</div><div class="q1"> 10But no one says, &#8216;Where is God my Maker,</div><div class="q2">who gives songs in the night,</div><div class="q1"> 11who teaches us more than he teaches#35:10,11 Or night, / 11 who teaches us by the beasts of the earth</div><div class="q2">and makes us wiser than#35:11 Or us wise by the birds in the sky?&#8217;</div><div class="q1"> 12He does not answer when people cry out</div><div class="q2">because of the arrogance of the wicked.</div><div class="q1"> 13Indeed, God does not listen to their empty plea;</div><div class="q2">the Almighty pays no attention to it.</div><div class="q1"> 14How much less, then, will he listen</div><div class="q2">when you say that you do not see him,</div><div class="q1">that your case is before him</div><div class="q2">and you must wait for him,</div><div class="q1"> 15and further, that his anger never punishes</div><div class="q2">and he does not take the least notice of wickedness.#35:15 Symmachus, Theodotion and Vulgate; the meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.</div><div class="q1"> 16So Job opens his mouth with empty talk;</div><div class="q2">without knowledge he multiplies words.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkJOB">
 <div class="chapter ch36" data-usfm="JOB.36">
 <div class="label">36</div><div class="p"> 1Elihu continued:</div><div class="q1"> 2&#8220;Bear with me a little longer and I will show you</div><div class="q2">that there is more to be said in God&#8217;s behalf.</div><div class="q1"> 3I get my knowledge from afar;</div><div class="q2">I will ascribe justice to my Maker.</div><div class="q1"> 4Be assured that my words are not false;</div><div class="q2">one who has perfect knowledge is with you.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 5&#8220;God is mighty, but despises no one;</div><div class="q2">he is mighty, and firm in his purpose.</div><div class="q1"> 6He does not keep the wicked alive</div><div class="q2">but gives the afflicted their rights.</div><div class="q1"> 7He does not take his eyes off the righteous;</div><div class="q2">he enthrones them with kings</div><div class="q2">and exalts them forever.</div><div class="q1"> 8But if people are bound in chains,</div><div class="q2">held fast by cords of affliction,</div><div class="q1"> 9he tells them what they have done&#8212;</div><div class="q2">that they have sinned arrogantly.</div><div class="q1"> 10He makes them listen to correction</div><div class="q2">and commands them to repent of their evil.</div><div class="q1"> 11If they obey and serve him,</div><div class="q2">they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity</div><div class="q2">and their years in contentment.</div><div class="q1"> 12But if they do not listen,</div><div class="q2">they will perish by the sword#36:12 Or will cross the river</div><div class="q2">and die without knowledge.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 13&#8220;The godless in heart harbor resentment;</div><div class="q2">even when he fetters them, they do not cry for help.</div><div class="q1"> 14They die in their youth,</div><div class="q2">among male prostitutes of the shrines.</div><div class="q1"> 15But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering;</div><div class="q2">he speaks to them in their affliction.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 16&#8220;He is wooing you from the jaws of distress</div><div class="q2">to a spacious place free from restriction,</div><div class="q2">to the comfort of your table laden with choice food.</div><div class="q1"> 17But now you are laden with the judgment due the wicked;</div><div class="q2">judgment and justice have taken hold of you.</div><div class="q1"> 18Be careful that no one entices you by riches;</div><div class="q2">do not let a large bribe turn you aside.</div><div class="q1"> 19Would your wealth or even all your mighty efforts</div><div class="q2">sustain you so you would not be in distress?</div><div class="q1"> 20Do not long for the night,</div><div class="q2">to drag people away from their homes.#36:20 The meaning of the Hebrew for verses 18-20 is uncertain.</div><div class="q1"> 21Beware of turning to evil,</div><div class="q2">which you seem to prefer to affliction.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 22&#8220;God is exalted in his power.</div><div class="q2">Who is a teacher like him?</div><div class="q1"> 23Who has prescribed his ways for him,</div><div class="q2">or said to him, &#8216;You have done wrong&#8217;?</div><div class="q1"> 24Remember to extol his work,</div><div class="q2">which people have praised in song.</div><div class="q1"> 25All humanity has seen it;</div><div class="q2">mortals gaze on it from afar.</div><div class="q1"> 26How great is God&#8212;beyond our understanding!</div><div class="q2">The number of his years is past finding out.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 27&#8220;He draws up the drops of water,</div><div class="q2">which distill as rain to the streams#36:27 Or distill from the mist as rain;</div><div class="q1"> 28the clouds pour down their moisture</div><div class="q2">and abundant showers fall on mankind.</div><div class="q1"> 29Who can understand how he spreads out the clouds,</div><div class="q2">how he thunders from his pavilion?</div><div class="q1"> 30See how he scatters his lightning about him,</div><div class="q2">bathing the depths of the sea.</div><div class="q1"> 31This is the way he governs#36:31 Or nourishes the nations</div><div class="q2">and provides food in abundance.</div><div class="q1"> 32He fills his hands with lightning</div><div class="q2">and commands it to strike its mark.</div><div class="q1"> 33His thunder announces the coming storm;</div><div class="q2">even the cattle make known its approach.#36:33 Or announces his coming&#8212; / the One zealous against evil</div><div class="b"></div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkJER">
 <div class="chapter ch27" data-usfm="JER.27">
