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">
 <div class="book bkPSA">
 <div class="chapter ch131" data-usfm="PSA.131">
 <div class="label">131</div><div class="cl">Psalm 131</div><div class="d">A song of ascents. Of David.</div><div class="q1"> 1My heart is not proud, Lord,</div><div class="q2">my eyes are not haughty;</div><div class="q1">I do not concern myself with great matters</div><div class="q2">or things too wonderful for me.</div><div class="q1"> 2But I have calmed and quieted myself,</div><div class="q2">I am like a weaned child with its mother;</div><div class="q2">like a weaned child I am content.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 3Israel, put your hope in the Lord</div><div class="q2">both now and forevermore.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="chapter ch132" data-usfm="PSA.132">
 <div class="label">132</div><div class="cl">Psalm 132</div><div class="d">A song of ascents.</div><div class="q1"> 1 Lord, remember David</div><div class="q2">and all his self-denial.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 2He swore an oath to the Lord,</div><div class="q2">he made a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:</div><div class="q1"> 3&#8220;I will not enter my house</div><div class="q2">or go to my bed,</div><div class="q1"> 4I will allow no sleep to my eyes</div><div class="q2">or slumber to my eyelids,</div><div class="q1"> 5till I find a place for the Lord,</div><div class="q2">a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.&#8221;</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 6We heard it in Ephrathah,</div><div class="q2">we came upon it in the fields of Jaar:#132:6 Or heard of it in Ephrathah, / we found it in the fields of Jearim. (See 1 Chron. 13:5,6) (And no quotation marks around verses 7-9)</div><div class="q1"> 7&#8220;Let us go to his dwelling place,</div><div class="q2">let us worship at his footstool, saying,</div><div class="q1"> 8&#8216;Arise, Lord, and come to your resting place,</div><div class="q2">you and the ark of your might.</div><div class="q1"> 9May your priests be clothed with your righteousness;</div><div class="q2">may your faithful people sing for joy.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 10For the sake of your servant David,</div><div class="q2">do not reject your anointed one.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 11The Lord swore an oath to David,</div><div class="q2">a sure oath he will not revoke:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;One of your own descendants</div><div class="q2">I will place on your throne.</div><div class="q1"> 12If your sons keep my covenant</div><div class="q2">and the statutes I teach them,</div><div class="q1">then their sons will sit</div><div class="q2">on your throne for ever and ever.&#8221;</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 13For the Lord has chosen Zion,</div><div class="q2">he has desired it for his dwelling, saying,</div><div class="q1"> 14&#8220;This is my resting place for ever and ever;</div><div class="q2">here I will sit enthroned, for I have desired it.</div><div class="q1"> 15I will bless her with abundant provisions;</div><div class="q2">her poor I will satisfy with food.</div><div class="q1"> 16I will clothe her priests with salvation,</div><div class="q2">and her faithful people will ever sing for joy.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 17&#8220;Here I will make a horn#132:17 Horn here symbolizes strong one, that is, king. grow for David</div><div class="q2">and set up a lamp for my anointed one.</div><div class="q1"> 18I will clothe his enemies with shame,</div><div class="q2">but his head will be adorned with a radiant crown.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkPSA">
 <div class="chapter ch133" data-usfm="PSA.133">
 <div class="label">133</div><div class="cl">Psalm 133</div><div class="d">A song of ascents. Of David.</div><div class="q1"> 1How good and pleasant it is</div><div class="q2">when God&#8217;s people live together in unity!</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 2It is like precious oil poured on the head,</div><div class="q2">running down on the beard,</div><div class="q1">running down on Aaron&#8217;s beard,</div><div class="q2">down on the collar of his robe.</div><div class="q1"> 3It is as if the dew of Hermon</div><div class="q2">were falling on Mount Zion.</div><div class="q1">For there the Lord bestows his blessing,</div><div class="q2">even life forevermore.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkPSA">
 <div class="chapter ch134" data-usfm="PSA.134">
 <div class="label">134</div><div class="cl">Psalm 134</div><div class="d">A song of ascents.</div><div class="q1"> 1Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord</div><div class="q2">who minister by night in the house of the Lord.</div><div class="q1"> 2Lift up your hands in the sanctuary</div><div class="q2">and praise the Lord.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 3May the Lord bless you from Zion,</div><div class="q2">he who is the Maker of heaven and earth.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkPSA">
 <div class="chapter ch135" data-usfm="PSA.135">
 <div class="label">135</div><div class="cl">Psalm 135</div><div class="q1"> 1Praise the Lord.#135:1 Hebrew Hallelu Yah; also in verses 3 and 21</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1">Praise the name of the Lord;</div><div class="q2">praise him, you servants of the Lord,</div><div class="q1"> 2you who minister in the house of the Lord,</div><div class="q2">in the courts of the house of our God.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 3Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;</div><div class="q2">sing praise to his name, for that is pleasant.</div><div class="q1"> 4For the Lord has chosen Jacob to be his own,</div><div class="q2">Israel to be his treasured possession.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 5I know that the Lord is great,</div><div class="q2">that our Lord is greater than all gods.</div><div class="q1"> 6The Lord does whatever pleases him,</div><div class="q2">in the heavens and on the earth,</div><div class="q2">in the seas and all their depths.</div><div class="q1"> 7He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth;</div><div class="q2">he sends lightning with the rain</div><div class="q2">and brings out the wind from his storehouses.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 8He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,</div><div class="q2">the firstborn of people and animals.</div><div class="q1"> 9He sent his signs and wonders into your midst, Egypt,</div><div class="q2">against Pharaoh and all his servants.</div><div class="q1"> 10He struck down many nations</div><div class="q2">and killed mighty kings&#8212;</div><div class="q1"> 11Sihon king of the Amorites,</div><div class="q2">Og king of Bashan,</div><div class="q2">and all the kings of Canaan&#8212;</div><div class="q1"> 12and he gave their land as an inheritance,</div><div class="q2">an inheritance to his people Israel.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 13Your name, Lord, endures forever,</div><div class="q2">your renown, Lord, through all generations.</div><div class="q1"> 14For the Lord will vindicate his people</div><div class="q2">and have compassion on his servants.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 15The idols of the nations are silver and gold,</div><div class="q2">made by human hands.</div><div class="q1"> 16They have mouths, but cannot speak,</div><div class="q2">eyes, but cannot see.</div><div class="q1"> 17They have ears, but cannot hear,</div><div class="q2">nor is there breath in their mouths.</div><div class="q1"> 18Those who make them will be like them,</div><div class="q2">and so will all who trust in them.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 19All you Israelites, praise the Lord;</div><div class="q2">house of Aaron, praise the Lord;</div><div class="q1"> 20house of Levi, praise the Lord;</div><div class="q2">you who fear him, praise the Lord.</div><div class="q1"> 21Praise be to the Lord from Zion,</div><div class="q2">to him who dwells in Jerusalem.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1">Praise the Lord.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkPSA">
