God Gives Good Gifts to Everyone

Living With a Strong-Willed Child

When God Says No!

Pawprints & Prayers: Devotions for Dog Lovers

The Journey of Yes

Acts Reading Plan

A Brighter Future: A 5-Day Devotional

The Last Half Hour: When Waiting Becomes Glory

See God’s Peace: 3 Days of Visio Divina

Dog Dad Devotions on Leadership, Loyalty and Love

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 bkMAT">
      <div class="chapter ch2" data-usfm="MAT.2">
         <div class="label">2</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">The Magi Visit the Messiah</span></div><div class="p"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="MAT.2.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:1 </span><span class="ft">Traditionally </span><span class="fqa">wise men</span></span></span><span class="content"> from the east came to Jerusalem </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="MAT.2.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">and 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;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="MAT.2.2"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="MAT.2.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="MAT.2.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">When 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. </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="MAT.2.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">&#8220;In Bethlehem in Judea,&#8221; they replied, &#8220;for this is what the prophet has written:</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="MAT.2.5"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="MAT.2.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="MAT.2.6"><span class="content">are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="MAT.2.6"><span class="content">for out of you will come a ruler</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="MAT.2.6"><span class="content">who will shepherd my people Israel.&#8217;</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:6 </span><span class="ft">Micah 5:2,4</span></span></span><span class="content">&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="MAT.2.6"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="MAT.2.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="MAT.2.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">He 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;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="MAT.2.8"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="MAT.2.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">After 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. </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="MAT.2.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="MAT.2.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">On 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. </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="MAT.2.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.</span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">The Escape to Egypt</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="MAT.2.12"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="MAT.2.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">When 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;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="MAT.2.13"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="MAT.2.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, </span></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="MAT.2.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">where 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;</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:15 </span><span class="ft">Hosea 11:1</span></span></span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="MAT.2.15"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="MAT.2.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">When 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. </span></span><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="MAT.2.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="content">Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="MAT.2.17"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="MAT.2.18"><span class="label">18</span><span class="content">&#8220;A voice is heard in Ramah,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="MAT.2.18"><span class="content">weeping and great mourning,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="MAT.2.18"><span class="content">Rachel weeping for her children</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="MAT.2.18"><span class="content">and refusing to be comforted,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="MAT.2.18"><span class="content">because they are no more.&#8221;</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:18 </span><span class="ft">Jer. 31:15</span></span></span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">The Return to Nazareth</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="MAT.2.18"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="MAT.2.19"><span class="label">19</span><span class="content">After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt </span></span><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="MAT.2.20"><span class="label">20</span><span class="content">and 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;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="MAT.2.20"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="MAT.2.21"><span class="label">21</span><span class="content">So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. </span></span><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="MAT.2.22"><span class="label">22</span><span class="content">But 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, </span></span><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="MAT.2.23"><span class="label">23</span><span class="content">and 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.</span></span></div>
      </div>
   </div>
</div>

