The Way to True Happiness

Mission Trip Checkup: On Mission

Understanding Spiritual Ranks

Relentless Love: Reflections on the Book of Jonah

Christian Foundations 10 - Beliefs Part 2

Identity & Temptation

BEMA Liturgy I — Part D

Workplace Witness

12stone Camp Devotional

Prayer Works - Vol. 1: Praying at All Times

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 bkJHN">
      <div class="chapter ch2" data-usfm="JHN.2">
         <div class="label">2</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Jesus Changes Water Into Wine</span></div><div class="p"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="JHN.2.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus&#8217; mother was there, </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="JHN.2.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="JHN.2.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">When the wine was gone, Jesus&#8217; mother said to him, &#8220;They have no more wine.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="JHN.2.3"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="JHN.2.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">  </span><span class="wj"><span class="content">&#8220;Woman,</span></span><span class="content">  </span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">  </span><span class="fr">2:4 </span><span class="ft">  </span><span class="ft">The Greek for </span><span class="ft">  </span><span class="fq">Woman </span><span class="ft">  </span><span class="ft">does not denote any disrespect.</span><span class="ft">  </span></span></span><span class="content">  </span><span class="wj"><span class="content">why do you involve me?&#8221;</span></span><span class="content"> Jesus replied. </span><span class="wj"><span class="content">&#8220;My hour has not yet come.&#8221;</span></span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="JHN.2.4"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="JHN.2.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">His mother said to the servants, &#8220;Do whatever he tells you.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="JHN.2.5"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="JHN.2.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:6 </span><span class="ft">Or from about 75 to about 115 liters</span></span></span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="JHN.2.6"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="JHN.2.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">Jesus said to the servants, </span><span class="wj"><span class="content">&#8220;Fill the jars with water&#8221;</span></span><span class="content">; so they filled them to the brim.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="JHN.2.7"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="JHN.2.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">Then he told them, </span><span class="wj"><span class="content">&#8220;Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.&#8221;</span></span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="JHN.2.8"><span class="content">They did so, </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="JHN.2.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="JHN.2.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">and said, &#8220;Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="JHN.2.10"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="JHN.2.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="JHN.2.11"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="JHN.2.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.</span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Jesus Clears the Temple Courts</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="JHN.2.12"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="JHN.2.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="JHN.2.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. </span></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="JHN.2.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. </span></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="JHN.2.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">To those who sold doves he said, </span><span class="wj"><span class="content">&#8220;Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father&#8217;s house into a market!&#8221;</span></span><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="JHN.2.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="content">His disciples remembered that it is written: &#8220;Zeal for your house will consume me.&#8221;</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:17 </span><span class="ft">Psalm 69:9</span></span></span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="JHN.2.17"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="JHN.2.18"><span class="label">18</span><span class="content">The Jews then responded to him, &#8220;What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="JHN.2.18"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="JHN.2.19"><span class="label">19</span><span class="content">Jesus answered them, </span><span class="wj"><span class="content">&#8220;Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.&#8221;</span></span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="JHN.2.19"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="JHN.2.20"><span class="label">20</span><span class="content">They replied, &#8220;It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?&#8221; </span></span><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="JHN.2.21"><span class="label">21</span><span class="content">But the temple he had spoken of was his body. </span></span><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="JHN.2.22"><span class="label">22</span><span class="content">After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="JHN.2.22"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="JHN.2.23"><span class="label">23</span><span class="content">Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name.</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">in him</span></span></span><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v24" data-usfm="JHN.2.24"><span class="label">24</span><span class="content">But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. </span></span><span class="verse v25" data-usfm="JHN.2.25"><span class="label">25</span><span class="content">He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.</span></span></div>
      </div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkEXO">
      <div class="chapter ch11" data-usfm="EXO.11">
         <div class="label">11</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">The Plague on the Firstborn</span></div><div class="p"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="EXO.11.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">Now the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> had said to Moses, &#8220;I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here, and when he does, he will drive you out completely. </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="EXO.11.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">Tell the people that men and women alike are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold.&#8221; </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="EXO.11.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">(The </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by Pharaoh&#8217;s officials and by the people.)</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="EXO.11.3"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="EXO.11.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">So Moses said, &#8220;This is what the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> says: &#8216;About midnight I will go throughout Egypt. </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="EXO.11.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the female slave, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well. </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="EXO.11.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt&#8212;worse than there has ever been or ever will be again. </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="EXO.11.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any person or animal.&#8217; Then you will know that the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="EXO.11.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">All these officials of yours will come to me, bowing down before me and saying, &#8216;Go, you and all the people who follow you!&#8217; After that I will leave.&#8221; Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="EXO.11.8"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="EXO.11.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">The </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> had said to Moses, &#8220;Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you&#8212;so that my wonders may be multiplied in Egypt.&#8221; </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="EXO.11.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> hardened Pharaoh&#8217;s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country.</span></span></div>
