# verses

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<J>"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.</J>


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<J>I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.</J>


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<J>"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.</J>


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<J>For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;</J>


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<J>and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.</J>


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<J>But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.</J>


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<J>So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.</J>


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<J>"Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time?</J>


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<J>But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, 'My master is staying away a long time,'</J>


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<J>The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of.</J>


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<J>He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.</J>


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<J>"At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.</J>


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<J>"'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'</J>


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<J>"But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.</J>


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<J>"Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them.</J>


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<J>To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.</J>


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<J>The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more.</J>


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<J>But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.</J>


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<J>The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.'</J>


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<J>"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'</J>


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<J>"The man with the two talents also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.'</J>


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<J>"Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.</J>


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<J>So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'</J>


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<J>"His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?</J>


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<J>Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.</J>


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<J>For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.</J>


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<J>And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'</J>


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<J>"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.</J>


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<J>All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.</J>


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<J>"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.</J>


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<J>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,</J>


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<J>I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'</J>


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<J>"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?</J>


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<J>"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'</J>


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<J>"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.</J>


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<J>For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,</J>


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<J>I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'</J>


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<J>"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'</J>


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<J>"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'</J>


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"<J>As you know, the Passover is two days away - and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.</J>"


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Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas,


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a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.


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Aware of this, Jesus said to them, "<J>Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me.</J>


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<J>I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.</J>"


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and asked, "What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?" So they counted out for him thirty silver coins.


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On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?"


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He replied, "<J>Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, 'The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.'</J>"


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<J>The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.</J>"


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Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, "Surely not I, Rabbi?" Jesus answered, "<J>Yes, it is you.</J>"


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While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "<J>Take and eat; this is my body.</J>"


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Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "<J>Drink from it, all of you.</J>


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<J>I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom.</J>"


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Then Jesus told them, "<J>This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: "'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'</J>


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"<J>I tell you the truth,</J>" Jesus answered, "<J>this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.</J>"


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But Peter declared, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you." And all the other disciples said the same.


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Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "<J>Sit here while I go over there and pray.</J>"


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He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled.


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Then he said to them, "<J>My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.</J>"


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Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "<J>My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.</J>"


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Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "<J>Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?</J>" he asked Peter.


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"<J>Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.</J>"


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He went away a second time and prayed, "<J>My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.</J>"


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Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "<J>Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.</J>


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While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people.


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Jesus replied, "<J>Friend, do what you came for.</J>" Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him.


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With that, one of Jesus' companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.


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"<J>Put your sword back in its place,</J>" Jesus said to him, "<J>for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.</J>


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<J>Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?</J>


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At that time Jesus said to the crowd, "<J>Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest me.</J>


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<J>But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled."</J> Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.


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Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had assembled.


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But Peter followed him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. He entered and sat down with the guards to see the outcome.


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The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death.


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and declared, "This fellow said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.'"


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Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, "Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?"


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But Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to him, "I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God."


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"<J>Yes, it is as you say</J>," Jesus replied. "<J>But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.</J>"


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Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy.


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Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. "You also were with Jesus of Galilee," she said.


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Then he went out to the gateway, where another girl saw him and said to the people there, "This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth."


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After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, "Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away."


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Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, "I don't know the man!" Immediately a rooster crowed.


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Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: "<J>Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.</J>" And he went outside and wept bitterly.


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Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to death.


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When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders.


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"I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood." "What is that to us?" they replied. "That's your responsibility."


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The chief priests picked up the coins and said, "It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money."


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Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: "They took the thirty silver coins, the price set on him by the people of Israel,


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Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" "<J>Yes, it is as you say,</J>" Jesus replied.


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So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, "Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?"


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While Pilate was sitting on the judge's seat, his wife sent him this message: "Don't have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him."


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But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.


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"What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?" Pilate asked. They all answered, "Crucify him!"


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When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. "I am innocent of this man's blood," he said. "It is your responsibility!"


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Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him.


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and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said.


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After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.


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As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross.


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There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it.


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and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!"


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"He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.


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About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "<J>Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?</J>" - which means, "<J>My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?</J>"


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Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink.


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At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split.


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They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.


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When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!"


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Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs.


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Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons.


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As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus.


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and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.


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"Sir," they said, "we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, '<J>After three days I will rise again.</J>'


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So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first."


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After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.


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There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.


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The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.


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Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."


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Suddenly Jesus met them. "<J>Greetings,</J>" he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.


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Then Jesus said to them, "<J>Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.</J>"


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While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened.


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When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money,


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telling them, "You are to say, 'His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.'


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So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.


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Then Jesus came to them and said, "<J>All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.</J>


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<J>Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,</J>


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<J>and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.</J>"


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It is written in Isaiah the prophet: "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way"-


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"a voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'"


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And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.


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The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.


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John wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.


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And this was his message: "After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.


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As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.


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and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.


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"<J>The time has come</J>," he said. "<J>The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!</J>"


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As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.


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When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets.


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Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.


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They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach.


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The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.


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"What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are - the Holy One of God!"


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The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching - and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him."


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So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.


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and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.


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Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.


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Jesus replied, "<J>Let us go somewhere else - to the nearby villages - so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.</J>"


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A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean."


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Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "<J>I am willing,</J>" he said. "<J>Be clean!</J>"


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"<J>See that you don't tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.</J>"


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Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.


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So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them.


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Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on.


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Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, "<J>Why are you thinking these things?</J>


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<J>Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'?</J>


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<J>But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins....</J>" He said to the paralytic,


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He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"


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As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.


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While Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.


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When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the "sinners" and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: "Why does he eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"


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On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "<J>It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.</J>"


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Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, "How is it that John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?"


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Jesus answered, "<J>How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them.</J>


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<J>But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.</J>


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"<J>No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse.</J>


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<J>And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins.</J>"


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One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain.


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He answered, "<J>Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need?</J>


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<J>In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.</J>"


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Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath.


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Then Jesus asked them, "<J>Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?</J>" But they remained silent.


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He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "<J>Stretch out your hand.</J>" He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.


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When they heard all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon.


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Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him.


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Whenever the evil spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, "You are the Son of God."


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He appointed twelve - designating them apostles - that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach


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James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder);


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Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat.


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When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind."


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And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebub! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons."


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<J>In fact, no one can enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house.</J>


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<J>But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.</J>"


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A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, "Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you."


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Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "<J>Here are my mother and my brothers!</J>


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Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water's edge.


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<J>Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.</J>


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<J>Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times."</J>


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He told them, "<J>The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables</J>


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<J>so that, "'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'"</J>


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Then Jesus said to them, "<J>Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?</J>


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<J>Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.</J>


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<J>But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.</J>


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<J>but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.</J>


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<J>Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop - thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown."</J>


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He said to them, "<J>Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don't you put it on its stand?</J>


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<J>For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.</J>


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<J>"Consider carefully what you hear,</J>" he continued. "<J>With the measure you use, it will be measured to you - and even more.</J>


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<J>Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him."</J>


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<J>Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.</J>


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<J>All by itself the soil produces grain - first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.</J>


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Again he said, "<J>What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it?</J>


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<J>Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade."</J>


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He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.