<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"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="GEN.2.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="li1"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="GEN.2.1"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="GEN.2.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="GEN.2.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.</span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Adam and Eve</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="GEN.2.3"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="GEN.2.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> God made the earth and the heavens.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="GEN.2.4"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="GEN.2.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:5 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">land</span><span class="ft">; also in verse 6</span></span></span><span class="content"> and no plant had yet sprung up, for the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="GEN.2.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">but streams</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:6 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">mist</span></span></span><span class="content"> came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="GEN.2.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">Then the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> God formed a man</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:7 </span><span class="ft">The Hebrew for </span><span class="fq">man </span><span class="ft"><span class="tl">(adam)</span> sounds like and may be related to the Hebrew for </span><span class="fq">ground </span><span class="ft"><span class="tl">(adamah)</span>; it is also the name </span><span class="fqa">Adam </span><span class="ft">(see verse 20).</span></span></span><span class="content"> from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="GEN.2.7"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="GEN.2.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">Now the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="GEN.2.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">The </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> 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.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="GEN.2.9"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="GEN.2.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="GEN.2.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="GEN.2.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">(The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:12 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">good; pearls</span></span></span><span class="content"> and onyx are also there.) </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="GEN.2.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush.</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:13 </span><span class="ft">Possibly southeast Mesopotamia</span></span></span><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="GEN.2.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="GEN.2.14"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="GEN.2.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">The </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. </span></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="GEN.2.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">And the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> God commanded the man, &#8220;You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; </span></span><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="GEN.2.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="content">but 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;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="GEN.2.17"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="GEN.2.18"><span class="label">18</span><span class="content">The </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> God said, &#8220;It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="GEN.2.18"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="GEN.2.19"><span class="label">19</span><span class="content">Now the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> 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. </span></span><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="GEN.2.20"><span class="label">20</span><span class="content">So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="GEN.2.20"><span class="content">But for Adam</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:20 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">the man</span></span></span><span class="content"> no suitable helper was found. </span></span><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="GEN.2.21"><span class="label">21</span><span class="content">So the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man&#8217;s ribs</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:21 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">took part of the man&#8217;s side</span></span></span><span class="content"> and then closed up the place with flesh. </span></span><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="GEN.2.22"><span class="label">22</span><span class="content">Then the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> God made a woman from the rib</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:22 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">part</span></span></span><span class="content"> he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="GEN.2.22"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="GEN.2.23"><span class="label">23</span><span class="content">The man said,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="GEN.2.23"><span class="content">&#8220;This is now bone of my bones</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="GEN.2.23"><span class="content">and flesh of my flesh;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="GEN.2.23"><span class="content">she shall be called &#8216;woman,&#8217;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="GEN.2.23"><span class="content">for she was taken out of man.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="m"><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="GEN.2.23"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v24" data-usfm="GEN.2.24"><span class="label">24</span><span class="content">That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v24" data-usfm="GEN.2.24"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v25" data-usfm="GEN.2.25"><span class="label">25</span><span class="content">Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.</span></span></div>
      </div>
   </div>
</div>

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkROM">
      <div class="chapter ch2" data-usfm="ROM.2">
         <div class="label">2</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">God&#8217;s Righteous Judgment</span></div><div class="p"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="ROM.2.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ROM.2.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">Now we know that God&#8217;s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="ROM.2.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God&#8217;s judgment? </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="ROM.2.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God&#8217;s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="ROM.2.4"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="ROM.2.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God&#8217;s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="ROM.2.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">God &#8220;will repay each person according to what they have done.&#8221;</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:6 </span><span class="ft">Psalm 62:12; Prov. 24:12</span></span></span><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="ROM.2.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ROM.2.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ROM.2.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ROM.2.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ROM.2.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">For God does not show favoritism.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ROM.2.11"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="ROM.2.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="ROM.2.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God&#8217;s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="ROM.2.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">(Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. </span></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ROM.2.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.) </span></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="ROM.2.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">This will take place on the day when God judges people&#8217;s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.</span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">The Jews and the Law</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="ROM.2.16"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="ROM.2.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="content">Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God; </span></span><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="ROM.2.18"><span class="label">18</span><span class="content">if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; </span></span><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="ROM.2.19"><span class="label">19</span><span class="content">if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, </span></span><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="ROM.2.20"><span class="label">20</span><span class="content">an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth&#8212; </span></span><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="ROM.2.21"><span class="label">21</span><span class="content">you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? </span></span><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="ROM.2.22"><span class="label">22</span><span class="content">You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? </span></span><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="ROM.2.23"><span class="label">23</span><span class="content">You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? </span></span><span class="verse v24" data-usfm="ROM.2.24"><span class="label">24</span><span class="content">As it is written: &#8220;God&#8217;s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.&#8221;</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:24 </span><span class="ft">Isaiah 52:5 (see Septuagint); Ezek. 36:20,22</span></span></span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v24" data-usfm="ROM.2.24"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v25" data-usfm="ROM.2.25"><span class="label">25</span><span class="content">Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. </span></span><span class="verse v26" data-usfm="ROM.2.26"><span class="label">26</span><span class="content">So then, if those who are not circumcised keep the law&#8217;s requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? </span></span><span class="verse v27" data-usfm="ROM.2.27"><span class="label">27</span><span class="content">The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:27 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">who, by means of a</span></span></span><span class="content"> written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v27" data-usfm="ROM.2.27"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v28" data-usfm="ROM.2.28"><span class="label">28</span><span class="content">A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. </span></span><span class="verse v29" data-usfm="ROM.2.29"><span class="label">29</span><span class="content">No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person&#8217;s praise is not from other people, but from God.</span></span></div>
      </div>
   </div>
</div>

