Praying T.A.C.O.S. – a Fresh Way to Talk With God

Spiritual Training Disciplines

Faith in the Dark

Resting in God’s Presence

Daily Wisdom: A Proverb-a-Day

EquipHer Vol. 23: "Living With Intentionality"

Permission to Grieve and Feel It All

Financial Discipleship – the Bible on Bribes

Quiet Your Soul: 3 Days of Silence

Kingdom B.R.A.N.D. Identity a 5-Day Devotional Antoinette McAllister-Blyden

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 bkPRO">
 <div class="chapter ch1" data-usfm="PRO.1">
 <div class="label">1</div><div class="ms1">Purpose and Theme</div><div class="p"> 1The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:</div><div class="q1"> 2for gaining wisdom and instruction;</div><div class="q2">for understanding words of insight;</div><div class="q1"> 3for receiving instruction in prudent behavior,</div><div class="q2">doing what is right and just and fair;</div><div class="q1"> 4for giving prudence to those who are simple,#1:4 The Hebrew word rendered simple in Proverbs denotes a person who is gullible, without moral direction and inclined to evil.</div><div class="q2">knowledge and discretion to the young&#8212;</div><div class="q1"> 5let the wise listen and add to their learning,</div><div class="q2">and let the discerning get guidance&#8212;</div><div class="q1"> 6for understanding proverbs and parables,</div><div class="q2">the sayings and riddles of the wise.#1:6 Or understanding a proverb, namely, a parable, / and the sayings of the wise, their riddles</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 7The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,</div><div class="q2">but fools#1:7 The Hebrew words rendered fool in Proverbs, and often elsewhere in the Old Testament, denote a person who is morally deficient. despise wisdom and instruction.</div><div class="ms1">Prologue: Exhortations to Embrace Wisdom</div><div class="s1">Warning Against the Invitation of Sinful Men</div><div class="q1"> 8Listen, my son, to your father&#8217;s instruction</div><div class="q2">and do not forsake your mother&#8217;s teaching.</div><div class="q1"> 9They are a garland to grace your head</div><div class="q2">and a chain to adorn your neck.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 10My son, if sinful men entice you,</div><div class="q2">do not give in to them.</div><div class="q1"> 11If they say, &#8220;Come along with us;</div><div class="q2">let&#8217;s lie in wait for innocent blood,</div><div class="q2">let&#8217;s ambush some harmless soul;</div><div class="q1"> 12let&#8217;s swallow them alive, like the grave,</div><div class="q2">and whole, like those who go down to the pit;</div><div class="q1"> 13we will get all sorts of valuable things</div><div class="q2">and fill our houses with plunder;</div><div class="q1"> 14cast lots with us;</div><div class="q2">we will all share the loot&#8221;&#8212;</div><div class="q1"> 15my son, do not go along with them,</div><div class="q2">do not set foot on their paths;</div><div class="q1"> 16for their feet rush into evil,</div><div class="q2">they are swift to shed blood.</div><div class="q1"> 17How useless to spread a net</div><div class="q2">where every bird can see it!</div><div class="q1"> 18These men lie in wait for their own blood;</div><div class="q2">they ambush only themselves!</div><div class="q1"> 19Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain;</div><div class="q2">it takes away the life of those who get it.</div><div class="s1">Wisdom&#8217;s Rebuke</div><div class="q1"> 20Out in the open wisdom calls aloud,</div><div class="q2">she raises her voice in the public square;</div><div class="q1"> 21on top of the wall#1:21 Septuagint; Hebrew / at noisy street corners she cries out,</div><div class="q2">at the city gate she makes her speech:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 22&#8220;How long will you who are simple love your simple ways?</div><div class="q2">How long will mockers delight in mockery</div><div class="q2">and fools hate knowledge?</div><div class="q1"> 23Repent at my rebuke!</div><div class="q2">Then I will pour out my thoughts to you,</div><div class="q2">I will make known to you my teachings.</div><div class="q1"> 24But since you refuse to listen when I call</div><div class="q2">and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand,</div><div class="q1"> 25since you disregard all my advice</div><div class="q2">and do not accept my rebuke,</div><div class="q1"> 26I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you;</div><div class="q2">I will mock when calamity overtakes you&#8212;</div><div class="q1"> 27when calamity overtakes you like a storm,</div><div class="q2">when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind,</div><div class="q2">when distress and trouble overwhelm you.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 28&#8220;Then they will call to me but I will not answer;</div><div class="q2">they will look for me but will not find me,</div><div class="q1"> 29since they hated knowledge</div><div class="q2">and did not choose to fear the Lord.</div><div class="q1"> 30Since they would not accept my advice</div><div class="q2">and spurned my rebuke,</div><div class="q1"> 31they will eat the fruit of their ways</div><div class="q2">and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.</div><div class="q1"> 32For the waywardness of the simple will kill them,</div><div class="q2">and the complacency of fools will destroy them;</div><div class="q1"> 33but whoever listens to me will live in safety</div><div class="q2">and be at ease, without fear of harm.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkGEN">
 <div class="chapter ch1" data-usfm="GEN.1">
