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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 bk2CH">
 <div class="chapter ch27" data-usfm="2CH.27">
 <div class="label">27</div><div class="s1">Jotham King of Judah</div><div class="p"> 1Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. His mother&#8217;s name was Jerusha daughter of Zadok. 2He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Uzziah had done, but unlike him he did not enter the temple of the Lord. The people, however, continued their corrupt practices. 3Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the temple of the Lord and did extensive work on the wall at the hill of Ophel. 4He built towns in the hill country of Judah and forts and towers in the wooded areas.</div><div class="p"> 5Jotham waged war against the king of the Ammonites and conquered them. That year the Ammonites paid him a hundred talents#27:5 That is, about 3 3/4 tons or about 3.4 metric tons of silver, ten thousand cors#27:5 That is, probably about 1,800 tons or about 1,600 metric tons of wheat of wheat and ten thousand cors#27:5 That is, probably about 1,500 tons or about 1,350 metric tons of barley of barley. The Ammonites brought him the same amount also in the second and third years.</div><div class="p"> 6Jotham grew powerful because he walked steadfastly before the Lord his God.</div><div class="p"> 7The other events in Jotham&#8217;s reign, including all his wars and the other things he did, are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. 8He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. 9Jotham rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. And Ahaz his son succeeded him as king.</div>
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The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk2CH">
 <div class="chapter ch28" data-usfm="2CH.28">
 <div class="label">28</div><div class="s1">Ahaz King of Judah</div><div class="p"> 1Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord. 2He followed the ways of the kings of Israel and also made idols for worshiping the Baals. 3He burned sacrifices in the Valley of Ben Hinnom and sacrificed his children in the fire, engaging in the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. 4He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops and under every spreading tree.</div><div class="p"> 5Therefore the Lord his God delivered him into the hands of the king of Aram. The Arameans defeated him and took many of his people as prisoners and brought them to Damascus.</div><div class="p">He was also given into the hands of the king of Israel, who inflicted heavy casualties on him. 6In one day Pekah son of Remaliah killed a hundred and twenty thousand soldiers in Judah&#8212;because Judah had forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors. 7Zikri, an Ephraimite warrior, killed Maaseiah the king&#8217;s son, Azrikam the officer in charge of the palace, and Elkanah, second to the king. 8The men of Israel took captive from their fellow Israelites who were from Judah two hundred thousand wives, sons and daughters. They also took a great deal of plunder, which they carried back to Samaria.</div><div class="p"> 9But a prophet of the Lord named Oded was there, and he went out to meet the army when it returned to Samaria. He said to them, &#8220;Because the Lord, the God of your ancestors, was angry with Judah, he gave them into your hand. But you have slaughtered them in a rage that reaches to heaven. 10And now you intend to make the men and women of Judah and Jerusalem your slaves. But aren&#8217;t you also guilty of sins against the Lord your God? 11Now listen to me! Send back your fellow Israelites you have taken as prisoners, for the Lord&#8217;s fierce anger rests on you.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12Then some of the leaders in Ephraim&#8212;Azariah son of Jehohanan, Berekiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai&#8212;confronted those who were arriving from the war. 13&#8220;You must not bring those prisoners here,&#8221; they said, &#8220;or we will be guilty before the Lord. Do you intend to add to our sin and guilt? For our guilt is already great, and his fierce anger rests on Israel.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 14So the soldiers gave up the prisoners and plunder in the presence of the officials and all the assembly. 15The men designated by name took the prisoners, and from the plunder they clothed all who were naked. They provided them with clothes and sandals, food and drink, and healing balm. All those who were weak they put on donkeys. So they took them back to their fellow Israelites at Jericho, the City of Palms, and returned to Samaria.</div><div class="p"> 16At that time King Ahaz sent to the kings#28:16 Most Hebrew manuscripts; one Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint and Vulgate (see also 2 Kings 16:7) king of Assyria for help. 17The Edomites had again come and attacked Judah and carried away prisoners, 18while the Philistines had raided towns in the foothills and in the Negev of Judah. They captured and occupied Beth Shemesh, Aijalon and Gederoth, as well as Soko, Timnah and Gimzo, with their surrounding villages. 19The Lord had humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel,#28:19 That is, Judah, as frequently in 2 Chronicles for he had promoted wickedness in Judah and had been most unfaithful to the Lord. 20Tiglath-Pileser#28:20 Hebrew Tilgath-Pilneser, a variant of Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came to him, but he gave him trouble instead of help. 21Ahaz took some of the things from the temple of the Lord and from the royal palace and from the officials and presented them to the king of Assyria, but that did not help him.</div><div class="p"> 22In his time of trouble King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the Lord. 23He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus, who had defeated him; for he thought, &#8220;Since the gods of the kings of Aram have helped them, I will sacrifice to them so they will help me.&#8221; But they were his downfall and the downfall of all Israel.</div><div class="p"> 24Ahaz gathered together the furnishings from the temple of God and cut them in pieces. He shut the doors of the Lord&#8217;s temple and set up altars at every street corner in Jerusalem. 25In every town in Judah he built high places to burn sacrifices to other gods and aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of his ancestors.</div><div class="p"> 26The other events of his reign and all his ways, from beginning to end, are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 27Ahaz rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of Jerusalem, but he was not placed in the tombs of the kings of Israel. And Hezekiah his son succeeded him as king.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="chapter ch29" data-usfm="2CH.29">