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bk1TH">
      <div class="chapter ch2" data-usfm="1TH.2">
         <div class="label">2</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Paul&#8217;s Ministry in Thessalonica</span></div><div class="p"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="1TH.2.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not without results. </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="1TH.2.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition. </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="1TH.2.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="1TH.2.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="1TH.2.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed&#8212;God is our witness. </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="1TH.2.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority. </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="1TH.2.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">Instead, we were like young children</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:7 </span><span class="ft">Some manuscripts </span><span class="fqa">were gentle</span></span></span><span class="content"> among you.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="1TH.2.7"><span class="content">Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="1TH.2.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="1TH.2.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="1TH.2.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="1TH.2.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="1TH.2.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="1TH.2.12"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="1TH.2.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe. </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="1TH.2.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God&#8217;s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own people the same things those churches suffered from the Jews </span></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="1TH.2.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to everyone </span></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="1TH.2.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:16 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">them fully</span></span></span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Paul&#8217;s Longing to See the Thessalonians</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="1TH.2.16"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="1TH.2.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="content">But, brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. </span></span><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="1TH.2.18"><span class="label">18</span><span class="content">For we wanted to come to you&#8212;certainly I, Paul, did, again and again&#8212;but Satan blocked our way. </span></span><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="1TH.2.19"><span class="label">19</span><span class="content">For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? </span></span><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="1TH.2.20"><span class="label">20</span><span class="content">Indeed, you are our glory and joy.</span></span></div>
      </div>
   </div>
</div>

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkJOB">
      <div class="chapter ch2" data-usfm="JOB.2">
         <div class="label">2</div><div class="p"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="JOB.2.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">On another day the angels</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:1 </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="fqa">the sons of God</span></span></span><span class="content"> came to present themselves before the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="JOB.2.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">And the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> said to Satan, &#8220;Where have you come from?&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="JOB.2.2"><span class="content">Satan answered the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">, &#8220;From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="JOB.2.2"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="JOB.2.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">Then the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> said to Satan, &#8220;Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="JOB.2.3"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="JOB.2.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">&#8220;Skin for skin!&#8221; Satan replied. &#8220;A man will give all he has for his own life. </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="JOB.2.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="JOB.2.5"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="JOB.2.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">The </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> said to Satan, &#8220;Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="JOB.2.6"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="JOB.2.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">So Satan went out from the presence of the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="JOB.2.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="JOB.2.8"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="JOB.2.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">His wife said to him, &#8220;Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="JOB.2.9"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="JOB.2.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">He replied, &#8220;You are talking like a foolish</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:10 </span><span class="ft">The Hebrew word rendered </span><span class="fq">foolish </span><span class="ft">denotes moral deficiency.</span></span></span><span class="content"> woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="JOB.2.10"><span class="content">In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="JOB.2.10"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="JOB.2.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">When Job&#8217;s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="JOB.2.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="JOB.2.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.</span></span></div>
      </div>
   </div>
</div>

