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102 Difficult to Interpret Bible Verses
Sometimes I find it hard to grasp everything God’s trying to tell me through the Bible. Our minds are limited, you know? But His word is so powerful, so essential. It’s the bedrock of everything.
If you’re wrestling with a passage, just take it to God. I promise you, through the Holy Spirit, He’ll give you the clarity you need. He'll light your way with wisdom and understanding, revealing the mysteries hidden within His word.
Spending quality time in the Bible is key. It’s like a mental reset button. It helps you understand what God has in store for you, and for those around you, with so much more clarity.
And no man has ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man who is in heaven.
And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
And he cried out and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness to him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them,That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took wives for themselves of all which they chose.And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for he also is flesh: yet his days shall be a hundred twenty years.There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
You shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of those who hate me;
Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
Nevertheless these shall you not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: as the camel, because he chews the cud, but does not divide the hoof; he is unclean to you.And the coney, because he chews the cud, but does not divide the hoof; he is unclean to you.And the hare, because he chews the cud, but does not divide the hoof; he is unclean to you.And the swine, though he divides the hoof, and is clovenfooted, yet he does not chew the cud; he is unclean to you.Of their flesh shall you not eat, and their carcass shall you not touch; they are unclean to you.
And the LORD said to Moses, Make a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looks upon it, shall live.And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
But it shall come to pass, if you will not listen to the voice of the LORD your God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command you this day; that all these curses shall come upon you, and overtake you:Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field.Cursed shall be your basket and your store.Cursed shall be the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your land, the increase of your cattle, and the flocks of your sheep.Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.The LORD shall send upon you cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that you set your hand to do, until you be destroyed, and until you perish quickly; because of the wickedness of your doings, whereby you have forsaken me.The LORD shall make the pestilence cling to you, until he has consumed you off of the land, to which you go to possess it.The LORD shall strike you with a wasting disease, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blight, and with mildew; and they shall pursue you until you perish.And your heaven that is over your head shall be brass, and the earth that is under you shall be iron.The LORD shall make the rain of your land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon you, until you be destroyed.The LORD shall cause you to be struck down before your enemies: you shall go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shall be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.And your carcass shall be food to all birds of the air, and to the beasts of the earth, and no man shall frighten them away.The LORD will strike you with the boil of Egypt, and with the tumor, and with the scab, and with the itch, of which you cannot be healed.The LORD shall strike you with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart:And you shall grope at noonday, as the blind gropes in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways: and you shall be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save you.You shall betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: you shall build a house, and you shall not dwell therein: you shall plant a vineyard, and shall not gather the grapes thereof.Your ox shall be slain before your eyes, and you shall not eat thereof: your donkey shall be violently taken away from before your face, and shall not be restored to you: your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and you shall have none to rescue them.Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, and your eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no might in your hand.The fruit of your land, and all your labors, shall a nation which you know not, eat up; and you shall be only oppressed and crushed always:So that you shall be mad for the sight of your eyes which you shall see.The LORD shall strike you in the knees, and in the legs, with a hurtful boil that cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the top of your head.The LORD shall bring you, and your king which you shall set over you, to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known; and there shall you serve other gods, wood and stone.And you shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a disgrace, among all nations to which the LORD shall lead you.You shall carry much seed out into the field, and shall gather but little in; for the locust shall consume it.You shall plant vineyards, and dress them, but shall neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them.You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil; for your olive shall drop its fruit.You shall beget sons and daughters, but you shall not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity.All your trees and fruit of your land shall the locust consume.The stranger that is within you shall get up above you very high; and you shall come down very low.He shall lend to you, and you shall not lend to him: he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.Moreover all these curses shall come upon you, and shall pursue you, and overtake you, till you be destroyed; because you did not listen to the voice of the LORD your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded you:And they shall be upon you for a sign and for a wonder, and upon your descendents for ever.Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things;Therefore shall you serve your enemies which the LORD shall send against you, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon your neck, until he has destroyed you.The LORD shall bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies; a nation whose tongue you shall not understand;A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favor to the young:And he shall eat the fruit of your cattle, and the fruit of your land, until you be destroyed: which also shall not leave you either grain, wine, or oil, or the increase of your cattle, or flocks of your sheep, until he has destroyed you.And he shall besiege you in all your gates, until your high and fortified walls come down, in which you trusted, throughout all your land: and he shall besiege you in all your gates throughout all your land, which the LORD your God has given you.And you shall eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and of your daughters, which the LORD your God has given you, in the siege, and in the scarcity, with which your enemies shall distress you:So that the man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which he shall leave:So that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat: because he has nothing left him in the siege, and in the scarcity, with which your enemies shall distress you in all your gates.The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not venture to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter,And toward her young one that comes out from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege and scarcity, with which your enemy shall distress you in your gates.If you will not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD your GOD;Then the LORD will make your plagues awesome, and the plagues of your descendents, even great plagues of long continuance, and severe sicknesses of long continuance.Moreover he will bring upon you all the diseases of Egypt, which you were afraid of; and they shall cling to you.Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the LORD bring upon you, until you be destroyed.And you shall be left few in number, whereas you were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God.And it shall come to pass, that as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nothing; and you shall be plucked off of the land to which you go to possess it.And the LORD shall scatter you among all people, from the one end of the earth even to the other; and there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known, even wood and stone.And among these nations shall you find no ease, neither shall the sole of your foot have rest: but the LORD shall give you there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:And your life shall hang in doubt before you; and you shall fear day and night, and shall have no assurance of your life:In the morning you shall say, Would God it were evening! and at evening you shall say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of your heart with which you shall fear, and for the sight of your eyes which you shall see.And the LORD shall bring you into Egypt again with ships, by the way of which I spoke to you, that you should see it no more again: and there you shall be sold to your enemies as male and female slaves, and no man shall buy you.