 <div class="label">29</div><div class="s1">Hezekiah Purifies the Temple</div><div class="p"> 1Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother&#8217;s name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. 2He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done.</div><div class="p"> 3In the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the temple of the Lord and repaired them. 4He brought in the priests and the Levites, assembled them in the square on the east side 5and said: &#8220;Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Remove all defilement from the sanctuary. 6Our parents were unfaithful; they did evil in the eyes of the Lord our God and forsook him. They turned their faces away from the Lord&#8217;s dwelling place and turned their backs on him. 7They also shut the doors of the portico and put out the lamps. They did not burn incense or present any burnt offerings at the sanctuary to the God of Israel. 8Therefore, the anger of the Lord has fallen on Judah and Jerusalem; he has made them an object of dread and horror and scorn, as you can see with your own eyes. 9This is why our fathers have fallen by the sword and why our sons and daughters and our wives are in captivity. 10Now I intend to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger will turn away from us. 11My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has chosen you to stand before him and serve him, to minister before him and to burn incense.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12Then these Levites set to work:</div><div class="li1">from the Kohathites,</div><div class="li2">Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah;</div><div class="li1">from the Merarites,</div><div class="li2">Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel;</div><div class="li1">from the Gershonites,</div><div class="li2">Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah;</div><div class="li1"> 13from the descendants of Elizaphan,</div><div class="li2">Shimri and Jeiel;</div><div class="li1">from the descendants of Asaph,</div><div class="li2">Zechariah and Mattaniah;</div><div class="li1"> 14from the descendants of Heman,</div><div class="li2">Jehiel and Shimei;</div><div class="li1">from the descendants of Jeduthun,</div><div class="li2">Shemaiah and Uzziel.</div><div class="p"> 15When they had assembled their fellow Levites and consecrated themselves, they went in to purify the temple of the Lord, as the king had ordered, following the word of the Lord. 16The priests went into the sanctuary of the Lord to purify it. They brought out to the courtyard of the Lord&#8217;s temple everything unclean that they found in the temple of the Lord. The Levites took it and carried it out to the Kidron Valley. 17They began the consecration on the first day of the first month, and by the eighth day of the month they reached the portico of the Lord. For eight more days they consecrated the temple of the Lord itself, finishing on the sixteenth day of the first month.</div><div class="p"> 18Then they went in to King Hezekiah and reported: &#8220;We have purified the entire temple of the Lord, the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the table for setting out the consecrated bread, with all its articles. 19We have prepared and consecrated all the articles that King Ahaz removed in his unfaithfulness while he was king. They are now in front of the Lord&#8217;s altar.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 20Early the next morning King Hezekiah gathered the city officials together and went up to the temple of the Lord. 21They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven male lambs and seven male goats as a sin offering#29:21 Or purification offering; also in verses 23 and 24 for the kingdom, for the sanctuary and for Judah. The king commanded the priests, the descendants of Aaron, to offer these on the altar of the Lord. 22So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests took the blood and splashed it against the altar; next they slaughtered the rams and splashed their blood against the altar; then they slaughtered the lambs and splashed their blood against the altar. 23The goats for the sin offering were brought before the king and the assembly, and they laid their hands on them. 24The priests then slaughtered the goats and presented their blood on the altar for a sin offering to atone for all Israel, because the king had ordered the burnt offering and the sin offering for all Israel.</div><div class="p"> 25He stationed the Levites in the temple of the Lord with cymbals, harps and lyres in the way prescribed by David and Gad the king&#8217;s seer and Nathan the prophet; this was commanded by the Lord through his prophets. 26So the Levites stood ready with David&#8217;s instruments, and the priests with their trumpets.</div><div class="p"> 27Hezekiah gave the order to sacrifice the burnt offering on the altar. As the offering began, singing to the Lord began also, accompanied by trumpets and the instruments of David king of Israel. 28The whole assembly bowed in worship, while the musicians played and the trumpets sounded. All this continued until the sacrifice of the burnt offering was completed.</div><div class="p"> 29When the offerings were finished, the king and everyone present with him knelt down and worshiped. 