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkPSA">
      <div class="chapter ch2" data-usfm="PSA.2">
         <div class="label">2</div><div class="cl"><span class="heading">Psalm 2</span></div><div class="q1"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="PSA.2.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">Why do the nations conspire</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:1 </span><span class="ft">Hebrew; Septuagint </span><span class="fqa">rage</span></span></span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="PSA.2.1"><span class="content">and the peoples plot in vain?</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="PSA.2.1"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="PSA.2.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">The kings of the earth rise up</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="PSA.2.2"><span class="content">and the rulers band together</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="PSA.2.2"><span class="content">against the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> and against his anointed, saying,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="PSA.2.2"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="PSA.2.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">&#8220;Let us break their chains</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="PSA.2.3"><span class="content">and throw off their shackles.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="PSA.2.3"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="PSA.2.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">The One enthroned in heaven laughs;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="PSA.2.4"><span class="content">the Lord scoffs at them.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="PSA.2.4"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="PSA.2.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">He rebukes them in his anger</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="PSA.2.5"><span class="content">and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="PSA.2.5"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="PSA.2.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">&#8220;I have installed my king</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="PSA.2.6"><span class="content">on Zion, my holy mountain.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="PSA.2.6"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="PSA.2.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">I will proclaim the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">&#8217;s decree:</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="PSA.2.7"><span class="content">He said to me, &#8220;You are my son;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="PSA.2.7"><span class="content">today I have become your father.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="PSA.2.7"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="PSA.2.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">Ask me,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="PSA.2.8"><span class="content">and I will make the nations your inheritance,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="PSA.2.8"><span class="content">the ends of the earth your possession.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="PSA.2.8"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="PSA.2.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">You will break them with a rod of iron</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:9 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">will rule them with an iron scepter </span><span class="ft">(see Septuagint and Syriac)</span></span></span><span class="content">;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="PSA.2.9"><span class="content">you will dash them to pieces like pottery.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="PSA.2.9"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="PSA.2.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">Therefore, you kings, be wise;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="PSA.2.10"><span class="content">be warned, you rulers of the earth.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="PSA.2.10"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="PSA.2.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">Serve the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> with fear</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="PSA.2.11"><span class="content">and celebrate his rule with trembling.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="PSA.2.11"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="PSA.2.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">Kiss his son, or he will be angry</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="PSA.2.12"><span class="content">and your way will lead to your destruction,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="PSA.2.12"><span class="content">for his wrath can flare up in a moment.</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="PSA.2.12"><span class="content">Blessed are all who take refuge in him.</span></span></div>
      </div>
   </div>
</div>

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkPRO">
      <div class="chapter ch2" data-usfm="PRO.2">
         <div class="label">2</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Moral Benefits of Wisdom</span></div><div class="q1"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="PRO.2.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">My son, if you accept my words</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="PRO.2.1"><span class="content">and store up my commands within you,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="PRO.2.1"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="PRO.2.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">turning your ear to wisdom</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="PRO.2.2"><span class="content">and applying your heart to understanding&#8212;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="PRO.2.2"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="PRO.2.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">indeed, if you call out for insight</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="PRO.2.3"><span class="content">and cry aloud for understanding,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="PRO.2.3"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="PRO.2.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">and if you look for it as for silver</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="PRO.2.4"><span class="content">and search for it as for hidden treasure,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="PRO.2.4"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="PRO.2.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">then you will understand the fear of the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="PRO.2.5"><span class="content">and find the knowledge of God.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="PRO.2.5"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="PRO.2.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">For the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> gives wisdom;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="PRO.2.6"><span class="content">from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="PRO.2.6"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="PRO.2.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">He holds success in store for the upright,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="PRO.2.7"><span class="content">he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="PRO.2.7"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="PRO.2.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">for he guards the course of the just</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="PRO.2.8"><span class="content">and protects the way of his faithful ones.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="PRO.2.8"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="PRO.2.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">Then you will understand what is right and just</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="PRO.2.9"><span class="content">and fair&#8212;every good path.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="PRO.2.9"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="PRO.2.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">For wisdom will enter your heart,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="PRO.2.10"><span class="content">and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="PRO.2.10"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="PRO.2.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">Discretion will protect you,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="PRO.2.11"><span class="content">and understanding will guard you.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="PRO.2.11"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="PRO.2.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="PRO.2.12"><span class="content">from men whose words are perverse,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="PRO.2.12"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="PRO.2.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">who have left the straight paths</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="PRO.2.13"><span class="content">to walk in dark ways,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="PRO.2.13"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="PRO.2.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">who delight in doing wrong</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="PRO.2.14"><span class="content">and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="PRO.2.14"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="PRO.2.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">whose paths are crooked</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="PRO.2.15"><span class="content">and who are devious in their ways.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="PRO.2.15"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="PRO.2.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">Wisdom will save you also from the adulterous woman,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="PRO.2.16"><span class="content">from the wayward woman with her seductive words,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="PRO.2.16"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="PRO.2.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="content">who has left the partner of her youth</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="PRO.2.17"><span class="content">and ignored the covenant she made before God.</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:17 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">covenant of her God</span></span></span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="PRO.2.17"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="PRO.2.18"><span class="label">18</span><span class="content">Surely her house leads down to death</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="PRO.2.18"><span class="content">and her paths to the spirits of the dead.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="PRO.2.18"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="PRO.2.19"><span class="label">19</span><span class="content">None who go to her return</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="PRO.2.19"><span class="content">or attain the paths of life.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="PRO.2.19"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="PRO.2.20"><span class="label">20</span><span class="content">Thus you will walk in the ways of the good</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="PRO.2.20"><span class="content">and keep to the paths of the righteous.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="PRO.2.20"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="PRO.2.21"><span class="label">21</span><span class="content">For the upright will live in the land,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="PRO.2.21"><span class="content">and the blameless will remain in it;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="PRO.2.21"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="PRO.2.22"><span class="label">22</span><span class="content">but the wicked will be cut off from the land,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="PRO.2.22"><span class="content">and the unfaithful will be torn from it.</span></span></div>
      </div>
   </div>
</div>

