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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bk2SA">
      <div class="chapter ch4" data-usfm="2SA.4">
         <div class="label">4</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Ish-Bosheth Murdered</span></div><div class="p"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="2SA.4.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">When Ish-Bosheth son of Saul heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he lost courage, and all Israel became alarmed. </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="2SA.4.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">Now Saul&#8217;s son had two men who were leaders of raiding bands. One was named Baanah and the other Rekab; they were sons of Rimmon the Beerothite from the tribe of Benjamin&#8212;Beeroth is considered part of Benjamin, </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="2SA.4.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">because the people of Beeroth fled to Gittaim and have resided there as foreigners to this day.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="2SA.4.3"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="2SA.4.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">(Jonathan son of Saul had a son who was lame in both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became disabled. His name was Mephibosheth.)</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="2SA.4.4"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="2SA.4.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">Now Rekab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, set out for the house of Ish-Bosheth, and they arrived there in the heat of the day while he was taking his noonday rest. </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="2SA.4.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">They went into the inner part of the house as if to get some wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rekab and his brother Baanah slipped away.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="2SA.4.6"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="2SA.4.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">They had gone into the house while he was lying on the bed in his bedroom. After they stabbed and killed him, they cut off his head. Taking it with them, they traveled all night by way of the Arabah. </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="2SA.4.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">They brought the head of Ish-Bosheth to David at Hebron and said to the king, &#8220;Here is the head of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, your enemy, who tried to kill you. This day the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> has avenged my lord the king against Saul and his offspring.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="2SA.4.8"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="2SA.4.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">David answered Rekab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, &#8220;As surely as the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble, </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="2SA.4.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">when someone told me, &#8216;Saul is dead,&#8217; and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and put him to death in Ziklag. That was the reward I gave him for his news! </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="2SA.4.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">How much more&#8212;when wicked men have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed&#8212;should I not now demand his blood from your hand and rid the earth of you!&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="2SA.4.11"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="2SA.4.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">So David gave an order to his men, and they killed them. They cut off their hands and feet and hung the bodies by the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-Bosheth and buried it in Abner&#8217;s tomb at Hebron.</span></span></div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bk2SA">
      <div class="chapter ch5" data-usfm="2SA.5">
         <div class="label">5</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">David Becomes King Over Israel</span></div><div class="p"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="2SA.5.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, &#8220;We are your own flesh and blood. </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="2SA.5.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">In the past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns. And the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> said to you, &#8216;You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="2SA.5.2"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="2SA.5.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">When all the elders of Israel had come to King David at Hebron, the king made a covenant with them at Hebron before the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">, and they anointed David king over Israel.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="2SA.5.3"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="2SA.5.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years. </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="2SA.5.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.</span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">David Conquers Jerusalem</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="2SA.5.5"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="2SA.5.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">The king and his men marched to Jerusalem to attack the Jebusites, who lived there. The Jebusites said to David, &#8220;You will not get in here; even the blind and the lame can ward you off.&#8221; They thought, &#8220;David cannot get in here.&#8221; </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="2SA.5.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion&#8212;which is the City of David.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="2SA.5.7"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="2SA.5.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">On that day David had said, &#8220;Anyone who conquers the Jebusites will have to use the water shaft to reach those &#8216;lame and blind&#8217; who are David&#8217;s enemies.</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">5:8 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">are hated by David</span></span></span><span class="content">&#8221; That is why they say, &#8220;The &#8216;blind and lame&#8217; will not enter the palace.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="2SA.5.8"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="2SA.5.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">David then took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of David. He built up the area around it, from the terraces</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">5:9 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">the Millo</span></span></span><span class="content"> inward. </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="2SA.5.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">And he became more and more powerful, because the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> God Almighty was with him.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="2SA.5.10"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="2SA.5.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">Now Hiram king of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs and carpenters and stonemasons, and they built a palace for David. </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="2SA.5.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">Then David knew that the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="2SA.5.12"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="2SA.5.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">After he left Hebron, David took more concubines and wives in Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him. </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="2SA.5.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">These are the names of the children born to him there: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, </span></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="2SA.5.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, </span></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="2SA.5.