Pawprints & Prayers: Devotions for Dog Lovers

Be Still and Know: 7 Days to Recenter Your Heart on God

God Gives Good Gifts to Everyone

Provision

The Last Half Hour: When Waiting Becomes Glory

How We Gave $1 Million (Without Being Rich)

The DEEP Method: How to Discover, Explore, Engage, Practice God's Word

Kingdom Courage

Mom Guilt Meets Grace

Jesus, I Want to Know You

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 bkMRK">
 <div class="chapter ch2" data-usfm="MRK.2">
 <div class="label">2</div><div class="s1">Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man</div><div class="p"> 1A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. 5When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, &#8220;Son, your sins are forgiven.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7&#8220;Why does this fellow talk like that? He&#8217;s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 8Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, &#8220;Why are you thinking these things? 9Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, &#8216;Your sins are forgiven,&#8217; or to say, &#8216;Get up, take your mat and walk&#8217;? 10But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.&#8221; So he said to the man, 11&#8220;I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.&#8221; 12He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, &#8220;We have never seen anything like this!&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Jesus Calls Levi and Eats With Sinners</div><div class="p"> 13Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. 14As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector&#8217;s booth. &#8220;Follow me,&#8221; Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.</div><div class="p"> 15While Jesus was having dinner at Levi&#8217;s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: &#8220;Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 17On hearing this, Jesus said to them, &#8220;It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Jesus Questioned About Fasting</div><div class="p"> 18Now John&#8217;s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, &#8220;How is it that John&#8217;s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 19Jesus answered, &#8220;How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. 20But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.</div><div class="p"> 21 &#8220;No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. 22And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath</div><div class="p"> 23One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. 24The Pharisees said to him, &#8220;Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 25He answered, &#8220;Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 27Then he said to them, &#8220;The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkGEN">
 <div class="chapter ch30" data-usfm="GEN.30">
 <div class="label">30</div><div class="p"> 1When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, &#8220;Give me children, or I&#8217;ll die!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 2Jacob became angry with her and said, &#8220;Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 3Then she said, &#8220;Here is Bilhah, my servant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and I too can build a family through her.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her, 5and she became pregnant and bore him a son. 6Then Rachel said, &#8220;God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son.&#8221; Because of this she named him Dan.#30:6 Dan here means he has vindicated.</div><div class="p"> 7Rachel&#8217;s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8Then Rachel said, &#8220;I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won.&#8221; So she named him Naphtali.#30:8 Naphtali means my struggle.</div><div class="p"> 9When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10Leah&#8217;s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11Then Leah said, &#8220;What good fortune!&#8221;#30:11 Or &#8220;A troop is coming!&#8221; So she named him Gad.#30:11 Gad can mean good fortune or troop.</div><div class="p"> 12Leah&#8217;s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13Then Leah said, &#8220;How happy I am! The women will call me happy.&#8221; So she named him Asher.#30:13 Asher means happy.</div><div class="p"> 14During wheat harvest, Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants, which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, &#8220;Please give me some of your son&#8217;s mandrakes.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 15But she said to her, &#8220;Wasn&#8217;t it enough that you took away my husband? Will you take my son&#8217;s mandrakes too?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;Very well,&#8221; Rachel said, &#8220;he can sleep with you tonight in return for your son&#8217;s mandrakes.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 16So when Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. &#8220;You must sleep with me,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I have hired you with my son&#8217;s mandrakes.&#8221; So he slept with her that night.</div><div class="p"> 17God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18Then Leah said, &#8220;God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband.&#8221; So she named him Issachar.#30:18 Issachar sounds like the Hebrew for reward.</div><div class="p"> 19Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. 20Then Leah said, &#8220;God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor, because I have borne him six sons.&#8221; So she named him Zebulun.#30:20 Zebulun probably means honor.</div><div class="p"> 21Some time later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.</div><div class="p"> 22Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and enabled her to conceive. 23She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, &#8220;God has taken away my disgrace.&#8221; 24She named him Joseph,#30:24 Joseph means may he add. and said, &#8220;May the Lord add to me another son.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Jacob&#8217;s Flocks Increase</div><div class="p"> 25After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, &#8220;Send me on my way so I can go back to my own homeland. 