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkJOS">
      <div class="chapter ch2" data-usfm="JOS.2">
         <div class="label">2</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Rahab and the Spies</span></div><div class="p"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="JOS.2.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. &#8220;Go, look over the land,&#8221; he said, &#8220;especially Jericho.&#8221; So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="JOS.2.1"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="JOS.2.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">The king of Jericho was told, &#8220;Look, some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.&#8221; </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="JOS.2.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: &#8220;Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="JOS.2.3"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="JOS.2.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, &#8220;Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="JOS.2.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, they left. I don&#8217;t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them.&#8221; </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="JOS.2.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">(But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.) </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="JOS.2.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="JOS.2.7"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="JOS.2.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="JOS.2.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">and said to them, &#8220;I know that the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="JOS.2.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">We have heard how the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> dried up the water of the Red Sea</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:10 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">the Sea of Reeds</span></span></span><span class="content"> for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed.</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:10 </span><span class="ft">The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the <span class="nd">Lord</span>, often by totally destroying them.</span></span></span><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="JOS.2.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone&#8217;s courage failed because of you, for the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="JOS.2.11"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="JOS.2.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">&#8220;Now then, please swear to me by the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="JOS.2.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them&#8212;and that you will save us from death.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="JOS.2.13"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="JOS.2.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">&#8220;Our lives for your lives!&#8221; the men assured her. &#8220;If you don&#8217;t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> gives us the land.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="JOS.2.14"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="JOS.2.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall. </span></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="JOS.2.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">She said to them, &#8220;Go to the hills so the pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days until they return, and then go on your way.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="JOS.2.16"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="JOS.2.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="content">Now the men had said to her, &#8220;This oath you made us swear will not be binding on us </span></span><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="JOS.2.18"><span class="label">18</span><span class="content">unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family into your house. </span></span><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="JOS.2.19"><span class="label">19</span><span class="content">If any of them go outside your house into the street, their blood will be on their own heads; we will not be responsible. As for those who are in the house with you, their blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on them. </span></span><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="JOS.2.20"><span class="label">20</span><span class="content">But if you tell what we are doing, we will be released from the oath you made us swear.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="JOS.2.20"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="JOS.2.21"><span class="label">21</span><span class="content">&#8220;Agreed,&#8221; she replied. &#8220;Let it be as you say.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="JOS.2.21"><span class="content">So she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="JOS.2.21"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="JOS.2.22"><span class="label">22</span><span class="content">When they left, they went into the hills and stayed there three days, until the pursuers had searched all along the road and returned without finding them. </span></span><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="JOS.2.23"><span class="label">23</span><span class="content">Then the two men started back. They went down out of the hills, forded the river and came to Joshua son of Nun and told him everything that had happened to them. </span></span><span class="verse v24" data-usfm="JOS.2.24"><span class="label">24</span><span class="content">They said to Joshua, &#8220;The </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us.&#8221;</span></span></div>
      </div>
   </div>
</div>

