RETURN to ME: Reading With the People of God #16

Stop Living in Your Head: Capturing Those Dreams and Making Them a Reality

Launching a Business God's Way

Film + Faith - Superheroes and the Bible

Living Large in a Small World: A Look Into Philippians 1

Prayer: Chatting With God Like a Best Friend by Wycliffe Bible Translators

More Than a Feeling

How to Become a Real Disciple

Forever Forward in Hope

Contending for the Faith in a Compromised World

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 ch2" data-usfm="PSA.2">
 <div class="label">2</div><div class="cl">Psalm 2</div><div class="q1"> 1Why do the nations conspire#2:1 Hebrew; Septuagint rage</div><div class="q2">and the peoples plot in vain?</div><div class="q1"> 2The kings of the earth rise up</div><div class="q2">and the rulers band together</div><div class="q2">against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,</div><div class="q1"> 3&#8220;Let us break their chains</div><div class="q2">and throw off their shackles.&#8221;</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 4The One enthroned in heaven laughs;</div><div class="q2">the Lord scoffs at them.</div><div class="q1"> 5He rebukes them in his anger</div><div class="q2">and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,</div><div class="q1"> 6&#8220;I have installed my king</div><div class="q2">on Zion, my holy mountain.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 7I will proclaim the Lord&#8217;s decree:</div><div class="q1">He said to me, &#8220;You are my son;</div><div class="q2">today I have become your father.</div><div class="q1"> 8Ask me,</div><div class="q2">and I will make the nations your inheritance,</div><div class="q2">the ends of the earth your possession.</div><div class="q1"> 9You will break them with a rod of iron#2:9 Or will rule them with an iron scepter (see Septuagint and Syriac);</div><div class="q2">you will dash them to pieces like pottery.&#8221;</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 10Therefore, you kings, be wise;</div><div class="q2">be warned, you rulers of the earth.</div><div class="q1"> 11Serve the Lord with fear</div><div class="q2">and celebrate his rule with trembling.</div><div class="q1"> 12Kiss his son, or he will be angry</div><div class="q2">and your way will lead to your destruction,</div><div class="q1">for his wrath can flare up in a moment.</div><div class="q2">Blessed are all who take refuge in him.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkPRO">
 <div class="chapter ch2" data-usfm="PRO.2">
 <div class="label">2</div><div class="s1">Moral Benefits of Wisdom</div><div class="q1"> 1My son, if you accept my words</div><div class="q2">and store up my commands within you,</div><div class="q1"> 2turning your ear to wisdom</div><div class="q2">and applying your heart to understanding&#8212;</div><div class="q1"> 3indeed, if you call out for insight</div><div class="q2">and cry aloud for understanding,</div><div class="q1"> 4and if you look for it as for silver</div><div class="q2">and search for it as for hidden treasure,</div><div class="q1"> 5then you will understand the fear of the Lord</div><div class="q2">and find the knowledge of God.</div><div class="q1"> 6For the Lord gives wisdom;</div><div class="q2">from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.</div><div class="q1"> 7He holds success in store for the upright,</div><div class="q2">he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,</div><div class="q1"> 8for he guards the course of the just</div><div class="q2">and protects the way of his faithful ones.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 9Then you will understand what is right and just</div><div class="q2">and fair&#8212;every good path.</div><div class="q1"> 10For wisdom will enter your heart,</div><div class="q2">and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.</div><div class="q1"> 11Discretion will protect you,</div><div class="q2">and understanding will guard you.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 12Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men,</div><div class="q2">from men whose words are perverse,</div><div class="q1"> 13who have left the straight paths</div><div class="q2">to walk in dark ways,</div><div class="q1"> 14who delight in doing wrong</div><div class="q2">and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,</div><div class="q1"> 15whose paths are crooked</div><div class="q2">and who are devious in their ways.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 16Wisdom will save you also from the adulterous woman,</div><div class="q2">from the wayward woman with her seductive words,</div><div class="q1"> 17who has left the partner of her youth</div><div class="q2">and ignored the covenant she made before God.#2:17 Or covenant of her God</div><div class="q1"> 18Surely her house leads down to death</div><div class="q2">and her paths to the spirits of the dead.</div><div class="q1"> 19None who go to her return</div><div class="q2">or attain the paths of life.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 20Thus you will walk in the ways of the good</div><div class="q2">and keep to the paths of the righteous.</div><div class="q1"> 21For the upright will live in the land,</div><div class="q2">and the blameless will remain in it;</div><div class="q1"> 22but the wicked will be cut off from the land,</div><div class="q2">and the unfaithful will be torn from it.</div>
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<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">The Magi Visit the Messiah</div><div class="p"> 1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi#2:1 Traditionally wise men from the east came to Jerusalem 2and 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;</div><div class="p"> 3When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4When 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. 5&#8220;In Bethlehem in Judea,&#8221; they replied, &#8220;for this is what the prophet has written:</div><div class="q1"> 6&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,</div><div class="q2">are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;</div><div class="q1">for out of you will come a ruler</div><div class="q2">who will shepherd my people Israel.&#8217;#2:6 Micah 5:2,4&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 7Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8He 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;</div><div class="p"> 9After 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. 10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11On 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. 12And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.</div><div class="s1">The Escape to Egypt</div><div class="p"> 13When 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;</div><div class="p"> 14So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15where 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;#2:15 Hosea 11:1</div><div class="p"> 16When 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. 17Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:</div><div class="q1"> 18&#8220;A voice is heard in Ramah,</div><div class="q2">weeping and great mourning,</div><div class="q1">Rachel weeping for her children</div><div class="q2">and refusing to be comforted,</div><div class="q2">because they are no more.&#8221;#2:18 Jer. 31:15</div><div class="s1">The Return to Nazareth</div><div class="p"> 19After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20and 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;</div><div class="p"> 21So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22But 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, 23and 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.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkACT">