 <div class="label">27</div><div class="s1">Judah to Serve Nebuchadnezzar</div><div class="p"> 1Early in the reign of Zedekiah#27:1 A few Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac (see also 27:3,12 and 28:1); most Hebrew manuscripts Jehoiakim (Most Septuagint manuscripts do not have this verse.) son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2This is what the Lord said to me: &#8220;Make a yoke out of straps and crossbars and put it on your neck. 3Then send word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon through the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. 4Give them a message for their masters and say, &#8216;This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: &#8220;Tell this to your masters: 5With my great power and outstretched arm I made the earth and its people and the animals that are on it, and I give it to anyone I please. 6Now I will give all your countries into the hands of my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; I will make even the wild animals subject to him. 7All nations will serve him and his son and his grandson until the time for his land comes; then many nations and great kings will subjugate him.</div><div class="p"> 8&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;&#8198;&#8220;If, however, any nation or kingdom will not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon or bow its neck under his yoke, I will punish that nation with the sword, famine and plague, declares the Lord, until I destroy it by his hand. 9So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your interpreters of dreams, your mediums or your sorcerers who tell you, &#8216;You will not serve the king of Babylon.&#8217; 10They prophesy lies to you that will only serve to remove you far from your lands; I will banish you and you will perish. 11But if any nation will bow its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let that nation remain in its own land to till it and to live there, declares the Lord.&#8221;&#8198;&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12I gave the same message to Zedekiah king of Judah. I said, &#8220;Bow your neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and you will live. 13Why will you and your people die by the sword, famine and plague with which the Lord has threatened any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14Do not listen to the words of the prophets who say to you, &#8216;You will not serve the king of Babylon,&#8217; for they are prophesying lies to you. 15&#8216;I have not sent them,&#8217; declares the Lord. &#8216;They are prophesying lies in my name. Therefore, I will banish you and you will perish, both you and the prophets who prophesy to you.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 16Then I said to the priests and all these people, &#8220;This is what the Lord says: Do not listen to the prophets who say, &#8216;Very soon now the articles from the Lord&#8217;s house will be brought back from Babylon.&#8217; They are prophesying lies to you. 17Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon, and you will live. Why should this city become a ruin? 18If they are prophets and have the word of the Lord, let them plead with the Lord Almighty that the articles remaining in the house of the Lord and in the palace of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem not be taken to Babylon. 19For this is what the Lord Almighty says about the pillars, the bronze Sea, the movable stands and the other articles that are left in this city, 20which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take away when he carried Jehoiachin#27:20 Hebrew Jeconiah, a variant of Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem&#8212; 21yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says about the things that are left in the house of the Lord and in the palace of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem: 22&#8216;They will be taken to Babylon and there they will remain until the day I come for them,&#8217; declares the Lord. &#8216;Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkJER">
 <div class="chapter ch28" data-usfm="JER.28">
 <div class="label">28</div><div class="s1">The False Prophet Hananiah</div><div class="p"> 1In the fifth month of that same year, the fourth year, early in the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, said to me in the house of the Lord in the presence of the priests and all the people: 2&#8220;This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: &#8216;I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3Within two years I will bring back to this place all the articles of the Lord&#8217;s house that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon removed from here and took to Babylon. 4I will also bring back to this place Jehoiachin#28:4 Hebrew Jeconiah, a variant of Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and all the other exiles from Judah who went to Babylon,&#8217; declares the Lord, &#8216;for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5Then the prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah before the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord. 6He said, &#8220;Amen! May the Lord do so! May the Lord fulfill the words you have prophesied by bringing the articles of the Lord&#8217;s house and all the exiles back to this place from Babylon. 7Nevertheless, listen to what I have to say in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people: 8From early times the prophets who preceded you and me have prophesied war, disaster and plague against many countries and great kingdoms. 9But the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the Lord only if his prediction comes true.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 10Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it, 11and he said before all the people, &#8220;This is what the Lord says: &#8216;In the same way I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon off the neck of all the nations within two years.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221; At this, the prophet Jeremiah went on his way.</div><div class="p"> 12After the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 13&#8220;Go and tell Hananiah, &#8216;This is what the Lord says: You have broken a wooden yoke, but in its place you will get a yoke of iron. 14This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I will put an iron yoke on the necks of all these nations to make them serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they will serve him. I will even give him control over the wild animals.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 15Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, &#8220;Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you, yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in lies. 16Therefore this is what the Lord says: &#8216;I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. This very year you are going to die, because you have preached rebellion against the Lord.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 17In the seventh month of that same year, Hananiah the prophet died.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkJER">
