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159 Controversial Bible Verses
If you ever find yourself needing wisdom, know that you can ask God, and He will generously give it to you, no questions asked. It's easy to get caught up in arguments, you know? Life's full of people with different viewpoints. But understand this: God doesn't want you getting into fights or constantly arguing with those around you.
He wants you to be humble and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal His will to you. Steer clear of arguments and heated discussions. Even if you don't fully grasp God's word right now, you can always ask the Father for wisdom, and He'll lovingly illuminate your understanding.
He'll guide you toward truth, and His peace—that peace that surpasses all understanding—will surround you. Right here, right now, open your heart to Jesus. Don't rely on your own understanding. Remember, it's not your job to convert or convince others. That's the Holy Spirit's work.
God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them.
The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a companion for him who corresponds to him.”
They shouted to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!”
But if there is serious injury, then you will give a life for a life,
eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.
Do not go out hastily to litigation, or what will you do afterward when your neighbor puts you to shame?
When you argue a case with your neighbor, do not reveal the secret of another person,
You must not have sexual intercourse with a male as one has sexual intercourse with a woman; it is a detestable act.
If a man has sexual intercourse with a male as one has sexual intercourse with a woman, the two of them have committed an abomination. They must be put to death; their blood guilt is on themselves.
When the experts in the law and the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
So the Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is against the law on the Sabbath?”
He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry –
Now therefore kill every boy, and kill every woman who has had sexual intercourse with a man.
But all the young women who have not had sexual intercourse with a man will be yours.
As for the cities of these peoples that the Lord your God is going to give you as an inheritance, you must not allow a single living thing to survive.
Instead you must utterly annihilate them – the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites – just as the Lord your God has commanded you,
When Paul and Barnabas had a major argument and debate with them, the church appointed Paul and Barnabas and some others from among them to go up to meet with the apostles and elders in Jerusalem about this point of disagreement.
A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor should a man dress up in women’s clothing, for anyone who does this is offensive to the Lord your God.
Suppose a man marries a woman, has sexual relations with her, and then rejects her,
accusing her of impropriety and defaming her reputation by saying, “I married this woman but when I had sexual relations with her I discovered she was not a virgin!”
Then the father and mother of the young woman must produce the evidence of virginity for the elders of the city at the gate.
The young woman’s father must say to the elders, “I gave my daughter to this man and he has rejected her.
Moreover, he has raised accusations of impropriety by saying, ‘I discovered your daughter was not a virgin,’ but this is the evidence of my daughter’s virginity!” The cloth must then be spread out before the city’s elders.
The elders of that city must then seize the man and punish him.
They will fine him one hundred shekels of silver and give them to the young woman’s father, for the man who made the accusation ruined the reputation of an Israelite virgin. She will then become his wife and he may never divorce her as long as he lives.
If the owner does not live near you or you do not know who the owner is, then you must corral the animal at your house and let it stay with you until the owner looks for it; then you must return it to him.
But if the accusation is true and the young woman was not a virgin,
the men of her city must bring the young woman to the door of her father’s house and stone her to death, for she has done a disgraceful thing in Israel by behaving like a prostitute while living in her father’s house. In this way you will purge evil from among you.
If two men get into a hand-to-hand fight, and the wife of one of them gets involved to help her husband against his attacker, and she reaches out her hand and grabs his genitals,
then you must cut off her hand – do not pity her.
So go now and strike down the Amalekites. Destroy everything that they have. Don’t spare them. Put them to death – man, woman, child, infant, ox, sheep, camel, and donkey alike.’”
This is what the Lord says: ‘I am about to bring disaster on you from inside your own household! Right before your eyes I will take your wives and hand them over to your companion. He will have sexual relations with your wives in broad daylight!
Although you have acted in secret, I will do this thing before all Israel, and in broad daylight.’”
Then David exclaimed to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord!” Nathan replied to David, “Yes, and the Lord has forgiven your sin. You are not going to die.
Nonetheless, because you have treated the Lord with such contempt in this matter, the son who has been born to you will certainly die.”
Do not withhold discipline from a child; even if you strike him with the rod, he will not die.
If you strike him with the rod, you will deliver him from death.
For everything there is an appointed time, and an appropriate time for every activity on earth:
I have observed the burden that God has given to people to keep them occupied.
God has made everything fit beautifully in its appropriate time, but he has also placed ignorance in the human heart so that people cannot discover what God has ordained, from the beginning to the end of their lives.
I have concluded that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to enjoy themselves as long as they live,
and also that everyone should eat and drink, and find enjoyment in all his toil, for these things are a gift from God.
I also know that whatever God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken away from it. God has made it this way, so that men will fear him.
Whatever exists now has already been, and whatever will be has already been; for God will seek to do again what has occurred in the past.
I saw something else on earth: In the place of justice, there was wickedness, and in the place of fairness, there was wickedness.
I thought to myself, “God will judge both the righteous and the wicked; for there is an appropriate time for every activity, and there is a time of judgment for every deed.
I also thought to myself, “It is for the sake of people, so God can clearly show them that they are like animals.
For the fate of humans and the fate of animals are the same: As one dies, so dies the other; both have the same breath. There is no advantage for humans over animals, for both are fleeting.
