God Unites: Marriage Devotional

Identity in Christ for Teens

Experience the Gospel of Mark

Bema Liturgy I— Part A

Our Identity in Christ

The Lord’s Prayer- Jesus’ Example for Us

Daily Bible Reading— September 2024, God’s Guiding Word: Wisdom

Strong Girls: Beauty, Brains, Brawn, and Brilliance

How to Grow Your Fire for God

Child of Love

The Listener’s Bible®: NIV Edition

New International Version™  (Anglicised), Audio Edition

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

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 <div class="label">12</div><div class="s1">The Parable of the Tenants</div><div class="p"> 1Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: &#8220;A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 2At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. 5He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.</div><div class="p"> 6 &#8220;He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, &#8216;They will respect my son.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 7 &#8220;But the tenants said to one another, &#8216;This is the heir. Come, let&#8217;s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.&#8217; 8So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.</div><div class="p"> 9 &#8220;What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10Haven&#8217;t you read this passage of Scripture:</div><div class="q1"> &#8220;&#8198;&#8216;The stone the builders rejected</div><div class="q2"> has become the cornerstone;</div><div class="q1"> 11 the Lord has done this,</div><div class="q2"> and it is marvelous in our eyes&#8217; # 12:11 
 Psalm 118:22,23 ?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.</div><div class="s1">Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar</div><div class="p"> 13Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. 14They came to him and said, &#8220;Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren&#8217;t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax#12:14 A special tax levied on subject peoples, not on Roman citizens to Caesar or not? 15Should we pay or shouldn&#8217;t we?&#8221;</div><div class="p">But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. &#8220;Why are you trying to trap me?&#8221; he asked. &#8220;Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.&#8221; 16They brought the coin, and he asked them, &#8220;Whose image is this? And whose inscription?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;Caesar&#8217;s,&#8221; they replied.</div><div class="p"> 17Then Jesus said to them, &#8220;Give back to Caesar what is Caesar&#8217;s and to God what is God&#8217;s.&#8221;</div><div class="p">And they were amazed at him.</div><div class="s1">Marriage at the Resurrection</div><div class="p"> 18Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. 19&#8220;Teacher,&#8221; they said, &#8220;Moses wrote for us that if a man&#8217;s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 20Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children. 21The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third. 22In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too. 23At the resurrection#12:23 Some manuscripts resurrection, when people rise from the dead, whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 24Jesus replied, &#8220;Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? 25When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. 26Now about the dead rising&#8212;have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, &#8216;I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob&#8217;#12:26 Exodus 3:6? 27He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!&#8221;</div><div class="s1">The Greatest Commandment</div><div class="p"> 28One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, &#8220;Of all the commandments, which is the most important?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 29 &#8220;The most important one,&#8221; answered Jesus, &#8220;is this: &#8216;Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.#12:29 Or The Lord our God is one Lord 30Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.&#8217;#12:30 Deut. 6:4,5 31The second is this: &#8216;Love your neighbor as yourself.&#8217;#12:31 Lev. 19:18 There is no commandment greater than these.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 32&#8220;Well said, teacher,&#8221; the man replied. &#8220;You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 34When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, &#8220;You are not far from the kingdom of God.&#8221; And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.</div><div class="s1">Whose Son Is the Messiah?</div><div class="p"> 35While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, &#8220;Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David? 36David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared:</div><div class="q1"> &#8220;&#8198;&#8216;The Lord said to my Lord:</div><div class="q2"> &#8220;Sit at my right hand</div><div class="q1"> until I put your enemies</div><div class="q2"> under your feet.&#8221;&#8198;&#8217; # 12:36 
 Psalm 110:1
 </div><div class="m"> 37 David himself calls him &#8216;Lord.&#8217; How then can he be his son?&#8221;</div><div class="p">The large crowd listened to him with delight.</div><div class="s1">Warning Against the Teachers of the Law</div><div class="p"> 38As he taught, Jesus said, &#8220;Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, 39and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 40They devour widows&#8217; houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">The Widow&#8217;s Offering</div><div class="p"> 41Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.</div><div class="p"> 43Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, &#8220;Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything&#8212;all she had to live on.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <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="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">
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 <div class="chapter ch59" data-usfm="PSA.59">
 <div class="label">59</div><div class="cl">Psalm 59#In Hebrew texts 59:1-17 is numbered 59:2-18.</div><div class="d">For the director of music. To the tune of &#8220;Do Not Destroy.&#8221; Of David. A miktam.#Title: Probably a literary or musical term When Saul had sent men to watch David&#8217;s house in order to kill him.</div><div class="q1"> 1Deliver me from my enemies, O God;</div><div class="q2">be my fortress against those who are attacking me.</div><div class="q1"> 2Deliver me from evildoers</div><div class="q2">and save me from those who are after my blood.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 3See how they lie in wait for me!</div><div class="q2">Fierce men conspire against me</div><div class="q2">for no offense or sin of mine, Lord.</div><div class="q1"> 4I have done no wrong, yet they are ready to attack me.</div><div class="q2">Arise to help me; look on my plight!</div><div class="q1"> 5You, Lord God Almighty,</div><div class="q2">you who are the God of Israel,</div><div class="q1">rouse yourself to punish all the nations;</div><div class="q2">show no mercy to wicked traitors.#59:5 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 13.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 6They return at evening,</div><div class="q2">snarling like dogs,</div><div class="q2">and prowl about the city.</div><div class="q1"> 7See what they spew from their mouths&#8212;</div><div class="q2">the words from their lips are sharp as swords,</div><div class="q2">and they think, &#8220;Who can hear us?&#8221;</div><div class="q1"> 8But you laugh at them, Lord;</div><div class="q2">you scoff at all those nations.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 9You are my strength, I watch for you;</div><div class="q2">you, God, are my fortress,</div><div class="q2"> 10my God on whom I can rely.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1">God will go before me</div><div class="q2">and will let me gloat over those who slander me.</div><div class="q1"> 11But do not kill them, Lord our shield,#59:11 Or sovereign</div><div class="q2">or my people will forget.</div><div class="q1">In your might uproot them</div><div class="q2">and bring them down.</div><div class="q1"> 12For the sins of their mouths,</div><div class="q2">for the words of their lips,</div><div class="q2">let them be caught in their pride.</div><div class="q1">For the curses and lies they utter,</div><div class="q2"> 13consume them in your wrath,</div><div class="q2">consume them till they are no more.</div><div class="q1">Then it will be known to the ends of the earth</div><div class="q2">that God rules over Jacob.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 14They return at evening,</div><div class="q2">snarling like dogs,</div><div class="q2">and prowl about the city.</div><div class="q1"> 15They wander about for food</div><div class="q2">and howl if not satisfied.</div><div class="q1"> 16But I will sing of your strength,</div><div class="q2">in the morning I will sing of your love;</div><div class="q1">for you are my fortress,</div><div class="q2">my refuge in times of trouble.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 17You are my strength, I sing praise to you;</div><div class="q2">you, God, are my fortress,</div><div class="q2">my God on whom I can rely.</div>
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