      </div>
   </div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkROM">
      <div class="chapter ch14" data-usfm="ROM.14">
         <div class="label">14</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">The Weak and the Strong</span></div><div class="p"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="ROM.14.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ROM.14.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">One person&#8217;s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="ROM.14.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="ROM.14.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">Who are you to judge someone else&#8217;s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="ROM.14.4"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="ROM.14.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="ROM.14.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="ROM.14.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ROM.14.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ROM.14.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ROM.14.9"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ROM.14.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">14:10 </span><span class="ft">The Greek word for </span><span class="fq">brother or sister </span><span class="ft">(<span class="tl">adelphos</span>) refers here to a believer, whether man or woman, as part of God&#8217;s family; also in verses 13, 15 and 21.</span></span></span><span class="content">? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God&#8217;s judgment seat. </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ROM.14.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">It is written:</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ROM.14.11"><span class="content">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;As surely as I live,&#8217; says the Lord,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ROM.14.11"><span class="content">&#8216;every knee will bow before me;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ROM.14.11"><span class="content">every tongue will acknowledge God.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">14:11 </span><span class="ft">Isaiah 45:23</span></span></span></span></div><div class="m"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ROM.14.11"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="ROM.14.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="ROM.14.12"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="ROM.14.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="ROM.14.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. </span></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ROM.14.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. </span></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="ROM.14.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. </span></span><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="ROM.14.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="content">For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, </span></span><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="ROM.14.18"><span class="label">18</span><span class="content">because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="ROM.14.18"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="ROM.14.19"><span class="label">19</span><span class="content">Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. </span></span><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="ROM.14.20"><span class="label">20</span><span class="content">Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. </span></span><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="ROM.14.21"><span class="label">21</span><span class="content">It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="ROM.14.21"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="ROM.14.22"><span class="label">22</span><span class="content">So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. </span></span><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="ROM.14.23"><span class="label">23</span><span class="content">But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">14:23 </span><span class="ft">Some manuscripts place 16:25-27 here; others after 15:33.</span></span></span></span></div>
      </div>
   </div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkREV">
      <div class="chapter ch10" data-usfm="REV.10">
         <div class="label">10</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">The Angel and the Little Scroll</span></div><div class="p"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="REV.10.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars. </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="REV.10.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="REV.10.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke. </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="REV.10.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, &#8220;Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="REV.10.4"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="REV.10.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="REV.10.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, &#8220;There will be no more delay! </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="REV.10.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="REV.10.7"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="REV.10.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: &#8220;Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="REV.10.8"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="REV.10.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, &#8220;Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but &#8216;in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.&#8217;</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">10:9 </span><span class="ft">Ezek. 3:3</span></span></span><span class="content">&#8221; </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="REV.10.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">I took the little scroll from the angel&#8217;s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="REV.10.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">Then I was told, &#8220;You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.&#8221;</span></span></div>
      </div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkSNG">
      <div class="chapter ch8" data-usfm="SNG.8">