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot what was planted;
Both go to the same place, both come from the dust, and to dust both return.
Who really knows if the human spirit ascends upward, and the animal’s spirit descends into the earth?
So I perceived there is nothing better than for people to enjoy their work, because that is their reward; for who can show them what the future holds?
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to search, and a time to give something up as lost; a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
A time to rip, and a time to sew; a time to keep silent, and a time to speak.
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
I am the one who forms light and creates darkness; the one who brings about peace and creates calamity. I am the Lord, who accomplishes all these things.
I will reduce the people of this city to desperate straits during the siege imposed on it by their enemies who are seeking to kill them. I will make them so desperate that they will eat the flesh of their own sons and daughters and the flesh of one another.”’”
Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that everything comes – both calamity and blessing?
I also gave them decrees which were not good and regulations by which they could not live.
I declared them to be defiled because of their sacrifices – they caused all their first born to pass through the fire – so that I would devastate them, so that they will know that I am the Lord.’
Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and his disposition changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders to heat the furnace seven times hotter than it was normally heated.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent out a summons to assemble the satraps, prefects, governors, counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the other authorities of the province to attend the dedication of the statue that he had erected.
He ordered strong soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire.
So those men were tied up while still wearing their cloaks, trousers, turbans, and other clothes, and were thrown into the furnace of blazing fire.
But since the king’s command was so urgent, and the furnace was so excessively hot, the men who escorted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were killed by the leaping flames.
But those three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell into the furnace of blazing fire while still securely bound.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar was startled and quickly got up. He said to his ministers, “Wasn’t it three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?” They replied to the king, “For sure, O king.”
He answered, “But I see four men, untied and walking around in the midst of the fire! No harm has come to them! And the appearance of the fourth is like that of a god!”
Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire. He called out, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the most high God, come out! Come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego emerged from the fire.
Once the satraps, prefects, governors, and ministers of the king had gathered around, they saw that those men were physically unharmed by the fire. The hair of their heads was not singed, nor were their trousers damaged. Not even the smell of fire was to be found on them!
Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, “Praised be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent forth his angel and has rescued his servants who trusted in him, ignoring the edict of the king and giving up their bodies rather than serve or pay homage to any god other than their God!
I hereby decree that any people, nation, or language group that blasphemes the god of Shadrach, Meshach, or Abednego will be dismembered and his home reduced to rubble! For there exists no other god who can deliver in this way.”
So the satraps, prefects, governors, counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the other provincial authorities assembled for the dedication of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had erected. They were standing in front of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar had erected.
Then Nebuchadnezzar promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
If an alarm sounds in a city, do people not fear? If disaster overtakes a city, is the Lord not responsible?
and rejected Esau. I turned Esau’s mountains into a deserted wasteland and gave his territory to the wild jackals.”
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish these things but to fulfill them.
I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter will pass from the law until everything takes place.
So anyone who breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever obeys them and teaches others to do so will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
“Do not judge so that you will not be judged.
Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?
If you then, although you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
In everything, treat others as you would want them to treat you, for this fulfills the law and the prophets.
“Enter through the narrow gate, because the gate is wide and the way is spacious that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.
But the gate is narrow and the way is difficult that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
“Watch out for false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are voracious wolves.
You will recognize them by their fruit. Grapes are not gathered from thorns or figs from thistles, are they?
In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.
A good tree is not able to bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree to bear good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
For by the standard you judge you will be judged, and the measure you use will be the measure you receive.
So then, you will recognize them by their fruit.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of heaven – only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons and do many powerful deeds?’
Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Go away from me, you lawbreakers!’
“Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them is like a wise man who built his house on rock.
The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds beat against that house, but it did not collapse because it had been founded on rock.
Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.
The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds beat against that house, and it collapsed; it was utterly destroyed!”
When Jesus finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed by his teaching,
because he taught them like one who had authority, not like their experts in the law.
Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye, but fail to see the beam of wood in your own?
Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye,’ while there is a beam in your own?
You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Now I say to you that whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another commits adultery.”
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
Suddenly there was a severe earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descending from heaven came and rolled away the stone and sat on it.
teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
But from the beginning of creation he made them male and female.
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother,
and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh.
Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
“The law and the prophets were in force until John; since then, the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is urged to enter it.
But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tiny stroke of a letter in the law to become void.
The one who believes in the Son has eternal life. The one who rejects the Son will not see life, but God’s wrath remains on him.
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves.
Jesus replied, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Then they cast lots for them, and the one chosen was Matthias; so he was counted with the eleven apostles.
Peter said to them, “Repent, and each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
From one man he made every nation of the human race to inhabit the entire earth, determining their set times and the fixed limits of the places where they would live,
so that they would search for God and perhaps grope around for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth by their unrighteousness,
because what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.
This gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures,
For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people are without excuse.
For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts were darkened.
Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools
and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling mortal human beings or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.
Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity, to dishonor their bodies among themselves.
They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creation rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged the natural sexual relations for unnatural ones,
and likewise the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed in their passions for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done.
