The Way Up Is Down

You Are Called: Discover Your God-Given Gifts to Fulfill Your Purpose

Scarcity & Abundance: A Three-Day Journey in God’s Word

The Battle of Pride vs. Humility

The Adversity Gospel: Trading Prosperity Promises and Deep Disappointment for Unsinkable Hope

Finding Hope: A Journey With Jesus for Women

Building Unshakeable Faith

Beautifully Scarred

Holy Week

Five Mere Christians

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 ch20" data-usfm="GEN.20">
 <div class="label">20</div><div class="s1">Abraham and Abimelek</div><div class="p">1Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, 2and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, &#8220;She is my sister.&#8221; Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.</div><div class="p">3But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, &#8220;You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.&#8221;</div><div class="p">4Now Abimelek had not gone near her, so he said, &#8220;Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? 5Did he not say to me, &#8216;She is my sister,&#8217; and didn&#8217;t she also say, &#8216;He is my brother&#8217;? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands.&#8221;</div><div class="p">6Then God said to him in the dream, &#8220;Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. 7Now return the man&#8217;s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all who belong to you will die.&#8221;</div><div class="p">8Early the next morning Abimelek summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid. 9Then Abimelek called Abraham in and said, &#8220;What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.&#8221; 10And Abimelek asked Abraham, &#8220;What was your reason for doing this?&#8221;</div><div class="p">11Abraham replied, &#8220;I said to myself, &#8216;There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.&#8217; 12Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. 13And when God had me wander from my father&#8217;s household, I said to her, &#8216;This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, &#8220;He is my brother.&#8221;&#8198;&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p">14Then Abimelek brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him. 15And Abimelek said, &#8220;My land is before you; live wherever you like.&#8221;</div><div class="p">16To Sarah he said, &#8220;I am giving your brother a thousand shekels#20:16 That is, about 25 pounds or about 12 kilograms of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated.&#8221;</div><div class="p">17Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelek, his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again, 18for the Lord had kept all the women in Abimelek&#8217;s household from conceiving because of Abraham&#8217;s wife Sarah.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkJDG">
 <div class="chapter ch11" data-usfm="JDG.11">
 <div class="label">11</div><div class="p">1Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute. 2Gilead&#8217;s wife also bore him sons, and when they were grown up, they drove Jephthah away. &#8220;You are not going to get any inheritance in our family,&#8221; they said, &#8220;because you are the son of another woman.&#8221; 3So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where a gang of scoundrels gathered around him and followed him.</div><div class="p">4Some time later, when the Ammonites were fighting against Israel, 5the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. 6&#8220;Come,&#8221; they said, &#8220;be our commander, so we can fight the Ammonites.&#8221;</div><div class="p">7Jephthah said to them, &#8220;Didn&#8217;t you hate me and drive me from my father&#8217;s house? Why do you come to me now, when you&#8217;re in trouble?&#8221;</div><div class="p">8The elders of Gilead said to him, &#8220;Nevertheless, we are turning to you now; come with us to fight the Ammonites, and you will be head over all of us who live in Gilead.&#8221;</div><div class="p">9Jephthah answered, &#8220;Suppose you take me back to fight the Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me&#8212;will I really be your head?&#8221;</div><div class="p">10The elders of Gilead replied, &#8220;The Lord is our witness; we will certainly do as you say.&#8221; 11So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them. And he repeated all his words before the Lord in Mizpah.</div><div class="p">12Then Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king with the question: &#8220;What do you have against me that you have attacked my country?&#8221;</div><div class="p">13The king of the Ammonites answered Jephthah&#8217;s messengers, &#8220;When Israel came up out of Egypt, they took away my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, all the way to the Jordan. Now give it back peaceably.&#8221;</div><div class="p">14Jephthah sent back messengers to the Ammonite king, 15saying:</div><div class="pmo">&#8220;This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites. 16But when they came up out of Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea#11:16 Or the Sea of Reeds and on to Kadesh. 17Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, &#8216;Give us permission to go through your country,&#8217; but the king of Edom would not listen. They sent also to the king of Moab, and he refused. So Israel stayed at Kadesh.</div><div class="pm">18&#8220;Next they traveled through the wilderness, skirted the lands of Edom and Moab, passed along the eastern side of the country of Moab, and camped on the other side of the Arnon. They did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was its border.</div><div class="pm">19&#8220;Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, &#8216;Let us pass through your country to our own place.