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">Elishama, Eliada and Eliphelet.</span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">David Defeats the Philistines</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="2SA.5.16"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="2SA.5.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="content">When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, they went up in full force to search for him, but David heard about it and went down to the stronghold. </span></span><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="2SA.5.18"><span class="label">18</span><span class="content">Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; </span></span><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="2SA.5.19"><span class="label">19</span><span class="content">so David inquired of the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">, &#8220;Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hands?&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="2SA.5.19"><span class="content">The </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> answered him, &#8220;Go, for I will surely deliver the Philistines into your hands.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="2SA.5.19"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="2SA.5.20"><span class="label">20</span><span class="content">So David went to Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them. He said, &#8220;As waters break out, the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> has broken out against my enemies before me.&#8221; So that place was called Baal Perazim.</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">5:20 </span><span class="fq">Baal Perazim </span><span class="ft">means </span><span class="fqa">the lord who breaks out.</span></span></span><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="2SA.5.21"><span class="label">21</span><span class="content">The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried them off.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="2SA.5.21"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="2SA.5.22"><span class="label">22</span><span class="content">Once more the Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; </span></span><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="2SA.5.23"><span class="label">23</span><span class="content">so David inquired of the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">, and he answered, &#8220;Do not go straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the poplar trees. </span></span><span class="verse v24" data-usfm="2SA.5.24"><span class="label">24</span><span class="content">As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the poplar trees, move quickly, because that will mean the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army.&#8221; </span></span><span class="verse v25" data-usfm="2SA.5.25"><span class="label">25</span><span class="content">So David did as the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">5:25 </span><span class="ft">Septuagint (see also 1 Chron. 14:16); Hebrew </span><span class="fqa">Geba</span></span></span><span class="content"> to Gezer.</span></span></div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkEZK">
      <div class="chapter ch21" data-usfm="EZK.21">
         <div class="label">21</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Babylon as God&#8217;s Sword of Judgment</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 21:1-32 is numbered 21:6-37.</span><span class="ft">  </span></span></span><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="EZK.21.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">The word of the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> came to me: </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="EZK.21.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">&#8220;Son of man, set your face against Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuary. Prophesy against the land of Israel </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="EZK.21.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">and say to her: &#8216;This is what the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> says: I am against you. I will draw my sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked. </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="EZK.21.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">Because I am going to cut off the righteous and the wicked, my sword will be unsheathed against everyone from south to north. </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="EZK.21.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">Then all people will know that I the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> have drawn my sword from its sheath; it will not return again.&#8217;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="EZK.21.5"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="EZK.21.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">&#8220;Therefore groan, son of man! Groan before them with broken heart and bitter grief. </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="EZK.21.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">And when they ask you, &#8216;Why are you groaning?&#8217; you shall say, &#8216;Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt with fear and every hand go limp; every spirit will become faint and every leg will be wet with urine.&#8217; It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="EZK.21.7"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="EZK.21.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">The word of the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> came to me: </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="EZK.21.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">&#8220;Son of man, prophesy and say, &#8216;This is what the Lord says:</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="EZK.21.9"><span class="content">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;A sword, a sword,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="EZK.21.9"><span class="content">sharpened and polished&#8212;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="EZK.21.9"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="EZK.21.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">sharpened for the slaughter,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="EZK.21.10"><span class="content">polished to flash like lightning!</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="EZK.21.10"><span class="content">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Shall we rejoice in the scepter of my royal son? The sword despises every such stick.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="EZK.21.10"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="EZK.21.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;The sword is appointed to be polished,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="EZK.21.11"><span class="content">to be grasped with the hand;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="EZK.21.11"><span class="content">it is sharpened and polished,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="EZK.21.11"><span class="content">made ready for the hand of the slayer.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="EZK.21.11"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="EZK.21.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">Cry out and wail, son of man,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="EZK.21.12"><span class="content">for it is against my people;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="EZK.21.12"><span class="content">it is against all the princes of Israel.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="EZK.21.12"><span class="content">They are thrown to the sword</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="EZK.21.12"><span class="content">along with my people.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="EZK.21.12"><span class="content">Therefore beat your breast.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="EZK.21.12"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="EZK.21.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Testing will surely come. And what if even the scepter, which the sword despises, does not continue? declares the Sovereign </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">.&#8217;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="EZK.21.13"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="EZK.21.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">&#8220;So then, son of man, prophesy</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="EZK.21.14"><span class="content">and strike your hands together.