They are filled with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malice. They are rife with envy, murder, strife, deceit, hostility. They are gossips,
concerning his Son who was a descendant of David with reference to the flesh,
slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, contrivers of all sorts of evil, disobedient to parents,
senseless, covenant-breakers, heartless, ruthless.
Although they fully know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but also approve of those who practice them.
What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Absolutely not! Certainly, I would not have known sin except through the law. For indeed I would not have known what it means to desire something belonging to someone else if the law had not said, “Do not covet.”
But sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of wrong desires. For apart from the law, sin is dead.
And if it is by grace, it is no longer by works, otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
Do not avenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to God’s wrath, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
turn this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.
But any woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered disgraces her head, for it is one and the same thing as having a shaved head.
For if a woman will not cover her head, she should cut off her hair. But if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, she should cover her head.
the women should be silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak. Rather, let them be in submission, as in fact the law says.
If they want to find out about something, they should ask their husbands at home, because it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in church.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female – for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.
Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord,
because the husband is the head of the wife as also Christ is the head of the church – he himself being the savior of the body.
But as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, continue working out your salvation with awe and reverence,
Slaves, obey your earthly masters in every respect, not only when they are watching – like those who are strictly people-pleasers – but with a sincere heart, fearing the Lord.
Whatever you are doing, work at it with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not for people,
because you know that you will receive your inheritance from the Lord as the reward. Serve the Lord Christ.
For this is God’s will: that you become holy, that you keep away from sexual immorality,
that each of you know how to possess his own body in holiness and honor,
not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God.
(Stop drinking just water, but use a little wine for your digestion and your frequent illnesses.)
For there will be a time when people will not tolerate sound teaching. Instead, following their own desires, they will accumulate teachers for themselves, because they have an insatiable curiosity to hear new things.
And they will turn away from hearing the truth, but on the other hand they will turn aside to myths.
For there are many rebellious people, idle talkers, and deceivers, especially those with Jewish connections,
who must be silenced because they mislead whole families by teaching for dishonest gain what ought not to be taught.
A certain one of them, in fact, one of their own prophets, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”
Such testimony is true. For this reason rebuke them sharply that they may be healthy in the faith
and not pay attention to Jewish myths and commands of people who reject the truth.
For it is impossible in the case of those who have once been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, become partakers of the Holy Spirit,
tasted the good word of God and the miracles of the coming age,
and then have committed apostasy, to renew them again to repentance, since they are crucifying the Son of God for themselves all over again and holding him up to contempt.
For if we deliberately keep on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins is left for us,
but only a certain fearful expectation of judgment and a fury of fire that will consume God’s enemies.
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can this kind of faith save him?
If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacks daily food,
and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm and eat well,” but you do not give them what the body needs, what good is it?
So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead being by itself.
But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith without works and I will show you faith by my works.
You believe that God is one; well and good. Even the demons believe that – and tremble with fear.
For if someone comes into your assembly wearing a gold ring and fine clothing, and a poor person enters in filthy clothes,
But would you like evidence, you empty fellow, that faith without works is useless?
Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?
You see that his faith was working together with his works and his faith was perfected by works.
And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Now Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.
You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
And similarly, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another way?
For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
In the same way, wives, be subject to your own husbands. Then, even if some are disobedient to the word, they will be won over without a word by the way you live,
For the one who wants to love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from uttering deceit.
And he must turn away from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous and his ears are open to their prayer. But the Lord’s face is against those who do evil.
For who is going to harm you if you are devoted to what is good?
But in fact, if you happen to suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. But do not be terrified of them or be shaken.
But set Christ apart as Lord in your hearts and always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope you possess.
Yet do it with courtesy and respect, keeping a good conscience, so that those who slander your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame when they accuse you.
For it is better to suffer for doing good, if God wills it, than for doing evil.
Because Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, to bring you to God, by being put to death in the flesh but by being made alive in the spirit.
In it he went and preached to the spirits in prison,
when they see your pure and reverent conduct.
For it is time for judgment to begin, starting with the house of God. And if it starts with us, what will be the fate of those who are disobedient to the gospel of God?
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him,
because all that is in the world (the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the arrogance produced by material possessions) is not from the Father, but is from the world.
And the world is passing away with all its desires, but the person who does the will of God remains forever.
Everyone who has been fathered by God does not practice sin, because God’s seed resides in him, and thus he is not able to sin, because he has been fathered by God.
If anyone sees his fellow Christian committing a sin not resulting in death, he should ask, and God will grant life to the person who commits a sin not resulting in death. There is a sin resulting in death. I do not say that he should ask about that.
All unrighteousness is sin, but there is sin not resulting in death.
I have given her time to repent, but she is not willing to repent of her sexual immorality.
Look! I am throwing her onto a bed of violent illness, and those who commit adultery with her into terrible suffering, unless they repent of her deeds.
Furthermore, I will strike her followers with a deadly disease, and then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts. I will repay each one of you what your deeds deserve.
So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of my mouth!
To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your labor pains; with pain you will give birth to children. You will want to control your husband, but he will dominate you.”
The pig is unclean to you because its hoof is divided (the hoof is completely split in two), even though it does not chew the cud.
You must not eat from their meat and you must not touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.