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Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him.


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Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"


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He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "<J>Quiet! Be still!</J>" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.


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For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him.


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He shouted at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won't torture me!"


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Then Jesus asked him, "<J>What is your name?</J>" "My name is Legion," he replied, "for we are many."


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He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.


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Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened.


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When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.


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Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man - and told about the pigs as well.


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Jesus did not let him, but said, "<J>Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.</J>"


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So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.


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When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake.


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and pleaded earnestly with him, "My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live."


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She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.


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At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "<J>Who touched my clothes?</J>"


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"You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, '<J>Who touched me?</J>'"


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Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth.


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He said to her, "<J>Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.</J>"


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While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," they said. "Why bother the teacher any more?"


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When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly.


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He went in and said to them, "<J>Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.</J>"


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But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child's father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was.


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He took her by the hand and said to her, "<J>Talitha koum!</J>" (which means, "<J>Little girl, I say to you, get up!</J>").


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Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished.


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He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.


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When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. "Where did this man get these things?" they asked. "What's this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles!


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Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him.


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Jesus said to them, "<J>Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor.</J>"


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These were his instructions: "Take nothing for the journey except a staff - no bread, no bag, no money in your belts.


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<J>And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them.</J>"


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King Herod heard about this, for Jesus' name had become well known. Some were saying, "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him."


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Others said, "He is Elijah." And still others claimed, "He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago."


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For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, whom he had married.


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because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him.


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Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.


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When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the girl, "Ask me for anything you want, and I'll give it to you."


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She went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?" "The head of John the Baptist," she answered.


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At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: "I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter."


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The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her.


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So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison,


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Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "<J>Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.</J>"


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But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.


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When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.


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By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. "This is a remote place," they said, "and it's already very late.


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Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat."


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But he answered, "You give them something to eat." They said to him, "That would take eight months of a man's wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?"


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"<J>How many loaves do you have?</J>" he asked. "Go and see." When they found out, they said, "Five - and two fish."


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Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all.


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Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.


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He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them,


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because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, "<J>Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid.</J>"


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And wherever he went - into villages, towns or countryside - they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed.


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The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and


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(The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders.


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When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.)


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So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, "Why don't your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with 'unclean' hands?"


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He replied, "<J>Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: "'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.</J>


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And he said to them: "<J>You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!</J>


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<J>For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.'</J>


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<J>But you say that if a man says to his father or mother: 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is Corban'</J> (that is, a gift devoted to God),


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<J>Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that."</J>


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<J>Nothing outside a man can make him 'unclean' by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him 'unclean.'"</J>


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"<J>Are you so dull?</J>" he asked. "<J>Don't you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him 'unclean'?</J>


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<J>For it doesn't go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body.</J>" (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods "clean.")


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<J>For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,</J>


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Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret.


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In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an evil spirit came and fell at his feet.


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The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.


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"<J>First let the children eat all they want,</J>" he told her, "<J>for it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs.</J>"


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Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis.


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There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand on the man.


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After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man's ears. Then he spit and touched the man's tongue.


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He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, "<J>Ephphatha!</J>" (which means, "<J>Be opened!</J>").


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Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it.


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People were overwhelmed with amazement. "He has done everything well," they said. "He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."


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During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said,


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"<J>I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat.</J>


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<J>If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.</J>"


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He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people, and they did so.


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They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them.


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The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.


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He sighed deeply and said, "<J>Why does this generation ask for a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given to it.</J>"


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"Be careful," Jesus warned them. "<J>Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.</J>"


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Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: "<J>Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened?</J>


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<J>When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?" "Twelve," they replied.</J>


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"<J>And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?</J>" They answered, "Seven."


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He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, "<J>Do you see anything?</J>"


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Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.


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Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, "<J>Who do people say I am?</J>"


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They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets."


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He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.


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But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. "Get behind me, Satan!" he said. "<J>You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.</J>"


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Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "<J>If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.</J>


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<J>For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.</J>


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<J>If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels.</J>"


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And he said to them, "<J>I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.</J>"


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After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them.


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Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters - one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah."


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Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: "This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!"


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As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.


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Jesus replied, "<J>To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected?</J>


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<J>But I tell you, Elijah has come, and they have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him.</J>"


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When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them.


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A man in the crowd answered, "Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech.


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Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not."


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"<J>O unbelieving generation,</J>" Jesus replied, "<J>how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me</J>."


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So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.


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Jesus asked the boy's father, "<J>How long has he been like this?" "From childhood," he answered.</J>


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"It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us."


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When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. "<J>You deaf and mute spirit,</J>" he said, "<J>I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.</J>"


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The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, "He's dead."


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because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, "<J>The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.</J>"


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They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, "<J>What were you arguing about on the road?</J>"


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Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "<J>If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.</J>"


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"<J>Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.</J>"


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"Teacher," said John, "we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us."


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"<J>Do not stop him,</J>" Jesus said. "<J>No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me,</J>


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<J>I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.</J>


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<J>"And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck.</J>


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<J>If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.</J>


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<J>And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell.</J>


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<J>And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell,</J>


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<J>"Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other."</J>


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Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them.


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He answered, "<J>Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her.</J>


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People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them.


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When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "<J>Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.</J>


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<J>I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.</J>"


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As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"


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<J>You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.'</J>"


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Jesus looked at him and loved him. "<J>One thing you lack,</J>" he said. "<J>Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.</J>"


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Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "<J>How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!</J>"


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The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, "<J>Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!</J>


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<J>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.</J>"


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Jesus looked at them and said, "<J>With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.</J>"


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"<J>I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel</J>


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<J>will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields - and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life.</J>


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They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him.


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"<J>We are going up to Jerusalem,</J>" he said, "<J>and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles,</J>


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Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. "Teacher," they said, "we want you to do for us whatever we ask."


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"<J>You don't know what you are asking,</J>" Jesus said. "<J>Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?</J>"


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"We can," they answered. Jesus said to them, "<J>You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with,</J>


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<J>but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.</J>"


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Jesus called them together and said, "<J>You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.</J>


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<J>For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.</J>"


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Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging.


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When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"


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Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"


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Jesus stopped and said, "<J>Call him.</J>" So they called to the blind man, "Cheer up! On your feet! He's calling you."


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"<J>What do you want me to do for you?</J>" Jesus asked him. The blind man said, "Rabbi, I want to see."


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"<J>Go,</J>" said Jesus, "<J>your faith has healed you.</J>" Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.


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As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples,


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saying to them, "<J>Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.</J>


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<J>If anyone asks you, 'Why are you doing this?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.'</J>"


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Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields.


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Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, "Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"


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Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.


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Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs.


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Then he said to the tree, "<J>May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard him say it.</J>


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On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves,


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And as he taught them, he said, "<J>Is it not written: "'My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it 'a den of robbers.'</J>"


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The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.