30King Hezekiah and his officials ordered the Levites to praise the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. So they sang praises with gladness and bowed down and worshiped.</div><div class="p"> 31Then Hezekiah said, &#8220;You have now dedicated yourselves to the Lord. Come and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the temple of the Lord.&#8221; So the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all whose hearts were willing brought burnt offerings.</div><div class="p"> 32The number of burnt offerings the assembly brought was seventy bulls, a hundred rams and two hundred male lambs&#8212;all of them for burnt offerings to the Lord. 33The animals consecrated as sacrifices amounted to six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep and goats. 34The priests, however, were too few to skin all the burnt offerings; so their relatives the Levites helped them until the task was finished and until other priests had been consecrated, for the Levites had been more conscientious in consecrating themselves than the priests had been. 35There were burnt offerings in abundance, together with the fat of the fellowship offerings and the drink offerings that accompanied the burnt offerings.</div><div class="p">So the service of the temple of the Lord was reestablished. 36Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced at what God had brought about for his people, because it was done so quickly.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk2CH">
 <div class="chapter ch30" data-usfm="2CH.30">
 <div class="label">30</div><div class="s1">Hezekiah Celebrates the Passover</div><div class="p"> 1Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and Judah and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, inviting them to come to the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel. 2The king and his officials and the whole assembly in Jerusalem decided to celebrate the Passover in the second month. 3They had not been able to celebrate it at the regular time because not enough priests had consecrated themselves and the people had not assembled in Jerusalem. 4The plan seemed right both to the king and to the whole assembly. 5They decided to send a proclamation throughout Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, calling the people to come to Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel. It had not been celebrated in large numbers according to what was written.</div><div class="p"> 6At the king&#8217;s command, couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the king and from his officials, which read:</div><div class="pm">&#8220;People of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, that he may return to you who are left, who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. 7Do not be like your parents and your fellow Israelites, who were unfaithful to the Lord, the God of their ancestors, so that he made them an object of horror, as you see. 8Do not be stiff-necked, as your ancestors were; submit to the Lord. Come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever. Serve the Lord your God, so that his fierce anger will turn away from you. 9If you return to the Lord, then your fellow Israelites and your children will be shown compassion by their captors and will return to this land, for the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 10The couriers went from town to town in Ephraim and Manasseh, as far as Zebulun, but people scorned and ridiculed them. 11Nevertheless, some from Asher, Manasseh and Zebulun humbled themselves and went to Jerusalem. 12Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the Lord.</div><div class="p"> 13A very large crowd of people assembled in Jerusalem to celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread in the second month. 14They removed the altars in Jerusalem and cleared away the incense altars and threw them into the Kidron Valley.</div><div class="p"> 15They slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and the Levites were ashamed and consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings to the temple of the Lord. 16Then they took up their regular positions as prescribed in the Law of Moses the man of God. The priests splashed against the altar the blood handed to them by the Levites. 17Since many in the crowd had not consecrated themselves, the Levites had to kill the Passover lambs for all those who were not ceremonially clean and could not consecrate their lambs#30:17 Or consecrate themselves to the Lord. 18Although most of the many people who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, &#8220;May the Lord, who is good, pardon everyone 19who sets their heart on seeking God&#8212;the Lord, the God of their ancestors&#8212;even if they are not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary.&#8221; 20And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people.</div><div class="p"> 21The Israelites who were present in Jerusalem celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great rejoicing, while the Levites and priests praised the Lord every day with resounding instruments dedicated to the Lord.#30:21 Or priests sang to the Lord every day, accompanied by the Lord&#8217;s instruments of praise</div><div class="p"> 22Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites, who showed good understanding of the service of the Lord. For the seven days they ate their assigned portion and offered fellowship offerings and praised#30:22 Or and confessed their sins to the Lord, the God of their ancestors.</div><div class="p"> 23The whole assembly then agreed to celebrate the festival seven more days; so for another seven days they celebrated joyfully. 24Hezekiah king of Judah provided a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep and goats for the assembly, and the officials provided them with a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep and goats. A great number of priests consecrated themselves. 25The entire assembly of Judah rejoiced, along with the priests and Levites and all who had assembled from Israel, including the foreigners who had come from Israel and also those who resided in Judah. 26There was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the days of Solomon son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. 27The priests and the Levites stood to bless the people, and God heard them, for their prayer reached heaven, his holy dwelling place.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="chapter ch31" data-usfm="2CH.31">