&#8217; 20Sihon, however, did not trust Israel#11:20 Or however, would not make an agreement for Israel to pass through his territory. He mustered all his troops and encamped at Jahaz and fought with Israel.</div><div class="pm">21&#8220;Then the Lord, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and his whole army into Israel&#8217;s hands, and they defeated them. Israel took over all the land of the Amorites who lived in that country, 22capturing all of it from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the desert to the Jordan.</div><div class="pm">23&#8220;Now since the Lord, the God of Israel, has driven the Amorites out before his people Israel, what right have you to take it over? 24Will you not take what your god Chemosh gives you? Likewise, whatever the Lord our God has given us, we will possess. 25Are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel with Israel or fight with them? 26For three hundred years Israel occupied Heshbon, Aroer, the surrounding settlements and all the towns along the Arnon. Why didn&#8217;t you retake them during that time? 27I have not wronged you, but you are doing me wrong by waging war against me. Let the Lord, the Judge, decide the dispute this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites.&#8221;</div><div class="m">28The king of Ammon, however, paid no attention to the message Jephthah sent him.</div><div class="p">29Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there he advanced against the Ammonites. 30And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord: &#8220;If you give the Ammonites into my hands, 31whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord&#8217;s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.&#8221;</div><div class="p">32Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into his hands. 33He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon.</div><div class="p">34When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of timbrels! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. 35When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, &#8220;Oh no, my daughter! You have brought me down and I am devastated. I have made a vow to the Lord that I cannot break.&#8221;</div><div class="p">36&#8220;My father,&#8221; she replied, &#8220;you have given your word to the Lord. Do to me just as you promised, now that the Lord has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites. 37But grant me this one request,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry.&#8221;</div><div class="p">38&#8220;You may go,&#8221; he said. And he let her go for two months. She and her friends went into the hills and wept because she would never marry. 39After the two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin.</div><div class="p">From this comes the Israelite tradition 40that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkJDG">
 <div class="chapter ch12" data-usfm="JDG.12">
 <div class="label">12</div><div class="s1">Jephthah and Ephraim</div><div class="p">1The Ephraimite forces were called out, and they crossed over to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, &#8220;Why did you go to fight the Ammonites without calling us to go with you? We&#8217;re going to burn down your house over your head.&#8221;</div><div class="p">2Jephthah answered, &#8220;I and my people were engaged in a great struggle with the Ammonites, and although I called, you didn&#8217;t save me out of their hands. 3When I saw that you wouldn&#8217;t help, I took my life in my hands and crossed over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave me the victory over them. Now why have you come up today to fight me?&#8221;</div><div class="p">4Jephthah then called together the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim. The Gileadites struck them down because the Ephraimites had said, &#8220;You Gileadites are renegades from Ephraim and Manasseh.&#8221; 5The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Ephraim, and whenever a survivor of Ephraim said, &#8220;Let me cross over,&#8221; the men of Gilead asked him, &#8220;Are you an Ephraimite?&#8221; If he replied, &#8220;No,&#8221; 6they said, &#8220;All right, say &#8216;Shibboleth.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221; If he said, &#8220;Sibboleth,&#8221; because he could not pronounce the word correctly, they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. Forty-two thousand Ephraimites were killed at that time.</div><div class="p">7Jephthah led#12:7 Traditionally judged; also in verses 8-14 Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in a town in Gilead.</div><div class="s1">Ibzan, Elon and Abdon</div><div class="p">8After him, Ibzan of Bethlehem led Israel. 9He had thirty sons and thirty daughters. He gave his daughters away in marriage to those outside his clan, and for his sons he brought in thirty young women as wives from outside his clan. Ibzan led Israel seven years. 10Then Ibzan died and was buried in Bethlehem.</div><div class="p">11After him, Elon the Zebulunite led Israel ten years. 12Then Elon died and was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.</div><div class="p">13After him, Abdon son of Hillel, from Pirathon, led Israel. 14He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. He led Israel eight years. 15Then Abdon son of Hillel died and was buried at Pirathon in Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkMAT">
 <div class="chapter ch21" data-usfm="MAT.21">