 <div class="label">1</div><div class="s1">The Beginning</div><div class="pi"> 1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="li1"> 3And God said, &#8220;Let there be light,&#8221; and there was light. 4God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light &#8220;day,&#8221; and the darkness he called &#8220;night.&#8221; And there was evening, and there was morning&#8212;the first day.</div><div class="li1"> 6And God said, &#8220;Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.&#8221; 7So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8God called the vault &#8220;sky.&#8221; And there was evening, and there was morning&#8212;the second day.</div><div class="li1"> 9And God said, &#8220;Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.&#8221; And it was so. 10God called the dry ground &#8220;land,&#8221; and the gathered waters he called &#8220;seas.&#8221; And God saw that it was good.</div><div class="pi"> 11Then God said, &#8220;Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.&#8221; And it was so. 12The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13And there was evening, and there was morning&#8212;the third day.</div><div class="li1"> 14And God said, &#8220;Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.&#8221; And it was so. 16God made two great lights&#8212;the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19And there was evening, and there was morning&#8212;the fourth day.</div><div class="li1"> 20And God said, &#8220;Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.&#8221; 21So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22God blessed them and said, &#8220;Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.&#8221; 23And there was evening, and there was morning&#8212;the fifth day.</div><div class="li1"> 24And God said, &#8220;Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.&#8221; And it was so. 25God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.</div><div class="pi"> 26Then God said, &#8220;Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,#1:26 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text (see Syriac); Masoretic Text the earth and over all the creatures that move along the ground.&#8221;</div><div class="q1"> 27So God created mankind in his own image,</div><div class="q2">in the image of God he created them;</div><div class="q2">male and female he created them.</div><div class="pi"> 28God blessed them and said to them, &#8220;Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.&#8221;</div><div class="pi"> 29Then God said, &#8220;I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground&#8212;everything that has the breath of life in it&#8212;I give every green plant for food.&#8221; And it was so.</div><div class="pi"> 31God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning&#8212;the sixth day.</div><div class="b"></div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkGEN">
 <div class="chapter ch2" data-usfm="GEN.2">
 <div class="label">2</div><div class="pi"> 1Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="li1"> 2By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.</div><div class="s1">Adam and Eve</div><div class="p"> 4This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="p"> 5Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth#2:5 Or land; also in verse 6 and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, 6but streams#2:6 Or mist came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. 7Then the Lord God formed a man#2:7 The Hebrew for man (adam) sounds like and may be related to the Hebrew for ground (adamah); it is also the name Adam (see verse 20). from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.</div><div class="p"> 8Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground&#8212;trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.</div><div class="p"> 10A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12(The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin#2:12 Or good; pearls and onyx are also there.) 13The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush.#2:13 Possibly southeast Mesopotamia 14The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.</div><div class="p"> 15The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16And the Lord God commanded the man, &#8220;You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 18The Lord God said, &#8220;It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 19Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.</div><div class="p">But for Adam#2:20 Or the man no suitable helper was found. 21So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man&#8217;s ribs#2:21 Or took part of the man&#8217;s side and then closed up the place with flesh. 22Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib#2:22 Or part he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.</div><div class="p"> 23The man said,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;This is now bone of my bones</div><div class="q2">and flesh of my flesh;</div><div class="q1">she shall be called &#8216;woman,&#8217;</div><div class="q2">for she was taken out of man.&#8221;</div><div class="m"> 24That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.</div><div class="p"> 25Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkGEN">
 <div class="chapter ch3" data-usfm="GEN.3">
 <div class="label">3</div><div class="s1">The Fall</div><div class="p"> 1Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, &#8220;Did God really say, &#8216;You must not eat from any tree in the garden&#8217;?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 2The woman said to the serpent, &#8220;We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3but God did say, &#8216;You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4&#8220;You will not certainly die,&#8221; the serpent said to the woman. 5&#8220;For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.</div><div class="p"> 8Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9But the Lord God called to the man, &#8220;Where are you?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 10He answered, &#8220;I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 11And he said, &#8220;Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12The man said, &#8220;The woman you put here with me&#8212;she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 13Then the Lord God said to the woman, &#8220;What is this you have done?