         <div class="label">8</div><div class="q1"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="SNG.8.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">If only you were to me like a brother,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="SNG.8.1"><span class="content">who was nursed at my mother&#8217;s breasts!</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="SNG.8.1"><span class="content">Then, if I found you outside,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="SNG.8.1"><span class="content">I would kiss you,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="SNG.8.1"><span class="content">and no one would despise me.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="SNG.8.1"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="SNG.8.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">I would lead you</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="SNG.8.2"><span class="content">and bring you to my mother&#8217;s house&#8212;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="SNG.8.2"><span class="content">she who has taught me.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="SNG.8.2"><span class="content">I would give you spiced wine to drink,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="SNG.8.2"><span class="content">the nectar of my pomegranates.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="SNG.8.2"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="SNG.8.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">His left arm is under my head</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="SNG.8.3"><span class="content">and his right arm embraces me.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="SNG.8.3"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="SNG.8.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you:</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="SNG.8.4"><span class="content">Do not arouse or awaken love</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="SNG.8.4"><span class="content">until it so desires.</span></span></div><div class="sp"><span class="heading">Friends</span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="SNG.8.4"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="SNG.8.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">Who is this coming up from the wilderness</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="SNG.8.5"><span class="content">leaning on her beloved?</span></span></div><div class="sp"><span class="heading">She</span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="SNG.8.5"><span class="content">Under the apple tree I roused you;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="SNG.8.5"><span class="content">there your mother conceived you,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="SNG.8.5"><span class="content">there she who was in labor gave you birth.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="SNG.8.5"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="SNG.8.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">Place me like a seal over your heart,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="SNG.8.6"><span class="content">like a seal on your arm;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="SNG.8.6"><span class="content">for love is as strong as death,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="SNG.8.6"><span class="content">its jealousy</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">8:6 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">ardor</span></span></span><span class="content"> unyielding as the grave.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="SNG.8.6"><span class="content">It burns like blazing fire,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="SNG.8.6"><span class="content">like a mighty flame.</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">8:6 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">fire, / like the very flame of the <span class="nd">Lord</span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="SNG.8.6"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="SNG.8.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">Many waters cannot quench love;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="SNG.8.7"><span class="content">rivers cannot sweep it away.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="SNG.8.7"><span class="content">If one were to give</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="SNG.8.7"><span class="content">all the wealth of one&#8217;s house for love,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="SNG.8.7"><span class="content">it</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">8:7 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">he</span></span></span><span class="content"> would be utterly scorned.</span></span></div><div class="sp"><span class="heading">Friends</span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="SNG.8.7"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="SNG.8.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">We have a little sister,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="SNG.8.8"><span class="content">and her breasts are not yet grown.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="SNG.8.8"><span class="content">What shall we do for our sister</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="SNG.8.8"><span class="content">on the day she is spoken for?</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="SNG.8.8"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="SNG.8.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">If she is a wall,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="SNG.8.9"><span class="content">we will build towers of silver on her.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="SNG.8.9"><span class="content">If she is a door,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="SNG.8.9"><span class="content">we will enclose her with panels of cedar.</span></span></div><div class="sp"><span class="heading">She</span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="SNG.8.9"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="SNG.8.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">I am a wall,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="SNG.8.10"><span class="content">and my breasts are like towers.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="SNG.8.10"><span class="content">Thus I have become in his eyes</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="SNG.8.10"><span class="content">like one bringing contentment.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="SNG.8.10"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="SNG.8.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">Solomon had a vineyard in Baal Hamon;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="SNG.8.11"><span class="content">he let out his vineyard to tenants.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="SNG.8.11"><span class="content">Each was to bring for its fruit</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="SNG.8.11"><span class="content">a thousand shekels</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">8:11 </span><span class="ft">That is, about 25 pounds or about 12 kilograms; also in verse 12</span></span></span><span class="content"> of silver.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="SNG.8.11"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="SNG.8.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">But my own vineyard is mine to give;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="SNG.8.12"><span class="content">the thousand shekels are for you, Solomon,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="SNG.8.12"><span class="content">and two hundred</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">8:12 </span><span class="ft">That is, about 5 pounds or about 2.3 kilograms</span></span></span><span class="content"> are for those who tend its fruit.</span></span></div><div class="sp"><span class="heading">He</span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="SNG.8.12"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="SNG.8.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">You who dwell in the gardens</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="SNG.8.13"><span class="content">with friends in attendance,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="SNG.8.13"><span class="content">let me hear your voice!</span></span></div><div class="sp"><span class="heading">She</span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="SNG.8.13"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="SNG.8.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">Come away, my beloved,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="SNG.8.14"><span class="content">and be like a gazelle</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="SNG.8.14"><span class="content">or like a young stag</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="SNG.8.14"><span class="content">on the spice-laden mountains.</span></span></div>
      </div>
   </div>
</div>