“‘Surely anything which a man permanently dedicates to the Lord from all that belongs to him, whether from people, animals, or his landed property, must be neither sold nor redeemed; anything permanently dedicated is most holy to the Lord.
Any human being who is permanently dedicated must not be ransomed; such a person must be put to death.
The Lord spoke to Moses:
“Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘If any man’s wife goes astray and behaves unfaithfully toward him,
and a man has sexual relations with her without her husband knowing it, and it is hidden that she has defiled herself, since there was no witness against her, nor was she caught –
and if jealous feelings come over him and he becomes suspicious of his wife, when she is defiled; or if jealous feelings come over him and he becomes suspicious of his wife, when she is not defiled –
then the man must bring his wife to the priest, and he must bring the offering required for her, one tenth of an ephah of barley meal; he must not pour olive oil on it or put frankincense on it, because it is a grain offering of suspicion, a grain offering for remembering, for bringing iniquity to remembrance.
“‘Then the priest will bring her near and have her stand before the Lord.
The priest will then take holy water in a pottery jar, and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle, and put it into the water.
Then the priest will have the woman stand before the Lord, uncover the woman’s head, and put the grain offering for remembering in her hands, which is the grain offering of suspicion. The priest will hold in his hand the bitter water that brings a curse.
Then the priest will put the woman under oath and say to the her, “If no other man has had sexual relations with you, and if you have not gone astray and become defiled while under your husband’s authority, may you be free from this bitter water that brings a curse.
“Command the Israelites to expel from the camp every leper, everyone who has a discharge, and whoever becomes defiled by a corpse.
But if you have gone astray while under your husband’s authority, and if you have defiled yourself and some man other than your husband has had sexual relations with you….”
Then the priest will put the woman under the oath of the curse and will say to the her, “The Lord make you an attested curse among your people, if the Lord makes your thigh fall away and your abdomen swell;
and this water that causes the curse will go into your stomach, and make your abdomen swell and your thigh rot.” Then the woman must say, “Amen, amen.”
“‘Then the priest will write these curses on a scroll and then scrape them off into the bitter water.
He will make the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and the water that brings a curse will enter her to produce bitterness.
The priest will take the grain offering of suspicion from the woman’s hand, wave the grain offering before the Lord, and bring it to the altar.
Then the priest will take a handful of the grain offering as its memorial portion, burn it on the altar, and afterward make the woman drink the water.
When he has made her drink the water, then, if she has defiled herself and behaved unfaithfully toward her husband, the water that brings a curse will enter her to produce bitterness – her abdomen will swell, her thigh will fall away, and the woman will become a curse among her people.
But if the woman has not defiled herself, and is clean, then she will be free of ill effects and will be able to bear children.
“‘This is the law for cases of jealousy, when a wife, while under her husband’s authority, goes astray and defiles herself,
You must expel both men and women; you must put them outside the camp, so that they will not defile their camps, among which I live.”
or when jealous feelings come over a man and he becomes suspicious of his wife; then he must have the woman stand before the Lord, and the priest will carry out all this law upon her.
Then the man will be free from iniquity, but that woman will bear the consequences of her iniquity.’”
If brothers live together and one of them dies without having a son, the dead man’s wife must not remarry someone outside the family. Instead, her late husband’s brother must go to her, marry her, and perform the duty of a brother-in-law.
Then the first son she bears will continue the name of the dead brother, thus preventing his name from being blotted out of Israel.
They were having a good time, when suddenly some men of the city, some good-for-nothings, surrounded the house and kept beating on the door. They said to the old man who owned the house, “Send out the man who came to visit you so we can have sex with him.”
The man who owned the house went outside and said to them, “No, my brothers! Don’t do this wicked thing! After all, this man is a guest in my house. Don’t do such a disgraceful thing!
Here are my virgin daughter and my guest’s concubine. I will send them out and you can abuse them and do to them whatever you like. But don’t do such a disgraceful thing to this man!”
The men refused to listen to him, so the Levite grabbed his concubine and made her go outside. They raped her and abused her all night long until morning. They let her go at dawn.
The woman arrived back at daybreak and was sprawled out on the doorstep of the house where her master was staying until it became light.
When her master got up in the morning, opened the doors of the house, and went outside to start on his journey, there was the woman, his concubine, sprawled out on the doorstep of the house with her hands on the threshold.
He said to her, “Get up, let’s leave!” But there was no response. He put her on the donkey and went home.
When he got home, he took a knife, grabbed his concubine, and carved her up into twelve pieces. Then he sent the pieces throughout Israel.
her husband came after her, hoping he could convince her to return. He brought with him his servant and a pair of donkeys. When she brought him into her father’s house and the girl’s father saw him, he greeted him warmly.
Everyone who saw the sight said, “Nothing like this has happened or been witnessed during the entire time since the Israelites left the land of Egypt! Take careful note of it! Discuss it and speak!”
Here is what the Lord of hosts says: ‘I carefully observed how the Amalekites opposed Israel along the way when Israel came up from Egypt.
Then Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed the Lord! I went on the campaign the Lord sent me on. I brought back King Agag of the Amalekites after exterminating the Amalekites.