 <div class="chapter ch136" data-usfm="PSA.136">
 <div class="label">136</div><div class="cl">Psalm 136</div><div class="q1"> 1Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.</div><div class="qr">His love endures forever.</div><div class="q1"> 2Give thanks to the God of gods.</div><div class="qr">His love endures forever.</div><div class="q1"> 3Give thanks to the Lord of lords:</div><div class="qr">His love endures forever.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 4to him who alone does great wonders,</div><div class="qr">His love endures forever.</div><div class="q1"> 5who by his understanding made the heavens,</div><div class="qr">His love endures forever.</div><div class="q1"> 6who spread out the earth upon the waters,</div><div class="qr">His love endures forever.</div><div class="q1"> 7who made the great lights&#8212;</div><div class="qr">His love endures forever.</div><div class="q1"> 8the sun to govern the day,</div><div class="qr">His love endures forever.</div><div class="q1"> 9the moon and stars to govern the night;</div><div class="qr">His love endures forever.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 10to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt</div><div class="qr">His love endures forever.</div><div class="q1"> 11and brought Israel out from among them</div><div class="qr">His love endures forever.</div><div class="q1"> 12with a mighty hand and outstretched arm;</div><div class="qr">His love endures forever.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 13to him who divided the Red Sea#136:13 Or the Sea of Reeds; also in verse 15 asunder</div><div class="qr">His love endures forever.</div><div class="q1"> 14and brought Israel through the midst of it,</div><div class="qr">His love endures forever.</div><div class="q1"> 15but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;</div><div class="qr">His love endures forever.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 16to him who led his people through the wilderness;</div><div class="qr">His love endures forever.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 17to him who struck down great kings,</div><div class="qr">His love endures forever.</div><div class="q1"> 18and killed mighty kings&#8212;</div><div class="qr">His love endures forever.</div><div class="q1"> 19Sihon king of the Amorites</div><div class="qr">His love endures forever.</div><div class="q1"> 20and Og king of Bashan&#8212;</div><div class="qr">His love endures forever.</div><div class="q1"> 21and gave their land as an inheritance,</div><div class="qr">His love endures forever.</div><div class="q1"> 22an inheritance to his servant Israel.</div><div class="qr">His love endures forever.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 23He remembered us in our low estate</div><div class="qr">His love endures forever.</div><div class="q1"> 24and freed us from our enemies.</div><div class="qr">His love endures forever.</div><div class="q1"> 25He gives food to every creature.</div><div class="qr">His love endures forever.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 26Give thanks to the God of heaven.</div><div class="qr">His love endures forever.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk1PE">
 <div class="chapter ch4" data-usfm="1PE.4">
 <div class="label">4</div><div class="s1">Living for God</div><div class="p"> 1Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. 2As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. 3For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do&#8212;living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. 4They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you. 5But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.</div><div class="p"> 7The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 8Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God&#8217;s grace in its various forms. 11If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.</div><div class="s1">Suffering for Being a Christian</div><div class="p"> 12Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 14If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. 17For it is time for judgment to begin with God&#8217;s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18And,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,</div><div class="q2">what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?&#8221;#4:18 Prov. 11:31 (see Septuagint)</div><div class="p"> 19So then, those who suffer according to God&#8217;s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.</div>
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 <div class="chapter ch5" data-usfm="1PE.5">
 <div class="label">5</div><div class="s1">To the Elders and the Flock</div><div class="p"> 1To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ&#8217;s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2Be shepherds of God&#8217;s flock that is under your care, watching over them&#8212;not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; 3not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.</div><div class="p"> 5In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;God opposes the proud</div><div class="q2">but shows favor to the humble.&#8221;#5:5 Prov. 3:34</div><div class="m"> 6Humble yourselves, therefore, under God&#8217;s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.</div><div class="p"> 8Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.</div><div class="p"> 10And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.</div><div class="s1">Final Greetings</div><div class="p"> 12With the help of Silas,#5:12 Greek Silvanus, a variant of Silas whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.</div><div class="p"> 13She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark. 14Greet one another with a kiss of love.</div><div class="p">Peace to all of you who are in Christ.</div>
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 <div class="book bkDEU">
 <div class="chapter ch13" data-usfm="DEU.13">
 <div class="label">13</div><div class="s1">Worshiping Other Gods</div><div class="p"> # In Hebrew texts 13:1-18 is numbered 13:2-19. 1If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder, 2and if the sign or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, &#8220;Let us follow other gods&#8221; (gods you have not known) &#8220;and let us worship them,&#8221; 3you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. 4It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. 5That prophet or dreamer must be put to death for inciting rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. That prophet or dreamer tried to turn you from the way the Lord your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you.</div><div class="p"> 6If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, &#8220;Let us go and worship other gods&#8221; (gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, 7gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), 8do not yield to them or listen to them. Show them no pity. Do not spare them or shield them. 9You must certainly put them to death. Your hand must be the first in putting them to death, and then the hands of all the people. 