1 Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in...
12 We can say with confidence and a clear conscience that we have lived with a God-given holiness and sincerity in all our dealings. We have depended on God’s grace, not on our own human wisdom. That is how we have conducted ourselves before the...
1 “Comfort, comfort my people,”says your God.2 “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem.Tell her that her sad days are goneand her sins are pardoned.Yes, the Lord has punished her twice overfor all her sins.” 3 Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting,“Clear the way through the wildernessfor the...
15 “But be very careful! You did not see the Lord’s form on the day he spoke to you from the heart of the fire at Mount Sinai. 16 So do not corrupt yourselves by making an idol in any form—whether of a man or...
1 “And now, Israel, listen carefully to these decrees and regulations that I am about to teach you. Obey them so that you may live, so you may enter and occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. 2 Do not add to...
1 After the wall was finished and I had set up the doors in the gates, the gatekeepers, singers, and Levites were appointed. 2 I gave the responsibility of governing Jerusalem to my brother Hanani, along with Hananiah, the commander of the fortress, for he...
1 The Lord took hold of me, and I was carried away by the Spirit of the Lord to a valley filled with bones. 2 He led me all around among the bones that covered the valley floor. They were scattered everywhere across the ground...
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me,for the Lord has anointed meto bring good news to the poor.He has sent me to comfort the brokenheartedand to proclaim that captives will be releasedand prisoners will be freed.2 He has sent me to tell...
6 “In that coming day,” says the Lord,“I will gather together those who are lame,those who have been exiles,and those whom I have filled with grief.7 Those who are weak will survive as a remnant;those who were exiles will become a strong nation.Then I, the...
1 This is a vision that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem: 2 In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s housewill be the highest of all—the most important place on earth.It will be raised above the other hills,and people from all...
1 Here is a list of the family leaders and the genealogies of those who came with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes:2 From the family of Phinehas: Gershom.From the family of Ithamar: Daniel.From the family of David: Hattush, 3 a descendant of Shecaniah.From the family...
1 Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies found out that I had finished rebuilding the wall and that no gaps remained—though we had not yet set up the doors in the gates. 2 So Sanballat and Geshem sent a message...
1 When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, 2 “As you know, Passover begins in two days, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.” 3 At that same time the leading priests and elders were...
1 Jesus called his twelve disciples together and gave them authority to cast out evil spirits and to heal every kind of disease and illness. 2 Here are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (also called Peter),then Andrew (Peter’s brother),James (son of Zebedee),John (James’s...
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—so why should I be afraid?The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger,so why should I tremble?2 When evil people come to devour me,when my enemies and foes attack me,they will stumble and fall.3 Though a...
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!His faithful love endures forever. 2 Let all Israel repeat:“His faithful love endures forever.”3 Let Aaron’s descendants, the priests, repeat:“His faithful love endures forever.”4 Let all who fear the Lord repeat:“His faithful love endures forever.” 5 In my...
1 Many years later, during the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia, there was a man named Ezra. He was the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, 2 son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, 3 son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, 4 son of Zerahiah, son...
1 About this time some of the men and their wives raised a cry of protest against their fellow Jews. 2 They were saying, “We have such large families. We need more food to survive.” 3 Others said, “We have mortgaged our fields, vineyards, and homes...
14 Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. Reports about him spread quickly through the whole region. 15 He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. 16 When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he...
1 Praise the Lord, who is my rock.He trains my hands for warand gives my fingers skill for battle.2 He is my loving ally and my fortress,my tower of safety, my rescuer.He is my shield, and I take refuge in him.He makes the nations submit...
1 So King Darius issued orders that a search be made in the Babylonian archives, which were stored in the treasury. 2 But it was at the fortress at Ecbatana in the province of Media that a scroll was found. This is what it said: “Memorandum: 3...
1 At that time the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem. They prophesied in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. 2 Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jehozadak responded...
8 “In addition, you must count off seven Sabbath years, seven sets of seven years, adding up to forty-nine years in all. 9 Then on the Day of Atonement in the fiftieth year, blow the ram’s horn loud and long throughout the land. 10 Set this year apart as holy, a...
1 Sanballat was very angry when he learned that we were rebuilding the wall. He flew into a rage and mocked the Jews, 2 saying in front of his friends and the Samarian army officers, “What does this bunch of poor, feeble Jews think they’re...
1 The enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were rebuilding a Temple to the Lord, the God of Israel. 2 So they approached Zerubbabel and the other leaders and said, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God just as...