26Give me my wives and children, for whom I have served you, and I will be on my way. You know how much work I&#8217;ve done for you.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 27But Laban said to him, &#8220;If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you.&#8221; 28He added, &#8220;Name your wages, and I will pay them.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 29Jacob said to him, &#8220;You know how I have worked for you and how your livestock has fared under my care. 30The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I have been. But now, when may I do something for my own household?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 31&#8220;What shall I give you?&#8221; he asked.</div><div class="p">&#8220;Don&#8217;t give me anything,&#8221; Jacob replied. &#8220;But if you will do this one thing for me, I will go on tending your flocks and watching over them: 32Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages. 33And my honesty will testify for me in the future, whenever you check on the wages you have paid me. Any goat in my possession that is not speckled or spotted, or any lamb that is not dark-colored, will be considered stolen.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 34&#8220;Agreed,&#8221; said Laban. &#8220;Let it be as you have said.&#8221; 35That same day he removed all the male goats that were streaked or spotted, and all the speckled or spotted female goats (all that had white on them) and all the dark-colored lambs, and he placed them in the care of his sons. 36Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob continued to tend the rest of Laban&#8217;s flocks.</div><div class="p"> 37Jacob, however, took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches. 38Then he placed the peeled branches in all the watering troughs, so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. When the flocks were in heat and came to drink, 39they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. 40Jacob set apart the young of the flock by themselves, but made the rest face the streaked and dark-colored animals that belonged to Laban. Thus he made separate flocks for himself and did not put them with Laban&#8217;s animals. 41Whenever the stronger females were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the animals so they would mate near the branches, 42but if the animals were weak, he would not place them there. So the weak animals went to Laban and the strong ones to Jacob. 43In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk1CO">
 <div class="chapter ch14" data-usfm="1CO.14">
 <div class="label">14</div><div class="s1">Intelligibility in Worship</div><div class="p"> 1Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. 2For anyone who speaks in a tongue#14:2 Or in another language; also in verses 4, 13, 14, 19, 26 and 27 does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit. 3But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort. 4Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church. 5I would like every one of you to speak in tongues,#14:5 Or in other languages; also in verses 6, 18, 22, 23 and 39 but I would rather have you prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues,#14:5 Or in other languages; also in verses 6, 18, 22, 23 and 39 unless someone interprets, so that the church may be edified.</div><div class="p"> 6Now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction? 7Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the pipe or harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes? 8Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? 9So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. 10Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. 11If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and the speaker is a foreigner to me. 12So it is with you. Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church.</div><div class="p"> 13For this reason the one who speaks in a tongue should pray that they may interpret what they say. 14For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding. 16Otherwise when you are praising God in the Spirit, how can someone else, who is now put in the position of an inquirer,#14:16 The Greek word for inquirer is a technical term for someone not fully initiated into a religion; also in verses 23 and 24. say &#8220;Amen&#8221; to your thanksgiving, since they do not know what you are saying? 17You are giving thanks well enough, but no one else is edified.</div><div class="p"> 18I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.</div><div class="p"> 20Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults. 21In the Law it is written:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;With other tongues</div><div class="q2">and through the lips of foreigners</div><div class="q1">I will speak to this people,</div><div class="q2">but even then they will not listen to me,</div><div class="q4">says the Lord.&#8221;#14:21 Isaiah 28:11,12</div><div class="p"> 22Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is not for unbelievers but for believers. 23So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and inquirers or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? 24But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, 25as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, &#8220;God is really among you!&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Good Order in Worship</div><div class="p"> 26What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up. 27If anyone speaks in a tongue, two&#8212;or at the most three&#8212;should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. 28If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and to God.</div><div class="p"> 29Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. 30And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. 31For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. 32The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. 33For God is not a God of disorder but of peace&#8212;as in all the congregations of the Lord&#8217;s people.</div><div class="p"> 34Women#14:33,34 Or peace. As in all the congregations of the Lord&#8217;s people, 34 women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. 35If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.#14:34,35 In a few manuscripts these verses come after verse 40.</div><div class="p"> 36Or did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached? 37If anyone thinks they are a prophet or otherwise gifted by the Spirit, let them acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord&#8217;s command. 38But if anyone ignores this, they will themselves be ignored.#14:38 Some manuscripts But anyone who is ignorant of this will be ignorant</div><div class="p"> 39Therefore, my brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk1PE">