10Stone them to death, because they tried to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 11Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and no one among you will do such an evil thing again.</div><div class="p"> 12If you hear it said about one of the towns the Lord your God is giving you to live in 13that troublemakers have arisen among you and have led the people of their town astray, saying, &#8220;Let us go and worship other gods&#8221; (gods you have not known), 14then you must inquire, probe and investigate it thoroughly. And if it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done among you, 15you must certainly put to the sword all who live in that town. You must destroy it completely,#13:15 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them. both its people and its livestock. 16You are to gather all the plunder of the town into the middle of the public square and completely burn the town and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. That town is to remain a ruin forever, never to be rebuilt, 17and none of the condemned things#13:17 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them. are to be found in your hands. Then the Lord will turn from his fierce anger, will show you mercy, and will have compassion on you. He will increase your numbers, as he promised on oath to your ancestors&#8212; 18because you obey the Lord your God by keeping all his commands that I am giving you today and doing what is right in his eyes.</div>
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 <div class="book bkDEU">
 <div class="chapter ch14" data-usfm="DEU.14">
 <div class="label">14</div><div class="s1">Clean and Unclean Food</div><div class="p"> 1You are the children of the Lord your God. Do not cut yourselves or shave the front of your heads for the dead, 2for you are a people holy to the Lord your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the Lord has chosen you to be his treasured possession.</div><div class="p"> 3Do not eat any detestable thing. 4These are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, 5the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope and the mountain sheep.#14:5 The precise identification of some of the birds and animals in this chapter is uncertain. 6You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud. 7However, of those that chew the cud or that have a divided hoof you may not eat the camel, the rabbit or the hyrax. Although they chew the cud, they do not have a divided hoof; they are ceremonially unclean for you. 8The pig is also unclean; although it has a divided hoof, it does not chew the cud. You are not to eat their meat or touch their carcasses.</div><div class="p"> 9Of all the creatures living in the water, you may eat any that has fins and scales. 10But anything that does not have fins and scales you may not eat; for you it is unclean.</div><div class="p"> 11You may eat any clean bird. 12But these you may not eat: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture, 13the red kite, the black kite, any kind of falcon, 14any kind of raven, 15the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, 16the little owl, the great owl, the white owl, 17the desert owl, the osprey, the cormorant, 18the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat.</div><div class="p"> 19All flying insects are unclean to you; do not eat them. 20But any winged creature that is clean you may eat.</div><div class="p"> 21Do not eat anything you find already dead. You may give it to the foreigner residing in any of your towns, and they may eat it, or you may sell it to any other foreigner. But you are a people holy to the Lord your God.</div><div class="p">Do not cook a young goat in its mother&#8217;s milk.</div><div class="s1">Tithes</div><div class="p"> 22Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. 23Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always. 24But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the Lord your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the Lord will choose to put his Name is so far away), 25then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the Lord your God will choose. 26Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice. 27And do not neglect the Levites living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own.</div><div class="p"> 28At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year&#8217;s produce and store it in your towns, 29so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkDEU">
 <div class="chapter ch15" data-usfm="DEU.15">
 <div class="label">15</div><div class="s1">The Year for Canceling Debts</div><div class="p"> 1At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. 2This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel any loan they have made to a fellow Israelite. They shall not require payment from anyone among their own people, because the Lord&#8217;s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed. 3You may require payment from a foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your fellow Israelite owes you. 4However, there need be no poor people among you, for in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you, 5if only you fully obey the Lord your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today. 6For the Lord your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you.</div><div class="p"> 7If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. 8Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them whatever they need. 9Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: &#8220;The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near,&#8221; so that you do not show ill will toward the needy among your fellow Israelites and give them nothing. They may then appeal to the Lord against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. 10Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. 11There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.</div><div class="s1">Freeing Servants</div><div class="p"> 12If any of your people&#8212;Hebrew men or women&#8212;sell themselves to you and serve you six years, in the seventh year you must let them go free. 13And when you release them, do not send them away empty-handed. 14Supply them liberally from your flock, your threshing floor and your winepress. Give to them as the Lord your God has blessed you. 15Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you. That is why I give you this command today.</div><div class="p"> 16But if your servant says to you, &#8220;I do not want to leave you,&#8221; because he loves you and your family and is well off with you, 17then take an awl and push it through his earlobe into the door, and he will become your servant for life. Do the same for your female servant.</div><div class="p"> 18Do not consider it a hardship to set your servant free, because their service to you these six years has been worth twice as much as that of a hired hand. And the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.</div><div class="s1">The Firstborn Animals</div><div class="p"> 19Set apart for the Lord your God every firstborn male of your herds and flocks. Do not put the firstborn of your cows to work, and do not shear the firstborn of your sheep. 20Each year you and your family are to eat them in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose. 21If an animal has a defect, is lame or blind, or has any serious flaw, you must not sacrifice it to the Lord your God. 22You are to eat it in your own towns. Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat it, as if it were gazelle or deer. 23But you must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water.</div>
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 <div class="book bkEZR">
 <div class="chapter ch1" data-usfm="EZR.1">
