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106 Bible verses that are difficult to explain
I've found that the best way to explain something truly difficult is to have lived it firsthand. Walking the walk every day gives you the tools you need to share a message of salvation that can really reach people. There's just nothing like sharing a life-changing message that's rooted in your own experiences.
But here's the thing: it's so important to remember the role of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit has the full picture and the patience to guide us into a deeper understanding. We can't just rely on our own thinking or even other people's stories, because we might find ourselves at a loss when we try to share something we haven't truly encountered ourselves.
The Holy Spirit is ready and willing to teach us today. It's all about being open to that guidance.
For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, so that He might bring you to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;
in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison,
Again it was the day that the sons of God came to stand before Yahweh, and Satan also came among them to stand himself before Yahweh.
Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of man; and his number is 666.
Now it happened, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them,
And Noah became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Now the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.
Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.
Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and you shall cover it inside and out with pitch.
Now this is how you shall make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits.
You shall make a window for the ark, and complete it to one cubit from the top; and set the door of the ark in the side of it; you shall make it with lower, second, and third decks.
As for Me, behold I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall breathe its last.
But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you.
And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female.
that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were good in appearance; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose.
Of the birds after their kind, and of the animals after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive.
As for you, take for yourself some of all food which is edible, and gather it to yourself; and it shall be for food for you and for them.”
Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did.
Then Yahweh said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever because he indeed is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be 120 years.”
The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.
and the pig, for though it divides the hoof, thus making a split hoof, it does not chew cud; it is unclean to you.
Only in the cities of these peoples that Yahweh your God is giving you as an inheritance, you shall not leave alive anything that breathes.
But you shall devote them to destruction, the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite and the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, as Yahweh your God has commanded you,
Then Jephthah made a vow to Yahweh and said, “If You will indeed give the sons of Ammon into my hand,
then it shall be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, it shall be Yahweh’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”
And again the anger of Yahweh burned against Israel, and it incited David against them to say, “Go, number Israel and Judah.”
And he said to him, “I also am a prophet like you, and an angel spoke to me by the word of Yahweh, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’ ” But he dealt falsely with him.
But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
Then Yahweh answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,
And I placed boundaries on it And set a bolt and doors,
And I said, ‘Thus far you shall come, but no farther; And here shall your proud waves stop’?
¶“Have you ever in your life commanded the morning, And caused the dawn to know its place,
That it might seize the ends of the earth, And the wicked be shaken out of it?
“It is changed like clay under the seal; And they stand forth like clothing.
“From the wicked their light is withheld, And the arm raised high is broken.
¶“Have you entered into the springs of the sea Or walked in the recesses of the deep?
“Have the gates of death been revealed to you, Or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
“Have you carefully considered the expanse of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this.
¶“Where is the way to where the light dwells? And darkness, where is its place,
“Who is this that darkens counsel By words without knowledge?
That you may take it to its territory And that you may discern the paths to its home?
“You know, for you were born then, And the number of your days is great!
¶“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
Which I have reserved for the time of distress, For the day of war and battle?
“Where is the way that the light is divided, Or the east wind scattered on the earth?
¶“Who has cleft a conduit for the flood, Or a way for the thunderbolt,
To bring rain on a land without people, On a desert without a man in it,
To satisfy the waste and desolate land And to make the growth of grass to sprout?
“Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew?
“From whose womb has come the ice? And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth?
“Now gird up your loins like a man, And I will ask you, and you make Me know!
“Water becomes hard like stone, And the surface of the deep is interlocked.
¶“Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades, Or loose the cords of Orion?
“Can you lead forth a constellation in its season, And guide the Bear with her satellites?
“Do you know the statutes of the heavens, Or fix their rule over the earth?
¶“Can you raise your voice up to the clouds, So that an abundance of water will cover you?
“Can you send forth lightnings that they may go And say to you, ‘Here we are’?