 <div class="chapter ch3" data-usfm="1PE.3">
 <div class="label">3</div><div class="p"> 1Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, 2when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 3Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. 4Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God&#8217;s sight. 5For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, 6like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.</div><div class="p"> 7Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.</div><div class="s1">Suffering for Doing Good</div><div class="p"> 8Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. 9Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 10For,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;Whoever would love life</div><div class="q2">and see good days</div><div class="q1">must keep their tongue from evil</div><div class="q2">and their lips from deceitful speech.</div><div class="q1"> 11They must turn from evil and do good;</div><div class="q2">they must seek peace and pursue it.</div><div class="q1"> 12For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous</div><div class="q2">and his ears are attentive to their prayer,</div><div class="q1">but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.&#8221;#3:12 Psalm 34:12-16</div><div class="p"> 13Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. &#8220;Do not fear their threats#3:14 Or fear what they fear; do not be frightened.&#8221;#3:14 Isaiah 8:12 15But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17For it is better, if it is God&#8217;s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. 19After being made alive,#3:18,19 Or but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which also he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits&#8212; 20to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also&#8212;not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God.#3:21 Or but an appeal to God for a clear conscience It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22who has gone into heaven and is at God&#8217;s right hand&#8212;with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkJOB">
 <div class="chapter ch30" data-usfm="JOB.30">
 <div class="label">30</div><div class="q1"> 1&#8220;But now they mock me,</div><div class="q2">men younger than I,</div><div class="q1">whose fathers I would have disdained</div><div class="q2">to put with my sheep dogs.</div><div class="q1"> 2Of what use was the strength of their hands to me,</div><div class="q2">since their vigor had gone from them?</div><div class="q1"> 3Haggard from want and hunger,</div><div class="q2">they roamed#30:3 Or gnawed the parched land</div><div class="q2">in desolate wastelands at night.</div><div class="q1"> 4In the brush they gathered salt herbs,</div><div class="q2">and their food#30:4 Or fuel was the root of the broom bush.</div><div class="q1"> 5They were banished from human society,</div><div class="q2">shouted at as if they were thieves.</div><div class="q1"> 6They were forced to live in the dry stream beds,</div><div class="q2">among the rocks and in holes in the ground.</div><div class="q1"> 7They brayed among the bushes</div><div class="q2">and huddled in the undergrowth.</div><div class="q1"> 8A base and nameless brood,</div><div class="q2">they were driven out of the land.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 9&#8220;And now those young men mock me in song;</div><div class="q2">I have become a byword among them.</div><div class="q1"> 10They detest me and keep their distance;</div><div class="q2">they do not hesitate to spit in my face.</div><div class="q1"> 11Now that God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me,</div><div class="q2">they throw off restraint in my presence.</div><div class="q1"> 12On my right the tribe#30:12 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain. attacks;</div><div class="q2">they lay snares for my feet,</div><div class="q2">they build their siege ramps against me.</div><div class="q1"> 13They break up my road;</div><div class="q2">they succeed in destroying me.</div><div class="q2">&#8216;No one can help him,&#8217; they say.</div><div class="q1"> 14They advance as through a gaping breach;</div><div class="q2">amid the ruins they come rolling in.</div><div class="q1"> 15Terrors overwhelm me;</div><div class="q2">my dignity is driven away as by the wind,</div><div class="q2">my safety vanishes like a cloud.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 16&#8220;And now my life ebbs away;</div><div class="q2">days of suffering grip me.</div><div class="q1"> 17Night pierces my bones;</div><div class="q2">my gnawing pains never rest.</div><div class="q1"> 18In his great power God becomes like clothing to me#30:18 Hebrew; Septuagint power he grasps my clothing;</div><div class="q2">he binds me like the neck of my garment.</div><div class="q1"> 19He throws me into the mud,</div><div class="q2">and I am reduced to dust and ashes.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 20&#8220;I cry out to you, God, but you do not answer;</div><div class="q2">I stand up, but you merely look at me.</div><div class="q1"> 21You turn on me ruthlessly;</div><div class="q2">with the might of your hand you attack me.</div><div class="q1"> 22You snatch me up and drive me before the wind;</div><div class="q2">you toss me about in the storm.</div><div class="q1"> 23I know you will bring me down to death,</div><div class="q2">to the place appointed for all the living.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 24&#8220;Surely no one lays a hand on a broken man</div><div class="q2">when he cries for help in his distress.</div><div class="q1"> 25Have I not wept for those in trouble?</div><div class="q2">Has not my soul grieved for the poor?</div><div class="q1"> 26Yet when I hoped for good, evil came;</div><div class="q2">when I looked for light, then came darkness.</div><div class="q1"> 27The churning inside me never stops;</div><div class="q2">days of suffering confront me.</div><div class="q1"> 28I go about blackened, but not by the sun;</div><div class="q2">I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.</div><div class="q1"> 29I have become a brother of jackals,</div><div class="q2">a companion of owls.</div><div class="q1"> 30My skin grows black and peels;</div><div class="q2">my body burns with fever.</div><div class="q1"> 31My lyre is tuned to mourning,</div><div class="q2">and my pipe to the sound of wailing.</div><div class="b"></div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkPSA">