 <div class="label">1</div><div class="s1">Cyrus Helps the Exiles to Return</div><div class="p"> 1In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing:</div><div class="pmo"> 2&#8220;This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pm">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. 3Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them. 4And in any locality where survivors may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites&#8212;everyone whose heart God had moved&#8212;prepared to go up and build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. 6All their neighbors assisted them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with valuable gifts, in addition to all the freewill offerings.</div><div class="p"> 7Moreover, King Cyrus brought out the articles belonging to the temple of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his god.#1:7 Or gods 8Cyrus king of Persia had them brought by Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah.</div><div class="p"> 9This was the inventory:</div><div class="b"></div><table class="table">
 <tr class="row">
 <td class="cell">gold dishes</td>
 <td class="cell">30</td>
</tr>
 <tr class="row">
 <td class="cell">silver dishes</td>
 <td class="cell">1,000</td>
</tr>
 <tr class="row">
 <td class="cell">silver pans#1:9 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.</td>
 <td class="cell">29</td>
</tr>
 <tr class="row">
 <td class="cell">10gold bowls</td>
 <td class="cell">30</td>
</tr>
 <tr class="row">
 <td class="cell">matching silver bowls</td>
 <td class="cell">410</td>
</tr>
 <tr class="row">
 <td class="cell">other articles</td>
 <td class="cell">1,000</td>
</tr>
</table><div class="b"> </div><div class="p"> 11In all, there were 5,400 articles of gold and of silver. Sheshbazzar brought all these along with the exiles when they came up from Babylon to Jerusalem.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkEZR">
 <div class="chapter ch3" data-usfm="EZR.3">
 <div class="label">3</div><div class="s1">Rebuilding the Altar</div><div class="p"> 1When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, the people assembled together as one in Jerusalem. 2Then Joshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his associates began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, in accordance with what is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. 3Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and evening sacrifices. 4Then in accordance with what is written, they celebrated the Festival of Tabernacles with the required number of burnt offerings prescribed for each day. 5After that, they presented the regular burnt offerings, the New Moon sacrifices and the sacrifices for all the appointed sacred festivals of the Lord, as well as those brought as freewill offerings to the Lord. 6On the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, though the foundation of the Lord&#8217;s temple had not yet been laid.</div><div class="s1">Rebuilding the Temple</div><div class="p"> 7Then they gave money to the masons and carpenters, and gave food and drink and olive oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre, so that they would bring cedar logs by sea from Lebanon to Joppa, as authorized by Cyrus king of Persia.</div><div class="p"> 8In the second month of the second year after their arrival at the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak and the rest of the people (the priests and the Levites and all who had returned from the captivity to Jerusalem) began the work. They appointed Levites twenty years old and older to supervise the building of the house of the Lord. 9Joshua and his sons and brothers and Kadmiel and his sons (descendants of Hodaviah#3:9 Hebrew Yehudah, a variant of Hodaviah) and the sons of Henadad and their sons and brothers&#8212;all Levites&#8212;joined together in supervising those working on the house of God.</div><div class="p"> 10When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the Lord, as prescribed by David king of Israel. 11With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;He is good;</div><div class="q2">his love toward Israel endures forever.&#8221;</div><div class="m">And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. 12But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. 13No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkEZR">
 <div class="chapter ch4" data-usfm="EZR.4">
 <div class="label">4</div><div class="s1">Opposition to the Rebuilding</div><div class="p"> 1When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, 2they came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the families and said, &#8220;Let us help you build because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 3But Zerubbabel, Joshua and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel answered, &#8220;You have no part with us in building a temple to our God. We alone will build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, commanded us.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building.#4:4 Or and troubled them as they built 5They bribed officials to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia.</div><div class="s1">Later Opposition Under Xerxes and Artaxerxes</div><div class="p"> 6At the beginning of the reign of Xerxes,#4:6 Hebrew Ahasuerus they lodged an accusation against the people of Judah and Jerusalem.</div><div class="p"> 7And in the days of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of his associates wrote a letter to Artaxerxes. The letter was written in Aramaic script and in the Aramaic language.#4:7 Or written in Aramaic and translated#4:7 The text of 4:8&#8211;6:18 is in Aramaic.</div><div class="p"> 8Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows:</div><div class="pmo"> 9Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary, together with the rest of their associates&#8212;the judges, officials and administrators over the people from Persia, Uruk and Babylon, the Elamites of Susa, 10and the other people whom the great and honorable Ashurbanipal deported and settled in the city of Samaria and elsewhere in Trans-Euphrates.</div><div class="p"> 11(This is a copy of the letter they sent him.)</div><div class="pmo">To King Artaxerxes,</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pmo">From your servants in Trans-Euphrates:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pm"> 12The king should know that the people who came up to us from you have gone to Jerusalem and are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are restoring the walls and repairing the foundations.</div><div class="pm"> 13Furthermore, the king should know that if this city is built and its walls are restored, no more taxes, tribute or duty will be paid, and eventually the royal revenues will suffer.#4:13 The meaning of the Aramaic for this clause is uncertain. 14Now since we are under obligation to the palace and it is not proper for us to see the king dishonored, we are sending this message to inform the king, 15so that a search may be made in the archives of your predecessors. In these records you will find that this city is a rebellious city, troublesome to kings and provinces, a place with a long history of sedition. That is why this city was destroyed. 16We inform the king that if this city is built and its walls are restored, you will be left with nothing in Trans-Euphrates.</div><div class="p"> 17The king sent this reply:</div><div class="pmo">To Rehum the commanding officer, Shimshai the secretary and the rest of their associates living in Samaria and elsewhere in Trans-Euphrates:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pmo">Greetings.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pm"> 18The letter you sent us has been read and translated in my presence. 19I issued an order and a search was made, and it was found that this city has a long history of revolt against kings and has been a place of rebellion and sedition. 20Jerusalem has had powerful kings ruling over the whole of Trans-Euphrates, and taxes, tribute and duty were paid to them. 21Now issue an order to these men to stop work, so that this city will not be rebuilt until I so order. 22Be careful not to neglect this matter. Why let this threat grow, to the detriment of the royal interests?</div><div class="p"> 23As soon as the copy of the letter of King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum and Shimshai the secretary and their associates, they went immediately to the Jews in Jerusalem and compelled them by force to stop.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="p"> 24Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkEZR">
