Church Planting in the Book of Acts

Leading With Faith in the Hard Places

EquipHer Vol. 12: "From Success to Significance"

How to Overcome Temptation

Acts 10:9-33 | When God Has a New Way

You Are Not Alone.

BibleProject | Sermon on the Mount

God in the Midst of Depression

Ready as You Are

7-Day Devotional: Torn Between Two Worlds – Embracing God’s Gifts Amid Unmet Longings

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 bkGEN">
 <div class="chapter ch34" data-usfm="GEN.34">
 <div class="label">34</div><div class="s1">Dinah and the Shechemites</div><div class="p"> 1Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. 2When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and raped her. 3His heart was drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob; he loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. 4And Shechem said to his father Hamor, &#8220;Get me this girl as my wife.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5When Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled, his sons were in the fields with his livestock; so he did nothing about it until they came home.</div><div class="p"> 6Then Shechem&#8217;s father Hamor went out to talk with Jacob. 7Meanwhile, Jacob&#8217;s sons had come in from the fields as soon as they heard what had happened. They were shocked and furious, because Shechem had done an outrageous thing in#34:7 Or against Israel by sleeping with Jacob&#8217;s daughter&#8212;a thing that should not be done.</div><div class="p"> 8But Hamor said to them, &#8220;My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife. 9Intermarry with us; give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves. 10You can settle among us; the land is open to you. Live in it, trade#34:10 Or move about freely; also in verse 21 in it, and acquire property in it.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 11Then Shechem said to Dinah&#8217;s father and brothers, &#8220;Let me find favor in your eyes, and I will give you whatever you ask. 12Make the price for the bride and the gift I am to bring as great as you like, and I&#8217;ll pay whatever you ask me. Only give me the young woman as my wife.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 13Because their sister Dinah had been defiled, Jacob&#8217;s sons replied deceitfully as they spoke to Shechem and his father Hamor. 14They said to them, &#8220;We can&#8217;t do such a thing; we can&#8217;t give our sister to a man who is not circumcised. That would be a disgrace to us. 15We will enter into an agreement with you on one condition only: that you become like us by circumcising all your males. 16Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters for ourselves. We&#8217;ll settle among you and become one people with you. 17But if you will not agree to be circumcised, we&#8217;ll take our sister and go.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 18Their proposal seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. 19The young man, who was the most honored of all his father&#8217;s family, lost no time in doing what they said, because he was delighted with Jacob&#8217;s daughter. 20So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city to speak to the men of their city. 21&#8220;These men are friendly toward us,&#8221; they said. &#8220;Let them live in our land and trade in it; the land has plenty of room for them. We can marry their daughters and they can marry ours. 22But the men will agree to live with us as one people only on the condition that our males be circumcised, as they themselves are. 23Won&#8217;t their livestock, their property and all their other animals become ours? So let us agree to their terms, and they will settle among us.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 24All the men who went out of the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male in the city was circumcised.</div><div class="p"> 25Three days later, while all of them were still in pain, two of Jacob&#8217;s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah&#8217;s brothers, took their swords and attacked the unsuspecting city, killing every male. 26They put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword and took Dinah from Shechem&#8217;s house and left. 27The sons of Jacob came upon the dead bodies and looted the city where#34:27 Or because their sister had been defiled. 28They seized their flocks and herds and donkeys and everything else of theirs in the city and out in the fields. 29They carried off all their wealth and all their women and children, taking as plunder everything in the houses.</div><div class="p"> 30Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, &#8220;You have brought trouble on me by making me obnoxious to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in this land. We are few in number, and if they join forces against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 31But they replied, &#8220;Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkGEN">
 <div class="chapter ch35" data-usfm="GEN.35">
 <div class="label">35</div><div class="s1">Jacob Returns to Bethel</div><div class="p"> 1Then God said to Jacob, &#8220;Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 2So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, &#8220;Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. 3Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.&#8221; 4So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem. 5Then they set out, and the terror of God fell on the towns all around them so that no one pursued them.</div><div class="p"> 6Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. 7There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel,#35:7 El Bethel means God of Bethel. because it was there that God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.</div><div class="p"> 8Now Deborah, Rebekah&#8217;s nurse, died and was buried under the oak outside Bethel. So it was named Allon Bakuth.#35:8 Allon Bakuth means oak of weeping.</div><div class="p"> 9After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram,#35:9 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia; also in verse 26 God appeared to him again and blessed him. 10God said to him, &#8220;Your name is Jacob,#35:10 Jacob means he grasps the heel, a Hebrew idiom for he deceives. but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel.#35:10 Israel probably means he struggles with God.&#8221; So he named him Israel.</div><div class="p"> 11And God said to him, &#8220;I am God Almighty#35:11 Hebrew El-Shaddai; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will be among your descendants. 12The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.&#8221; 13Then God went up from him at the place where he had talked with him.</div><div class="p"> 14Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. 15Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel.#35:15 Bethel means house of God.</div><div class="s1">The Deaths of Rachel and Isaac</div><div class="p"> 16Then they moved on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and had great difficulty. 17And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife said to her, &#8220;Don&#8217;t despair, for you have another son.&#8221; 18As she breathed her last&#8212;for she was dying&#8212;she named her son Ben-Oni.#35:18 Ben-Oni means son of my trouble. But his father named him Benjamin.#35:18 Benjamin means son of my right hand.</div><div class="p"> 19So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20Over her tomb Jacob set up a pillar, and to this day that pillar marks Rachel&#8217;s tomb.</div><div class="p"> 21Israel moved on again and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder. 22While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father&#8217;s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard of it.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="m">Jacob had twelve sons:</div><div class="li1"> 23The sons of Leah:</div><div class="li2">Reuben the firstborn of Jacob,</div><div class="li2">Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun.</div><div class="li1"> 24The sons of Rachel:</div><div class="li2">Joseph and Benjamin.</div><div class="li1"> 25The sons of Rachel&#8217;s servant Bilhah:</div><div class="li2">Dan and Naphtali.</div><div class="li1"> 26The sons of Leah&#8217;s servant Zilpah:</div><div class="li2">Gad and Asher.</div><div class="p">These were the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan Aram.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="p"> 27Jacob came home to his father Isaac in Mamre, near Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. 28Isaac lived a hundred and eighty years. 29Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of years. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.</div>
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New International Version