 <div class="chapter ch29" data-usfm="JER.29">
 <div class="label">29</div><div class="s1">A Letter to the Exiles</div><div class="p"> 1This is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets and all the other people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2(This was after King Jehoiachin#29:2 Hebrew Jeconiah, a variant of Jehoiachin and the queen mother, the court officials and the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the skilled workers and the artisans had gone into exile from Jerusalem.) 3He entrusted the letter to Elasah son of Shaphan and to Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It said:</div><div class="pm"> 4This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5&#8220;Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.&#8221; 8Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: &#8220;Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. 9They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,&#8221; declares the Lord.</div><div class="pm"> 10This is what the Lord says: &#8220;When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. 11For I know the plans I have for you,&#8221; declares the Lord, &#8220;plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14I will be found by you,&#8221; declares the Lord, &#8220;and will bring you back from captivity.#29:14 Or will restore your fortunes I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,&#8221; declares the Lord, &#8220;and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.&#8221;</div><div class="pm"> 15You may say, &#8220;The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,&#8221; 16but this is what the Lord says about the king who sits on David&#8217;s throne and all the people who remain in this city, your fellow citizens who did not go with you into exile&#8212; 17yes, this is what the Lord Almighty says: &#8220;I will send the sword, famine and plague against them and I will make them like figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten. 18I will pursue them with the sword, famine and plague and will make them abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth, a curse#29:18 That is, their names will be used in cursing (see verse 22); or, others will see that they are cursed. and an object of horror, of scorn and reproach, among all the nations where I drive them. 19For they have not listened to my words,&#8221; declares the Lord, &#8220;words that I sent to them again and again by my servants the prophets. And you exiles have not listened either,&#8221; declares the Lord.</div><div class="pm"> 20Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon. 21This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies to you in my name: &#8220;I will deliver them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will put them to death before your very eyes. 22Because of them, all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse: &#8216;May the Lord treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon burned in the fire.&#8217; 23For they have done outrageous things in Israel; they have committed adultery with their neighbors&#8217; wives, and in my name they have uttered lies&#8212;which I did not authorize. I know it and am a witness to it,&#8221; declares the Lord.</div><div class="s1">Message to Shemaiah</div><div class="p"> 24Tell Shemaiah the Nehelamite, 25&#8220;This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You sent letters in your own name to all the people in Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and to all the other priests. You said to Zephaniah, 26&#8216;The Lord has appointed you priest in place of Jehoiada to be in charge of the house of the Lord; you should put any maniac who acts like a prophet into the stocks and neck-irons. 27So why have you not reprimanded Jeremiah from Anathoth, who poses as a prophet among you? 28He has sent this message to us in Babylon: It will be a long time. Therefore build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 29Zephaniah the priest, however, read the letter to Jeremiah the prophet. 30Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 31&#8220;Send this message to all the exiles: &#8216;This is what the Lord says about Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, even though I did not send him, and has persuaded you to trust in lies, 32this is what the Lord says: I will surely punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants. He will have no one left among this people, nor will he see the good things I will do for my people, declares the Lord, because he has preached rebellion against me.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkJER">
 <div class="chapter ch30" data-usfm="JER.30">
 <div class="label">30</div><div class="s1">Restoration of Israel</div><div class="p"> 1This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2&#8220;This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: &#8216;Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you. 3The days are coming,&#8217; declares the Lord, &#8216;when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity#30:3 Or will restore the fortunes of my people Israel and Judah and restore them to the land I gave their ancestors to possess,&#8217; says the Lord.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4These are the words the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah: 5&#8220;This is what the Lord says:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Cries of fear are heard&#8212;</div><div class="q2">terror, not peace.</div><div class="q1"> 6Ask and see:</div><div class="q2">Can a man bear children?</div><div class="q1">Then why do I see every strong man</div><div class="q2">with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor,</div><div class="q2">every face turned deathly pale?</div><div class="q1"> 7How awful that day will be!</div><div class="q2">No other will be like it.