 <div class="label">31</div><div class="p"> 1When all this had ended, the Israelites who were there went out to the towns of Judah, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. They destroyed the high places and the altars throughout Judah and Benjamin and in Ephraim and Manasseh. After they had destroyed all of them, the Israelites returned to their own towns and to their own property.</div><div class="s1">Contributions for Worship</div><div class="p"> 2Hezekiah assigned the priests and Levites to divisions&#8212;each of them according to their duties as priests or Levites&#8212;to offer burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, to minister, to give thanks and to sing praises at the gates of the Lord&#8217;s dwelling. 3The king contributed from his own possessions for the morning and evening burnt offerings and for the burnt offerings on the Sabbaths, at the New Moons and at the appointed festivals as written in the Law of the Lord. 4He ordered the people living in Jerusalem to give the portion due the priests and Levites so they could devote themselves to the Law of the Lord. 5As soon as the order went out, the Israelites generously gave the firstfruits of their grain, new wine, olive oil and honey and all that the fields produced. They brought a great amount, a tithe of everything. 6The people of Israel and Judah who lived in the towns of Judah also brought a tithe of their herds and flocks and a tithe of the holy things dedicated to the Lord their God, and they piled them in heaps. 7They began doing this in the third month and finished in the seventh month. 8When Hezekiah and his officials came and saw the heaps, they praised the Lord and blessed his people Israel.</div><div class="p"> 9Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites about the heaps; 10and Azariah the chief priest, from the family of Zadok, answered, &#8220;Since the people began to bring their contributions to the temple of the Lord, we have had enough to eat and plenty to spare, because the Lord has blessed his people, and this great amount is left over.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 11Hezekiah gave orders to prepare storerooms in the temple of the Lord, and this was done. 12Then they faithfully brought in the contributions, tithes and dedicated gifts. Konaniah, a Levite, was the overseer in charge of these things, and his brother Shimei was next in rank. 13Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismakiah, Mahath and Benaiah were assistants of Konaniah and Shimei his brother. All these served by appointment of King Hezekiah and Azariah the official in charge of the temple of God.</div><div class="p"> 14Kore son of Imnah the Levite, keeper of the East Gate, was in charge of the freewill offerings given to God, distributing the contributions made to the Lord and also the consecrated gifts. 15Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah and Shekaniah assisted him faithfully in the towns of the priests, distributing to their fellow priests according to their divisions, old and young alike.</div><div class="p"> 16In addition, they distributed to the males three years old or more whose names were in the genealogical records&#8212;all who would enter the temple of the Lord to perform the daily duties of their various tasks, according to their responsibilities and their divisions. 17And they distributed to the priests enrolled by their families in the genealogical records and likewise to the Levites twenty years old or more, according to their responsibilities and their divisions. 18They included all the little ones, the wives, and the sons and daughters of the whole community listed in these genealogical records. For they were faithful in consecrating themselves.</div><div class="p"> 19As for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who lived on the farm lands around their towns or in any other towns, men were designated by name to distribute portions to every male among them and to all who were recorded in the genealogies of the Levites.</div><div class="p"> 20This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God. 21In everything that he undertook in the service of God&#8217;s temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkPSA">
 <div class="chapter ch107" data-usfm="PSA.107">
 <div class="label">107</div><div class="ms">BOOK V</div><div class="mr"> Psalms 107&#8211;150</div><div class="cl">Psalm 107</div><div class="q1"> 1Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;</div><div class="q2">his love endures forever.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 2Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story&#8212;</div><div class="q2">those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,</div><div class="q1"> 3those he gathered from the lands,</div><div class="q2">from east and west, from north and south.#107:3 Hebrew north and the sea</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 4Some wandered in desert wastelands,</div><div class="q2">finding no way to a city where they could settle.</div><div class="q1"> 5They were hungry and thirsty,</div><div class="q2">and their lives ebbed away.</div><div class="q1"> 6Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,</div><div class="q2">and he delivered them from their distress.</div><div class="q1"> 7He led them by a straight way</div><div class="q2">to a city where they could settle.</div><div class="q1"> 8Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love</div><div class="q2">and his wonderful deeds for mankind,</div><div class="q1"> 9for he satisfies the thirsty</div><div class="q2">and fills the hungry with good things.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 10Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness,</div><div class="q2">prisoners suffering in iron chains,</div><div class="q1"> 11because they rebelled against God&#8217;s commands</div><div class="q2">and despised the plans of the Most High.