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkISA">
      <div class="chapter ch2" data-usfm="ISA.2">
         <div class="label">2</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">The Mountain of the </span><span class="nd"><span class="heading">Lord</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="ISA.2.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="ISA.2.1"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ISA.2.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">In the last days</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ISA.2.2"><span class="content">the mountain of the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">&#8217;s temple will be established</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ISA.2.2"><span class="content">as the highest of the mountains;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ISA.2.2"><span class="content">it will be exalted above the hills,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ISA.2.2"><span class="content">and all nations will stream to it.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ISA.2.2"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="ISA.2.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">Many peoples will come and say,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="ISA.2.3"><span class="content">&#8220;Come, let us go up to the mountain of the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="ISA.2.3"><span class="content">to the temple of the God of Jacob.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="ISA.2.3"><span class="content">He will teach us his ways,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="ISA.2.3"><span class="content">so that we may walk in his paths.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="ISA.2.3"><span class="content">The law will go out from Zion,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="ISA.2.3"><span class="content">the word of the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> from Jerusalem.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="ISA.2.3"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="ISA.2.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">He will judge between the nations</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="ISA.2.4"><span class="content">and will settle disputes for many peoples.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="ISA.2.4"><span class="content">They will beat their swords into plowshares</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="ISA.2.4"><span class="content">and their spears into pruning hooks.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="ISA.2.4"><span class="content">Nation will not take up sword against nation,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="ISA.2.4"><span class="content">nor will they train for war anymore.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="ISA.2.4"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="ISA.2.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">Come, descendants of Jacob,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="ISA.2.5"><span class="content">let us walk in the light of the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">.</span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">The Day of the </span><span class="nd"><span class="heading">Lord</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="ISA.2.5"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="ISA.2.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">You, </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">, have abandoned your people,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="ISA.2.6"><span class="content">the descendants of Jacob.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="ISA.2.6"><span class="content">They are full of superstitions from the East;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="ISA.2.6"><span class="content">they practice divination like the Philistines</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="ISA.2.6"><span class="content">and embrace pagan customs.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="ISA.2.6"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="ISA.2.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">Their land is full of silver and gold;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="ISA.2.7"><span class="content">there is no end to their treasures.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="ISA.2.7"><span class="content">Their land is full of horses;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="ISA.2.7"><span class="content">there is no end to their chariots.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="ISA.2.7"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ISA.2.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">Their land is full of idols;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ISA.2.8"><span class="content">they bow down to the work of their hands,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ISA.2.8"><span class="content">to what their fingers have made.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ISA.2.8"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ISA.2.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">So people will be brought low</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ISA.2.9"><span class="content">and everyone humbled&#8212;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ISA.2.9"><span class="content">do not forgive them.</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:9 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">not raise them up</span></span></span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ISA.2.9"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ISA.2.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">Go into the rocks, hide in the ground</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ISA.2.10"><span class="content">from the fearful presence of the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ISA.2.10"><span class="content">and the splendor of his majesty!</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ISA.2.10"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ISA.2.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">The eyes of the arrogant will be humbled</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ISA.2.11"><span class="content">and human pride brought low;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ISA.2.11"><span class="content">the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> alone will be exalted in that day.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ISA.2.11"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="ISA.2.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">The </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> Almighty has a day in store</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="ISA.2.12"><span class="content">for all the proud and lofty,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="ISA.2.12"><span class="content">for all that is exalted</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="ISA.2.12"><span class="content">(and they will be humbled),</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="ISA.2.12"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="ISA.2.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">for all the cedars of Lebanon, tall and lofty,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="ISA.2.13"><span class="content">and all the oaks of Bashan,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="ISA.2.13"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="ISA.2.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">for all the towering mountains</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="ISA.2.14"><span class="content">and all the high hills,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="ISA.2.14"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ISA.2.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">for every lofty tower</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ISA.2.15"><span class="content">and every fortified wall,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ISA.2.15"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="ISA.2.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">for every trading ship</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:16 </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="fqa">every ship of Tarshish</span></span></span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="ISA.2.16"><span class="content">and every stately vessel.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="ISA.2.16"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="ISA.2.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="content">The arrogance of man will be brought low</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="ISA.2.17"><span class="content">and human pride humbled;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="ISA.2.17"><span class="content">the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> alone will be exalted in that day,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="ISA.2.17"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="ISA.2.18"><span class="label">18</span><span class="content">and the idols will totally disappear.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="ISA.2.18"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="ISA.2.19"><span class="label">19</span><span class="content">People will flee to caves in the rocks</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="ISA.2.19"><span class="content">and to holes in the ground</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="ISA.2.19"><span class="content">from the fearful presence of the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="ISA.2.19"><span class="content">and the splendor of his majesty,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="ISA.2.19"><span class="content">when he rises to shake the earth.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="ISA.2.19"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="ISA.2.20"><span class="label">20</span><span class="content">In that day people will throw away</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="ISA.2.20"><span class="content">to the moles and bats</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="ISA.2.20"><span class="content">their idols of silver and idols of gold,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="ISA.2.20"><span class="content">which they made to worship.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="ISA.2.20"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="ISA.2.21"><span class="label">21</span><span class="content">They will flee to caverns in the rocks</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="ISA.2.21"><span class="content">and to the overhanging crags</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="ISA.2.21"><span class="content">from the fearful presence of the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="ISA.2.21"><span class="content">and the splendor of his majesty,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="ISA.2.21"><span class="content">when he rises to shake the earth.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="ISA.2.21"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="ISA.2.22"><span class="label">22</span><span class="content">Stop trusting in mere humans,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="ISA.2.22"><span class="content">who have but a breath in their nostrils.</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="ISA.2.22"><span class="content">Why hold them in esteem?</span></span></div>
      </div>
   </div>
</div>

