What the Bible Says About Advent - 29 Days of Advent Meditations

Scriptures and Hymns to Grow Your Joy This Christmas

Lessons From Some Hidden Heroes in the Bible

The Mandate to Multiply.

When Heaven Touched Earth - a 7 Day Journey to Christmas

OVERCOME Lust WITH TRUST

Adversity

Hope in Creator’s Promises

Your Prayer Has Been Heard: How God Meets Us in Seasons of Weariness and Waiting

Everyone Should Know - Thanksgiving Special

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 bkPSA">
      <div class="chapter ch91" data-usfm="PSA.91">
         <div class="label">91</div><div class="cl"><span class="heading">Psalm 91</span></div><div class="q1"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="PSA.91.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="PSA.91.1"><span class="content">will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">91:1 </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="fqa">Shaddai</span></span></span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="PSA.91.1"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="PSA.91.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">I will say of the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">, &#8220;He is my refuge and my fortress,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="PSA.91.2"><span class="content">my God, in whom I trust.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="PSA.91.2"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="PSA.91.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">Surely he will save you</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="PSA.91.3"><span class="content">from the fowler&#8217;s snare</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="PSA.91.3"><span class="content">and from the deadly pestilence.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="PSA.91.3"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="PSA.91.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">He will cover you with his feathers,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="PSA.91.4"><span class="content">and under his wings you will find refuge;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="PSA.91.4"><span class="content">his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="PSA.91.4"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="PSA.91.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">You will not fear the terror of night,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="PSA.91.5"><span class="content">nor the arrow that flies by day,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="PSA.91.5"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="PSA.91.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="PSA.91.6"><span class="content">nor the plague that destroys at midday.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="PSA.91.6"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="PSA.91.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">A thousand may fall at your side,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="PSA.91.7"><span class="content">ten thousand at your right hand,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="PSA.91.7"><span class="content">but it will not come near you.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="PSA.91.7"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="PSA.91.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">You will only observe with your eyes</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="PSA.91.8"><span class="content">and see the punishment of the wicked.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="PSA.91.8"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="PSA.91.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">If you say, &#8220;The </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> is my refuge,&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="PSA.91.9"><span class="content">and you make the Most High your dwelling,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="PSA.91.9"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="PSA.91.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">no harm will overtake you,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="PSA.91.10"><span class="content">no disaster will come near your tent.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="PSA.91.10"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="PSA.91.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">For he will command his angels concerning you</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="PSA.91.11"><span class="content">to guard you in all your ways;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="PSA.91.11"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="PSA.91.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">they will lift you up in their hands,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="PSA.91.12"><span class="content">so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="PSA.91.12"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="PSA.91.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">You will tread on the lion and the cobra;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="PSA.91.13"><span class="content">you will trample the great lion and the serpent.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="PSA.91.13"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="PSA.91.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">&#8220;Because he</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">91:14 </span><span class="ft">That is, probably the king</span></span></span><span class="content"> loves me,&#8221; says the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">, &#8220;I will rescue him;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="PSA.91.14"><span class="content">I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="PSA.91.14"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="PSA.91.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">He will call on me, and I will answer him;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="PSA.91.15"><span class="content">I will be with him in trouble,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="PSA.91.15"><span class="content">I will deliver him and honor him.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="PSA.91.15"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="PSA.91.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">With long life I will satisfy him</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="PSA.91.16"><span class="content">and show him my salvation.&#8221;</span></span></div>
      </div>
   </div>
</div>