Jesus answered and said to them, You do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.
And Jesus answering said to them, Do you not therefore err, because you know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?
And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If you shall without fail deliver the children of Ammon into my hands,Then it shall be, that whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.
Thus says the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.Now go and strike Amalek, and competely destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.
And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it.And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God struck him down there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.
And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and it came between them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.And the LORD said to Satan, Where do you come from? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.And the LORD said to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that fears God, and turns away from evil?Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Does Job fear God for nothing?Have you not made a hedge around him, and around his house, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions are increased in the land.But put forth your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.And the LORD said to Satan, Behold, all that he has is in your power; only upon himself do not put forth your hand. So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.
For he supposed his people would have understood how God by his hand would deliver them: but they did not understand.
Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him.Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.
For that which befalls the sons of men befalls beasts; even one thing befalls them: as the one dies, so dies the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man has no pre-eminence over a beast: for all is vanity.All go to one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord himself sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.And one cried out to another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.Then flew one of the seraphims to me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from the altar:And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin cleansed away.Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear indeed, but understand not; and see indeed, but perceive not.Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and be healed.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
The hand of the LORD was upon me, and brought me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.And he said to me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, you know.Again he said to me, Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live:And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the LORD.So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them over: but there was no breath in them.Then said he to me, Prophesy to the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus says the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.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 is lost: as for us, we are cut off.Therefore prophesy and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,And shall put my spirit in you, and you shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall you know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, says the LORD.
Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem until the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and sixty two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troubled times.And after sixty two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince who shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and until the end of the war desolations are determined.And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that which is determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land has committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD.So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; who conceived, and bore him a son.
Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD has not done it?
He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man who is my fellow, says the LORD of hosts: strike the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn my hand to the little ones.And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, says the LORD, two parts in it shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left in it.And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will test them as gold is tested: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.
And if your right eye offends you, pluck it out, and throw it from you: for it is profitable for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should be thrown into hell.And if your right hand offends you, cut it off, and throw it from you: for it is profitable for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should be thrown into hell.
Think not that I have come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.For I have come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.And a man’s foes shall be those of his own household.
Therefore if your hand or your foot offends you, cut it off, and throw it away from you: it is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be thrown into everlasting fire.And if your eye offends you, pluck it out, and throw it away from you: it is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be thrown into hell fire.
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 into the kingdom of God.
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
And he said to them, To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but to those who are outside, all these things are done in parables:That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.
If any man comes to me, and does not hate his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:But I have prayed for you, that your faith does not fail: and when you are converted, strengthen your brethren.
Then 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 you.He who eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, has eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.He who eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, dwells in me, and I in him.As the living Father has sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eats me, even he shall live by me.This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers ate manna, and are dead: he that eats of this bread shall live for ever.
But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,And kept back part of the price, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land?While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own power? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God.And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the spirit: and great fear came on all those who heard these things.And the young men arose, wrapped him up, and carried him out, and buried him.And it was about the space of three hours later, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.And Peter said to her, Tell me whether you sold the land for so much? And she said, Yes, for so much.Then Peter said to her, How is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and shall carry you out.Then she fell down at once at his feet, and yielded up the spirit: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her out, buried her by her husband.And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.