But the army took from the plunder some of the sheep and cattle – the best of what was to be slaughtered – to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”
Then Samuel said, “Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as he does in obedience? Certainly, obedience is better than sacrifice; paying attention is better than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and presumption is like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”
Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have disobeyed what the Lord commanded and what you said as well. For I was afraid of the army, and I followed their wishes.
Now please forgive my sin! Go back with me so I can worship the Lord.”
Samuel said to Saul, “I will not go back with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel!”
When Samuel turned to leave, Saul grabbed the edge of his robe and it tore.
Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to one of your colleagues who is better than you!
The Preeminent One of Israel does not go back on his word or change his mind, for he is not a human being who changes his mind.”
So go now and strike down the Amalekites. Destroy everything that they have. Don’t spare them. Put them to death – man, woman, child, infant, ox, sheep, camel, and donkey alike.’”
Ahab sent messengers to all the Israelites and had the prophets assemble at Mount Carmel.
Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long are you going to be paralyzed by indecision? If the Lord is the true God, then follow him, but if Baal is, follow him!” But the people did not say a word.
Elijah said to them: “I am the only prophet of the Lord who is left, but there are 450 prophets of Baal.
Let them bring us two bulls. Let them choose one of the bulls for themselves, cut it up into pieces, and place it on the wood. But they must not set it on fire. I will do the same to the other bull and place it on the wood. But I will not set it on fire.
Then you will invoke the name of your god, and I will invoke the name of the Lord. The god who responds with fire will demonstrate that he is the true God.” All the people responded, “This will be a fair test.”
Elijah told the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls for yourselves and go first, for you are the majority. Invoke the name of your god, but do not light a fire.”
So they took a bull, as he had suggested, and prepared it. They invoked the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “Baal, answer us.” But there was no sound and no answer. They jumped around on the altar they had made.
At noon Elijah mocked them, “Yell louder! After all, he is a god; he may be deep in thought, or perhaps he stepped out for a moment or has taken a trip. Perhaps he is sleeping and needs to be awakened.”
So they yelled louder and, in accordance with their prescribed ritual, mutilated themselves with swords and spears until their bodies were covered with blood.
Throughout the afternoon they were in an ecstatic frenzy, but there was no sound, no answer, and no response.
So Ahab summoned Obadiah, who supervised the palace. (Now Obadiah was a very loyal follower of the Lord.
Elijah then told all the people, “Approach me.” So all the people approached him. He repaired the altar of the Lord that had been torn down.
Then Elijah took twelve stones, corresponding to the number of tribes that descended from Jacob, to whom the Lord had said, “Israel will be your new name.”
With the stones he constructed an altar for the Lord. Around the altar he made a trench large enough to contain two seahs of seed.
He arranged the wood, cut up the bull, and placed it on the wood.
Then he said, “Fill four water jars and pour the water on the offering and the wood.” When they had done so, he said, “Do it again.” So they did it again. Then he said, “Do it a third time.” So they did it a third time.
The water flowed down all sides of the altar and filled the trench.
When it was time for the evening offering, Elijah the prophet approached the altar and prayed: “O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.
Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are the true God and that you are winning back their allegiance.”
Then fire from the Lord fell from the sky. It consumed the offering, the wood, the stones, and the dirt, and licked up the water in the trench.
When all the people saw this, they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground and said, “The Lord is the true God! The Lord is the true God!”
When Jezebel was killing the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah took one hundred prophets and hid them in two caves in two groups of fifty. He also brought them food and water.)
Elijah told them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Don’t let even one of them escape!” So they seized them, and Elijah led them down to the Kishon Valley and executed them there.
He went up from there to Bethel. As he was traveling up the road, some young boys came out of the city and made fun of him, saying, “Go on up, baldy! Go on up, baldy!”
When he turned around and saw them, he called God’s judgment down on them. Two female bears came out of the woods and ripped forty-two of the boys to pieces.
Anyone who would not seek the Lord God of Israel would be executed, whether they were young or old, male or female.
They swore their allegiance to the Lord, shouting their approval loudly and sounding trumpets and horns.
All Judah was happy about the oath, because they made the vow with their whole heart. They willingly sought the Lord and he responded to them. He made them secure on every side.
May their names be deleted from the scroll of the living! Do not let their names be listed with the godly!
O Lord, do I not hate those who hate you, and despise those who oppose you?
I absolutely hate them, they have become my enemies!
There are six things that the Lord hates, even seven things that are an abomination to him:
haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift to run to evil,
a false witness who pours out lies, and a person who spreads discord among family members.
A good reputation is better than precious perfume; likewise, the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.
Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these days?” for it is not wise to ask that.
Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing; it benefits those who see the light of day.
For wisdom provides protection, just as money provides protection. But the advantage of knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves the life of its owner.
Consider the work of God: For who can make straight what he has bent?
In times of prosperity be joyful, but in times of adversity consider this: God has made one as well as the other, so that no one can discover what the future holds.
During the days of my fleeting life I have seen both of these things: Sometimes a righteous person dies prematurely in spite of his righteousness, and sometimes a wicked person lives long in spite of his evil deeds.
So do not be excessively righteous or excessively wise; otherwise you might be disappointed.
Do not be excessively wicked and do not be a fool; otherwise you might die before your time.