 <div class="chapter ch2" data-usfm="ACT.2">
 <div class="label">2</div><div class="s1">The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost</div><div class="p"> 1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues#2:4 Or languages; also in verse 11 as the Spirit enabled them.</div><div class="p"> 5Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7Utterly amazed, they asked: &#8220;Aren&#8217;t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,#2:9 That is, the Roman province by that name 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11(both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs&#8212;we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!&#8221; 12Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, &#8220;What does this mean?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 13Some, however, made fun of them and said, &#8220;They have had too much wine.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Peter Addresses the Crowd</div><div class="p"> 14Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: &#8220;Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It&#8217;s only nine in the morning! 16No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:</div><div class="q1"> 17&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;In the last days, God says,</div><div class="q2">I will pour out my Spirit on all people.</div><div class="q1">Your sons and daughters will prophesy,</div><div class="q2">your young men will see visions,</div><div class="q2">your old men will dream dreams.</div><div class="q1"> 18Even on my servants, both men and women,</div><div class="q2">I will pour out my Spirit in those days,</div><div class="q2">and they will prophesy.</div><div class="q1"> 19I will show wonders in the heavens above</div><div class="q2">and signs on the earth below,</div><div class="q2">blood and fire and billows of smoke.</div><div class="q1"> 20The sun will be turned to darkness</div><div class="q2">and the moon to blood</div><div class="q2">before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.</div><div class="q1"> 21And everyone who calls</div><div class="q2">on the name of the Lord will be saved.&#8217;#2:21 Joel 2:28-32</div><div class="p"> 22&#8220;Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23This man was handed over to you by God&#8217;s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men,#2:23 Or of those not having the law (that is, Gentiles) put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 25David said about him:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;I saw the Lord always before me.</div><div class="q2">Because he is at my right hand,</div><div class="q2">I will not be shaken.</div><div class="q1"> 26Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;</div><div class="q2">my body also will rest in hope,</div><div class="q1"> 27because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,</div><div class="q2">you will not let your holy one see decay.</div><div class="q1"> 28You have made known to me the paths of life;</div><div class="q2">you will fill me with joy in your presence.&#8217;#2:28 Psalm 16:8-11 (see Septuagint)</div><div class="p"> 29&#8220;Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. 32God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. 33Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;The Lord said to my Lord:</div><div class="q2">&#8220;Sit at my right hand</div><div class="q1"> 35until I make your enemies</div><div class="q2">a footstool for your feet.&#8221;&#8198;&#8217;#2:35 Psalm 110:1</div><div class="p"> 36&#8220;Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 37When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, &#8220;Brothers, what shall we do?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 38Peter replied, &#8220;Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off&#8212;for all whom the Lord our God will call.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 40With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, &#8220;Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.&#8221; 41Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.</div><div class="s1">The Fellowship of the Believers</div><div class="p"> 42They devoted themselves to the apostles&#8217; teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkGEN">
 <div class="chapter ch3" data-usfm="GEN.3">
 <div class="label">3</div><div class="s1">The Fall</div><div class="p"> 1Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, &#8220;Did God really say, &#8216;You must not eat from any tree in the garden&#8217;?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 2The woman said to the serpent, &#8220;We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3but God did say, &#8216;You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4&#8220;You will not certainly die,&#8221; the serpent said to the woman. 5&#8220;For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.</div><div class="p"> 8Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9But the Lord God called to the man, &#8220;Where are you?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 10He answered, &#8220;I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 11And he said, &#8220;Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12The man said, &#8220;The woman you put here with me&#8212;she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 13Then the Lord God said to the woman, &#8220;What is this you have done?&#8221;</div><div class="p">The woman said, &#8220;The serpent deceived me, and I ate.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 14So the Lord God said to the serpent, &#8220;Because you have done this,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;Cursed are you above all livestock</div><div class="q2">and all wild animals!</div><div class="q1">You will crawl on your belly</div><div class="q2">and you will eat dust</div><div class="q2">all the days of your life.</div><div class="q1"> 15And I will put enmity</div><div class="q2">between you and the woman,</div><div class="q2">and between your offspring#3:15 Or seed and hers;</div><div class="q1">he will crush#3:15 Or strike your head,</div><div class="q2">and you will strike his heel.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 16To the woman he said,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;</div><div class="q2">with painful labor you will give birth to children.