 <div class="chapter ch5" data-usfm="EZR.5">
 <div class="label">5</div><div class="s1">Tattenai&#8217;s Letter to Darius</div><div class="p"> 1Now Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the prophet, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. 2Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jozadak set to work to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.</div><div class="p"> 3At that time Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates went to them and asked, &#8220;Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and to finish it?&#8221; 4They#5:4 See Septuagint; Aramaic We. also asked, &#8220;What are the names of those who are constructing this building?&#8221; 5But the eye of their God was watching over the elders of the Jews, and they were not stopped until a report could go to Darius and his written reply be received.</div><div class="p"> 6This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates, the officials of Trans-Euphrates, sent to King Darius. 7The report they sent him read as follows:</div><div class="pmo">To King Darius:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pmo">Cordial greetings.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pm"> 8The king should know that we went to the district of Judah, to the temple of the great God. The people are building it with large stones and placing the timbers in the walls. The work is being carried on with diligence and is making rapid progress under their direction.</div><div class="pm"> 9We questioned the elders and asked them, &#8220;Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and to finish it?&#8221; 10We also asked them their names, so that we could write down the names of their leaders for your information.</div><div class="pm"> 11This is the answer they gave us:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pm">&#8220;We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, one that a great king of Israel built and finished. 12But because our ancestors angered the God of heaven, he gave them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar the Chaldean, king of Babylon, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.</div><div class="pm"> 13&#8220;However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild this house of God. 14He even removed from the temple#5:14 Or palace of Babylon the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to the temple#5:14 Or palace in Babylon. Then King Cyrus gave them to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed governor, 15and he told him, &#8216;Take these articles and go and deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem. And rebuild the house of God on its site.&#8217;</div><div class="pm"> 16&#8220;So this Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem. From that day to the present it has been under construction but is not yet finished.&#8221;</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pm"> 17Now if it pleases the king, let a search be made in the royal archives of Babylon to see if King Cyrus did in fact issue a decree to rebuild this house of God in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us his decision in this matter.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkPRO">
 <div class="chapter ch31" data-usfm="PRO.31">
 <div class="label">31</div><div class="ms1">Sayings of King Lemuel</div><div class="p"> 1The sayings of King Lemuel&#8212;an inspired utterance his mother taught him.</div><div class="q1"> 2Listen, my son! Listen, son of my womb!</div><div class="q2">Listen, my son, the answer to my prayers!</div><div class="q1"> 3Do not spend your strength#31:3 Or wealth on women,</div><div class="q2">your vigor on those who ruin kings.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 4It is not for kings, Lemuel&#8212;</div><div class="q2">it is not for kings to drink wine,</div><div class="q2">not for rulers to crave beer,</div><div class="q1"> 5lest they drink and forget what has been decreed,</div><div class="q2">and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.</div><div class="q1"> 6Let beer be for those who are perishing,</div><div class="q2">wine for those who are in anguish!</div><div class="q1"> 7Let them drink and forget their poverty</div><div class="q2">and remember their misery no more.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 8Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,</div><div class="q2">for the rights of all who are destitute.</div><div class="q1"> 9Speak up and judge fairly;</div><div class="q2">defend the rights of the poor and needy.</div><div class="ms1">Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character</div><div class="q1"> 10 # 31:10 Verses 10-31 are an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. A wife of noble character who can find?</div><div class="q2">She is worth far more than rubies.</div><div class="q1"> 11Her husband has full confidence in her</div><div class="q2">and lacks nothing of value.</div><div class="q1"> 12She brings him good, not harm,</div><div class="q2">all the days of her life.</div><div class="q1"> 13She selects wool and flax</div><div class="q2">and works with eager hands.</div><div class="q1"> 14She is like the merchant ships,</div><div class="q2">bringing her food from afar.</div><div class="q1"> 15She gets up while it is still night;</div><div class="q2">she provides food for her family</div><div class="q2">and portions for her female servants.</div><div class="q1"> 16She considers a field and buys it;</div><div class="q2">out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.</div><div class="q1"> 17She sets about her work vigorously;</div><div class="q2">her arms are strong for her tasks.</div><div class="q1"> 18She sees that her trading is profitable,</div><div class="q2">and her lamp does not go out at night.</div><div class="q1"> 19In her hand she holds the distaff</div><div class="q2">and grasps the spindle with her fingers.</div><div class="q1"> 20She opens her arms to the poor</div><div class="q2">and extends her hands to the needy.</div><div class="q1"> 21When it snows, she has no fear for her household;</div><div class="q2">for all of them are clothed in scarlet.</div><div class="q1"> 22She makes coverings for her bed;</div><div class="q2">she is clothed in fine linen and purple.</div><div class="q1"> 23Her husband is respected at the city gate,</div><div class="q2">where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.</div><div class="q1"> 24She makes linen garments and sells them,</div><div class="q2">and supplies the merchants with sashes.</div><div class="q1"> 25She is clothed with strength and dignity;</div><div class="q2">she can laugh at the days to come.</div><div class="q1"> 26She speaks with wisdom,</div><div class="q2">and faithful instruction is on her tongue.</div><div class="q1"> 27She watches over the affairs of her household</div><div class="q2">and does not eat the bread of idleness.</div><div class="q1"> 28Her children arise and call her blessed;</div><div class="q2">her husband also, and he praises her:</div><div class="q1"> 29&#8220;Many women do noble things,</div><div class="q2">but you surpass them all.&#8221;</div><div class="q1"> 30Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;</div><div class="q2">but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.</div><div class="q1"> 31Honor her for all that her hands have done,</div><div class="q2">and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkZEC">