It is best to take hold of one warning without letting go of the other warning; for the one who fears God will follow both warnings.
Wisdom gives a wise person more protection than ten rulers in a city.
It is better to go to a funeral than a feast. For death is the destiny of every person, and the living should take this to heart.
For there is not one truly righteous person on the earth who continually does good and never sins.
Also, do not pay attention to everything that people say; otherwise, you might even hear your servant cursing you.
For you know in your own heart that you also have cursed others many times.
I have examined all this by wisdom; I said, “I am determined to comprehend this” – but it was beyond my grasp.
Whatever has happened is beyond human understanding; it is far deeper than anyone can fathom.
I tried to understand, examine, and comprehend the role of wisdom in the scheme of things, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the insanity of folly.
I discovered this: More bitter than death is the kind of woman who is like a hunter’s snare; her heart is like a hunter’s net and her hands are like prison chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is captured by her.
The Teacher says: I discovered this while trying to discover the scheme of things, item by item.
What I have continually sought, I have not found; I have found only one upright man among a thousand, but I have not found one upright woman among all of them.
This alone have I discovered: God made humankind upright, but they have sought many evil schemes.
Sorrow is better than laughter, because sober reflection is good for the heart.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of merrymaking.
Those who enact unjust policies are as good as dead, those who are always instituting unfair regulations,
I overpowered kingdoms ruled by idols, whose carved images were more impressive than Jerusalem’s or Samaria’s.
As I have done to Samaria and its idols, so I will do to Jerusalem and its idols.”
But when the sovereign master finishes judging Mount Zion and Jerusalem, then I will punish the king of Assyria for what he has proudly planned and for the arrogant attitude he displays.
For he says: “By my strong hand I have accomplished this, by my strategy that I devised. I invaded the territory of nations, and looted their storehouses. Like a mighty conqueror, I brought down rulers.
My hand discovered the wealth of the nations, as if it were in a nest, as one gathers up abandoned eggs, I gathered up the whole earth. There was no wing flapping, or open mouth chirping.”
Does an ax exalt itself over the one who wields it, or a saw magnify itself over the one who cuts with it? As if a scepter should brandish the one who raises it, or a staff should lift up what is not made of wood!
For this reason the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, will make his healthy ones emaciated. His majestic glory will go up in smoke.
The light of Israel will become a fire, their Holy One will become a flame; it will burn and consume the Assyrian king’s briers and his thorns in one day.
The splendor of his forest and his orchard will be completely destroyed, as when a sick man’s life ebbs away.
There will be so few trees left in his forest, a child will be able to count them.
to keep the poor from getting fair treatment, and to deprive the oppressed among my people of justice, so they can steal what widows own, and loot what belongs to orphans.
The sovereign master says, “These people say they are loyal to me; they say wonderful things about me, but they are not really loyal to me. Their worship consists of nothing but man-made ritual.
Though the Lord desired to crush him and make him ill, once restitution is made, he will see descendants and enjoy long life, and the Lord’s purpose will be accomplished through him.
But there is little hope for you ever doing good, you who are so accustomed to doing evil. Can an Ethiopian change the color of his skin? Can a leopard remove its spots?
Do I actually delight in the death of the wicked, declares the sovereign Lord? Do I not prefer that he turn from his wicked conduct and live?
“I absolutely despise your festivals! I get no pleasure from your religious assemblies!
Even if you offer me burnt and grain offerings, I will not be satisfied; I will not look with favor on your peace offerings of fattened calves.
Take away from me your noisy songs; I don’t want to hear the music of your stringed instruments.
“I will come to you in judgment. I will be quick to testify against those who practice divination, those who commit adultery, those who break promises, and those who exploit workers, widows, and orphans, who refuse to help the immigrant and in this way show they do not fear me,” says the Lord who rules over all.
But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
“Do not accumulate for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.
Thus whenever you do charitable giving, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in synagogues and on streets so that people will praise them. I tell you the truth, they have their reward.
But accumulate for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of heaven – only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons and do many powerful deeds?’
Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Go away from me, you lawbreakers!’
Do you think I have come to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!
For from now on there will be five in one household divided, three against two and two against three.
They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies.
And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved.”
What shall we say then? Are we to remain in sin so that grace may increase?
For the death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God.
So you too consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires,
and do not present your members to sin as instruments to be used for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead and your members to God as instruments to be used for righteousness.
For sin will have no mastery over you, because you are not under law but under grace.
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Absolutely not!
Do you not know that if you present yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or obedience resulting in righteousness?
But thanks be to God that though you were slaves to sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching you were entrusted to,
and having been freed from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness.
(I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh.) For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.
Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers,
nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
each builder’s work will be plainly seen, for the Day will make it clear, because it will be revealed by fire. And the fire will test what kind of work each has done.
So let the one who thinks he is standing be careful that he does not fall.
No trial has overtaken you that is not faced by others. And God is faithful: He will not let you be tried beyond what you are able to bear, but with the trial will also provide a way out so that you may be able to endure it.
Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, depravity,
Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you at all!
idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions,
envying, murder, drunkenness, carousing, and similar things. I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!