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkPRO">
      <div class="chapter ch29" data-usfm="PRO.29">
         <div class="label">29</div><div class="q1"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="PRO.29.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">Whoever remains stiff-necked after many rebukes</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="PRO.29.1"><span class="content">will suddenly be destroyed&#8212;without remedy.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="PRO.29.1"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="PRO.29.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="PRO.29.2"><span class="content">when the wicked rule, the people groan.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="PRO.29.2"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="PRO.29.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">A man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="PRO.29.3"><span class="content">but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="PRO.29.3"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="PRO.29.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">By justice a king gives a country stability,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="PRO.29.4"><span class="content">but those who are greedy for</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">29:4 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">who give</span></span></span><span class="content"> bribes tear it down.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="PRO.29.4"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="PRO.29.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">Those who flatter their neighbors</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="PRO.29.5"><span class="content">are spreading nets for their feet.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="PRO.29.5"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="PRO.29.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">Evildoers are snared by their own sin,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="PRO.29.6"><span class="content">but the righteous shout for joy and are glad.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="PRO.29.6"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="PRO.29.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">The righteous care about justice for the poor,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="PRO.29.7"><span class="content">but the wicked have no such concern.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="PRO.29.7"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="PRO.29.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">Mockers stir up a city,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="PRO.29.8"><span class="content">but the wise turn away anger.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="PRO.29.8"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="PRO.29.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">If a wise person goes to court with a fool,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="PRO.29.9"><span class="content">the fool rages and scoffs, and there is no peace.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="PRO.29.9"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="PRO.29.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">The bloodthirsty hate a person of integrity</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="PRO.29.10"><span class="content">and seek to kill the upright.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="PRO.29.10"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="PRO.29.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">Fools give full vent to their rage,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="PRO.29.11"><span class="content">but the wise bring calm in the end.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="PRO.29.11"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="PRO.29.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">If a ruler listens to lies,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="PRO.29.12"><span class="content">all his officials become wicked.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="PRO.29.12"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="PRO.29.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">The poor and the oppressor have this in common:</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="PRO.29.13"><span class="content">The </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> gives sight to the eyes of both.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="PRO.29.13"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="PRO.29.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">If a king judges the poor with fairness,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="PRO.29.14"><span class="content">his throne will be established forever.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="PRO.29.14"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="PRO.29.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">A rod and a reprimand impart wisdom,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="PRO.29.15"><span class="content">but a child left undisciplined disgraces its mother.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="PRO.29.15"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="PRO.29.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">When the wicked thrive, so does sin,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="PRO.29.16"><span class="content">but the righteous will see their downfall.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="PRO.29.16"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="PRO.29.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="content">Discipline your children, and they will give you peace;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="PRO.29.17"><span class="content">they will bring you the delights you desire.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="PRO.29.17"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="PRO.29.18"><span class="label">18</span><span class="content">Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="PRO.29.18"><span class="content">but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom&#8217;s instruction.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="PRO.29.18"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="PRO.29.19"><span class="label">19</span><span class="content">Servants cannot be corrected by mere words;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="PRO.29.19"><span class="content">though they understand, they will not respond.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="PRO.29.19"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="PRO.29.20"><span class="label">20</span><span class="content">Do you see someone who speaks in haste?</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="PRO.29.20"><span class="content">There is more hope for a fool than for them.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="PRO.29.20"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="PRO.29.21"><span class="label">21</span><span class="content">A servant pampered from youth</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="PRO.29.21"><span class="content">will turn out to be insolent.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="PRO.29.21"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="PRO.29.22"><span class="label">22</span><span class="content">An angry person stirs up conflict,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="PRO.29.22"><span class="content">and a hot-tempered person commits many sins.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="PRO.29.22"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="PRO.29.23"><span class="label">23</span><span class="content">Pride brings a person low,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="PRO.29.23"><span class="content">but the lowly in spirit gain honor.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="PRO.29.23"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v24" data-usfm="PRO.29.24"><span class="label">24</span><span class="content">The accomplices of thieves are their own enemies;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v24" data-usfm="PRO.29.24"><span class="content">they are put under oath and dare not testify.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v24" data-usfm="PRO.29.24"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v25" data-usfm="PRO.29.25"><span class="label">25</span><span class="content">Fear of man will prove to be a snare,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v25" data-usfm="PRO.29.25"><span class="content">but whoever trusts in the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> is kept safe.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v25" data-usfm="PRO.29.25"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v26" data-usfm="PRO.29.26"><span class="label">26</span><span class="content">Many seek an audience with a ruler,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v26" data-usfm="PRO.29.26"><span class="content">but it is from the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> that one gets justice.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v26" data-usfm="PRO.29.26"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v27" data-usfm="PRO.29.27"><span class="label">27</span><span class="content">The righteous detest the dishonest;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v27" data-usfm="PRO.29.27"><span class="content">the wicked detest the upright.</span></span></div>
      </div>
   </div>
</div>