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"<J>I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.</J>


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<J>Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.</J>


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<J>And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.</J>"


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They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him.


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"By what authority are you doing these things?" they asked. "And who gave you authority to do this?"


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Jesus replied, "<J>I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things.</J>


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They discussed it among themselves and said, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will ask, 'Then why didn't you believe him?'


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But if we say, 'From men'...." (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.)


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So they answered Jesus, "We don't know." Jesus said, "<J>Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.</J>"


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He then began to speak to them in parables: "<J>A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey.</J>


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<J>At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.</J>


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<J>Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully.</J>


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<J>He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.</J>


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<J>"He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, 'They will respect my son.'</J>


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<J>"But the tenants said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'</J>


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<J>"What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.</J>


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Then they looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.


text:
They came to him and said, "Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?


text:
Should we pay or shouldn't we?" But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. "<J>Why are you trying to trap me?" he asked. "Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.</J>"


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They brought the coin, and he asked them, "<J>Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?</J>" "Caesar's," they replied.


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Then Jesus said to them, "<J>Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's.</J>" And they were amazed at him.


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"Teacher," they said, "Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and have children for his brother.


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The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third.


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Jesus replied, "<J>Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?</J>


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<J>When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.</J>


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<J>Now about the dead rising - have you not read in the book of Moses, in the account of the bush, how God said to him, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?</J>


text:
One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"


text:
"<J>The most important one,</J>" answered Jesus, "<J>is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.</J>


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<J>Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'</J>


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<J>The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these.</J>"


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"Well said, teacher," the man replied. "You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him.


text:
To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."


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When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, "<J>You are not far from the kingdom of God." And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.</J>


text:
While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, "<J>How is it that the teachers of the law say that the Christ is the son of David?</J>


text:
<J>David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared: "'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.</J>" '


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<J>David himself calls him 'Lord.' How then can he be his son?</J>" The large crowd listened to him with delight.


text:
As he taught, Jesus said, "<J>Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted in the marketplaces,</J>


text:
<J>They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely.</J>"


text:
Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts.


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Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "<J>I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.</J>


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<J>They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything - all she had to live on.</J>"


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As he was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!"


text:
"<J>Do you see all these great buildings?</J>" replied Jesus. "<J>Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.</J>"


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As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately,


text:
"Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?"


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<J>When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.</J>


text:
<J>Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.</J>


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<J>"You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them.</J>


text:
<J>Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.</J>


text:
<J>"Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.</J>


text:
<J>"When you see 'the abomination that causes desolation' standing where it does not belong - let the reader understand - then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.</J>


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<J>because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now - and never to be equaled again.</J>


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<J>If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them.</J>


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<J>At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'Look, there he is!' do not believe it.</J>


text:
<J>For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect - if that were possible.</J>


text:
<J>"But in those days, following that distress, "'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light;</J>


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<J>And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.</J>


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<J>It's like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.</J>


text:
<J>"Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back - whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn.</J>


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Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill him.


text:
While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.


text:
It could have been sold for more than a year's wages and the money given to the poor." And they rebuked her harshly.


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"<J>Leave her alone,</J>" said Jesus. "<J>Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.</J>


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<J>The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me.</J>


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<J>I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.</J>"


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They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.


text:
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus' disciples asked him, "Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?"


text:
So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, "<J>Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him.</J>


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<J>Say to the owner of the house he enters, 'The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?'</J>


text:
The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.


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While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, "<J>I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me - one who is eating with me.</J>"


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While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "<J>Take it; this is my body.</J>"


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"<J>I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God.</J>"


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"<J>You will all fall away</J>," Jesus told them, "for it is written: "<J>'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.'</J>


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"<J>I tell you the truth,</J>" Jesus answered, "<J>today - yes, tonight - before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times.</J>"


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But Peter insisted emphatically, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you." And all the others said the same.


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They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, "<J>Sit here while I pray.</J>"


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"<J>My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," he said to them. "Stay here and keep watch.</J>"


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Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him.


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"<J>Abba, Father,</J>" he said, "<J>everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.</J>"


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Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "<J>Simon,</J>" he said to Peter, "<J>are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour?</J>


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<J>Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.</J>"


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When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.


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Returning the third time, he said to them, "<J>Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.</J>


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Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders.


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Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: "The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard."


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Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.


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"<J>Am I leading a rebellion,</J>" said Jesus, "<J>that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me?</J>


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<J>Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.</J>"


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They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, elders and teachers of the law came together.


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Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire.


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The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any.


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"We heard him say, 'I will destroy this man-made temple and in three days will build another, not made by man.'"


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Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, "Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?"


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But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?"


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"<J>I am,</J>" said Jesus. "<J>And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.</J>"


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Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, "Prophesy!" And the guards took him and beat him.


text:
When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him. "You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus," she said.


text:
But he denied it. "I don't know or understand what you're talking about," he said, and went out into the entryway.


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When the servant girl saw him there, she said again to those standing around, "This fellow is one of them."


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Again he denied it. After a little while, those standing near said to Peter, "Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean."


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He began to call down curses on himself, and he swore to them, "I don't know this man you're talking about."


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Immediately the rooster crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: "<J>Before the rooster crows twice you will disown me three times.</J>" And he broke down and wept.


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Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, reached a decision. They bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.


text:
So again Pilate asked him, "Aren't you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of."


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A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising.


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Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.


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The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers.


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Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him.


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And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.


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A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross.


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Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, "So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days,


text:
In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself!


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Let this Christ, this King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe." Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.


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And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "<J>Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?</J>" - which means, "<J>My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?</J>"


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One man ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to take him down," he said.


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And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, "Surely this man was the Son of God!"


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Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome.


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In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.


text:
Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body.


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Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died.


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So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.


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When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body.


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As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.


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"Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.


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But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.'"


text:
Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.


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The most reliable early manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not have Mark:-. When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.


text:
Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.


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<J>Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.</J>


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<J>And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;</J>


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<J>they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.</J>"


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After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God.


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Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.


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just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word.


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Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,


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In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron.


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Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly.


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he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.


text:
And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.


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But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.


text:
for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth.


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And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous - to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."


text:
Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years."


text:
The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.


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And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time."


text:
When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.


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"The Lord has done this for me," she said. "In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people."


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to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary.


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He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,


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The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.


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Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.


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"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.


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When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.


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In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!


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for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed,


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He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.


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On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah,


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The neighbors were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things.


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Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, "What then is this child going to be?" For the Lord's hand was with him.


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And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,


text:
to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace."


text:
And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the desert until he appeared publicly to Israel.


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In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.


text:
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.


text:
He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.


text:
and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.


text:
An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.


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But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.


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When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."


text:
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.


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On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.


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When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord


text:
and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons."


text:
Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.


text:
It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ.


text:
Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required,


text:
Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against,


text:
There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,


text:
and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.


text:
Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.


text:
When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth.


text:
After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it.


text:
Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends.


text:
After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.


text:
When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you."