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="EZK.21.14"><span class="content">Let the sword strike twice,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="EZK.21.14"><span class="content">even three times.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="EZK.21.14"><span class="content">It is a sword for slaughter&#8212;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="EZK.21.14"><span class="content">a sword for great slaughter,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="EZK.21.14"><span class="content">closing in on them from every side.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="EZK.21.14"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="EZK.21.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">So that hearts may melt with fear</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="EZK.21.15"><span class="content">and the fallen be many,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="EZK.21.15"><span class="content">I have stationed the sword for slaughter</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">21:15 </span><span class="ft">Septuagint; the meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="EZK.21.15"><span class="content">at all their gates.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="EZK.21.15"><span class="content">Look! It is forged to strike like lightning,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="EZK.21.15"><span class="content">it is grasped for slaughter.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="EZK.21.15"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="EZK.21.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">Slash to the right, you sword,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="EZK.21.16"><span class="content">then to the left,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="EZK.21.16"><span class="content">wherever your blade is turned.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="EZK.21.16"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="EZK.21.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="content">I too will strike my hands together,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="EZK.21.17"><span class="content">and my wrath will subside.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="EZK.21.17"><span class="content">I the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> have spoken.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="EZK.21.17"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="EZK.21.18"><span class="label">18</span><span class="content">The word of the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> came to me: </span></span><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="EZK.21.19"><span class="label">19</span><span class="content">&#8220;Son of man, mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to take, both starting from the same country. Make a signpost where the road branches off to the city. </span></span><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="EZK.21.20"><span class="label">20</span><span class="content">Mark out one road for the sword to come against Rabbah of the Ammonites and another against Judah and fortified Jerusalem. </span></span><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="EZK.21.21"><span class="label">21</span><span class="content">For the king of Babylon will stop at the fork in the road, at the junction of the two roads, to seek an omen: He will cast lots with arrows, he will consult his idols, he will examine the liver. </span></span><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="EZK.21.22"><span class="label">22</span><span class="content">Into his right hand will come the lot for Jerusalem, where he is to set up battering rams, to give the command to slaughter, to sound the battle cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to build a ramp and to erect siege works. </span></span><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="EZK.21.23"><span class="label">23</span><span class="content">It will seem like a false omen to those who have sworn allegiance to him, but he will remind them of their guilt and take them captive.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="EZK.21.23"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v24" data-usfm="EZK.21.24"><span class="label">24</span><span class="content">&#8220;Therefore this is what the Sovereign </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> says: &#8216;Because you people have brought to mind your guilt by your open rebellion, revealing your sins in all that you do&#8212;because you have done this, you will be taken captive.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v24" data-usfm="EZK.21.24"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v25" data-usfm="EZK.21.25"><span class="label">25</span><span class="content">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;You profane and wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come, whose time of punishment has reached its climax, </span></span><span class="verse v26" data-usfm="EZK.21.26"><span class="label">26</span><span class="content">this is what the Sovereign </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> says: Take off the turban, remove the crown. It will not be as it was: The lowly will be exalted and the exalted will be brought low. </span></span><span class="verse v27" data-usfm="EZK.21.27"><span class="label">27</span><span class="content">A ruin! A ruin! I will make it a ruin! The crown will not be restored until he to whom it rightfully belongs shall come; to him I will give it.&#8217;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v27" data-usfm="EZK.21.27"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v28" data-usfm="EZK.21.28"><span class="label">28</span><span class="content">&#8220;And you, son of man, prophesy and say, &#8216;This is what the Sovereign </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> says about the Ammonites and their insults:</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v28" data-usfm="EZK.21.28"><span class="content">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;A sword, a sword,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v28" data-usfm="EZK.21.28"><span class="content">drawn for the slaughter,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v28" data-usfm="EZK.21.28"><span class="content">polished to consume</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v28" data-usfm="EZK.21.28"><span class="content">and to flash like lightning!</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v28" data-usfm="EZK.21.28"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v29" data-usfm="EZK.21.29"><span class="label">29</span><span class="content">Despite false visions concerning you</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v29" data-usfm="EZK.21.29"><span class="content">and lying divinations about you,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v29" data-usfm="EZK.21.29"><span class="content">it will be laid on the necks</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v29" data-usfm="EZK.21.29"><span class="content">of the wicked who are to be slain,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v29" data-usfm="EZK.21.29"><span class="content">whose day has come,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v29" data-usfm="EZK.21.29"><span class="content">whose time of punishment has reached its climax.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v29" data-usfm="EZK.21.29"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v30" data-usfm="EZK.21.30"><span class="label">30</span><span class="content">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Let the sword return to its sheath.</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v30" data-usfm="EZK.21.30"><span class="content">In the place where you were created,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v30" data-usfm="EZK.21.30"><span class="content">in the land of your ancestry,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v30" data-usfm="EZK.21.30"><span class="content">I will judge you.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v30" data-usfm="EZK.21.30"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v31" data-usfm="EZK.21.31"><span class="label">31</span><span class="content">I will pour out my wrath on you</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v31" data-usfm="EZK.21.31"><span class="content">and breathe out my fiery anger against you;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v31" data-usfm="EZK.21.31"><span class="content">I will deliver you into the hands of brutal men,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v31" data-usfm="EZK.21.31"><span class="content">men skilled in destruction.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v31" data-usfm="EZK.21.31"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v32" data-usfm="EZK.21.32"><span class="label">32</span><span class="content">You will be fuel for the fire,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v32" data-usfm="EZK.21.32"><span class="content">your blood will be shed in your land,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v32" data-usfm="EZK.21.32"><span class="content">you will be remembered no more;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v32" data-usfm="EZK.21.32"><span class="content">for I the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> have spoken.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</span></span></div>