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkPSA">
      <div class="chapter ch98" data-usfm="PSA.98">
         <div class="label">98</div><div class="cl"><span class="heading">Psalm 98</span></div><div class="d"><span class="content">A psalm.</span></div><div class="q1"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="PSA.98.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">Sing to the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> a new song,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="PSA.98.1"><span class="content">for he has done marvelous things;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="PSA.98.1"><span class="content">his right hand and his holy arm</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="PSA.98.1"><span class="content">have worked salvation for him.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="PSA.98.1"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="PSA.98.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">The </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> has made his salvation known</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="PSA.98.2"><span class="content">and revealed his righteousness to the nations.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="PSA.98.2"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="PSA.98.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">He has remembered his love</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="PSA.98.3"><span class="content">and his faithfulness to Israel;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="PSA.98.3"><span class="content">all the ends of the earth have seen</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="PSA.98.3"><span class="content">the salvation of our God.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="PSA.98.3"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="PSA.98.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">Shout for joy to the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">, all the earth,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="PSA.98.4"><span class="content">burst into jubilant song with music;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="PSA.98.4"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="PSA.98.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">make music to the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> with the harp,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="PSA.98.5"><span class="content">with the harp and the sound of singing,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="PSA.98.5"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="PSA.98.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">with trumpets and the blast of the ram&#8217;s horn&#8212;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="PSA.98.6"><span class="content">shout for joy before the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">, the King.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="PSA.98.6"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="PSA.98.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">Let the sea resound, and everything in it,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="PSA.98.7"><span class="content">the world, and all who live in it.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="PSA.98.7"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="PSA.98.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">Let the rivers clap their hands,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="PSA.98.8"><span class="content">let the mountains sing together for joy;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="PSA.98.8"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="PSA.98.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">let them sing before the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="PSA.98.9"><span class="content">for he comes to judge the earth.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="PSA.98.9"><span class="content">He will judge the world in righteousness</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="PSA.98.9"><span class="content">and the peoples with equity.</span></span></div>
      </div>
   </div>
</div>