</div><div class="q1"> 12So he subjected them to bitter labor;</div><div class="q2">they stumbled, and there was no one to help.</div><div class="q1"> 13Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,</div><div class="q2">and he saved them from their distress.</div><div class="q1"> 14He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness,</div><div class="q2">and broke away their chains.</div><div class="q1"> 15Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love</div><div class="q2">and his wonderful deeds for mankind,</div><div class="q1"> 16for he breaks down gates of bronze</div><div class="q2">and cuts through bars of iron.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 17Some became fools through their rebellious ways</div><div class="q2">and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.</div><div class="q1"> 18They loathed all food</div><div class="q2">and drew near the gates of death.</div><div class="q1"> 19Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,</div><div class="q2">and he saved them from their distress.</div><div class="q1"> 20He sent out his word and healed them;</div><div class="q2">he rescued them from the grave.</div><div class="q1"> 21Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love</div><div class="q2">and his wonderful deeds for mankind.</div><div class="q1"> 22Let them sacrifice thank offerings</div><div class="q2">and tell of his works with songs of joy.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 23Some went out on the sea in ships;</div><div class="q2">they were merchants on the mighty waters.</div><div class="q1"> 24They saw the works of the Lord,</div><div class="q2">his wonderful deeds in the deep.</div><div class="q1"> 25For he spoke and stirred up a tempest</div><div class="q2">that lifted high the waves.</div><div class="q1"> 26They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths;</div><div class="q2">in their peril their courage melted away.</div><div class="q1"> 27They reeled and staggered like drunkards;</div><div class="q2">they were at their wits&#8217; end.</div><div class="q1"> 28Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,</div><div class="q2">and he brought them out of their distress.</div><div class="q1"> 29He stilled the storm to a whisper;</div><div class="q2">the waves of the sea#107:29 Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text / their waves were hushed.</div><div class="q1"> 30They were glad when it grew calm,</div><div class="q2">and he guided them to their desired haven.</div><div class="q1"> 31Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love</div><div class="q2">and his wonderful deeds for mankind.</div><div class="q1"> 32Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people</div><div class="q2">and praise him in the council of the elders.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 33He turned rivers into a desert,</div><div class="q2">flowing springs into thirsty ground,</div><div class="q1"> 34and fruitful land into a salt waste,</div><div class="q2">because of the wickedness of those who lived there.</div><div class="q1"> 35He turned the desert into pools of water</div><div class="q2">and the parched ground into flowing springs;</div><div class="q1"> 36there he brought the hungry to live,</div><div class="q2">and they founded a city where they could settle.</div><div class="q1"> 37They sowed fields and planted vineyards</div><div class="q2">that yielded a fruitful harvest;</div><div class="q1"> 38he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased,</div><div class="q2">and he did not let their herds diminish.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 39Then their numbers decreased, and they were humbled</div><div class="q2">by oppression, calamity and sorrow;</div><div class="q1"> 40he who pours contempt on nobles</div><div class="q2">made them wander in a trackless waste.</div><div class="q1"> 41But he lifted the needy out of their affliction</div><div class="q2">and increased their families like flocks.</div><div class="q1"> 42The upright see and rejoice,</div><div class="q2">but all the wicked shut their mouths.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 43Let the one who is wise heed these things</div><div class="q2">and ponder the loving deeds of the Lord.</div>
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 <div class="label">26</div><div class="p"> 1Then Agrippa said to Paul, &#8220;You have permission to speak for yourself.&#8221;</div><div class="p">So Paul motioned with his hand and began his defense: 2&#8220;King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I make my defense against all the accusations of the Jews, 3and especially so because you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently.</div><div class="p"> 4&#8220;The Jewish people all know the way I have lived ever since I was a child, from the beginning of my life in my own country, and also in Jerusalem. 5They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I conformed to the strictest sect of our religion, living as a Pharisee. 6And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our ancestors that I am on trial today. 7This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. King Agrippa, it is because of this hope that these Jews are accusing me. 8Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?</div><div class="p"> 9&#8220;I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the Lord&#8217;s people in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. 11Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. I was so obsessed with persecuting them that I even hunted them down in foreign cities.</div><div class="p"> 12&#8220;On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13About noon, King Agrippa, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. 14We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic,#26:14 Or Hebrew &#8216;Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 15&#8220;Then I asked, &#8216;Who are you, Lord?