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"<J>Why were you searching for me?</J>" he asked. "<J>Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?</J>"


text:
Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.


text:
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar - when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene - 


text:
during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.


text:
He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.


text:
As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.


text:
Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth.


text:
John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?


text:
Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.


text:
The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."


text:
John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same."


text:
Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?" He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely - be content with your pay."


text:
The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ.


text:
John answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.


text:
His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."


text:
But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of Herodias, his brother's wife, and all the other evil things he had done,


text:
When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened


text:
and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."


text:
Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli,


text:
where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.


text:
And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to.


text:
The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here.


text:
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.


text:
He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read.


text:
The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:


text:
"<J>The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed,</J>


text:
Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him,


text:
All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. "Isn't this Joseph's son?" they asked.


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Jesus said to them, "<J>Surely you will quote this proverb to me: 'Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.'</J>"


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<J>I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land.</J>


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<J>And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed - only Naaman the Syrian.</J>"


text:
They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff.


text:
In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice,


text:
"Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are - the Holy One of God!"


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"<J>Be quiet!</J>" Jesus said sternly. "<J>Come out of him!</J>" Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.


text:
All the people were amazed and said to each other, "<J>What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!</J>"


text:
Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her.


text:
So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.


text:
When the sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them.


text:
Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ.


text:
At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them.


text:
But he said, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent."


text:
One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God,


text:
He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.


text:
When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "<J>Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.</J>"


text:
Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets."


text:
So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.


text:
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!"


text:
and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, "<J>Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men.</J>"


text:
While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean."


text:
Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "<J>I am willing,</J>" he said. "<J>Be clean!</J>" And immediately the leprosy left him.


text:
<J>Then Jesus ordered him, "Don't tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.</J>"


text:
Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses.


text:
One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick.


text:
Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus.


text:
When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.


text:
The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, "Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"


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Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, "<J>Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?</J>


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<J>But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins....</J>" He said to the paralyzed man, "<J>I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.</J>"


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Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God.


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Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, "We have seen remarkable things today."


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After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "<J>Follow me,</J>" Jesus said to him,


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Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.


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But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"


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They said to him, "John's disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking."


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<J>But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.</J>"


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He told them this parable: "<J>No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old.</J>


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<J>And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined.</J>


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One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels.


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Jesus answered them, "<J>Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?</J>


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<J>He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.</J>"


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On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled.


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The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath.


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But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, "<J>Get up and stand in front of everyone.</J>" So he got up and stood there.


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Then Jesus said to them, "<J>I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?</J>"


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He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, "<J>Stretch out your hand.</J>" He did so, and his hand was completely restored.


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When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles:


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He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon,


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who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil spirits were cured,


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Looking at his disciples, he said: "<J>Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.</J>


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<J>Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.</J>


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<J>Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.</J>


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<J>"Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.</J>


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<J>Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.</J>


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<J>Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.</J>


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<J>If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic.</J>


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<J>Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.</J>


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<J>"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them.</J>


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<J>And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that.</J>


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<J>And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full.</J>


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<J>But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.</J>


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<J>"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.</J>


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<J>Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."</J>


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<J>He also told them this parable: "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?</J>


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<J>A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.</J>


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<J>How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.</J>


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<J>Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers.</J>


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<J>The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.</J>


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<J>I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice.</J>


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<J>He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.</J>


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<J>But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete."</J>


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The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant.


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So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: "Lord, don't trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof.


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That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.


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When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, "<J>I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.</J>"


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Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him.


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As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out - the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her.


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Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, "<J>Young man, I say to you, get up!</J>"


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They were all filled with awe and praised God. "A great prophet has appeared among us," they said. "God has come to help his people."


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he sent them to the Lord to ask, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"


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When the men came to Jesus, they said, "John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, 'Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?'"


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At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind.


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So he replied to the messengers, "<J>Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.</J>


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After John's messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: "What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind?


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<J>If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in palaces.</J>


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<J>I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he."</J>


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(All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus' words, acknowledged that God's way was right, because they had been baptized by John.


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But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God's purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.)


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<J>They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other: "'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not cry.'</J>


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<J>For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.'</J>


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<J>The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners." '</J>


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Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table.


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When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume,


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and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.


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When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is - that she is a sinner."


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"<J>Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.</J>


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<J>Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?</J>"


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Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled." "<J>You have judged correctly,</J>" Jesus said.


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Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "<J>Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.</J>


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<J>You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet.</J>


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<J>Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven - for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.</J>"


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After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him,


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and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out;


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Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod's household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.


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While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable:


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<J>"A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up.</J>


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<J>Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.</J>" When he said this, he called out, "<J>He who has ears to hear, let him hear."</J>


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He said, "<J>The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, "'though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.'</J>


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<J>Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.</J>


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<J>Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.</J>


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<J>The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.</J>


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<J>But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.</J>


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<J>"No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light.</J>


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<J>For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.</J>


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<J>Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him."</J>


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Now Jesus' mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd.


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One day Jesus said to his disciples, "<J>Let's go over to the other side of the lake.</J>" So they got into a boat and set out.


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As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.


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The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we're going to drown!" He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm.


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"<J>Where is your faith?</J>" he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him."


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When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs.


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When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don't torture me!"


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For Jesus had commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.


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Jesus asked him, "<J>What is your name?</J>" "Legion," he replied, because many demons had gone into him.


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A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into them, and he gave them permission.


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When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.


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When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside,


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and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus' feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.


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Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left.


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"<J>Return home and tell how much God has done for you.</J>" So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.


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Then a man named Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, came and fell at Jesus' feet, pleading with him to come to his house


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because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying. As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him.


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"<J>Who touched me?</J>" Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, "Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you."


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Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed.


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While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," he said. "Don't bother the teacher any more."


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When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child's father and mother.


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Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. "<J>Stop wailing,</J>" Jesus said. "<J>She is not dead but asleep.</J>"


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When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases,


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He told them: "<J>Take nothing for the journey - no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic.</J>


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<J>If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against them.</J>"


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So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.


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Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed, because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead,


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others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life.


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But Herod said, "I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?" And he tried to see him.


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When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida,


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but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.


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Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, "Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here."


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He replied, "<J>You give them something to eat.</J>" They answered, "We have only five loaves of bread and two fish - unless we go and buy food for all this crowd."


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(About five thousand men were there.) But he said to his disciples, "<J>Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.</J>"


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Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the people.


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Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, "<J>Who do the crowds say I am?</J>"


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They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life."


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And he said, "<J>The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.</J>"


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Then he said to them all: "<J>If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.</J>


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<J>For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.</J>


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<J>If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.</J>


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<J>I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.</J>"


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About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray.


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As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.


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appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.


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Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.


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As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, "Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters - one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." (He did not know what he was saying.)


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While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.


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When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves, and told no one at that time what they had seen.


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A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him.


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"<J>O unbelieving and perverse generation,</J>" Jesus replied, "<J>how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.</J>"


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Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the evil spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father.


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And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus did, he said to his disciples,


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"<J>Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men.</J>"


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But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.