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkPRO">
      <div class="chapter ch31" data-usfm="PRO.31">
         <div class="label">31</div><div class="ms1"><span class="heading">Sayings of King Lemuel</span></div><div class="p"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="PRO.31.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">The sayings of King Lemuel&#8212;an inspired utterance his mother taught him.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="PRO.31.1"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="PRO.31.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">Listen, my son! Listen, son of my womb!</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="PRO.31.2"><span class="content">Listen, my son, the answer to my prayers!</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="PRO.31.2"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="PRO.31.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">Do not spend your strength</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">31:3 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">wealth</span></span></span><span class="content"> on women,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="PRO.31.3"><span class="content">your vigor on those who ruin kings.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="PRO.31.3"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="PRO.31.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">It is not for kings, Lemuel&#8212;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="PRO.31.4"><span class="content">it is not for kings to drink wine,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="PRO.31.4"><span class="content">not for rulers to crave beer,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="PRO.31.4"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="PRO.31.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">lest they drink and forget what has been decreed,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="PRO.31.5"><span class="content">and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="PRO.31.5"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="PRO.31.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">Let beer be for those who are perishing,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="PRO.31.6"><span class="content">wine for those who are in anguish!</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="PRO.31.6"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="PRO.31.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">Let them drink and forget their poverty</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="PRO.31.7"><span class="content">and remember their misery no more.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="PRO.31.7"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="PRO.31.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="PRO.31.8"><span class="content">for the rights of all who are destitute.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="PRO.31.8"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="PRO.31.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">Speak up and judge fairly;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="PRO.31.9"><span class="content">defend the rights of the poor and needy.</span></span></div><div class="ms1"><span class="heading">Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character</span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="PRO.31.9"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="PRO.31.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">  </span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">  </span><span class="fr">31:10 </span><span class="ft">  </span><span class="ft">Verses 10-31 are an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.</span><span class="ft">  </span></span></span><span class="content"> A wife of noble character who can find?</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="PRO.31.10"><span class="content">She is worth far more than rubies.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="PRO.31.10"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="PRO.31.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">Her husband has full confidence in her</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="PRO.31.11"><span class="content">and lacks nothing of value.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="PRO.31.11"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="PRO.31.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">She brings him good, not harm,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="PRO.31.12"><span class="content">all the days of her life.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="PRO.31.12"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="PRO.31.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">She selects wool and flax</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="PRO.31.13"><span class="content">and works with eager hands.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="PRO.31.13"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="PRO.31.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">She is like the merchant ships,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="PRO.31.14"><span class="content">bringing her food from afar.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="PRO.31.14"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="PRO.31.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">She gets up while it is still night;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="PRO.31.15"><span class="content">she provides food for her family</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="PRO.31.15"><span class="content">and portions for her female servants.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="PRO.31.15"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="PRO.31.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">She considers a field and buys it;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="PRO.31.16"><span class="content">out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="PRO.31.16"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="PRO.31.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="content">She sets about her work vigorously;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="PRO.31.17"><span class="content">her arms are strong for her tasks.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="PRO.31.17"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="PRO.31.18"><span class="label">18</span><span class="content">She sees that her trading is profitable,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="PRO.31.18"><span class="content">and her lamp does not go out at night.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="PRO.31.18"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="PRO.31.19"><span class="label">19</span><span class="content">In her hand she holds the distaff</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="PRO.31.19"><span class="content">and grasps the spindle with her fingers.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="PRO.31.19"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="PRO.31.20"><span class="label">20</span><span class="content">She opens her arms to the poor</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="PRO.31.20"><span class="content">and extends her hands to the needy.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="PRO.31.20"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="PRO.31.21"><span class="label">21</span><span class="content">When it snows, she has no fear for her household;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="PRO.31.21"><span class="content">for all of them are clothed in scarlet.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="PRO.31.21"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="PRO.31.22"><span class="label">22</span><span class="content">She makes coverings for her bed;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="PRO.31.22"><span class="content">she is clothed in fine linen and purple.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="PRO.31.22"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="PRO.31.23"><span class="label">23</span><span class="content">Her husband is respected at the city gate,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="PRO.31.23"><span class="content">where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="PRO.31.23"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v24" data-usfm="PRO.31.24"><span class="label">24</span><span class="content">She makes linen garments and sells them,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v24" data-usfm="PRO.31.24"><span class="content">and supplies the merchants with sashes.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v24" data-usfm="PRO.31.24"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v25" data-usfm="PRO.31.25"><span class="label">25</span><span class="content">She is clothed with strength and dignity;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v25" data-usfm="PRO.31.25"><span class="content">she can laugh at the days to come.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v25" data-usfm="PRO.31.25"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v26" data-usfm="PRO.31.26"><span class="label">26</span><span class="content">She speaks with wisdom,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v26" data-usfm="PRO.31.26"><span class="content">and faithful instruction is on her tongue.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v26" data-usfm="PRO.31.26"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v27" data-usfm="PRO.31.27"><span class="label">27</span><span class="content">She watches over the affairs of her household</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v27" data-usfm="PRO.31.27"><span class="content">and does not eat the bread of idleness.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v27" data-usfm="PRO.31.27"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v28" data-usfm="PRO.31.28"><span class="label">28</span><span class="content">Her children arise and call her blessed;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v28" data-usfm="PRO.31.28"><span class="content">her husband also, and he praises her:</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v28" data-usfm="PRO.31.28"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v29" data-usfm="PRO.31.29"><span class="label">29</span><span class="content">&#8220;Many women do noble things,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v29" data-usfm="PRO.31.29"><span class="content">but you surpass them all.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v29" data-usfm="PRO.31.29"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v30" data-usfm="PRO.31.30"><span class="label">30</span><span class="content">Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v30" data-usfm="PRO.31.30"><span class="content">but a woman who fears the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> is to be praised.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v30" data-usfm="PRO.31.30"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v31" data-usfm="PRO.31.31"><span class="label">31</span><span class="content">Honor her for all that her hands have done,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v31" data-usfm="PRO.31.31"><span class="content">and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.</span></span></div>
      </div>
   </div>
</div>