 <div class="label">21</div><div class="s1">Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King</div><div class="p">1As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2saying to them, &#8220;Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.&#8221;</div><div class="p">4This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:</div><div class="q1">5&#8220;Say to Daughter Zion,</div><div class="q2">&#8216;See, your king comes to you,</div><div class="q1">gentle and riding on a donkey,</div><div class="q2">and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;#21:5 Zech. 9:9</div><div class="p">6The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 8A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;Hosanna#21:9 A Hebrew expression meaning &#8220;Save!&#8221; which became an exclamation of praise; also in verse 15 to the Son of David!&#8221;</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1">&#8220;Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!&#8221;#21:9 Psalm 118:25,26</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1">&#8220;Hosanna#21:9 A Hebrew expression meaning &#8220;Save!&#8221; which became an exclamation of praise; also in verse 15 in the highest heaven!&#8221;</div><div class="p">10When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, &#8220;Who is this?&#8221;</div><div class="p">11The crowds answered, &#8220;This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Jesus at the Temple</div><div class="p">12Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13&#8220;It is written,&#8221; he said to them, &#8220;&#8198;&#8216;My house will be called a house of prayer,&#8217;#21:13 Isaiah 56:7 but you are making it &#8216;a den of robbers.&#8217;#21:13 Jer. 7:11&#8221;</div><div class="p">14The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. 15But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, &#8220;Hosanna to the Son of David,&#8221; they were indignant.</div><div class="p">16&#8220;Do you hear what these children are saying?&#8221; they asked him.</div><div class="p">&#8220;Yes,&#8221; replied Jesus, &#8220;have you never read,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;From the lips of children and infants</div><div class="q2">you, Lord, have called forth your praise&#8217; #21:16 Psalm 8:2 (see Septuagint) ?&#8221;</div><div class="p">17And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.</div><div class="s1">Jesus Curses a Fig Tree</div><div class="p">18Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, &#8220;May you never bear fruit again!&#8221; Immediately the tree withered.</div><div class="p">20When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. &#8220;How did the fig tree wither so quickly?&#8221; they asked.</div><div class="p">21Jesus replied, &#8220;Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, &#8216;Go, throw yourself into the sea,&#8217; and it will be done. 22If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">The Authority of Jesus Questioned</div><div class="p">23Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. &#8220;By what authority are you doing these things?&#8221; they asked. &#8220;And who gave you this authority?&#8221;</div><div class="p">24Jesus replied, &#8220;I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 25John&#8217;s baptism&#8212;where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?&#8221;</div><div class="p">They discussed it among themselves and said, &#8220;If we say, &#8216;From heaven,&#8217; he will ask, &#8216;Then why didn&#8217;t you believe him?&#8217; 26But if we say, &#8216;Of human origin&#8217;&#8212;we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.&#8221;</div><div class="p">27So they answered Jesus, &#8220;We don&#8217;t know.&#8221;</div><div class="p">Then he said, &#8220;Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.</div><div class="s1">The Parable of the Two Sons</div><div class="p">28 &#8220;What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, &#8216;Son, go and work today in the vineyard.&#8217;</div><div class="p">29 &#8220;&#8198;&#8216;I will not,&#8217; he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.</div><div class="p">30 &#8220;Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, &#8216;I will, sir,&#8217; but he did not go.</div><div class="p">31 &#8220;Which of the two did what his father wanted?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;The first,&#8221; they answered.</div><div class="p">Jesus said to them, &#8220;Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.</div><div class="s1">The Parable of the Tenants</div><div class="p">33 &#8220;Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 34When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.</div><div class="p">35 &#8220;The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37Last of all, he sent his son to them. &#8216;They will respect my son,&#8217; he said.</div><div class="p">38 &#8220;But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, &#8216;This is the heir. Come, let&#8217;s kill him and take his inheritance.&#8217; 39So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.</div><div class="p">40 &#8220;Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?&#8221;</div><div class="p">41&#8220;He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,&#8221; they replied, &#8220;and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.&#8221;</div><div class="p">42Jesus said to them, &#8220;Have you never read in the Scriptures:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;The stone the builders rejected</div><div class="q2">has become the cornerstone;</div><div class="q1">the Lord has done this,</div><div class="q2">and it is marvelous in our eyes&#8217; #21:42 Psalm 118:22,23 ?</div><div class="p">43 &#8220;Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.&#8221;#21:44 Some manuscripts do not have verse 44.</div><div class="p">45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus&#8217; parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.</div>
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