&#8221;</div><div class="p">The woman said, &#8220;The serpent deceived me, and I ate.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 14So the Lord God said to the serpent, &#8220;Because you have done this,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;Cursed are you above all livestock</div><div class="q2">and all wild animals!</div><div class="q1">You will crawl on your belly</div><div class="q2">and you will eat dust</div><div class="q2">all the days of your life.</div><div class="q1"> 15And I will put enmity</div><div class="q2">between you and the woman,</div><div class="q2">and between your offspring#3:15 Or seed and hers;</div><div class="q1">he will crush#3:15 Or strike your head,</div><div class="q2">and you will strike his heel.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 16To the woman he said,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;</div><div class="q2">with painful labor you will give birth to children.</div><div class="q1">Your desire will be for your husband,</div><div class="q2">and he will rule over you.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 17To Adam he said, &#8220;Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, &#8216;You must not eat from it,&#8217;</div><div class="q1">&#8220;Cursed is the ground because of you;</div><div class="q2">through painful toil you will eat food from it</div><div class="q2">all the days of your life.</div><div class="q1"> 18It will produce thorns and thistles for you,</div><div class="q2">and you will eat the plants of the field.</div><div class="q1"> 19By the sweat of your brow</div><div class="q2">you will eat your food</div><div class="q1">until you return to the ground,</div><div class="q2">since from it you were taken;</div><div class="q1">for dust you are</div><div class="q2">and to dust you will return.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 20Adam#3:20 Or The man named his wife Eve,#3:20 Eve probably means living. because she would become the mother of all the living.</div><div class="p"> 21The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22And the Lord God said, &#8220;The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.&#8221; 23So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side#3:24 Or placed in front of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkGEN">
 <div class="chapter ch4" data-usfm="GEN.4">
 <div class="label">4</div><div class="s1">Cain and Abel</div><div class="p"> 1Adam#4:1 Or The man made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain.#4:1 Cain sounds like the Hebrew for brought forth or acquired. She said, &#8220;With the help of the Lord I have brought forth#4:1 Or have acquired a man.&#8221; 2Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.</div><div class="p">Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. 4And Abel also brought an offering&#8212;fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.</div><div class="p"> 6Then the Lord said to Cain, &#8220;Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 8Now Cain said to his brother Abel, &#8220;Let&#8217;s go out to the field.&#8221;#4:8 Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Masoretic Text does not have &#8220;Let&#8217;s go out to the field.&#8221; While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.</div><div class="p"> 9Then the Lord said to Cain, &#8220;Where is your brother Abel?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;I don&#8217;t know,&#8221; he replied. &#8220;Am I my brother&#8217;s keeper?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 10The Lord said, &#8220;What have you done? Listen! Your brother&#8217;s blood cries out to me from the ground. 11Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother&#8217;s blood from your hand. 12When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 13Cain said to the Lord, &#8220;My punishment is more than I can bear. 14Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 15But the Lord said to him, &#8220;Not so#4:15 Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew Very well; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.&#8221; Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. 16So Cain went out from the Lord&#8217;s presence and lived in the land of Nod,#4:16 Nod means wandering (see verses 12 and 14). east of Eden.</div><div class="p"> 17Cain made love to his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch. 18To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech.</div><div class="p"> 19Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah. 20Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. 21His brother&#8217;s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play stringed instruments and pipes. 22Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of#4:22 Or who instructed all who work in bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain&#8217;s sister was Naamah.</div><div class="p"> 23Lamech said to his wives,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;Adah and Zillah, listen to me;</div><div class="q2">wives of Lamech, hear my words.</div><div class="q1">I have killed a man for wounding me,</div><div class="q2">a young man for injuring me.</div><div class="q1"> 24If Cain is avenged seven times,</div><div class="q2">then Lamech seventy-seven times.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 25Adam made love to his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth,#4:25 Seth probably means granted. saying, &#8220;God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.&#8221; 26Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh.</div><div class="p">At that time people began to call on#4:26 Or to proclaim the name of the Lord.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkMAT">
 <div class="chapter ch1" data-usfm="MAT.1">