“Who has given wisdom in the innermost being Or given understanding to the mind?
“Who can count the clouds by wisdom, Or tip the water jars of the heavens,
When the dust hardens into a mass And the clods stick together?
¶“Can you hunt the prey for the lion, Or fulfill the appetite of the young lions,
“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you know understanding,
that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were good in appearance; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose.
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the full knowledge of Him,
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, Yahweh, the Creator of the ends of the earth, Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is unsearchable.
Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Lest you yourself also be like him.
Answer a fool according to his folly, Lest he be wise in his own eyes.
For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same fate for each of them. As one dies so dies the other, and they all have the same breath. So there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is vanity.
A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
All go to the same place. All came from the dust, and all return to the dust.
Who knows that the breath of man ascends upward and the breath of the beast descends downward to the earth?
The One forming light and creating darkness, Producing peace and creating calamity; I am Yahweh who does all these.
The children gather wood, and the fathers make the fire burn, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods in order to provoke Me.
And I also gave them statutes that were not good and judgments by which they could not live;
and I pronounced them unclean because of their gifts, in that they caused all their firstborn to pass through the fire so that I might make them desolate, in order that they might know that I am Yahweh.” ’
“Seventy weeks have been determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Holy of Holies.
So you are to know and have insight that from the going out of a word to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be restored and rebuilt, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress.
Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are decreed.
And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will make sacrifice and grain offering cease; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”
But if your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
¶“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
And if your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.
“Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.
“Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.
And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.
“If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.
So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.
And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.
What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but the chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened;
just as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, Eyes to see not and ears to hear not, Down to this very day.”
Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.
But a man must test himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.
But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.
For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.
Otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them?
Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself!
Concerning this I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might leave me.
And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him in love,
For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,
For in Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.
¶And He is before all things, And in Him all things hold together.
For in the case of those once having been enlightened and having tasted of the heavenly gift and having become partakers of the Holy Spirit,
and having tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,
and having fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.
For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.
If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this.
He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments, and I will never erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sits upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.
Then I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them, and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.
Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
burn for burn, bruise for bruise, wound for wound.
“If two men, a man and his brother, are struggling together, and the wife of one comes near to deliver her husband from the hand of the one who is striking him, and she puts out her hand and seizes his genitals,
then you shall cut off her hand; you shall not show pity.
And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that Yahweh had left him.
Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that he has, and do not spare him; but put to death both man and woman, infant and nursing baby, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’ ”
As they were going along and talking, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire, and it separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven.
And Elisha was seeing this and he was crying out, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw Elijah no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.
And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked I shall return there. Yahweh gave, and Yahweh has taken away. Blessed be the name of Yahweh.”
¶For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.
I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And intricately woven in the depths of the earth;
Your eyes have seen my unshaped substance; And in Your book all of them were written The days that were formed for me, When as yet there was not one of them.
¶Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.
But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our peace fell upon Him, And by His wounds we are healed.
For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares Yahweh, ‘plans for peace and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope.
The hand of Yahweh was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of Yahweh and caused me to rest in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones.
So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great military force.
Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope has perished. We are completely cut off.’
Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel.
Then you will know that I am Yahweh, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people.
And I will put My Spirit within you, and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. Then you will know that I, Yahweh, have spoken and done it,” declares Yahweh.’ ”
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.
For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.
And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;
and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.
“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom, which has been prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;
naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’
Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?
And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?
And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’
but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps.
And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink;
I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’
Then they themselves also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’
Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’
And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
“Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day.
And he called for him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.’
But a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores,
and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores.
Now it happened that the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom, and the rich man also died and was buried.
And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and *saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom.
And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’
But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things. But now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony.
And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you are not able, and none may cross over from there to us.’
And he said, ‘Then I am asking you, father, that you send him to my father’s house—
for I have five brothers—in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
But Abraham *said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’
And the steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the stewardship away from me? I am not strong enough to dig; I am ashamed to beg.