</div><div class="q1">It will be a time of trouble for Jacob,</div><div class="q2">but he will be saved out of it.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 8&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;In that day,&#8217; declares the Lord Almighty,</div><div class="q2">&#8216;I will break the yoke off their necks</div><div class="q1">and will tear off their bonds;</div><div class="q2">no longer will foreigners enslave them.</div><div class="q1"> 9Instead, they will serve the Lord their God</div><div class="q2">and David their king,</div><div class="q2">whom I will raise up for them.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 10&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;So do not be afraid, Jacob my servant;</div><div class="q2">do not be dismayed, Israel,&#8217;</div><div class="q4">declares the Lord.</div><div class="q1">&#8216;I will surely save you out of a distant place,</div><div class="q2">your descendants from the land of their exile.</div><div class="q1">Jacob will again have peace and security,</div><div class="q2">and no one will make him afraid.</div><div class="q1"> 11I am with you and will save you,&#8217;</div><div class="q2">declares the Lord.</div><div class="q1">&#8216;Though I completely destroy all the nations</div><div class="q2">among which I scatter you,</div><div class="q2">I will not completely destroy you.</div><div class="q1">I will discipline you but only in due measure;</div><div class="q2">I will not let you go entirely unpunished.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 12&#8220;This is what the Lord says:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Your wound is incurable,</div><div class="q2">your injury beyond healing.</div><div class="q1"> 13There is no one to plead your cause,</div><div class="q2">no remedy for your sore,</div><div class="q2">no healing for you.</div><div class="q1"> 14All your allies have forgotten you;</div><div class="q2">they care nothing for you.</div><div class="q1">I have struck you as an enemy would</div><div class="q2">and punished you as would the cruel,</div><div class="q1">because your guilt is so great</div><div class="q2">and your sins so many.</div><div class="q1"> 15Why do you cry out over your wound,</div><div class="q2">your pain that has no cure?</div><div class="q1">Because of your great guilt and many sins</div><div class="q2">I have done these things to you.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 16&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;But all who devour you will be devoured;</div><div class="q2">all your enemies will go into exile.</div><div class="q1">Those who plunder you will be plundered;</div><div class="q2">all who make spoil of you I will despoil.</div><div class="q1"> 17But I will restore you to health</div><div class="q2">and heal your wounds,&#8217;</div><div class="q4">declares the Lord,</div><div class="q1">&#8216;because you are called an outcast,</div><div class="q2">Zion for whom no one cares.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 18&#8220;This is what the Lord says:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;I will restore the fortunes of Jacob&#8217;s tents</div><div class="q2">and have compassion on his dwellings;</div><div class="q1">the city will be rebuilt on her ruins,</div><div class="q2">and the palace will stand in its proper place.</div><div class="q1"> 19From them will come songs of thanksgiving</div><div class="q2">and the sound of rejoicing.</div><div class="q1">I will add to their numbers,</div><div class="q2">and they will not be decreased;</div><div class="q1">I will bring them honor,</div><div class="q2">and they will not be disdained.</div><div class="q1"> 20Their children will be as in days of old,</div><div class="q2">and their community will be established before me;</div><div class="q2">I will punish all who oppress them.</div><div class="q1"> 21Their leader will be one of their own;</div><div class="q2">their ruler will arise from among them.</div><div class="q1">I will bring him near and he will come close to me&#8212;</div><div class="q2">for who is he who will devote himself</div><div class="q2">to be close to me?&#8217;</div><div class="q4">declares the Lord.</div><div class="q1"> 22&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;So you will be my people,</div><div class="q2">and I will be your God.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 23See, the storm of the Lord</div><div class="q2">will burst out in wrath,</div><div class="q1">a driving wind swirling down</div><div class="q2">on the heads of the wicked.</div><div class="q1"> 24The fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back</div><div class="q2">until he fully accomplishes</div><div class="q2">the purposes of his heart.</div><div class="q1">In days to come</div><div class="q2">you will understand this.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkMAT">
 <div class="chapter ch28" data-usfm="MAT.28">
 <div class="label">28</div><div class="s1">Jesus Has Risen</div><div class="p"> 1After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.</div><div class="p"> 2There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.</div><div class="p"> 5The angel said to the women, &#8220;Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7Then go quickly and tell his disciples: &#8216;He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.&#8217; Now I have told you.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 8So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9Suddenly Jesus met them. &#8220;Greetings,&#8221; he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10Then Jesus said to them, &#8220;Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">The Guards&#8217; Report</div><div class="p"> 11While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. 12When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, 13telling them, &#8220;You are to say, &#8216;His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.&#8217; 14If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.&#8221; 15So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.</div><div class="s1">The Great Commission</div><div class="p"> 16Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18Then Jesus came to them and said, &#8220;All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.&#8221;</div>
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