 <div class="label">1</div><div class="s1">The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah</div><div class="p"> 1This is the genealogy#1:1 Or is an account of the origin of Jesus the Messiah#1:1 Or Jesus Christ. Messiah (Hebrew) and Christ (Greek) both mean Anointed One; also in verse 18. the son of David, the son of Abraham:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="li1"> 2Abraham was the father of Isaac,</div><div class="li2">Isaac the father of Jacob,</div><div class="li2">Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,</div><div class="li2"> 3Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,</div><div class="li2">Perez the father of Hezron,</div><div class="li2">Hezron the father of Ram,</div><div class="li2"> 4Ram the father of Amminadab,</div><div class="li2">Amminadab the father of Nahshon,</div><div class="li2">Nahshon the father of Salmon,</div><div class="li2"> 5Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,</div><div class="li2">Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,</div><div class="li2">Obed the father of Jesse,</div><div class="li2"> 6and Jesse the father of King David.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="li1">David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah&#8217;s wife,</div><div class="li2"> 7Solomon the father of Rehoboam,</div><div class="li2">Rehoboam the father of Abijah,</div><div class="li2">Abijah the father of Asa,</div><div class="li2"> 8Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,</div><div class="li2">Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,</div><div class="li2">Jehoram the father of Uzziah,</div><div class="li2"> 9Uzziah the father of Jotham,</div><div class="li2">Jotham the father of Ahaz,</div><div class="li2">Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,</div><div class="li2"> 10Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,</div><div class="li2">Manasseh the father of Amon,</div><div class="li2">Amon the father of Josiah,</div><div class="li2"> 11and Josiah the father of Jeconiah#1:11 That is, Jehoiachin; also in verse 12 and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="li1"> 12After the exile to Babylon:</div><div class="li2">Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,</div><div class="li2">Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,</div><div class="li2"> 13Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,</div><div class="li2">Abihud the father of Eliakim,</div><div class="li2">Eliakim the father of Azor,</div><div class="li2"> 14Azor the father of Zadok,</div><div class="li2">Zadok the father of Akim,</div><div class="li2">Akim the father of Elihud,</div><div class="li2"> 15Elihud the father of Eleazar,</div><div class="li2">Eleazar the father of Matthan,</div><div class="li2">Matthan the father of Jacob,</div><div class="li2"> 16and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="p"> 17Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.</div><div class="s1">Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son</div><div class="p"> 18This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about#1:18 Or The origin of Jesus the Messiah was like this: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet#1:19 Or was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.</div><div class="p"> 20But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, &#8220;Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,#1:21 Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, which means the Lord saves. because he will save his people from their sins.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23&#8220;The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel&#8221;#1:23 Isaiah 7:14 (which means &#8220;God with us&#8221;).</div><div class="p"> 24When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkMAT">
 <div class="chapter ch2" data-usfm="MAT.2">
 <div class="label">2</div><div class="s1">The Magi Visit the Messiah</div><div class="p"> 1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi#2:1 Traditionally wise men from the east came to Jerusalem 2and asked, &#8220;Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 3When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4When he had called together all the people&#8217;s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5&#8220;In Bethlehem in Judea,&#8221; they replied, &#8220;for this is what the prophet has written:</div><div class="q1"> 6&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,</div><div class="q2">are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;</div><div class="q1">for out of you will come a ruler</div><div class="q2">who will shepherd my people Israel.&#8217;#2:6 Micah 5:2,4&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 7Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8He sent them to Bethlehem and said, &#8220;Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.</div><div class="s1">The Escape to Egypt</div><div class="p"> 13When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. &#8220;Get up,&#8221; he said, &#8220;take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 14So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: &#8220;Out of Egypt I called my son.&#8221;#2:15 Hosea 11:1</div><div class="p"> 16When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:</div><div class="q1"> 18&#8220;A voice is heard in Ramah,</div><div class="q2">weeping and great mourning,</div><div class="q1">Rachel weeping for her children</div><div class="q2">and refusing to be comforted,</div><div class="q2">because they are no more.&#8221;#2:18 Jer. 31:15</div><div class="s1">The Return to Nazareth</div><div class="p"> 19After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20and said, &#8220;Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child&#8217;s life are dead.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 21So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.</div>
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