<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"><span class="heading">The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost</span></div><div class="p"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="ACT.2.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ACT.2.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="ACT.2.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="ACT.2.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:4 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">languages</span><span class="ft">; also in verse 11</span></span></span><span class="content"> as the Spirit enabled them.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="ACT.2.4"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="ACT.2.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="ACT.2.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="ACT.2.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">Utterly amazed, they asked: &#8220;Aren&#8217;t all these who are speaking Galileans? </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ACT.2.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ACT.2.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:9 </span><span class="ft">That is, the Roman province by that name</span></span></span><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ACT.2.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ACT.2.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">(both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs&#8212;we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!&#8221; </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="ACT.2.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, &#8220;What does this mean?&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="ACT.2.12"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="ACT.2.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">Some, however, made fun of them and said, &#8220;They have had too much wine.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Peter Addresses the Crowd</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="ACT.2.13"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="ACT.2.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">Then 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. </span></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ACT.2.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It&#8217;s only nine in the morning! </span></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="ACT.2.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="ACT.2.16"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="ACT.2.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="content">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;In the last days, God says,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="ACT.2.17"><span class="content">I will pour out my Spirit on all people.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="ACT.2.17"><span class="content">Your sons and daughters will prophesy,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="ACT.2.17"><span class="content">your young men will see visions,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="ACT.2.17"><span class="content">your old men will dream dreams.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="ACT.2.17"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="ACT.2.18"><span class="label">18</span><span class="content">Even on my servants, both men and women,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="ACT.2.18"><span class="content">I will pour out my Spirit in those days,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="ACT.2.18"><span class="content">and they will prophesy.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="ACT.2.18"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="ACT.2.19"><span class="label">19</span><span class="content">I will show wonders in the heavens above</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="ACT.2.19"><span class="content">and signs on the earth below,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="ACT.2.19"><span class="content">blood and fire and billows of smoke.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="ACT.2.19"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="ACT.2.20"><span class="label">20</span><span class="content">The sun will be turned to darkness</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="ACT.2.20"><span class="content">and the moon to blood</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="ACT.2.20"><span class="content">before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="ACT.2.20"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="ACT.2.21"><span class="label">21</span><span class="content">And everyone who calls</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="ACT.2.21"><span class="content">on the name of the Lord will be saved.&#8217;</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:21 </span><span class="ft">Joel 2:28-32</span></span></span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="ACT.2.21"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="ACT.2.22"><span class="label">22</span><span class="content">&#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. </span></span><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="ACT.2.23"><span class="label">23</span><span class="content">This man was handed over to you by God&#8217;s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men,</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:23 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">of those not having the law </span><span class="ft">(that is, Gentiles)</span></span></span><span class="content"> put him to death by nailing him to the cross. </span></span><span class="verse v24" data-usfm="ACT.2.24"><span class="label">24</span><span class="content">But 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. </span></span><span class="verse v25" data-usfm="ACT.2.25"><span class="label">25</span><span class="content">David said about him:</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v25" data-usfm="ACT.2.25"><span class="content">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;I saw the Lord always before me.