 <div class="chapter ch1" data-usfm="ZEC.1">
 <div class="label">1</div><div class="s1">A Call to Return to the Lord</div><div class="p"> 1In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo:</div><div class="p"> 2&#8220;The Lord was very angry with your ancestors. 3Therefore tell the people: This is what the Lord Almighty says: &#8216;Return to me,&#8217; declares the Lord Almighty, &#8216;and I will return to you,&#8217; says the Lord Almighty. 4Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the earlier prophets proclaimed: This is what the Lord Almighty says: &#8216;Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices.&#8217; But they would not listen or pay attention to me, declares the Lord. 5Where are your ancestors now? And the prophets, do they live forever? 6But did not my words and my decrees, which I commanded my servants the prophets, overtake your ancestors?</div><div class="p">&#8220;Then they repented and said, &#8216;The Lord Almighty has done to us what our ways and practices deserve, just as he determined to do.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="s1">The Man Among the Myrtle Trees</div><div class="p"> 7On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo.</div><div class="p"> 8During the night I had a vision, and there before me was a man mounted on a red horse. He was standing among the myrtle trees in a ravine. Behind him were red, brown and white horses.</div><div class="p"> 9I asked, &#8220;What are these, my lord?&#8221;</div><div class="p">The angel who was talking with me answered, &#8220;I will show you what they are.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 10Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, &#8220;They are the ones the Lord has sent to go throughout the earth.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 11And they reported to the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, &#8220;We have gone throughout the earth and found the whole world at rest and in peace.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12Then the angel of the Lord said, &#8220;Lord Almighty, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and from the towns of Judah, which you have been angry with these seventy years?&#8221; 13So the Lord spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who talked with me.</div><div class="p"> 14Then the angel who was speaking to me said, &#8220;Proclaim this word: This is what the Lord Almighty says: &#8216;I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, 15and I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. I was only a little angry, but they went too far with the punishment.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 16&#8220;Therefore this is what the Lord says: &#8216;I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt. And the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem,&#8217; declares the Lord Almighty.</div><div class="p"> 17&#8220;Proclaim further: This is what the Lord Almighty says: &#8216;My towns will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Four Horns and Four Craftsmen</div><div class="p"> 18Then I looked up, and there before me were four horns. 19I asked the angel who was speaking to me, &#8220;What are these?&#8221;</div><div class="p">He answered me, &#8220;These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 20Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. 21I asked, &#8220;What are these coming to do?&#8221;</div><div class="p">He answered, &#8220;These are the horns that scattered Judah so that no one could raise their head, but the craftsmen have come to terrify them and throw down these horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter its people.&#8221;#1:21 In Hebrew texts 1:18-21 is numbered 2:1-4.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkZEC">
 <div class="chapter ch2" data-usfm="ZEC.2">
 <div class="label">2</div><div class="s1">A Man With a Measuring Line</div><div class="p"> # In Hebrew texts 2:1-13 is numbered 2:5-17. 1Then I looked up, and there before me was a man with a measuring line in his hand. 2I asked, &#8220;Where are you going?&#8221;</div><div class="p">He answered me, &#8220;To measure Jerusalem, to find out how wide and how long it is.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 3While the angel who was speaking to me was leaving, another angel came to meet him 4and said to him: &#8220;Run, tell that young man, &#8216;Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of people and animals in it. 5And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,&#8217; declares the Lord, &#8216;and I will be its glory within.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 6&#8220;Come! Come! Flee from the land of the north,&#8221; declares the Lord, &#8220;for I have scattered you to the four winds of heaven,&#8221; declares the Lord.</div><div class="p"> 7&#8220;Come, Zion! Escape, you who live in Daughter Babylon!&#8221; 8For this is what the Lord Almighty says: &#8220;After the Glorious One has sent me against the nations that have plundered you&#8212;for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye&#8212; 9I will surely raise my hand against them so that their slaves will plunder them.#2:8,9 Or says after&#8230; eye: 9 &#8220;I&#8230; plunder them.&#8221; Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me.</div><div class="p"> 10&#8220;Shout and be glad, Daughter Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,&#8221; declares the Lord. 11&#8220;Many nations will be joined with the Lord in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. 12The Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land and will again choose Jerusalem. 13Be still before the Lord, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkZEC">
 <div class="chapter ch3" data-usfm="ZEC.3">
 <div class="label">3</div><div class="s1">Clean Garments for the High Priest</div><div class="p"> 1Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan#3:1 Hebrew satan means adversary. standing at his right side to accuse him. 2The Lord said to Satan, &#8220;The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 3Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. 4The angel said to those who were standing before him, &#8220;Take off his filthy clothes.&#8221;</div><div class="p">Then he said to Joshua, &#8220;See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5Then I said, &#8220;Put a clean turban on his head.&#8221; So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the Lord stood by.</div><div class="p"> 6The angel of the Lord gave this charge to Joshua: 7&#8220;This is what the Lord Almighty says: &#8216;If you will walk in obedience to me and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you a place among these standing here.</div><div class="p"> 8&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Listen, High Priest Joshua, you and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. 9See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes#3:9 Or facets on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,&#8217; says the Lord Almighty, &#8216;and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day.</div><div class="p"> 10&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;In that day each of you will invite your neighbor to sit under your vine and fig tree,&#8217; declares the Lord Almighty.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkZEC">