 <div class="chapter ch30" data-usfm="PSA.30">
 <div class="label">30</div><div class="cl">Psalm 30#In Hebrew texts 30:1-12 is numbered 30:2-13.</div><div class="d">A psalm. A song. For the dedication of the temple.#Title: Or palace Of David.</div><div class="q1"> 1I will exalt you, Lord,</div><div class="q2">for you lifted me out of the depths</div><div class="q2">and did not let my enemies gloat over me.</div><div class="q1"> 2 Lord my God, I called to you for help,</div><div class="q2">and you healed me.</div><div class="q1"> 3You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead;</div><div class="q2">you spared me from going down to the pit.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 4Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people;</div><div class="q2">praise his holy name.</div><div class="q1"> 5For his anger lasts only a moment,</div><div class="q2">but his favor lasts a lifetime;</div><div class="q1">weeping may stay for the night,</div><div class="q2">but rejoicing comes in the morning.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 6When I felt secure, I said,</div><div class="q2">&#8220;I will never be shaken.&#8221;</div><div class="q1"> 7 Lord, when you favored me,</div><div class="q2">you made my royal mountain#30:7 That is, Mount Zion stand firm;</div><div class="q1">but when you hid your face,</div><div class="q2">I was dismayed.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 8To you, Lord, I called;</div><div class="q2">to the Lord I cried for mercy:</div><div class="q1"> 9&#8220;What is gained if I am silenced,</div><div class="q2">if I go down to the pit?</div><div class="q1">Will the dust praise you?</div><div class="q2">Will it proclaim your faithfulness?</div><div class="q1"> 10Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me;</div><div class="q2"> Lord, be my help.&#8221;</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 11You turned my wailing into dancing;</div><div class="q2">you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,</div><div class="q1"> 12that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.</div><div class="q2"> Lord my God, I will praise you forever.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkPRO">
 <div class="chapter ch30" data-usfm="PRO.30">
 <div class="label">30</div><div class="ms1">Sayings of Agur</div><div class="p"> 1The sayings of Agur son of Jakeh&#8212;an inspired utterance.</div><div class="q1">This man&#8217;s utterance to Ithiel:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1">&#8220;I am weary, God,</div><div class="q2">but I can prevail.#30:1 With a different word division of the Hebrew; Masoretic Text utterance to Ithiel, / to Ithiel and Ukal:</div><div class="q1"> 2Surely I am only a brute, not a man;</div><div class="q2">I do not have human understanding.</div><div class="q1"> 3I have not learned wisdom,</div><div class="q2">nor have I attained to the knowledge of the Holy One.</div><div class="q1"> 4Who has gone up to heaven and come down?</div><div class="q2">Whose hands have gathered up the wind?</div><div class="q1">Who has wrapped up the waters in a cloak?</div><div class="q2">Who has established all the ends of the earth?</div><div class="q1">What is his name, and what is the name of his son?</div><div class="q2">Surely you know!</div><div class="b"></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 5&#8220;Every word of God is flawless;</div><div class="q2">he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.</div><div class="q1"> 6Do not add to his words,</div><div class="q2">or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 7&#8220;Two things I ask of you, Lord;</div><div class="q2">do not refuse me before I die:</div><div class="q1"> 8Keep falsehood and lies far from me;</div><div class="q2">give me neither poverty nor riches,</div><div class="q2">but give me only my daily bread.</div><div class="q1"> 9Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you</div><div class="q2">and say, &#8216;Who is the Lord?&#8217;</div><div class="q1">Or I may become poor and steal,</div><div class="q2">and so dishonor the name of my God.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 10&#8220;Do not slander a servant to their master,</div><div class="q2">or they will curse you, and you will pay for it.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 11&#8220;There are those who curse their fathers</div><div class="q2">and do not bless their mothers;</div><div class="q1"> 12those who are pure in their own eyes</div><div class="q2">and yet are not cleansed of their filth;</div><div class="q1"> 13those whose eyes are ever so haughty,</div><div class="q2">whose glances are so disdainful;</div><div class="q1"> 14those whose teeth are swords</div><div class="q2">and whose jaws are set with knives</div><div class="q1">to devour the poor from the earth</div><div class="q2">and the needy from among mankind.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 15&#8220;The leech has two daughters.</div><div class="q2">&#8216;Give! Give!&#8217; they cry.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1">&#8220;There are three things that are never satisfied,</div><div class="q2">four that never say, &#8216;Enough!&#8217;:</div><div class="q1"> 16the grave, the barren womb,</div><div class="q2">land, which is never satisfied with water,</div><div class="q2">and fire, which never says, &#8216;Enough!&#8217;</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 17&#8220;The eye that mocks a father,</div><div class="q2">that scorns an aged mother,</div><div class="q1">will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley,</div><div class="q2">will be eaten by the vultures.