&#8217;</div><div class="p">&#8220; &#8216;I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,&#8217; the Lord replied. 16&#8216;Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. 17I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 19&#8220;So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. 20First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds. 21That is why some Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me. 22But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen&#8212; 23that the Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 24At this point Festus interrupted Paul&#8217;s defense. &#8220;You are out of your mind, Paul!&#8221; he shouted. &#8220;Your great learning is driving you insane.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 25&#8220;I am not insane, most excellent Festus,&#8221; Paul replied. &#8220;What I am saying is true and reasonable. 26The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner. 27King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 28Then Agrippa said to Paul, &#8220;Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 29Paul replied, &#8220;Short time or long&#8212;I pray to God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 30The king rose, and with him the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them. 31After they left the room, they began saying to one another, &#8220;This man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 32Agrippa said to Festus, &#8220;This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="chapter ch27" data-usfm="ACT.27">
 <div class="label">27</div><div class="s1">Paul Sails for Rome</div><div class="p"> 1When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment. 2We boarded a ship from Adramyttium about to sail for ports along the coast of the province of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.</div><div class="p"> 3The next day we landed at Sidon; and Julius, in kindness to Paul, allowed him to go to his friends so they might provide for his needs. 4From there we put out to sea again and passed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us. 5When we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia. 6There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board. 7We made slow headway for many days and had difficulty arriving off Cnidus. When the wind did not allow us to hold our course, we sailed to the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone. 8We moved along the coast with difficulty and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.</div><div class="p"> 9Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Day of Atonement.#27:9 That is, Yom Kippur So Paul warned them, 10&#8220;Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also.&#8221; 11But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship. 12Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a harbor in Crete, facing both southwest and northwest.</div><div class="s1">The Storm</div><div class="p"> 13When a gentle south wind began to blow, they saw their opportunity; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. 14Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the Northeaster, swept down from the island. 15The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along. 16As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure, 17so the men hoisted it aboard. Then they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Because they were afraid they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor#27:17 Or the sails and let the ship be driven along. 18We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. 19On the third day, they threw the ship&#8217;s tackle overboard with their own hands. 20When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.</div><div class="p"> 21After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: &#8220;Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. 22But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. 23Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me 24and said, &#8216;Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.&#8217; 25So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. 26Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">The Shipwreck</div><div class="p"> 27On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic#27:27 In ancient times the name referred to an area extending well south of Italy. Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land. 28They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty feet#27:28 Or about 37 meters deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet#27:28 Or about 27 meters deep. 29Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight. 30In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. 31Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, &#8220;Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.&#8221; 32So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it drift away.</div><div class="p"> 33Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. &#8220;For the last fourteen days,&#8221; he said, &#8220;you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food&#8212;you haven&#8217;t eaten anything. 34Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.&#8221; 35After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. 36They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. 37Altogether there were 276 of us on board. 38When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.</div><div class="p"> 39When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. 40Cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea and at the same time untied the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach. 41But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding of the surf.</div><div class="p"> 42The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping. 43But the centurion wanted to spare Paul&#8217;s life and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. 44The rest were to get there on planks or on other pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land safely.</div>
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