 <div class="chapter ch4" data-usfm="ZEC.4">
 <div class="label">4</div><div class="s1">The Gold Lampstand and the Two Olive Trees</div><div class="p"> 1Then the angel who talked with me returned and woke me up, like someone awakened from sleep. 2He asked me, &#8220;What do you see?&#8221;</div><div class="p">I answered, &#8220;I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it, with seven channels to the lamps. 3Also there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4I asked the angel who talked with me, &#8220;What are these, my lord?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5He answered, &#8220;Do you not know what these are?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;No, my lord,&#8221; I replied.</div><div class="p"> 6So he said to me, &#8220;This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: &#8216;Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,&#8217; says the Lord Almighty.</div><div class="p"> 7&#8220;What are you, mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of &#8216;God bless it! God bless it!&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 8Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9&#8220;The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands will also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.</div><div class="p"> 10&#8220;Who dares despise the day of small things, since the seven eyes of the Lord that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone#4:10 Or the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 11Then I asked the angel, &#8220;What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12Again I asked him, &#8220;What are these two olive branches beside the two gold pipes that pour out golden oil?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 13He replied, &#8220;Do you not know what these are?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;No, my lord,&#8221; I said.</div><div class="p"> 14So he said, &#8220;These are the two who are anointed to#4:14 Or two who bring oil and serve the Lord of all the earth.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkZEC">
 <div class="chapter ch5" data-usfm="ZEC.5">
 <div class="label">5</div><div class="s1">The Flying Scroll</div><div class="p"> 1I looked again, and there before me was a flying scroll.</div><div class="p"> 2He asked me, &#8220;What do you see?&#8221;</div><div class="p">I answered, &#8220;I see a flying scroll, twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide.#5:2 That is, about 30 feet long and 15 feet wide or about 9 meters long and 4.5 meters wide&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 3And he said to me, &#8220;This is the curse that is going out over the whole land; for according to what it says on one side, every thief will be banished, and according to what it says on the other, everyone who swears falsely will be banished. 4The Lord Almighty declares, &#8216;I will send it out, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of anyone who swears falsely by my name. It will remain in that house and destroy it completely, both its timbers and its stones.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="s1">The Woman in a Basket</div><div class="p"> 5Then the angel who was speaking to me came forward and said to me, &#8220;Look up and see what is appearing.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6I asked, &#8220;What is it?&#8221;</div><div class="p">He replied, &#8220;It is a basket.&#8221; And he added, &#8220;This is the iniquity#5:6 Or appearance of the people throughout the land.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 7Then the cover of lead was raised, and there in the basket sat a woman! 8He said, &#8220;This is wickedness,&#8221; and he pushed her back into the basket and pushed its lead cover down on it.</div><div class="p"> 9Then I looked up&#8212;and there before me were two women, with the wind in their wings! They had wings like those of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between heaven and earth.</div><div class="p"> 10&#8220;Where are they taking the basket?&#8221; I asked the angel who was speaking to me.</div><div class="p"> 11He replied, &#8220;To the country of Babylonia#5:11 Hebrew Shinar to build a house for it. When the house is ready, the basket will be set there in its place.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkZEC">
 <div class="chapter ch6" data-usfm="ZEC.6">
 <div class="label">6</div><div class="s1">Four Chariots</div><div class="p"> 1I looked up again, and there before me were four chariots coming out from between two mountains&#8212;mountains of bronze. 2The first chariot had red horses, the second black, 3the third white, and the fourth dappled&#8212;all of them powerful. 4I asked the angel who was speaking to me, &#8220;What are these, my lord?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5The angel answered me, &#8220;These are the four spirits#6:5 Or winds of heaven, going out from standing in the presence of the Lord of the whole world. 6The one with the black horses is going toward the north country, the one with the white horses toward the west,#6:6 Or horses after them and the one with the dappled horses toward the south.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 7When the powerful horses went out, they were straining to go throughout the earth. And he said, &#8220;Go throughout the earth!&#8221; So they went throughout the earth.</div><div class="p"> 8Then he called to me, &#8220;Look, those going toward the north country have given my Spirit#6:8 Or spirit rest in the land of the north.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">A Crown for Joshua</div><div class="p"> 9The word of the Lord came to me: 10&#8220;Take silver and gold from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon. Go the same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. 11Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua son of Jozadak.#6:11 Hebrew Jehozadak, a variant of Jozadak 12Tell him this is what the Lord Almighty says: &#8216;Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord. 13It is he who will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he#6:13 Or there will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.&#8217; 14The crown will be given to Heldai,#6:14 Syriac; Hebrew Helem Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen#6:14 Or and the gracious one, the son of Zephaniah as a memorial in the temple of the Lord. 15Those who are far away will come and help to build the temple of the Lord, and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. This will happen if you diligently obey the Lord your God.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkZEC">
 <div class="chapter ch7" data-usfm="ZEC.7">
 <div class="label">7</div><div class="s1">Justice and Mercy, Not Fasting</div><div class="p"> 1In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev. 2The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek, together with their men, to entreat the Lord 3by asking the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets, &#8220;Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4Then the word of the Lord Almighty came to me: 5&#8220;Ask all the people of the land and the priests, &#8216;When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? 6And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves? 7Are these not the words the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills were settled?&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 8And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah: 9&#8220;This is what the Lord Almighty said: &#8216;Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. 10Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 11&#8220;But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears. 12They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the Lord Almighty was very angry.</div><div class="p"> 13&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,&#8217; says the Lord Almighty. 14&#8216;I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one traveled through it. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkACT">