What then? Israel has not obtained that which he seeks; but the chosen have obtained it, and the rest were blinded(According as it is written, God has given them the spirit of slumber, eyes so that they would not see, and ears so that they would not hear;) until this day.And David says, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumbling block, and a recompense to them:Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bend their backs always.
But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;And base things of the world, and things which are despised, has God chosen, yes, and things which are not, to bring to nothing things that are:That no flesh should glorify itself in his presence.
For he that eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks condemnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.
And so that I would not be exalted beyond measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to assault me, lest I should be exalted beyond measure.For this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times, that it might depart from me.And he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.Therefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then I am strong.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
For to you it is given in behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake;
Let no one beguile you of your reward in a pretended humility and worshiping of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,And not holding to the Head, from which all the body by joints and ligaments having nourishment supplied, and knit together, increases with the increase of God.
Nevertheless women shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit,And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,If they shall fall away, to renew them again to repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
By which also he went and preached to the spirits in prison;Which at one time were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being built, in which a few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
If anyone sees his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for those who do not sin unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he should pray for it.
I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot: I would that you were cold or hot.So then because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth.
And all who dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, to the third and to the fourth generation.
The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.
If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have disciplined him, will not listen to them:Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out to the elders of his city, and to the gate of his place;And they shall say to the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, so that he dies: so shall you put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.
But the men would not listen to him: so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth to them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to dawn, they let her go.Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her lord was, till it was light.And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way: and, behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, and her hands were upon the threshold.And he said to her, Up, and let us be going. But no one answered. Then the man took her up upon a donkey, and the man rose up, and went to his place.And when he had come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, together with her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the territory of Israel.And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt until this day: consider it, take counsel, and speak your minds.
And it came to pass one evening, that David arose from his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bath-sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned to her house.And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.
Then two women came there, that were harlots, to the king, and stood before him.And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house.And it came to pass the third day after I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also: and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, except we two in the house.And this woman’s child died in the night; because she laid on it.And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while your handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear.And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is your son. And this one said, No; but the dead is your son, and the living is my son. Thus they spoke before the king.Then said the king, The one says, This is my son that lives, and your son is the dead one: and the other says, Nay; but your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.Then spoke the woman whose the living child was to the king, for her heart yearned over her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and surely do not slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor yours, but divide it.Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and surely do not slay it: she is the mother thereof.And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.
And he went up from there to Bethel: and as he was going up on the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said to him, Go up, you bald head; go up, you bald head.And he turned back, and looked at them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tore forty two children of them.
Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.He comes forth like a flower, and is cut down: he flees also as a shadow, and does not continue.
The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pierced in my mind.So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before you.
For you have possessed my inward parts: you have covered me in my mother’s womb.I will praise you; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are your works; and that my soul knows right well.
Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all your getting get understanding.
Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.What profit has a man from all his labor which he does under the sun?
And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear indeed, but understand not; and see indeed, but perceive not.Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and be healed.
But though he causes grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.For he does not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.
Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD! to what purpose is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light,As if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?
There was a certain rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and lived luxuriously every day:And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, who was laid at his gate, full of sores,And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.And he cried out and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.But Abraham said, Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and you are tormented.And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that those who would pass from here to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, who would come from there.Then he said, I pray you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house:For I have five brothers; that he may testify to them, so that they do not also come into this place of torment.Abraham said to him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.And he said, No, father Abraham: but if one went to them from the dead, they would repent.And he said to him, If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.He that believes in him is not condemned: but he that does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
And has made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to selection might stand, not because of works, but because of him that calls;)It was said to her, The elder shall serve the younger.As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?Or who has first given to him, and it shall be recompensed to him again?For from him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
But as it is written, Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love him.
Otherwise what shall they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead do not rise at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead?
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
According as he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and consider them but filthy garbage, that I may win Christ,And be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell;And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things to himself; by him, I say, whether they are things on earth, or things in heaven.
For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction comes upon them, as birth labor upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was revealed in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached to the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
Study to show yourself approved to God, a workman that does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision:Whose mouths must be stopped, who corrupt whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for unjust gain’s sake.
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people; that you should show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:
He who overcomes, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
And I saw a great white throne, and him who sat on it, from whose face earth and heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every one according to their works.And death and hell were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death.And whoever was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things have passed away.
For I testify to every person that hears the words of the prophecy of this book, If anyone shall add to these things, God shall add to him the plagues that are written in this book:And if anyone shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.