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkPSA">
 <div class="chapter ch18" data-usfm="PSA.18.16+PSA.18.17+PSA.18.18+PSA.18.19+PSA.18.20+PSA.18.21+PSA.18.22+PSA.18.23+PSA.18.24+PSA.18.25+PSA.18.26+PSA.18.27+PSA.18.28+PSA.18.29+PSA.18.30+PSA.18.31+PSA.18.32+PSA.18.33+PSA.18.34+PSA.18.35+PSA.18.36">
 <div class="q1">16He reached down from on high and took hold of me;</div><div class="q2">he drew me out of deep waters.</div><div class="q1"> 17He rescued me from my powerful enemy,</div><div class="q2">from my foes, who were too strong for me.</div><div class="q1"> 18They confronted me in the day of my disaster,</div><div class="q2">but the Lord was my support.</div><div class="q1"> 19He brought me out into a spacious place;</div><div class="q2">he rescued me because he delighted in me.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 20The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness;</div><div class="q2">according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.</div><div class="q1"> 21For I have kept the ways of the Lord;</div><div class="q2">I am not guilty of turning from my God.</div><div class="q1"> 22All his laws are before me;</div><div class="q2">I have not turned away from his decrees.</div><div class="q1"> 23I have been blameless before him</div><div class="q2">and have kept myself from sin.</div><div class="q1"> 24The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,</div><div class="q2">according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 25To the faithful you show yourself faithful,</div><div class="q2">to the blameless you show yourself blameless,</div><div class="q1"> 26to the pure you show yourself pure,</div><div class="q2">but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.</div><div class="q1"> 27You save the humble</div><div class="q2">but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.</div><div class="q1"> 28You, Lord, keep my lamp burning;</div><div class="q2">my God turns my darkness into light.</div><div class="q1"> 29With your help I can advance against a troop#18:29 Or can run through a barricade;</div><div class="q2">with my God I can scale a wall.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 30As for God, his way is perfect:</div><div class="q2">The Lord&#8217;s word is flawless;</div><div class="q2">he shields all who take refuge in him.</div><div class="q1"> 31For who is God besides the Lord?</div><div class="q2">And who is the Rock except our God?</div><div class="q1"> 32It is God who arms me with strength</div><div class="q2">and keeps my way secure.</div><div class="q1"> 33He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;</div><div class="q2">he causes me to stand on the heights.</div><div class="q1"> 34He trains my hands for battle;</div><div class="q2">my arms can bend a bow of bronze.</div><div class="q1"> 35You make your saving help my shield,</div><div class="q2">and your right hand sustains me;</div><div class="q2">your help has made me great.</div><div class="q1"> 36You provide a broad path for my feet,</div><div class="q2">so that my ankles do not give way.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkPRO">
 <div class="chapter ch19" data-usfm="PRO.19">
 <div class="label">19</div><div class="q1"> 1Better the poor whose walk is blameless</div><div class="q2">than a fool whose lips are perverse.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 2Desire without knowledge is not good&#8212;</div><div class="q2">how much more will hasty feet miss the way!</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 3A person&#8217;s own folly leads to their ruin,</div><div class="q2">yet their heart rages against the Lord.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 4Wealth attracts many friends,</div><div class="q2">but even the closest friend of the poor person deserts them.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 5A false witness will not go unpunished,</div><div class="q2">and whoever pours out lies will not go free.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 6Many curry favor with a ruler,</div><div class="q2">and everyone is the friend of one who gives gifts.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 7The poor are shunned by all their relatives&#8212;</div><div class="q2">how much more do their friends avoid them!</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1">Though the poor pursue them with pleading,</div><div class="q2">they are nowhere to be found.#19:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 8The one who gets wisdom loves life;</div><div class="q2">the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 9A false witness will not go unpunished,</div><div class="q2">and whoever pours out lies will perish.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 10It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury&#8212;</div><div class="q2">how much worse for a slave to rule over princes!</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 11A person&#8217;s wisdom yields patience;</div><div class="q2">it is to one&#8217;s glory to overlook an offense.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 12A king&#8217;s rage is like the roar of a lion,</div><div class="q2">but his favor is like dew on the grass.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 13A foolish child is a father&#8217;s ruin,</div><div class="q2">and a quarrelsome wife is like</div><div class="q2">the constant dripping of a leaky roof.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 14Houses and wealth are inherited from parents,</div><div class="q2">but a prudent wife is from the Lord.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 15Laziness brings on deep sleep,</div><div class="q2">and the shiftless go hungry.