But among you there must not be either sexual immorality, impurity of any kind, or greed, as these are not fitting for the saints.
for we are members of his body.
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and will be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.
This mystery is great – but I am actually speaking with reference to Christ and the church.
Nevertheless, each one of you must also love his own wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Neither should there be vulgar speech, foolish talk, or coarse jesting – all of which are out of character – but rather thanksgiving.
For you can be confident of this one thing: that no person who is immoral, impure, or greedy (such a person is an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
For many live, about whom I have often told you, and now, with tears, I tell you that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ.
Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, they exult in their shame, and they think about earthly things.
If you have died with Christ to the elemental spirits of the world, why do you submit to them as though you lived in the world?
“Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”
These are all destined to perish with use, founded as they are on human commands and teachings.
Even though they have the appearance of wisdom with their self-imposed worship and false humility achieved by an unsparing treatment of the body – a wisdom with no true value – they in reality result in fleshly indulgence.
Now when they are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will surely not escape.
But you, brothers and sisters, are not in the darkness for the day to overtake you like a thief would.
For you all are sons of the light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of the darkness.
Now the Spirit explicitly says that in the later times some will desert the faith and occupy themselves with deceiving spirits and demonic teachings,
In fact this is why we work hard and struggle, because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of believers.
Command and teach these things.
Let no one look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in your speech, conduct, love, faithfulness, and purity.
Until I come, give attention to the public reading of scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.
Do not neglect the spiritual gift you have, given to you and confirmed by prophetic words when the elders laid hands on you.
Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that everyone will see your progress.
Be conscientious about how you live and what you teach. Persevere in this, because by doing so you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.
influenced by the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared.
But understand this, that in the last days difficult times will come.
You, however, have followed my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, my faith, my patience, my love, my endurance,
as well as the persecutions and sufferings that happened to me in Antioch, in Iconium, and in Lystra. I endured these persecutions and the Lord delivered me from them all.
Now in fact all who want to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
But evil people and charlatans will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and being deceived themselves.
You, however, must continue in the things you have learned and are confident about. You know who taught you
and how from infancy you have known the holy writings, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work.
For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,
unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, savage, opposed to what is good,
treacherous, reckless, conceited, loving pleasure rather than loving God.
They will maintain the outward appearance of religion but will have repudiated its power. So avoid people like these.
They profess to know God but with their deeds they deny him, since they are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.
And see to it that no one becomes an immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal.
For you know that later when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no opportunity for repentance, although he sought the blessing with tears.
But be sure you live out the message and do not merely listen to it and so deceive yourselves.
For if someone merely listens to the message and does not live it out, he is like someone who gazes at his own face in a mirror.
For he gazes at himself and then goes out and immediately forgets what sort of person he was.
But the one who peers into the perfect law of liberty and fixes his attention there, and does not become a forgetful listener but one who lives it out – he will be blessed in what he does.
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, because you know that we will be judged more strictly.
From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. These things should not be so, my brothers and sisters.
A spring does not pour out fresh water and bitter water from the same opening, does it?
Can a fig tree produce olives, my brothers and sisters, or a vine produce figs? Neither can a salt water spring produce fresh water.
Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct he should show his works done in the gentleness that wisdom brings.
But if you have bitter jealousy and selfishness in your hearts, do not boast and tell lies against the truth.
Such wisdom does not come from above but is earthly, natural, demonic.
For where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is disorder and every evil practice.
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and not hypocritical.
And the fruit that consists of righteousness is planted in peace among those who make peace.
For we all stumble in many ways. If someone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect individual, able to control the entire body as well.
So they are astonished when you do not rush with them into the same flood of wickedness, and they vilify you.
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice – alive, holy, and pleasing to God – which is your reasonable service.
Be devoted to one another with mutual love, showing eagerness in honoring one another.
Do not lag in zeal, be enthusiastic in spirit, serve the Lord.
Rejoice in hope, endure in suffering, persist in prayer.
Contribute to the needs of the saints, pursue hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse.
Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly. Do not be conceited.
Do not repay anyone evil for evil; consider what is good before all people.
If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all people.
Do not avenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to God’s wrath, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God – what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.
Do not be deceived. God will not be made a fool. For a person will reap what he sows,
because the person who sows to his own flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.
So I say this, and insist in the Lord, that you no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.
They are darkened in their understanding, being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts.
Because they are callous, they have given themselves over to indecency for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.
Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ so that – whether I come and see you or whether I remain absent – I should hear that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, by contending side by side for the faith of the gospel,
Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
and have been clothed with the new man that is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of the one who created it.
Here there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and in all.
Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,
bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if someone happens to have a complaint against anyone else. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also forgive others.
And to all these virtues add love, which is the perfect bond.
Let the peace of Christ be in control in your heart (for you were in fact called as one body to this peace), and be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and exhorting one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, all with grace in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them.
Keep thinking about things above, not things on the earth,
Children, it is the last hour, and just as you heard that the antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. We know from this that it is the last hour.
They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us, because if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But they went out from us to demonstrate that all of them do not belong to us.
“But be on your guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day close down upon you suddenly like a trap.
For it will overtake all who live on the face of the whole earth.
But stay alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that must happen, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Now this is the basis for judging: that the light has come into the world and people loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil.
came to Jesus at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs that you do unless God is with him.”
