Easter Week in Paint

Signs and Symbols Surrounding the Cross: Holy Week Reflections From Palm Sunday to Resurrection Sunday

Colossians + Philemon | Reading Plan + Study Questions

Confidently YOU

31 Days in Proverbs

Becoming More Effective in Prayer

My First Devotional

Our Discipleship Journey: Part 2

Embracing Your Identity as a Daughter of the King Through Infertility

Running With Perseverance

The Listener’s Bible®: NIV Edition

New International Version™  (Anglicised), Audio Edition

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

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 <div class="label">9</div><div class="s1">Ezra&#8217;s Prayer About Intermarriage</div><div class="p">1After these things had been done, the leaders came to me and said, &#8220;The people of Israel, including the priests and the Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the neighboring peoples with their detestable practices, like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians and Amorites. 2They have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, and have mingled the holy race with the peoples around them. And the leaders and officials have led the way in this unfaithfulness.&#8221;</div><div class="p">3When I heard this, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled hair from my head and beard and sat down appalled. 4Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered around me because of this unfaithfulness of the exiles. And I sat there appalled until the evening sacrifice.</div><div class="p">5Then, at the evening sacrifice, I rose from my self-abasement, with my tunic and cloak torn, and fell on my knees with my hands spread out to the Lord my God 6and prayed:</div><div class="pm">&#8220;I am too ashamed and disgraced, my God, to lift up my face to you, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens. 7From the days of our ancestors until now, our guilt has been great. Because of our sins, we and our kings and our priests have been subjected to the sword and captivity, to pillage and humiliation at the hand of foreign kings, as it is today.</div><div class="pm">8&#8220;But now, for a brief moment, the Lord our God has been gracious in leaving us a remnant and giving us a firm place#9:8 Or a foothold in his sanctuary, and so our God gives light to our eyes and a little relief in our bondage. 9Though we are slaves, our God has not forsaken us in our bondage. He has shown us kindness in the sight of the kings of Persia: He has granted us new life to rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, and he has given us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem.</div><div class="pm">10&#8220;But now, our God, what can we say after this? For we have forsaken the commands 11you gave through your servants the prophets when you said: &#8216;The land you are entering to possess is a land polluted by the corruption of its peoples. By their detestable practices they have filled it with their impurity from one end to the other. 12Therefore, do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters for your sons. Do not seek a treaty of friendship with them at any time, that you may be strong and eat the good things of the land and leave it to your children as an everlasting inheritance.&#8217;</div><div class="pm">13&#8220;What has happened to us is a result of our evil deeds and our great guilt, and yet, our God, you have punished us less than our sins deserved and have given us a remnant like this. 14Shall we then break your commands again and intermarry with the peoples who commit such detestable practices? Would you not be angry enough with us to destroy us, leaving us no remnant or survivor? 15Lord, the God of Israel, you are righteous! We are left this day as a remnant. Here we are before you in our guilt, though because of it not one of us can stand in your presence.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="label">9</div><div class="s1">Saul&#8217;s Conversion</div><div class="p">1Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord&#8217;s disciples. He went to the high priest 2and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, &#8220;Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?&#8221;</div><div class="p">5&#8220;Who are you, Lord?&#8221; Saul asked.</div><div class="p">&#8220;I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,&#8221; he replied. 6&#8220;Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.&#8221;</div><div class="p">7The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.</div><div class="p">10In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, &#8220;Ananias!&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;Yes, Lord,&#8221; he answered.</div><div class="p">11The Lord told him, &#8220;Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.&#8221;</div><div class="p">13&#8220;Lord,&#8221; Ananias answered, &#8220;I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.&#8221;</div><div class="p">15But the Lord said to Ananias, &#8220;Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.&#8221;</div><div class="p">17Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, &#8220;Brother Saul, the Lord&#8212;Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here&#8212;has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.&#8221; 18Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul&#8217;s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19and after taking some food, he regained his strength.</div><div class="s1">Saul in Damascus and Jerusalem</div><div class="p">Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 20At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21All those who heard him were astonished and asked, &#8220;Isn&#8217;t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn&#8217;t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?&#8221; 22Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.</div><div class="p">23After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him, 24but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. 25But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.</div><div class="p">26When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. 27But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. 28So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29He talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews,#9:29 That is, Jews who had adopted the Greek language and culture but they tried to kill him. 30When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.</div><div class="p">31Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.</div><div class="s1">Aeneas and Dorcas</div><div class="p">32As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the Lord&#8217;s people who lived in Lydda. 33There he found a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years. 34&#8220;Aeneas,&#8221; Peter said to him, &#8220;Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and roll up your mat.&#8221; Immediately Aeneas got up. 35All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.</div><div class="p">36In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor. 37About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. 38Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, &#8220;Please come at once!&#8221;</div><div class="p">39Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.</div><div class="p">40Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, &#8220;Tabitha, get up.&#8221; She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. 41He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them alive. 42This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. 43Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon.</div>
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