</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v25" data-usfm="ACT.2.25"><span class="content">Because he is at my right hand,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v25" data-usfm="ACT.2.25"><span class="content">I will not be shaken.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v25" data-usfm="ACT.2.25"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v26" data-usfm="ACT.2.26"><span class="label">26</span><span class="content">Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v26" data-usfm="ACT.2.26"><span class="content">my body also will rest in hope,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v26" data-usfm="ACT.2.26"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v27" data-usfm="ACT.2.27"><span class="label">27</span><span class="content">because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v27" data-usfm="ACT.2.27"><span class="content">you will not let your holy one see decay.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v27" data-usfm="ACT.2.27"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v28" data-usfm="ACT.2.28"><span class="label">28</span><span class="content">You have made known to me the paths of life;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v28" data-usfm="ACT.2.28"><span class="content">you will fill me with joy in your presence.&#8217;</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:28 </span><span class="ft">Psalm 16:8-11 (see Septuagint)</span></span></span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v28" data-usfm="ACT.2.28"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v29" data-usfm="ACT.2.29"><span class="label">29</span><span class="content">&#8220;Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. </span></span><span class="verse v30" data-usfm="ACT.2.30"><span class="label">30</span><span class="content">But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. </span></span><span class="verse v31" data-usfm="ACT.2.31"><span class="label">31</span><span class="content">Seeing 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. </span></span><span class="verse v32" data-usfm="ACT.2.32"><span class="label">32</span><span class="content">God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. </span></span><span class="verse v33" data-usfm="ACT.2.33"><span class="label">33</span><span class="content">Exalted 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. </span></span><span class="verse v34" data-usfm="ACT.2.34"><span class="label">34</span><span class="content">For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v34" data-usfm="ACT.2.34"><span class="content">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;The Lord said to my Lord:</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v34" data-usfm="ACT.2.34"><span class="content">&#8220;Sit at my right hand</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v34" data-usfm="ACT.2.34"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v35" data-usfm="ACT.2.35"><span class="label">35</span><span class="content">until I make your enemies</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v35" data-usfm="ACT.2.35"><span class="content">a footstool for your feet.&#8221;&#8198;&#8217;</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:35 </span><span class="ft">Psalm 110:1</span></span></span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v35" data-usfm="ACT.2.35"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v36" data-usfm="ACT.2.36"><span class="label">36</span><span class="content">&#8220;Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v36" data-usfm="ACT.2.36"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v37" data-usfm="ACT.2.37"><span class="label">37</span><span class="content">When 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;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v37" data-usfm="ACT.2.37"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v38" data-usfm="ACT.2.38"><span class="label">38</span><span class="content">Peter 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. </span></span><span class="verse v39" data-usfm="ACT.2.39"><span class="label">39</span><span class="content">The 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;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v39" data-usfm="ACT.2.39"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v40" data-usfm="ACT.2.40"><span class="label">40</span><span class="content">With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, &#8220;Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.&#8221; </span></span><span class="verse v41" data-usfm="ACT.2.41"><span class="label">41</span><span class="content">Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.</span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">The Fellowship of the Believers</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v41" data-usfm="ACT.2.41"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v42" data-usfm="ACT.2.42"><span class="label">42</span><span class="content">They devoted themselves to the apostles&#8217; teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. </span></span><span class="verse v43" data-usfm="ACT.2.43"><span class="label">43</span><span class="content">Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. </span></span><span class="verse v44" data-usfm="ACT.2.44"><span class="label">44</span><span class="content">All the believers were together and had everything in common. </span></span><span class="verse v45" data-usfm="ACT.2.45"><span class="label">45</span><span class="content">They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. </span></span><span class="verse v46" data-usfm="ACT.2.46"><span class="label">46</span><span class="content">Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, </span></span><span class="verse v47" data-usfm="ACT.2.47"><span class="label">47</span><span class="content">praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.</span></span></div>
      </div>
   </div>
</div>

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