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 18&#8220;There are three things that are too amazing for me,</div><div class="q2">four that I do not understand:</div><div class="q1"> 19the way of an eagle in the sky,</div><div class="q2">the way of a snake on a rock,</div><div class="q1">the way of a ship on the high seas,</div><div class="q2">and the way of a man with a young woman.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 20&#8220;This is the way of an adulterous woman:</div><div class="q2">She eats and wipes her mouth</div><div class="q2">and says, &#8216;I&#8217;ve done nothing wrong.&#8217;</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 21&#8220;Under three things the earth trembles,</div><div class="q2">under four it cannot bear up:</div><div class="q1"> 22a servant who becomes king,</div><div class="q2">a godless fool who gets plenty to eat,</div><div class="q1"> 23a contemptible woman who gets married,</div><div class="q2">and a servant who displaces her mistress.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 24&#8220;Four things on earth are small,</div><div class="q2">yet they are extremely wise:</div><div class="q1"> 25Ants are creatures of little strength,</div><div class="q2">yet they store up their food in the summer;</div><div class="q1"> 26hyraxes are creatures of little power,</div><div class="q2">yet they make their home in the crags;</div><div class="q1"> 27locusts have no king,</div><div class="q2">yet they advance together in ranks;</div><div class="q1"> 28a lizard can be caught with the hand,</div><div class="q2">yet it is found in kings&#8217; palaces.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 29&#8220;There are three things that are stately in their stride,</div><div class="q2">four that move with stately bearing:</div><div class="q1"> 30a lion, mighty among beasts,</div><div class="q2">who retreats before nothing;</div><div class="q1"> 31a strutting rooster, a he-goat,</div><div class="q2">and a king secure against revolt.#30:31 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 32&#8220;If you play the fool and exalt yourself,</div><div class="q2">or if you plan evil,</div><div class="q2">clap your hand over your mouth!</div><div class="q1"> 33For as churning cream produces butter,</div><div class="q2">and as twisting the nose produces blood,</div><div class="q2">so stirring up anger produces strife.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkJDG">
 <div class="chapter ch6" data-usfm="JDG.6">
 <div class="label">6</div><div class="s1">Gideon</div><div class="p"> 1The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. 2Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. 3Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country. 4They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. 5They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count them or their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it. 6Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help.</div><div class="p"> 7When the Israelites cried out to the Lord because of Midian, 8he sent them a prophet, who said, &#8220;This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 9I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians. And I delivered you from the hand of all your oppressors; I drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10I said to you, &#8216;I am the Lord your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.&#8217; But you have not listened to me.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 11The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. 12When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, &#8220;The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 13&#8220;Pardon me, my lord,&#8221; Gideon replied, &#8220;but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, &#8216;Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?&#8217; But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 14The Lord turned to him and said, &#8220;Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian&#8217;s hand. Am I not sending you?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 15&#8220;Pardon me, my lord,&#8221; Gideon replied, &#8220;but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 16The Lord answered, &#8220;I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 17Gideon replied, &#8220;If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me. 18Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.&#8221;</div><div class="p">And the Lord said, &#8220;I will wait until you return.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 19Gideon went inside, prepared a young goat, and from an ephah#6:19 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them out and offered them to him under the oak.</div><div class="p"> 20The angel of God said to him, &#8220;Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth.&#8221; And Gideon did so. 21Then the angel of the Lord touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of the staff that was in his hand. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the Lord disappeared. 22When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, &#8220;Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 23But the Lord said to him, &#8220;Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 24So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.</div><div class="p"> 25That same night the Lord said to him, &#8220;Take the second bull from your father&#8217;s herd, the one seven years old.#6:25 Or Take a full-grown, mature bull from your father&#8217;s herd Tear down your father&#8217;s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole#6:25 That is, a wooden symbol of the goddess Asherah; also in verses 26, 28 and 30 beside it. 26Then build a proper kind of#6:26 Or build with layers of stone an altar to the Lord your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second#6:26 Or full-grown; also in verse 28 bull as a burnt offering.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 27So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the townspeople, he did it at night rather than in the daytime.