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkEST">
      <div class="chapter ch9" data-usfm="EST.9">
         <div class="label">9</div><div class="p"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="EST.9.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the edict commanded by the king was to be carried out. On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but now the tables were turned and the Jews got the upper hand over those who hated them. </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="EST.9.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">The Jews assembled in their cities in all the provinces of King Xerxes to attack those determined to destroy them. No one could stand against them, because the people of all the other nationalities were afraid of them. </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="EST.9.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">And all the nobles of the provinces, the satraps, the governors and the king&#8217;s administrators helped the Jews, because fear of Mordecai had seized them. </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="EST.9.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">Mordecai was prominent in the palace; his reputation spread throughout the provinces, and he became more and more powerful.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="EST.9.4"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="EST.9.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">The Jews struck down all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them, and they did what they pleased to those who hated them. </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="EST.9.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">In the citadel of Susa, the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men. </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="EST.9.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">They also killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="EST.9.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="EST.9.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai and Vaizatha, </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="EST.9.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they did not lay their hands on the plunder.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="EST.9.10"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="EST.9.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">The number of those killed in the citadel of Susa was reported to the king that same day. </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="EST.9.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">The king said to Queen Esther, &#8220;The Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman in the citadel of Susa. What have they done in the rest of the king&#8217;s provinces? Now what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? It will also be granted.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="EST.9.12"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="EST.9.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">&#8220;If it pleases the king,&#8221; Esther answered, &#8220;give the Jews in Susa permission to carry out this day&#8217;s edict tomorrow also, and let Haman&#8217;s ten sons be impaled on poles.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="EST.9.13"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="EST.9.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">So the king commanded that this be done. An edict was issued in Susa, and they impaled the ten sons of Haman. </span></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="EST.9.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">The Jews in Susa came together on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and they put to death in Susa three hundred men, but they did not lay their hands on the plunder.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="EST.9.15"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="EST.9.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">Meanwhile, the remainder of the Jews who were in the king&#8217;s provinces also assembled to protect themselves and get relief from their enemies. They killed seventy-five thousand of them but did not lay their hands on the plunder. </span></span><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="EST.9.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="content">This happened on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth they rested and made it a day of feasting and joy.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="EST.9.17"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="EST.9.18"><span class="label">18</span><span class="content">The Jews in Susa, however, had assembled on the thirteenth and fourteenth, and then on the fifteenth they rested and made it a day of feasting and joy.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="EST.9.18"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="EST.9.19"><span class="label">19</span><span class="content">That is why rural Jews&#8212;those living in villages&#8212;observe the fourteenth of the month of Adar as a day of joy and feasting, a day for giving presents to each other.</span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Purim Established</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="EST.9.19"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="EST.9.20"><span class="label">20</span><span class="content">Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Xerxes, near and far, </span></span><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="EST.9.21"><span class="label">21</span><span class="content">to have them celebrate annually the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar </span></span><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="EST.9.22"><span class="label">22</span><span class="content">as the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration. He wrote them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="EST.9.22"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="EST.9.23"><span class="label">23</span><span class="content">So the Jews agreed to continue the celebration they had begun, doing what Mordecai had written to them. </span></span><span class="verse v24" data-usfm="EST.9.24"><span class="label">24</span><span class="content">For Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the </span><span class="tl"><span class="content">pur</span></span><span class="content"> (that is, the lot) for their ruin and destruction. </span></span><span class="verse v25" data-usfm="EST.9.25"><span class="label">25</span><span class="content">But when the plot came to the king&#8217;s attention,</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">9:25 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">when Esther came before the king</span></span></span><span class="content"> he issued written orders that the evil scheme Haman had devised against the Jews should come back onto his own head, and that he and his sons should be impaled on poles. </span></span><span class="verse v26" data-usfm="EST.9.26"><span class="label">26</span><span class="content">(Therefore these days were called Purim, from the word </span><span class="tl"><span class="content">pur</span></span><span class="content">.) Because of everything written in this letter and because of what they had seen and what had happened to them, </span></span><span class="verse v27" data-usfm="EST.9.27"><span class="label">27</span><span class="content">the Jews took it on themselves to establish the custom that they and their descendants and all who join them should without fail observe these two days every year, in the way prescribed and at the time appointed. </span></span><span class="verse v28" data-usfm="EST.9.28"><span class="label">28</span><span class="content">These days should be remembered and observed in every generation by every family, and in every province and in every city. And these days of Purim should never fail to be celebrated by the Jews&#8212;nor should the memory of these days die out among their descendants.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v28" data-usfm="EST.9.28"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v29" data-usfm="EST.9.29"><span class="label">29</span><span class="content">So Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter concerning Purim. </span></span><span class="verse v30" data-usfm="EST.9.30"><span class="label">30</span><span class="content">And Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of Xerxes&#8217; kingdom&#8212;words of goodwill and assurance&#8212; </span></span><span class="verse v31" data-usfm="EST.9.31"><span class="label">31</span><span class="content">to establish these days of Purim at their designated times, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had decreed for them, and as they had established for themselves and their descendants in regard to their times of fasting and lamentation. </span></span><span class="verse v32" data-usfm="EST.9.32"><span class="label">32</span><span class="content">Esther&#8217;s decree confirmed these regulations about Purim, and it was written down in the records.</span></span></div>
      </div>
   </div>
</div>