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Then he said to them, "<J>Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least among you all - he is the greatest.</J>"


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"Master," said John, "we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us."


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When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?"


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He said to another man, "<J>Follow me.</J>" But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."


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Jesus said to him, "<J>Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.</J>"


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Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family."


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Jesus replied, "<J>No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.</J>"


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After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.


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He told them, "<J>The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.</J>


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<J>Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.</J>


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<J>'Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.'</J>


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<J>"Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.</J>


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<J>"He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me."</J>


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<J>I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.</J>


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<J>However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."</J>


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At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, "<J>I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.</J>


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<J>"All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."</J>


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Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, "<J>Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.</J>


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<J>For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it."</J>


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On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"


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He answered: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"


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In reply Jesus said: "<J>A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.</J>


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<J>A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.</J>


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<J>But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.</J>


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<J>He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him.</J>


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<J>The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'</J>


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<J>"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"</J>


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The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "<J>Go and do likewise.</J>"


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As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.


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But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"


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<J>but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.</J>"


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One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples."


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<J>Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.'"</J>


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Then he said to them, "<J>Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,</J>


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<J>"Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.'</J>


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<J>I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.</J>


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<J>"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.</J>


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<J>If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"</J>


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Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed.


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Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: "<J>Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall.</J>


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<J>If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebub.</J>


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<J>Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges.</J>


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<J>But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up the spoils.</J>


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<J>"When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.'</J>


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<J>Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first."</J>


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As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, "Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you."


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As the crowds increased, Jesus said, "<J>This is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.</J>


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<J>The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here.</J>


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<J>"No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead he puts it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light.</J>


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<J>Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness.</J>


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<J>Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you."</J>


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When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table.


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Then the Lord said to him, "<J>Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.</J>


text:
<J>"Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.</J>


text:
<J>"Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.</J>


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One of the experts in the law answered him, "Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also."


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Jesus replied, "<J>And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.</J>


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<J>"Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your forefathers who killed them.</J>


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<J>So you testify that you approve of what your forefathers did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs.</J>


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<J>Because of this, God in his wisdom said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.'</J>


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<J>Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world,</J>


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<J>from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.</J>


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<J>"Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering."</J>


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When Jesus left there, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions,


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Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: "<J>Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.</J>


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<J>There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.</J>


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<J>What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.</J>


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<J>"I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.</J>


text:
<J>But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.</J>


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<J>Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.</J>


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<J>"I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God.</J>


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<J>And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.</J>


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<J>"When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say,</J>


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Then he said to them, "<J>Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."</J>


text:
<J>"Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.</J>


text:
<J>And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." '</J>


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<J>"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'</J>


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<J>"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."</J>


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Then Jesus said to his disciples: "<J>Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear.</J>


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<J>Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!</J>


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<J>"Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.</J>


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<J>If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!</J>


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<J>Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.</J>


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<J>like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him.</J>


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<J>It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them.</J>


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<J>It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night.</J>


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<J>But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.</J>


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<J>You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."</J>


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The Lord answered, "<J>Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time?</J>


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<J>But suppose the servant says to himself, 'My master is taking a long time in coming,' and he then begins to beat the menservants and maidservants and to eat and drink and get drunk.</J>


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<J>The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.</J>


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<J>"That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows.</J>


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<J>But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.</J>


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<J>From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three.</J>


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<J>They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."</J>


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<J>He said to the crowd: "When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, 'It's going to rain,' and it does.</J>


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<J>Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don't know how to interpret this present time?</J>


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<J>As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be reconciled to him on the way, or he may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison.</J>


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Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.


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Jesus answered, "<J>Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way?</J>


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<J>Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them - do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?</J>


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Then he told this parable: "<J>A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any.</J>


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<J>So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?'</J>


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<J>"'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it.</J>


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and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all.


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When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, "<J>Woman, you are set free from your infirmity."</J>


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Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, "There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath."


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The Lord answered him, "<J>You hypocrites! Doesn't each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?</J>


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<J>Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?"</J>


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When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.


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<J>It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches."</J>


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<J>It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough."</J>


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<J>"Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.</J>


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<J>Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Sir, open the door for us.' "But he will answer, 'I don't know you or where you come from.'</J>


text:
<J>"But he will reply, 'I don't know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!'</J>


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<J>"There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out.</J>


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<J>People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.</J>


text:
<J>At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, "Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you."</J>


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He replied, "<J>Go tell that fox, 'I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.'</J>


text:
<J>In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day - for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!</J>


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<J>"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!</J>


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<J>Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'"</J>


text:
One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched.


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Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, "<J>Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?"</J>


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Then he asked them, "<J>If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?"</J>


text:
<J>"When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited.</J>


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<J>If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, 'Give this man your seat.' Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place.</J>


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<J>But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests.</J>


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<J>For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."</J>


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Then Jesus said to his host, "<J>When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid.</J>


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<J>and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."</J>


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When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God."


text:
<J>At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.'</J>


text:
<J>"But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.'</J>


text:
<J>"Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.'</J>


text:
<J>"The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.'</J>


text:
<J>"Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.</J>


text:
<J>"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters - yes, even his own life - he cannot be my disciple.</J>


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<J>"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?</J>


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<J>For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him,</J>


text:
<J>"Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand?</J>


text:
<J>If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.</J>


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<J>It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."</J>


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But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."


text:
<J>"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?</J>


text:
<J>and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.'</J>


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<J>I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.</J>


text:
<J>"Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?</J>


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<J>And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.'</J>


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<J>In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."</J>


text:
<J>The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.</J>


text:
<J>"Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.</J>


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<J>After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.</J>


text:
<J>So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.</J>


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<J>He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.</J>


text:
<J>"When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!</J>


text:
<J>I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.</J>


text:
<J>So he got up and went to his father. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.</J>


text:
<J>"The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'</J>


text:
<J>"But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.</J>


text:
<J>For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.</J>


text:
<J>"Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing.</J>


text:
<J>'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.'</J>


text:
<J>"The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him.</J>


text:
<J>But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.</J>


text:
<J>But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'</J>


text:
<J>But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'"</J>


text:
Jesus told his disciples: "<J>There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.</J>


text:
<J>So he called him in and asked him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.'</J>


text:
<J>"The manager said to himself, 'What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I'm not strong enough to dig, and I'm ashamed to beg - </J>


text:
<J>I know what I'll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.'</J>


text:
<J>"So he called in each one of his master's debtors. He asked the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'</J>


text:
<J>"'Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,' he replied. "The manager told him, 'Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.'</J>


text:
<J>"Then he asked the second, 'And how much do you owe?' "'A thousand bushels of wheat,' he replied. "He told him, 'Take your bill and make it eight hundred.'</J>


text:
<J>"The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.</J>


text:
<J>I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.</J>


text:
<J>"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.</J>


text:
<J>So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?</J>


text:
<J>And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?</J>


text:
<J>"No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."</J>


text:
He said to them, "<J>You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight.</J>


text:
<J>"The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.</J>


text:
<J>It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.</J>


text:
<J>"Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.</J>


text:
<J>"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.</J>


text:
<J>and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.</J>


text:
<J>"The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried.</J>


text:
<J>In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.</J>


text:
<J>So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'</J>


text:
<J>"But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.</J>


text:
<J>And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'</J>


text:
<J>for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'</J>


text:
<J>"'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'</J>


text:
<J>"He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'"</J>


text:
Jesus said to his disciples: "<J>Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come.</J>


text:
<J>It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.</J>


text:
If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him."