<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 bkCOL">
      <div class="chapter ch2" data-usfm="COL.2">
         <div class="label">2</div><div class="p"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="COL.2.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="COL.2.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="COL.2.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="COL.2.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="COL.2.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.</span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Spiritual Fullness in Christ</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="COL.2.5"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="COL.2.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="COL.2.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="COL.2.7"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="COL.2.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:8 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">the basic principles</span><span class="ft">; also in verse 20</span></span></span><span class="content"> of this world rather than on Christ.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="COL.2.8"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="COL.2.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="COL.2.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="COL.2.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:11 </span><span class="ft">In contexts like this, the Greek word for </span><span class="fq">flesh </span><span class="ft">(<span class="tl">sarx</span>) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit; also in verse 13.</span></span></span><span class="content"> was put off when you were circumcised by</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:11 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">put off in the circumcision of</span></span></span><span class="content"> Christ, </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="COL.2.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="COL.2.12"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="COL.2.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:13 </span><span class="ft">Some manuscripts </span><span class="fqa">us</span></span></span><span class="content"> alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="COL.2.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. </span></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="COL.2.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:15 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">them in him</span></span></span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Freedom From Human Rules</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="COL.2.15"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="COL.2.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. </span></span><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="COL.2.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="content">These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. </span></span><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="COL.2.18"><span class="label">18</span><span class="content">Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. </span></span><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="COL.2.19"><span class="label">19</span><span class="content">They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="COL.2.19"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="COL.2.20"><span class="label">20</span><span class="content">Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: </span></span><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="COL.2.21"><span class="label">21</span><span class="content">&#8220;Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!&#8221;? </span></span><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="COL.2.22"><span class="label">22</span><span class="content">These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. </span></span><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="COL.2.23"><span class="label">23</span><span class="content">Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.</span></span></div>
      </div>
   </div>
</div>

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkDEU">
      <div class="chapter ch23" data-usfm="DEU.23">
         <div class="label">23</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Exclusion From the Assembly</span></div><div class="p"><span class="content">  </span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">  </span><span class="ft">In Hebrew texts 23:1-25 is numbered 23:2-26. </span><span class="ft">  </span></span></span><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="DEU.23.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">No one who has been emasculated by crushing or cutting may enter the assembly of the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="DEU.23.1"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="DEU.23.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">No one born of a forbidden marriage</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">23:2 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">one of illegitimate birth</span></span></span><span class="content"> nor any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">, not even in the tenth generation.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="DEU.23.2"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="DEU.23.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">, not even in the tenth generation. </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="DEU.23.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">For they did not come to meet you with bread and water on your way when you came out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram Naharaim</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">23:4 </span><span class="ft">That is, Northwest Mesopotamia</span></span></span><span class="content"> to pronounce a curse on you. </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="DEU.23.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">However, the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> your God would not listen to Balaam but turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> your God loves you. </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="DEU.23.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">Do not seek a treaty of friendship with them as long as you live.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="DEU.23.6"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="DEU.23.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">Do not despise an Edomite, for the Edomites are related to you. Do not despise an Egyptian, because you resided as foreigners in their country. </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="DEU.23.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">The third generation of children born to them may enter the assembly of the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">.</span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Uncleanness in the Camp</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="DEU.23.8"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="DEU.23.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">When you are encamped against your enemies, keep away from everything impure. </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="DEU.23.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">If one of your men is unclean because of a nocturnal emission, he is to go outside the camp and stay there. </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="DEU.23.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">But as evening approaches he is to wash himself, and at sunset he may return to the camp.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="DEU.23.11"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="DEU.23.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">Designate a place outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself. </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="DEU.23.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">As part of your equipment have something to dig with, and when you relieve yourself, dig a hole and cover up your excrement. </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="DEU.23.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">For the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> your God moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, so that he will not see among you anything indecent and turn away from you.</span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Miscellaneous Laws</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="DEU.23.14"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="DEU.23.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">If a slave has taken refuge with you, do not hand them over to their master. </span></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="DEU.23.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">Let them live among you wherever they like and in whatever town they choose. Do not oppress them.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="DEU.23.16"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="DEU.23.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="content">No Israelite man or woman is to become a shrine prostitute. </span></span><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="DEU.23.18"><span class="label">18</span><span class="content">You must not bring the earnings of a female prostitute or of a male prostitute</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">23:18 </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="fqa">of a dog</span></span></span><span class="content"> into the house of the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> your God to pay any vow, because the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> your God detests them both.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="DEU.23.18"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="DEU.23.19"><span class="label">19</span><span class="content">Do not charge a fellow Israelite interest, whether on money or food or anything else that may earn interest. </span></span><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="DEU.23.20"><span class="label">20</span><span class="content">You may charge a foreigner interest, but not a fellow Israelite, so that the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> your God may bless you in everything you put your hand to in the land you are entering to possess.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="DEU.23.20"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="DEU.23.21"><span class="label">21</span><span class="content">If you make a vow to the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin. </span></span><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="DEU.23.22"><span class="label">22</span><span class="content">But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty. </span></span><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="DEU.23.23"><span class="label">23</span><span class="content">Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> your God with your own mouth.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="DEU.23.23"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v24" data-usfm="DEU.23.24"><span class="label">24</span><span class="content">If you enter your neighbor&#8217;s vineyard, you may eat all the grapes you want, but do not put any in your basket. </span></span><span class="verse v25" data-usfm="DEU.23.25"><span class="label">25</span><span class="content">If you enter your neighbor&#8217;s grainfield, you may pick kernels with your hands, but you must not put a sickle to their standing grain.</span></span></div>
      </div>
   </div>
</div>