      </div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkREV">
      <div class="chapter ch1" data-usfm="REV.1">
         <div class="label">1</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Prologue</span></div><div class="p"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="REV.1.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="REV.1.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">who testifies to everything he saw&#8212;that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="REV.1.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.</span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Greetings and Doxology</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="REV.1.3"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="REV.1.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">John,</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="REV.1.4"><span class="content">To the seven churches in the province of Asia:</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="REV.1.4"><span class="content">Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">1:4 </span><span class="ft">That is, the sevenfold Spirit</span></span></span><span class="content"> before his throne, </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="REV.1.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="b"></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="REV.1.5"><span class="content">To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="REV.1.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father&#8212;to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="REV.1.6"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="REV.1.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">&#8220;Look, he is coming with the clouds,&#8221;</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">1:7 </span><span class="ft">Daniel 7:13</span></span></span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="REV.1.7"><span class="content">and &#8220;every eye will see him,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="REV.1.7"><span class="content">even those who pierced him&#8221;;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="REV.1.7"><span class="content">and all peoples on earth &#8220;will mourn because of him.&#8221;</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">1:7 </span><span class="ft">Zech. 12:10</span></span></span></span></div><div class="q4"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="REV.1.7"><span class="content">So shall it be! Amen.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="REV.1.7"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="REV.1.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">&#8220;I am the Alpha and the Omega,&#8221; says the Lord God, &#8220;who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">John&#8217;s Vision of Christ</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="REV.1.8"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="REV.1.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="REV.1.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">On the Lord&#8217;s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="REV.1.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">which said: </span><span class="wj"><span class="content">&#8220;Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.&#8221;</span></span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="REV.1.11"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="REV.1.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="REV.1.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man,</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">1:13 </span><span class="ft">See Daniel 7:13.</span></span></span><span class="content"> dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="REV.1.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. </span></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="REV.1.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. </span></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="REV.1.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="REV.1.16"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="REV.1.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="content">When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: </span><span class="wj"><span class="content">&#8220;Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.</span></span><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="REV.1.18"><span class="label">18</span><span class="wj"><span class="content">I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.</span></span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="REV.1.18"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="REV.1.19"><span class="label">19</span><span class="content">  </span><span class="wj"><span class="content">&#8220;Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.</span></span><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="REV.1.20"><span class="label">20</span><span class="wj"><span class="content">The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels</span></span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">1:20 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">messengers</span></span></span><span class="content">  </span><span class="wj"><span class="content">of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.</span></span></span></div>
      </div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bk1CO">
      <div class="chapter ch8" data-usfm="1CO.8">
         <div class="label">8</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Concerning Food Sacrificed to Idols</span></div><div class="p"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="1CO.8.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that &#8220;We all possess knowledge.&#8221; But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="1CO.8.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know. </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="1CO.8.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">But whoever loves God is known by God.</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">8:2,3 </span><span class="ft">An early manuscript and another ancient witness </span><span class="fqa">think they have knowledge do not yet know as they ought to know. </span><span class="fv">3 </span><span class="fqa">But whoever loves truly knows.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="1CO.8.3"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="1CO.8.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that &#8220;An idol is nothing at all in the world&#8221; and that &#8220;There is no God but one.&#8221; </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="1CO.8.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many &#8220;gods&#8221; and many &#8220;lords&#8221;), </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="1CO.8.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="1CO.8.6"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="1CO.8.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">But not everyone possesses this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="1CO.8.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="1CO.8.8"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="1CO.8.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="1CO.8.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol&#8217;s temple, won&#8217;t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="1CO.8.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="1CO.8.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="1CO.8.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.</span></span></div>
      </div>
   </div>
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