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 16Whoever keeps commandments keeps their life,</div><div class="q2">but whoever shows contempt for their ways will die.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 17Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord,</div><div class="q2">and he will reward them for what they have done.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 18Discipline your children, for in that there is hope;</div><div class="q2">do not be a willing party to their death.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 19A hot-tempered person must pay the penalty;</div><div class="q2">rescue them, and you will have to do it again.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 20Listen to advice and accept discipline,</div><div class="q2">and at the end you will be counted among the wise.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 21Many are the plans in a person&#8217;s heart,</div><div class="q2">but it is the Lord&#8217;s purpose that prevails.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 22What a person desires is unfailing love#19:22 Or Greed is a person&#8217;s shame;</div><div class="q2">better to be poor than a liar.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 23The fear of the Lord leads to life;</div><div class="q2">then one rests content, untouched by trouble.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 24A sluggard buries his hand in the dish;</div><div class="q2">he will not even bring it back to his mouth!</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 25Flog a mocker, and the simple will learn prudence;</div><div class="q2">rebuke the discerning, and they will gain knowledge.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 26Whoever robs their father and drives out their mother</div><div class="q2">is a child who brings shame and disgrace.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 27Stop listening to instruction, my son,</div><div class="q2">and you will stray from the words of knowledge.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 28A corrupt witness mocks at justice,</div><div class="q2">and the mouth of the wicked gulps down evil.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 29Penalties are prepared for mockers,</div><div class="q2">and beatings for the backs of fools.</div><div class="b"></div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkMAT">
 <div class="chapter ch24" data-usfm="MAT.24">
 <div class="label">24</div><div class="s1">The Destruction of the Temple and Signs of the End Times</div><div class="p"> 1Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 2&#8220;Do you see all these things?&#8221; he asked. &#8220;Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 3As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. &#8220;Tell us,&#8221; they said, &#8220;when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4Jesus answered: &#8220;Watch out that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in my name, claiming, &#8216;I am the Messiah,&#8217; and will deceive many. 6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains.</div><div class="p"> 9 &#8220;Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.</div><div class="p"> 15 &#8220;So when you see standing in the holy place &#8216;the abomination that causes desolation,&#8217; # 24:15 
 Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11 spoken of through the prophet Daniel&#8212;let the reader understand&#8212; 16then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. 18Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 19How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now&#8212;and never to be equaled again.</div><div class="p"> 22 &#8220;If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23At that time if anyone says to you, &#8216;Look, here is the Messiah!&#8217; or, &#8216;There he is!&#8217; do not believe it. 24For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25See, I have told you ahead of time.</div><div class="p"> 26 &#8220;So if anyone tells you, &#8216;There he is, out in the wilderness,&#8217; do not go out; or, &#8216;Here he is, in the inner rooms,&#8217; do not believe it. 27For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.</div><div class="p"> 29 &#8220;Immediately after the distress of those days</div><div class="q1"> &#8220;&#8198;&#8216;the sun will be darkened,</div><div class="q2"> and the moon will not give its light;</div><div class="q1"> the stars will fall from the sky,</div><div class="q2"> and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.&#8217; # 24:29 
 Isaiah 13:10; 34:4 </div><div class="p"> 30 &#8220;Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth # 24:30 Or the tribes of the land will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.#24:30 See Daniel 7:13-14. 31And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.</div><div class="p"> 32 &#8220;Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it#24:33 Or he is near, right at the door. 34Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.</div><div class="s1">The Day and Hour Unknown</div><div class="p"> 36 &#8220;But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, # 24:36 Some manuscripts do not have nor the Son. but only the Father. 37As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.</div><div class="p"> 42 &#8220;Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.</div><div class="p"> 45 &#8220;Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, &#8216;My master is staying away a long time,&#8217; 49and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="chapter ch12" data-usfm="ROM.12.1">
 <div class="p">1Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God&#8217;s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God&#8212;this is your true and proper worship. </div>
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