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkMAL">
      <div class="chapter ch2" data-usfm="MAL.2">
         <div class="label">2</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Additional Warning to the Priests</span></div><div class="p"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="MAL.2.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">&#8220;And now, you priests, this warning is for you. </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="MAL.2.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">If you do not listen, and if you do not resolve to honor my name,&#8221; says the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> Almighty, &#8220;I will send a curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not resolved to honor me.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="MAL.2.2"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="MAL.2.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">&#8220;Because of you I will rebuke your descendants</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:3 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">will blight your grain</span></span></span><span class="content">; I will smear on your faces the dung from your festival sacrifices, and you will be carried off with it. </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="MAL.2.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">And you will know that I have sent you this warning so that my covenant with Levi may continue,&#8221; says the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> Almighty. </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="MAL.2.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">&#8220;My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="MAL.2.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">True instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="MAL.2.6"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="MAL.2.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">&#8220;For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger of the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth. </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="MAL.2.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi,&#8221; says the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> Almighty. </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="MAL.2.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">&#8220;So I have caused you to be despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not followed my ways but have shown partiality in matters of the law.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Breaking Covenant Through Divorce</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="MAL.2.9"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="MAL.2.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">Do we not all have one Father</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">father</span></span></span><span class="content">? Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our ancestors by being unfaithful to one another?</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="MAL.2.10"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="MAL.2.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">Judah has been unfaithful. A detestable thing has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem: Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> loves by marrying women who worship a foreign god. </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="MAL.2.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">As for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> remove him from the tents of Jacob</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="fv">12 </span><span class="fqa">May the <span class="nd">Lord</span> remove from the tents of Jacob anyone who gives testimony in behalf of the man who does this</span></span></span><span class="content">&#8212;even though he brings an offering to the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> Almighty.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="MAL.2.12"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="MAL.2.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">Another thing you do: You flood the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">&#8217;s altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer looks with favor on your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="MAL.2.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">You ask, &#8220;Why?&#8221; It is because the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="MAL.2.14"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="MAL.2.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">Has not the one God made you? You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring.</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:15 </span><span class="ft">The meaning of the Hebrew for the first part of this verse is uncertain.</span></span></span><span class="content"> So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="MAL.2.15"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="MAL.2.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">&#8220;The man who hates and divorces his wife,&#8221; says the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">, the God of Israel, &#8220;does violence to the one he should protect,&#8221;</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">&#8220;I hate divorce,&#8221; says the <span class="nd">Lord</span>, the God of Israel, &#8220;because the man who divorces his wife covers his garment with violence,&#8221;</span></span></span><span class="content"> says the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> Almighty.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="MAL.2.16"><span class="content">So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful.</span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Breaking Covenant Through Injustice</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="MAL.2.16"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="MAL.2.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="content">You have wearied the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> with your words.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="MAL.2.17"><span class="content">&#8220;How have we wearied him?&#8221; you ask.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="MAL.2.17"><span class="content">By saying, &#8220;All who do evil are good in the eyes of the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">, and he is pleased with them&#8221; or &#8220;Where is the God of justice?&#8221;</span></span></div>
      </div>
   </div>
</div>