text:
<J>He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you.</J>


text:
<J>"Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'?</J>


text:
<J>Would he not rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'?</J>


text:
<J>So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.'"</J>


text:
When he saw them, he said, "<J>Go, show yourselves to the priests.</J>" And as they went, they were cleansed.


text:
Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "<J>The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation,</J>


text:
<J>nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you."</J>


text:
Then he said to his disciples, "<J>The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.</J>


text:
<J>For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other.</J>


text:
<J>People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.</J>


text:
<J>"It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building.</J>


text:
<J>On that day no one who is on the roof of his house, with his goods inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything.</J>


text:
<J>I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left.</J>


text:
"Where, Lord?" they asked. He replied, "<J>Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather."</J>


text:
<J>And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.'</J>


text:
<J>"For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men,</J>


text:
<J>yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!'"</J>


text:
<J>And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?</J>


text:
<J>I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"</J>


text:
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable:


text:
<J>The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men - robbers, evildoers, adulterers - or even like this tax collector.</J>


text:
<J>"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'</J>


text:
<J>"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."</J>


text:
People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them.


text:
But Jesus called the children to him and said, "<J>Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.</J>


text:
<J>I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."</J>


text:
<J>You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.'"</J>


text:
When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "<J>You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."</J>


text:
<J>Indeed, 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."</J>


text:
"<J>I tell you the truth,</J>" Jesus said to them, "<J>no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God</J>


text:
Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, "<J>We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.</J>


text:
<J>He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him.</J>


text:
The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.


text:
Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"


text:
Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.


text:
When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "<J>Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.</J>"


text:
But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."


text:
Jesus said to him, "<J>Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.</J>


text:
<J>While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once.</J>


text:
<J>He said: "<J>A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return.</J></J>


text:
<J>So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. 'Put this money to work,' he said, 'until I come back.'</J>


text:
<J>"But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, 'We don't want this man to be our king.'</J>


text:
<J>"He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.</J>


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<J>"'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.'</J>


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<J>"Then another servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth.</J>


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<J>I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.'</J>


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<J>"His master replied, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow?</J>


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<J>Why then didn't you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?'</J>


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<J>"Then he said to those standing by, 'Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.'</J>


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<J>"He replied, 'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away.</J>


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<J>But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them - bring them here and kill them in front of me.'"</J>


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As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them,


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<J>"Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.</J>


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When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:


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"Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"


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and said, "<J>If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace - but now it is hidden from your eyes.</J>


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<J>The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side.</J>


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<J>They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you.</J>"


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"<J>It is written,</J>" he said to them, "<J>'My house will be a house of prayer'; but you have made it 'a den of robbers.'</J>"


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Every day he was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him.


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One day as he was teaching the people in the temple courts and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to him.


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They discussed it among themselves and said, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will ask, 'Why didn't you believe him?'


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But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us, because they are persuaded that John was a prophet."


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He went on to tell the people this parable: "<J>A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time.</J>


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<J>At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed.</J>


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<J>He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed.</J>


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<J>"Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.'</J>


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<J>"But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. 'This is the heir,' they said. 'Let's kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'</J>


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<J>So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. "What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?</J>


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<J>He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.</J>" When the people heard this, they said, "May this never be!"


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Jesus looked directly at them and asked, "<J>Then what is the meaning of that which is written: "'The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone'?</J>


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<J>Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed."</J>


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The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.


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Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be honest. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor.


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So the spies questioned him: "Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.


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"Caesar's," they replied. He said to them, "<J>Then give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's.</J>"


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They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public. And astonished by his answer, they became silent.


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<J>But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage,</J>


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<J>and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God's children, since they are children of the resurrection.</J>


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<J>But in the account of the bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord 'the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'</J>


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<J>David himself declares in the Book of Psalms: "'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand</J>


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<J>"Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.</J>


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<J>They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely."</J>


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"<J>I tell you the truth,</J>" he said, "<J>this poor widow has put in more than all the others.</J>


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All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."


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Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said,


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"<J>As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.</J>"


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"Teacher," they asked, "when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?"


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He replied: "<J>Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he,' and, 'The time is near.' Do not follow them.</J>


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<J>When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.</J>"


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<J>There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.</J>


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<J>"But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name.</J>


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<J>For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.</J>


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<J>You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death.</J>


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<J>"When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near.</J>


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<J>Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city.</J>


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<J>How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people.</J>


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<J>They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.</J>


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<J>"There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.</J>


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<J>Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.</J>


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<J>When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."</J>


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<J>"I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.</J>


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<J>"Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.</J>


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<J>Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."</J>


text:
Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple, and each evening he went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives,


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and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people.


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And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus.


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He replied, "<J>As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters,</J>


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<J>and say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?'</J>


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<J>For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.</J>"


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And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "<J>This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me</J>."


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In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "<J>This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.</J>


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Jesus said to them, "<J>The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors.</J>


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<J>But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.</J>


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<J>For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves</J>.


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<J>so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.</J>


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<J>But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.</J>"


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Jesus answered, "<J>I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.</J>"


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Then Jesus asked them, "<J>When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?</J>" "Nothing," they answered.


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He said to them, "<J>But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.</J>


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<J>It is written: 'And he was numbered with the transgressors'; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment.</J>"


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And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.


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When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow.


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"<J>Why are you sleeping?</J>" he asked them. "<J>Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.</J>"


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While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him,


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When Jesus' followers saw what was going to happen, they said, "Lord, should we strike with our swords?"


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Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, "<J>Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs?</J>


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<J>Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour - when darkness reigns.</J>"


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Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance.


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But when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them.


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A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, "This man was with him."


text:
A little later someone else saw him and said, "You also are one of them." "Man, I am not!" Peter replied.


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Peter replied, "Man, I don't know what you're talking about!" Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed.


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The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: "<J>Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.</J>"


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At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them.


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"If you are the Christ," they said, "tell us." Jesus answered, "<J>If I tell you, you will not believe me,</J>


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And they began to accuse him, saying, "We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ, a king."


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So Pilate asked Jesus, "Are you the king of the Jews?" "<J>Yes, it is as you say,</J>" Jesus replied.


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Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no basis for a charge against this man."


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But they insisted, "He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here."


text:
When he learned that Jesus was under Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.


text:
When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform some miracle.


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Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate.


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and said to them, "You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him.


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Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death.


text:
For the third time he spoke to them: "Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him."


text:
He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.


text:
As they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.