But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’
But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’ ”
In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.
He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”
Judas (not Iscariot) *said to Him, “Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?”
Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him.
He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.
“These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you.
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.
Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.
You heard that I said to you, ‘I go away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
And when the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all together in one place.
Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the district of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,
Cretans and Arabs—we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God.”
And they all continued in astonishment and great perplexity, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”
But others, mocking, were saying, “They are full of new wine.”
But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words.
For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is the third hour of the day;
but this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, And your young men shall see visions, And your old men shall dream dreams;
Even on My male slaves and female slaves, I will in those days pour out My Spirit And they shall prophesy.
‘And I will put wonders in the sky above And signs on the earth below, Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke.
And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
‘The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood, Before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.
‘And it will be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
“Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God did through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know—
this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of lawless men and put Him to death.
But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.
For David says of Him, ‘I saw the Lord continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, so that I will not be shaken.
‘Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue exulted; Moreover my flesh also will live in hope;
Because You will not forsake my soul to Hades, Nor give Your Holy One over to see corruption.
‘You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of gladness with Your presence.’
“Men, brothers, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
And there appeared to them tongues like fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them.
And so, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to set one of the fruit of his body on his throne,
he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither forsaken to Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.
This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses.
Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this which you both see and hear.
For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand,
Until I put Your enemies as a footstool for Your feet.” ’
Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”
Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men, brothers, what should we do?”
And Peter said to them, “Repent, and each 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.
For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.
If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
not of works, so that no one may boast.
For many walk—of whom I often told you, and now tell you even crying—as enemies of the cross of Christ,
whose end is destruction, whose god is their stomach and glory is in their shame, who set their thoughts on earthly things.
But she will be saved through the bearing of children, if they continue in faith and love and sanctification with self-restraint.
And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who draws near to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.
But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to the obedience of Jesus Christ and the sprinkling of His blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.
The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;
And nothing defiled, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is lying at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”
—for you shall not worship any other god, for Yahweh, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God—
If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them.
“You shall not eat anything which dies of itself. You may give it to the sojourner who is within your gates, so that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner, for you are a holy people to Yahweh your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
Thus says Yahweh, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own household; I will even take your wives from before your sight and give them to your companion, and he will lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.
Indeed you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.’ ”
Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against Yahweh.” And Nathan said to David, “Yahweh also has taken away your sin; you shall not die.
However, because by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of Yahweh to blaspheme, the son also that is born to you shall surely die.”
Trust in Yahweh with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.
Because in much wisdom there is much vexation, and whoever increases knowledge increases pain.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares Yahweh.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.
“This edict is by the resolution of the watchers, And the decision is a command of the holy ones, In order that the living may know That the Most High is the powerful ruler over the kingdom of mankind And gives it to whom He wishes And sets up over it the lowliest of men.”
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from ministering as My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I Myself also will forget your children.
but I have hated Esau, and I have set his mountains to be a desolation and his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness.”
He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away.
But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also.
The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’
And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves *said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’
But he *said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them.
And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow;
Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”
And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Looking at them, Jesus *said, “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”
Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”
“I can do nothing from Myself. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
So then it does not depend on the one who wills or the one who runs, but on God who has mercy.
But a natural man does not accept the depths of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually examined.
And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,
in whose case the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you do not do the things that you want.
And do not participate in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead even expose them.
So, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience;
bearing with one another, and graciously forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone, just as the Lord graciously forgave you, so also should you.
Above all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;
that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,
not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God;
All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness,
so that the man of God may be equipped, having been thoroughly equipped for every good work.
who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all lawlessness, and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good works.
Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, laying aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our benefit, so that we may share His holiness.
And all discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful, but to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble,
and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.
Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord,
seeing to it that no one falls short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled;
that also there be no sexually immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal.
For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.
For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind,
and to the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words which was such that those who heard begged that no further word be spoken to them.
fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.