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkACT">
      <div class="chapter ch24" data-usfm="ACT.24">
         <div class="label">24</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Paul&#8217;s Trial Before Felix</span></div><div class="p"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="ACT.24.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">Five days later the high priest Ananias went down to Caesarea with some of the elders and a lawyer named Tertullus, and they brought their charges against Paul before the governor. </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ACT.24.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">When Paul was called in, Tertullus presented his case before Felix: &#8220;We have enjoyed a long period of peace under you, and your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation. </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="ACT.24.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">Everywhere and in every way, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with profound gratitude. </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="ACT.24.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">But in order not to weary you further, I would request that you be kind enough to hear us briefly.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="ACT.24.4"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="ACT.24.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">&#8220;We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="ACT.24.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">and even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him. </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="ACT.24.7"><span class="label">[7]</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">24:6-7 </span><span class="ft">Some manuscripts include here </span><span class="fqa">him, and we would have judged him in accordance with our law. </span><span class="fv">7 </span><span class="fqa">But the commander Lysias came and took him from us with much violence, </span><span class="fv">8 </span><span class="fqa">ordering his accusers to come before you.</span></span></span><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ACT.24.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">By examining him yourself you will be able to learn the truth about all these charges we are bringing against him.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ACT.24.8"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ACT.24.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">The other Jews joined in the accusation, asserting that these things were true.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ACT.24.9"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ACT.24.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">When the governor motioned for him to speak, Paul replied: &#8220;I know that for a number of years you have been a judge over this nation; so I gladly make my defense. </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ACT.24.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">You can easily verify that no more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship. </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="ACT.24.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">My accusers did not find me arguing with anyone at the temple, or stirring up a crowd in the synagogues or anywhere else in the city. </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="ACT.24.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">And they cannot prove to you the charges they are now making against me. </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="ACT.24.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">However, I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets, </span></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ACT.24.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">and I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. </span></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="ACT.24.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="ACT.24.16"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="ACT.24.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="content">&#8220;After an absence of several years, I came to Jerusalem to bring my people gifts for the poor and to present offerings. </span></span><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="ACT.24.18"><span class="label">18</span><span class="content">I was ceremonially clean when they found me in the temple courts doing this. There was no crowd with me, nor was I involved in any disturbance. </span></span><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="ACT.24.19"><span class="label">19</span><span class="content">But there are some Jews from the province of Asia, who ought to be here before you and bring charges if they have anything against me. </span></span><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="ACT.24.20"><span class="label">20</span><span class="content">Or these who are here should state what crime they found in me when I stood before the Sanhedrin&#8212; </span></span><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="ACT.24.21"><span class="label">21</span><span class="content">unless it was this one thing I shouted as I stood in their presence: &#8216;It is concerning the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="ACT.24.21"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="ACT.24.22"><span class="label">22</span><span class="content">Then Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way, adjourned the proceedings. &#8220;When Lysias the commander comes,&#8221; he said, &#8220;I will decide your case.&#8221; </span></span><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="ACT.24.23"><span class="label">23</span><span class="content">He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard but to give him some freedom and permit his friends to take care of his needs.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="ACT.24.23"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v24" data-usfm="ACT.24.24"><span class="label">24</span><span class="content">Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus. </span></span><span class="verse v25" data-usfm="ACT.24.25"><span class="label">25</span><span class="content">As Paul talked about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, &#8220;That&#8217;s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.&#8221; </span></span><span class="verse v26" data-usfm="ACT.24.26"><span class="label">26</span><span class="content">At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v26" data-usfm="ACT.24.26"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v27" data-usfm="ACT.24.27"><span class="label">27</span><span class="content">When two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, but because Felix wanted to grant a favor to the Jews, he left Paul in prison.</span></span></div>
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