For everyone who does evil deeds hates the light and does not come to the light, so that their deeds will not be exposed.
But the one who practices the truth comes to the light, so that it may be plainly evident that his deeds have been done in God.
“If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me first.
If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you do not belong to the world, but I chose you out of the world, for this reason the world hates you.
but wrath and anger to those who live in selfish ambition and do not obey the truth but follow unrighteousness.
There will be affliction and distress on everyone who does evil, on the Jew first and also the Greek,
Do you not know that all the runners in a stadium compete, but only one receives the prize? So run to win.
Each competitor must exercise self-control in everything. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one.
So I do not run uncertainly or box like one who hits only air.
Instead I subdue my body and make it my slave, so that after preaching to others I myself will not be disqualified.
But I am afraid that just as the serpent deceived Eve by his treachery, your minds may be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
If I must boast, I will boast about the things that show my weakness.
The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is blessed forever, knows I am not lying.
In Damascus, the governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus in order to arrest me,
but I was let down in a rope-basket through a window in the city wall, and escaped his hands.
For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus different from the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit than the one you received, or a different gospel than the one you accepted, you put up with it well enough!
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are following a different gospel –
not that there really is another gospel, but there are some who are disturbing you and wanting to distort the gospel of Christ.
But even if we (or an angel from heaven) should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be condemned to hell!
As we have said before, and now I say again, if any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let him be condemned to hell!
Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh!
But our citizenship is in heaven – and we also await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,
who will transform these humble bodies of ours into the likeness of his glorious body by means of that power by which he is able to subject all things to himself.
For we are the circumcision, the ones who worship by the Spirit of God, exult in Christ Jesus, and do not rely on human credentials
And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your minds as expressed through your evil deeds,
but now he has reconciled you by his physical body through death to present you holy, without blemish, and blameless before him –
if indeed you remain in the faith, established and firm, without shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has also been preached in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become its servant.
See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has an evil, unbelieving heart that forsakes the living God.
But exhort one another each day, as long as it is called “Today,” that none of you may become hardened by sin’s deception.
Happy is the one who endures testing, because when he has proven to be genuine, he will receive the crown of life that God promised to those who love him.
But in fact, if you happen to suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. But do not be terrified of them or be shaken.
But set Christ apart as Lord in your hearts and always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope you possess.
Be sober and alert. Your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, is on the prowl looking for someone to devour.
Resist him, strong in your faith, because you know that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are enduring the same kinds of suffering.
Therefore, remember from what high state you have fallen and repent! Do the deeds you did at the first; if not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place – that is, if you do not repent.
“To the angel of the church in Sardis write the following: “This is the solemn pronouncement of the one who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a reputation that you are alive, but in reality you are dead.
Because you have kept my admonition to endure steadfastly, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is about to come on the whole world to test those who live on the earth.
I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have so that no one can take away your crown.
The one who conquers I will make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will never depart from it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God (the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from my God), and my new name as well.
The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write the following: “This is the solemn pronouncement of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the originator of God’s creation:
‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot!
So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of my mouth!
Because you say, “I am rich and have acquired great wealth, and need nothing,” but do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked,
take my advice and buy gold from me refined by fire so you can become rich! Buy from me white clothing so you can be clothed and your shameful nakedness will not be exposed, and buy eye salve to put on your eyes so you can see!
All those I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent!
Wake up then, and strengthen what remains that was about to die, because I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God.
Listen! I am standing at the door and knocking! If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come into his home and share a meal with him, and he with me.
I will grant the one who conquers permission to sit with me on my throne, just as I too conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.
The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
Therefore, remember what you received and heard, and obey it, and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will never know at what hour I will come against you.
I testify to the one who hears the words of the prophecy contained in this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.
And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book.
But the Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind had become great on the earth. Every inclination of the thoughts of their minds was only evil all the time.
“Whoever sheds human blood, by other humans must his blood be shed; for in God’s image God has made humankind.”
keeping loyal love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished, responding to the transgression of fathers by dealing with children and children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.”
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’
But I say to you, do not resist the evildoer. But whoever strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other to him as well.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
And if someone wants to sue you and to take your tunic, give him your coat also.
And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two.
Give to the one who asks you, and do not reject the one who wants to borrow from you.
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except by God’s appointment, and the authorities that exist have been instituted by God.
Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
And do this because we know the time, that it is already the hour for us to awake from sleep, for our salvation is now nearer than when we became believers.
The night has advanced toward dawn; the day is near. So then we must lay aside the works of darkness, and put on the weapons of light.
Let us live decently as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in discord and jealousy.
Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to arouse its desires.
So the person who resists such authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will incur judgment
(for rulers cause no fear for good conduct but for bad). Do you desire not to fear authority? Do good and you will receive its commendation,
for it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be in fear, for it does not bear the sword in vain. It is God’s servant to administer retribution on the wrongdoer.
Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of the wrath of the authorities but also because of your conscience.
The one who believes and is baptized will be saved, but the one who does not believe will be condemned.
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace but a sword.
For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law,
and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.
But the gate is narrow and the way is difficult that leads to life, and there are few who find it.