1 This boasting will do no good, but I must go on. I will reluctantly tell about visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don’t know—only...

1 Who has believed our message?To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?2 My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot,like a root in dry ground.There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance,nothing to attract us to him.3...

1 O Lord, oppose those who oppose me.Fight those who fight against me.2 Put on your armor, and take up your shield.Prepare for battle, and come to my aid.3 Lift up your spear and javelinagainst those who pursue me.Let me hear you say,“I will give...

1 Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. I never get tired of telling you these things, and I do it to safeguard your faith. 2 Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must...

1 This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead. 2 All the brothers and sisters here join me...

1 Paul went first to Derbe and then to Lystra, where there was a young disciple named Timothy. His mother was a Jewish believer, but his father was a Greek. 2 Timothy was well thought of by the believers in Lystra and Iconium, 3 so...

1 I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness. Please bear with me. 2 For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. I promised you as a pure bride to one husband—Christ. 3 But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided...

1 Don’t brag about tomorrow,since you don’t know what the day will bring. 2 Let someone else praise you, not your own mouth—a stranger, not your own lips. 3 A stone is heavy and sand is weighty,but the resentment caused by a fool is even heavier. 4 Anger...

1 If only my head were a pool of waterand my eyes a fountain of tears,I would weep day and nightfor all my people who have been slaughtered.2 Oh, that I could go away and forget my peopleand live in a travelers’ shack in the...

1 After this, Jesus traveled around Galilee. He wanted to stay out of Judea, where the Jewish leaders were plotting his death. 2 But soon it was time for the Jewish Festival of Shelters, 3 and Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave here and go...

10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies,...

5 Come, descendants of Jacob,let us walk in the light of the Lord!6 For the Lord has rejected his people,the descendants of Jacob,because they have filled their land with practices from the Eastand with sorcerers, as the Philistines do.They have made alliances with pagans.7 Israel...

1 Now I, Paul, appeal to you with the gentleness and kindness of Christ—though I realize you think I am timid in person and bold only when I write from far away. 2 Well, I am begging you now so that when I come I won’t have to...

6 Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. 7 After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. 8 So if we have enough food and clothing, let...

1 Praise the Lord! How joyful are those who fear the Lordand delight in obeying his commands.2 Their children will be successful everywhere;an entire generation of godly people will be blessed.3 They themselves will be wealthy,and their good deeds will last forever.4 Light shines in the...

1 The Lord detests the use of dishonest scales,but he delights in accurate weights. 2 Pride leads to disgrace,but with humility comes wisdom. 3 Honesty guides good people;dishonesty destroys treacherous people. 4 Riches won’t help on the day of judgment,but right living can save you from death. 5 The...

2 Now I appeal to Euodia and Syntyche. Please, because you belong to the Lord, settle your disagreement. 3 And I ask you, my true partner, to help these two women, for they worked hard with me in telling others the Good News. They worked...

19 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever...

1 I really don’t need to write to you about this ministry of giving for the believers in Jerusalem. 2 For I know how eager you are to help, and I have been boasting to the churches in Macedonia that you in Greece were ready to send an offering...

41 Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. 42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. 43 Jesus called his disciples to him...

13 Paul went by land to Assos, where he had arranged for us to join him, while we traveled by ship. 14 He joined us there, and we sailed together to Mitylene. 15 The next day we sailed past the island of Kios. The following...

1 We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive about things like this. We must not just please ourselves. 2 We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. 3 For even Christ didn’t live...

1 Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia. 2 They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which...

1 “At the end of every seventh year you must cancel the debts of everyone who owes you money. 2 This is how it must be done. Everyone must cancel the loans they have made to their fellow Israelites. They must not demand payment from...

1 Then the whole community of Israel set out from Elim and journeyed into the wilderness of Sin, between Elim and Mount Sinai. They arrived there on the fifteenth day of the second month, one month after leaving the land of Egypt. 2 There, too, the whole community of...