</div><div class="q1">Your desire will be for your husband,</div><div class="q2">and he will rule over you.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 17To Adam he said, &#8220;Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, &#8216;You must not eat from it,&#8217;</div><div class="q1">&#8220;Cursed is the ground because of you;</div><div class="q2">through painful toil you will eat food from it</div><div class="q2">all the days of your life.</div><div class="q1"> 18It will produce thorns and thistles for you,</div><div class="q2">and you will eat the plants of the field.</div><div class="q1"> 19By the sweat of your brow</div><div class="q2">you will eat your food</div><div class="q1">until you return to the ground,</div><div class="q2">since from it you were taken;</div><div class="q1">for dust you are</div><div class="q2">and to dust you will return.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 20Adam#3:20 Or The man named his wife Eve,#3:20 Eve probably means living. because she would become the mother of all the living.</div><div class="p"> 21The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22And the Lord God said, &#8220;The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.&#8221; 23So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side#3:24 Or placed in front of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkGEN">
 <div class="chapter ch4" data-usfm="GEN.4">
 <div class="label">4</div><div class="s1">Cain and Abel</div><div class="p"> 1Adam#4:1 Or The man made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain.#4:1 Cain sounds like the Hebrew for brought forth or acquired. She said, &#8220;With the help of the Lord I have brought forth#4:1 Or have acquired a man.&#8221; 2Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.</div><div class="p">Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. 4And Abel also brought an offering&#8212;fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.</div><div class="p"> 6Then the Lord said to Cain, &#8220;Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 8Now Cain said to his brother Abel, &#8220;Let&#8217;s go out to the field.&#8221;#4:8 Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Masoretic Text does not have &#8220;Let&#8217;s go out to the field.&#8221; While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.</div><div class="p"> 9Then the Lord said to Cain, &#8220;Where is your brother Abel?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;I don&#8217;t know,&#8221; he replied. &#8220;Am I my brother&#8217;s keeper?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 10The Lord said, &#8220;What have you done? Listen! Your brother&#8217;s blood cries out to me from the ground. 11Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother&#8217;s blood from your hand. 12When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 13Cain said to the Lord, &#8220;My punishment is more than I can bear. 14Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 15But the Lord said to him, &#8220;Not so#4:15 Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew Very well; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.&#8221; Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. 16So Cain went out from the Lord&#8217;s presence and lived in the land of Nod,#4:16 Nod means wandering (see verses 12 and 14). east of Eden.</div><div class="p"> 17Cain made love to his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch. 18To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech.</div><div class="p"> 19Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah. 20Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. 21His brother&#8217;s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play stringed instruments and pipes. 22Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of#4:22 Or who instructed all who work in bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain&#8217;s sister was Naamah.</div><div class="p"> 23Lamech said to his wives,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;Adah and Zillah, listen to me;</div><div class="q2">wives of Lamech, hear my words.</div><div class="q1">I have killed a man for wounding me,</div><div class="q2">a young man for injuring me.</div><div class="q1"> 24If Cain is avenged seven times,</div><div class="q2">then Lamech seventy-seven times.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 25Adam made love to his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth,#4:25 Seth probably means granted. saying, &#8220;God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.&#8221; 26Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh.</div><div class="p">At that time people began to call on#4:26 Or to proclaim the name of the Lord.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkREV">
 <div class="chapter ch2" data-usfm="REV.2">
 <div class="label">2</div><div class="s1">To the Church in Ephesus</div><div class="m"> 1 &#8220;To the angel # 2:1 Or messenger ; also in verses 8, 12 and 18 of the church in Ephesus write:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pi1"> These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.</div><div class="pi1"> 4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.</div><div class="pi1"> 7 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.</div><div class="s1">To the Church in Smyrna</div><div class="m"> 8 &#8220;To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pi1"> These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. 9I know your afflictions and your poverty&#8212;yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor&#8217;s crown.</div><div class="pi1"> 11 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.</div><div class="s1">To the Church in Pergamum</div><div class="m"> 12 &#8220;To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pi1"> These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. 13I know where you live&#8212;where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city&#8212;where Satan lives.</div><div class="pi1"> 14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. 15Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.</div><div class="pi1"> 17 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.</div><div class="s1">To the Church in Thyatira</div><div class="m"> 18 &#8220;To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pi1"> These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.</div><div class="pi1"> 20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 21I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.</div><div class="pi1"> 24 Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan&#8217;s so-called deep secrets, &#8216;I will not impose any other burden on you, 25except to hold on to what you have until I come.&#8217;</div><div class="pi1"> 26 To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations&#8212; 27that one &#8216;will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery&#8217;#2:27 Psalm 2:9&#8212;just as I have received authority from my Father. 28I will also give that one the morning star. 29Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.</div>
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