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkDEU">
      <div class="chapter ch24" data-usfm="DEU.24">
         <div class="label">24</div><div class="p"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="DEU.24.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="DEU.24.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">and if after she leaves his house she becomes the wife of another man, </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="DEU.24.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">and her second husband dislikes her and writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, or if he dies, </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="DEU.24.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">then her first husband, who divorced her, is not allowed to marry her again after she has been defiled. That would be detestable in the eyes of the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">. Do not bring sin upon the land the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> your God is giving you as an inheritance.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="DEU.24.4"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="DEU.24.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="DEU.24.5"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="DEU.24.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">Do not take a pair of millstones&#8212;not even the upper one&#8212;as security for a debt, because that would be taking a person&#8217;s livelihood as security.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="DEU.24.6"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="DEU.24.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">If someone is caught kidnapping a fellow Israelite and treating or selling them as a slave, the kidnapper must die. You must purge the evil from among you.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="DEU.24.7"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="DEU.24.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">In cases of defiling skin diseases,</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">24:8 </span><span class="ft">The Hebrew word for </span><span class="fq">defiling skin diseases</span><span class="ft">, traditionally translated &#8220;leprosy,&#8221; was used for various diseases affecting the skin.</span></span></span><span class="content"> be very careful to do exactly as the Levitical priests instruct you. You must follow carefully what I have commanded them. </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="DEU.24.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">Remember what the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> your God did to Miriam along the way after you came out of Egypt.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="DEU.24.9"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="DEU.24.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">When you make a loan of any kind to your neighbor, do not go into their house to get what is offered to you as a pledge. </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="DEU.24.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">Stay outside and let the neighbor to whom you are making the loan bring the pledge out to you. </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="DEU.24.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">If the neighbor is poor, do not go to sleep with their pledge in your possession. </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="DEU.24.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">Return their cloak by sunset so that your neighbor may sleep in it. Then they will thank you, and it will be regarded as a righteous act in the sight of the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> your God.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="DEU.24.13"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="DEU.24.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">Do not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether that worker is a fellow Israelite or a foreigner residing in one of your towns. </span></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="DEU.24.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">Pay them their wages each day before sunset, because they are poor and are counting on it. Otherwise they may cry to the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> against you, and you will be guilty of sin.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="DEU.24.15"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="DEU.24.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">Parents are not to be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="DEU.24.16"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="DEU.24.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="content">Do not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. </span></span><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="DEU.24.18"><span class="label">18</span><span class="content">Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="DEU.24.18"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="DEU.24.19"><span class="label">19</span><span class="content">When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. </span></span><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="DEU.24.20"><span class="label">20</span><span class="content">When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. </span></span><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="DEU.24.21"><span class="label">21</span><span class="content">When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. </span></span><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="DEU.24.22"><span class="label">22</span><span class="content">Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this.</span></span></div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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      <div class="chapter ch3" data-usfm="REV.3">