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Jesus turned and said to them, "<J>Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children.</J>


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<J>For the time will come when you will say, 'Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!</J>'


text:
When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals - one on his right, the other on his left.


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Jesus said, "<J>Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.</J>


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The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One."


text:
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!"


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But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence?


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We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."


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Jesus called out with a loud voice, "<J>Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.</J>" When he had said this, he breathed his last.


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When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away.


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But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.


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who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea and he was waiting for the kingdom of God.


text:
Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid.


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The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it.


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Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.


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On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.


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While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.


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In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead?


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'<J>The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.</J>'"


text:
It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles.


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Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.


text:
Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.


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As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them;


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He asked them, "<J>What are you discussing together as you walk along?</J>" They stood still, their faces downcast.


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One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?"


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"<J>What things?</J>" he asked. "About Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people.


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but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place.


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but didn't find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive.


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Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see."


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He said to them, "<J>How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!</J>


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And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.


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But they urged him strongly, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over." So he went in to stay with them.


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When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them.


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They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"


text:
They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together


text:
Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.


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While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "<J>Peace be with you.</J>"


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<J>Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.</J>"


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And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, "<J>Do you have anything here to eat?</J>"


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He said to them, "<J>This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.</J>"


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He told them, "<J>This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,</J>


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<J>and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.</J>


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I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."


text:
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God - 


text:
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.


text:
John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.'"


text:
No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.


text:
Now this was John's testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was.


text:
They asked him, "Then who are you? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No."


text:
Finally they said, "Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"


text:
John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, "I am the voice of one calling in the desert, 'Make straight the way for the Lord.'"


text:
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!


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This is the one I meant when I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.'


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I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel."


text:
I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.'


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Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "<J>What do you want?</J>" They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?"


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"<J>Come</J>," he replied, "<J>and you will see.</J>" So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.


text:
Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus.


text:
The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ).


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And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "<J>You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas</J>" (which, when translated, is Peter).


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The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, "<J>Follow me.</J>"


text:
Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote - Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."


text:
When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "<J>Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.</J>"


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"How do you know me?" Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, "<J>I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.</J>"


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Jesus said, "<J>You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that.</J>"


text:
He then added, "<J>I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.</J>"


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Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.


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Then he told them, "<J>Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.</J>" They did so,


text:
and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside


text:
and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."


text:
This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.


text:
After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.


text:
In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money.


text:
So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.


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To those who sold doves he said, "<J>Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!</J>"


text:
Then the Jews demanded of him, "What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?"


text:
The Jews replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?"


text:
After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.


text:
Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name.


text:
He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him."


text:
In reply Jesus declared, "<J>I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.</J>"


text:
"How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"


text:
Jesus answered, "<J>I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.</J>


text:
<J>The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."</J>


text:
<J>I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.</J>


text:
<J>I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?</J>


text:
<J>"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.</J>


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<J>For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.</J>


text:
<J>Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.</J>


text:
<J>This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.</J>


text:
<J>Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.</J>


text:
<J>But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."</J>


text:
After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized.


text:
Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were constantly coming to be baptized.


text:
An argument developed between some of John's disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing.


text:
They came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan - the one you testified about - well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him."


text:
The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.


text:
"The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all.


text:
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."


text:
So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.


text:
Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.


text:
The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)


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Jesus answered her, "<J>If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.</J>"


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"Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water?


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Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?"


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<J>but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.</J>"


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The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water."


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"I have no husband," she replied. Jesus said to her, "<J>You are right when you say you have no husband.</J>


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<J>The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.</J>"


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Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem."


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Jesus declared, "<J>Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.</J>


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<J>You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.</J>


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<J>Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.</J>


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The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us."


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Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, "What do you want?" or "Why are you talking with her?"


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<J>Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.</J>


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<J>Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together.</J>


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<J>I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.</J>"


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Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I ever did."


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They said to the woman, "We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world."


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When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there.


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Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum.


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When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.


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"<J>Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders,</J>" Jesus told him, "<J>you will never believe.</J>"


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Jesus replied, "<J>You may go. Your son will live.</J>" The man took Jesus at his word and departed.


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When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour."


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Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "<J>Your son will live.</J>" So he and all his household believed.


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Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades.


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From time to time an angel of the Lord would come down and stir up the waters. The first one into the pool after each such disturbance would be cured of whatever disease he had.


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When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "<J>Do you want to get well?</J>"


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"Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."


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At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath,


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and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat."


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The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.


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Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, "<J>See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.</J>"


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Jesus said to them, "<J>My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.</J>"


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For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.


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Jesus gave them this answer: "<J>I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.</J>


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<J>For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these.</J>


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<J>For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.</J>


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<J>that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.</J>


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<J>"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.</J>


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<J>I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.</J>


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<J>"Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice</J>


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<J>and come out - those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.</J>


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<J>By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.</J>


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<J>"I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me.</J>


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<J>And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form,</J>


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<J>You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me,</J>


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<J>I have come in my Father's name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him.</J>


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<J>How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?</J>


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<J>"But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set.</J>


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Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias),


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and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick.


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When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "<J>Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?</J>"


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"Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?"


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Jesus said, "<J>Have the people sit down.</J>" There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them.


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Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.


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When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "<J>Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.</J>"


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So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.


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After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, "Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world."


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Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.


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where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them.


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When they had rowed three or three and a half miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were terrified.


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Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.


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The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone.


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Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.


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Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.


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Jesus answered, "<J>I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.</J>


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<J>Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.</J>"


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So they asked him, "What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?


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Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"


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Jesus said to them, "<J>I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.</J>


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Then Jesus declared, "<J>I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.</J>


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<J>All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.</J>


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<J>And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.</J>


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<J>For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."</J>


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At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, "<J>I am the bread that came down from heaven."</J>


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They said, "<J>Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I came down from heaven'?"</J>


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<J>"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.</J>


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<J>It is written in the Prophets: 'They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me.</J>


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<J>I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."</J>


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Jesus said to them, "<J>I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.</J>


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<J>Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.</J>


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<J>Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.</J>


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<J>This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever."</J>


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Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, "<J>Does this offend you?</J>


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<J>The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.</J>


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<J>Yet there are some of you who do not believe.</J>" For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him.


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He went on to say, "<J>This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.</J>"


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(He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)


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After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life.


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Jesus' brothers said to him, "You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do.


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No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world."


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Therefore Jesus told them, "<J>The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right.</J>


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<J>You go to the Feast. I am not yet going up to this Feast, because for me the right time has not yet come.</J>"


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Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, "He is a good man." Others replied, "No, he deceives the people."


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<J>If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.</J>


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<J>He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him.</J>


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<J>Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?</J>"


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<J>Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision</J> (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a child on the Sabbath.


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<J>Now if a child can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing the whole man on the Sabbath?</J>


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At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, "Isn't this the man they are trying to kill?


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Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Christ?


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Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, "<J>Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him,</J>


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Still, many in the crowd put their faith in him. They said, "When the Christ comes, will he do more miraculous signs than this man?"


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The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.