 <div class="chapter ch15" data-usfm="ACT.15">
 <div class="label">15</div><div class="s1">The Council at Jerusalem</div><div class="p"> 1Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: &#8220;Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.&#8221; 2This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. 3The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the believers very glad. 4When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.</div><div class="p"> 5Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, &#8220;The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6The apostles and elders met to consider this question. 7After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: &#8220;Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. 8God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. 10Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? 11No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. 13When they finished, James spoke up. &#8220;Brothers,&#8221; he said, &#8220;listen to me. 14Simon#15:14 Greek Simeon, a variant of Simon; that is, Peter has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles. 15The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:</div><div class="q1"> 16&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;After this I will return</div><div class="q2">and rebuild David&#8217;s fallen tent.</div><div class="q1">Its ruins I will rebuild,</div><div class="q2">and I will restore it,</div><div class="q1"> 17that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord,</div><div class="q2">even all the Gentiles who bear my name,</div><div class="q1">says the Lord, who does these things&#8217;#15:17 Amos 9:11,12 (see Septuagint)&#8212;</div><div class="q2"> 18things known from long ago.#15:17,18 Some manuscripts things&#8217;&#8212; / 18 the Lord&#8217;s work is known to him from long ago</div><div class="p"> 19&#8220;It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 20Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. 21For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">The Council&#8217;s Letter to Gentile Believers</div><div class="p"> 22Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, men who were leaders among the believers. 23With them they sent the following letter:</div><div class="pmo">The apostles and elders, your brothers,</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pmo">To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pmo">Greetings.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pm"> 24We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. 25So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul&#8212; 26men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. 28It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: 29You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.</div><div class="pmc">Farewell.</div><div class="p"> 30So the men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. 31The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. 32Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the believers. 33After spending some time there, they were sent off by the believers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them. [34]#15:34 Some manuscripts include here But Silas decided to remain there. 35But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.</div><div class="s1">Disagreement Between Paul and Barnabas</div><div class="p"> 36Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, &#8220;Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.&#8221; 37Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, 38but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. 39They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, 40but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. 41He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkACT">
 <div class="chapter ch16" data-usfm="ACT.16">
 <div class="label">16</div><div class="s1">Timothy Joins Paul and Silas</div><div class="p"> 1Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek. 2The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. 3Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. 5So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.</div><div class="s1">Paul&#8217;s Vision of the Man of Macedonia</div><div class="p"> 6Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. 8So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, &#8220;Come over to Macedonia and help us.&#8221; 10After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.</div><div class="s1">Lydia&#8217;s Conversion in Philippi</div><div class="p"> 11From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. 12From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district#16:12 The text and meaning of the Greek for the leading city of that district are uncertain. of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.</div><div class="p"> 13On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul&#8217;s message. 15When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. &#8220;If you consider me a believer in the Lord,&#8221; she said, &#8220;come and stay at my house.&#8221; And she persuaded us.</div><div class="s1">Paul and Silas in Prison</div><div class="p"> 16Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, &#8220;These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.&#8221; 18She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, &#8220;In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!&#8221; At that moment the spirit left her.</div><div class="p"> 19When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20They brought them before the magistrates and said, &#8220;These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 22The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. 23After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.</div><div class="p"> 25About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone&#8217;s chains came loose. 27The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28But Paul shouted, &#8220;Don&#8217;t harm yourself! We are all here!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 29The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30He then brought them out and asked, &#8220;Sirs, what must I do to be saved?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 31They replied, &#8220;Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved&#8212;you and your household.&#8221; 32Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. 34The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God&#8212;he and his whole household.</div><div class="p"> 35When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: &#8220;Release those men.&#8221; 36The jailer told Paul, &#8220;The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 37But Paul said to the officers: &#8220;They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 38The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed. 39They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city. 40After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia&#8217;s house, where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them. Then they left.</div>
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