         <div class="label">3</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">To the Church in Sardis</span></div><div class="m"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="REV.3.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">  </span><span class="wj"><span class="content">&#8220;To the angel</span></span><span class="content">  </span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">  </span><span class="fr">3:1 </span><span class="ft">  </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="ft">  </span><span class="fqa">messenger</span><span class="ft">  </span><span class="ft">; also in verses 7 and 14</span><span class="ft">  </span></span></span><span class="content">  </span><span class="wj"><span class="content">of the church in Sardis write:</span></span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="pi1"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="REV.3.1"><span class="content">  </span><span class="wj"><span class="content">These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits</span></span><span class="content">  </span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">  </span><span class="fr">3:1 </span><span class="ft">  </span><span class="ft">That is, the sevenfold Spirit</span><span class="ft">  </span></span></span><span class="content">  </span><span class="wj"><span class="content">of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.</span></span><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="REV.3.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="wj"><span class="content">Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God.</span></span><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="REV.3.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="wj"><span class="content">Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.</span></span></span></div><div class="pi1"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="REV.3.3"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="REV.3.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">  </span><span class="wj"><span class="content">Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy.</span></span><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="REV.3.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="wj"><span class="content">The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels.</span></span><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="REV.3.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="wj"><span class="content">Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.</span></span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">To the Church in Philadelphia</span></div><div class="m"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="REV.3.6"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="REV.3.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">  </span><span class="wj"><span class="content">&#8220;To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:</span></span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="pi1"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="REV.3.7"><span class="content">  </span><span class="wj"><span class="content">These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.</span></span><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="REV.3.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="wj"><span class="content">I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.</span></span><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="REV.3.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="wj"><span class="content">I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars&#8212;I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.</span></span><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="REV.3.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="wj"><span class="content">Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.</span></span></span></div><div class="pi1"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="REV.3.10"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="REV.3.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">  </span><span class="wj"><span class="content">I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.</span></span><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="REV.3.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="wj"><span class="content">The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name.</span></span><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="REV.3.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="wj"><span class="content">Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.</span></span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">To the Church in Laodicea</span></div><div class="m"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="REV.3.13"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="REV.3.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">  </span><span class="wj"><span class="content">&#8220;To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:</span></span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="pi1"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="REV.3.14"><span class="content">  </span><span class="wj"><span class="content">These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God&#8217;s creation.</span></span><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="REV.3.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="wj"><span class="content">I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!</span></span><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="REV.3.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="wj"><span class="content">So, because you are lukewarm&#8212;neither hot nor cold&#8212;I am about to spit you out of my mouth.</span></span><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="REV.3.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="wj"><span class="content">You say, &#8216;I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.&#8217; But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.</span></span><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="REV.3.18"><span class="label">18</span><span class="wj"><span class="content">I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.</span></span></span></div><div class="pi1"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="REV.3.18"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="REV.3.19"><span class="label">19</span><span class="content">  </span><span class="wj"><span class="content">Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.</span></span><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="REV.3.20"><span class="label">20</span><span class="wj"><span class="content">Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.</span></span></span></div><div class="pi1"><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="REV.3.20"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="REV.3.21"><span class="label">21</span><span class="content">  </span><span class="wj"><span class="content">To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.</span></span><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="REV.3.22"><span class="label">22</span><span class="wj"><span class="content">Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.&#8221;</span></span></span></div>
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