</div><div class="p"> 28In the morning when the people of the town got up, there was Baal&#8217;s altar, demolished, with the Asherah pole beside it cut down and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar!</div><div class="p"> 29They asked each other, &#8220;Who did this?&#8221;</div><div class="p">When they carefully investigated, they were told, &#8220;Gideon son of Joash did it.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 30The people of the town demanded of Joash, &#8220;Bring out your son. He must die, because he has broken down Baal&#8217;s altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 31But Joash replied to the hostile crowd around him, &#8220;Are you going to plead Baal&#8217;s cause? Are you trying to save him? Whoever fights for him shall be put to death by morning! If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar.&#8221; 32So because Gideon broke down Baal&#8217;s altar, they gave him the name Jerub-Baal#6:32 Jerub-Baal probably means let Baal contend. that day, saying, &#8220;Let Baal contend with him.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 33Now all the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples joined forces and crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel. 34Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him. 35He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, calling them to arms, and also into Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, so that they too went up to meet them.</div><div class="p"> 36Gideon said to God, &#8220;If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised&#8212; 37look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.&#8221; 38And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew&#8212;a bowlful of water.</div><div class="p"> 39Then Gideon said to God, &#8220;Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece, but this time make the fleece dry and let the ground be covered with dew.&#8221; 40That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkACT">
 <div class="chapter ch2" data-usfm="ACT.2">
 <div class="label">2</div><div class="s1">The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost</div><div class="p"> 1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues#2:4 Or languages; also in verse 11 as the Spirit enabled them.</div><div class="p"> 5Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7Utterly amazed, they asked: &#8220;Aren&#8217;t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,#2:9 That is, the Roman province by that name 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11(both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs&#8212;we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!&#8221; 12Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, &#8220;What does this mean?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 13Some, however, made fun of them and said, &#8220;They have had too much wine.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Peter Addresses the Crowd</div><div class="p"> 14Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: &#8220;Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It&#8217;s only nine in the morning! 16No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:</div><div class="q1"> 17&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;In the last days, God says,</div><div class="q2">I will pour out my Spirit on all people.</div><div class="q1">Your sons and daughters will prophesy,</div><div class="q2">your young men will see visions,</div><div class="q2">your old men will dream dreams.</div><div class="q1"> 18Even on my servants, both men and women,</div><div class="q2">I will pour out my Spirit in those days,</div><div class="q2">and they will prophesy.</div><div class="q1"> 19I will show wonders in the heavens above</div><div class="q2">and signs on the earth below,</div><div class="q2">blood and fire and billows of smoke.</div><div class="q1"> 20The sun will be turned to darkness</div><div class="q2">and the moon to blood</div><div class="q2">before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.</div><div class="q1"> 21And everyone who calls</div><div class="q2">on the name of the Lord will be saved.&#8217;#2:21 Joel 2:28-32</div><div class="p"> 22&#8220;Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23This man was handed over to you by God&#8217;s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men,#2:23 Or of those not having the law (that is, Gentiles) put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 25David said about him:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;I saw the Lord always before me.</div><div class="q2">Because he is at my right hand,</div><div class="q2">I will not be shaken.</div><div class="q1"> 26Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;</div><div class="q2">my body also will rest in hope,</div><div class="q1"> 27because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,</div><div class="q2">you will not let your holy one see decay.</div><div class="q1"> 28You have made known to me the paths of life;</div><div class="q2">you will fill me with joy in your presence.&#8217;#2:28 Psalm 16:8-11 (see Septuagint)</div><div class="p"> 29&#8220;Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. 32God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. 33Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,</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"> 35until I make your enemies</div><div class="q2">a footstool for your feet.&#8221;&#8198;&#8217;#2:35 Psalm 110:1</div><div class="p"> 36&#8220;Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 37When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, &#8220;Brothers, what shall we do?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 38Peter replied, &#8220;Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off&#8212;for all whom the Lord our God will call.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 40With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, &#8220;Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.&#8221; 41Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.</div><div class="s1">The Fellowship of the Believers</div><div class="p"> 42They devoted themselves to the apostles&#8217; teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.</div>
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