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The Jews said to one another, "Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks?


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What did he mean when he said, '<J>You will look for me, but you will not find me,</J>' and '<J>Where I am, you cannot come</J>'?"


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On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "<J>If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.</J>


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<J>Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.</J>"


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By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.


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Does not the Scripture say that the Christ will come from David's family and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?"


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Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, "Why didn't you bring him in?"


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They replied, "Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee." The earliest and most reliable manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not have John:-:.


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At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them.


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The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group


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They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.


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When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "<J>If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.</J>"


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At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.


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"No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "<J>Go now and leave your life of sin.</J>"


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When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "<J>I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.</J>"


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The Pharisees challenged him, "Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid."


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Jesus answered, "<J>Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going.</J>


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<J>But if I do judge, my decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me.</J>


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Then they asked him, "Where is your father?" "You do not know me or my Father," Jesus replied. "<J>If you knew me, you would know my Father also."</J>


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He spoke these words while teaching in the temple area near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his time had not yet come.


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Once more Jesus said to them, "I<J> am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come."</J>


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This made the Jews ask, "Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, <J>'Where I go, you cannot come'</J>?"


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But he continued, "<J>You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.</J>


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<J>I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins."</J>


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<J>"I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is reliable, and what I have heard from him I tell the world."</J>


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So Jesus said, "<J>When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.</J>


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To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "<J>If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.</J>


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They answered him, "<J>We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?"</J>


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<J>I know you are Abraham's descendants. Yet you are ready to kill me, because you have no room for my word.</J>


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<J>I am telling you what I have seen in the Father's presence, and you do what you have heard from your father."</J>


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"Abraham is our father," they answered. "<J>If you were Abraham's children,</J>" said Jesus, "<J>then you would do the things Abraham did.</J>


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<J>As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things.</J>


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<J>You are doing the things your own father does.</J>" "We are not illegitimate children," they protested. "The only Father we have is God himself."


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Jesus said to them, "<J>If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me.</J>


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<J>You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.</J>


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<J>He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God."</J>


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"<J>I am not possessed by a demon,</J>" said Jesus, "<J>but I honor my Father and you dishonor me.</J>


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At this the Jews exclaimed, "Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that if anyone keeps your word, he will never taste death.


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Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?"


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Jesus replied, "<J>If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me.</J>


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<J>Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word.</J>


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At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.


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"<J>Neither this man nor his parents sinned,</J>" said Jesus, "<J>but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.</J>


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<J>As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.</J>


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Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes.


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"<J>Go,</J>" he told him, "<J>wash in the Pool of Siloam</J>" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.


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His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, "Isn't this the same man who used to sit and beg?"


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Some claimed that he was. Others said, "No, he only looks like him." But he himself insisted, "I am the man."


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He replied, "The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to <J>go to Siloam and wash</J>. So I went and washed, and then I could see."


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Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. "He put mud on my eyes," the man replied, "and I washed, and now I see."


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Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath." But others asked, "How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?" So they were divided.


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Finally they turned again to the blind man, "What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened." The man replied, "He is a prophet."


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The Jews still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man's parents.


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"Is this your son?" they asked. "Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?"


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But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don't know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself."


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His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for already the Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue.


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A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. "Give glory to God," they said. "We know this man is a sinner."


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He replied, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!"


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He answered, "I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?"


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Then they hurled insults at him and said, "You are this fellow's disciple! We are disciples of Moses!


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The man answered, "Now that is remarkable! You don't know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes.


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To this they replied, "You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!" And they threw him out.


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Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, "<J>Do you believe in the Son of Man?</J>"


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Jesus said, "<J>For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.</J>"


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Jesus said, "<J>If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.</J>


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<J>"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.</J>


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<J>The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.</J>


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<J>When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.</J>


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<J>But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice."</J>


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<J>I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.</J>


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<J>The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.</J>


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<J>The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.</J>


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<J>I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.</J>


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<J>No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."</J>


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But others said, "These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"


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The Jews gathered around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly."


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Jesus answered, "<J>I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me,</J>


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<J>I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.</J>


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<J>My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.</J>


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but Jesus said to them, "<J>I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?"</J>


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"We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God."


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<J>If he called them 'gods,' to whom the word of God came - and the Scripture cannot be broken - </J>


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<J>what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, 'I am God's Son'?</J>


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<J>But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father."</J>


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Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. Here he stayed


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and many people came to him. They said, "Though John never performed a miraculous sign, all that John said about this man was true."


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This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.


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When he heard this, Jesus said, "<J>This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it.</J>"


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"But Rabbi," they said, "a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?"


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Jesus answered, "<J>Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world's light.</J>


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After he had said this, he went on to tell them, "<J>Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.</J>"


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Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."


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Jesus said to her, "<J>I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;</J>


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"Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."


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And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. "The Teacher is here," she said, "and is asking for you."


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When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.


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When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."


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When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.


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But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"


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Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.


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"<J>Take away the stone,</J>" he said. "But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days."


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So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "<J>Father, I thank you that you have heard me.</J>


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<J>I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.</J>"


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The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, "<J>Take off the grave clothes and let him go.</J>"


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Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him.


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Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. "What are we accomplishing?" they asked. "Here is this man performing many miraculous signs.


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If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation."


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Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, "You know nothing at all!


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You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish."


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He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation,


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and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one.


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Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the Jews. Instead he withdrew to a region near the desert, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.


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When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover.


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They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple area they asked one another, "What do you think? Isn't he coming to the Feast at all?"


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But the chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that if anyone found out where Jesus was, he should report it so that they might arrest him.


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Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.


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Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him.


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Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.


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He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.


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"<J>Leave her alone,</J>" Jesus replied. "<J>It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial.</J>


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Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.


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The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.


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They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the King of Israel!"


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At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him.


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Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word.


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So the Pharisees said to one another, "See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!"


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They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. "Sir," they said, "we would like to see Jesus."


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<J>I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.</J>


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<J>The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.</J>


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<J>Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.</J>


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<J>"Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.</J>


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<J>Father, glorify your name!" Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and will glorify it again."</J>


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The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.


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The crowd spoke up, "We have heard from the Law that the Christ will remain forever, so how can you say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'? Who is this 'Son of Man'?"


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Then Jesus told them, "<J>You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going.</J>


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<J>Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light.</J>" When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.


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Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him.


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This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: "Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?"


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"He has blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn - and I would heal them."


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Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue;


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Then Jesus cried out, "<J>When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me.</J>


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<J>I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.</J>


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<J>"As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it.</J>


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<J>There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.</J>


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<J>For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it.</J>


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<J>I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say."</J>


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It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.


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The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus.


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Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;


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After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.


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"No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "<J>Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.</J>"


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Jesus answered, "<J>A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.</J>"


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When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "<J>Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them.</J>


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<J>Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet.</J>


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<J>I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.</J>


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<J>"I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture: 'He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.'</J>


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<J>"I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He.</J>


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<J>I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me."</J>


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After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, "<J>I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me.</J>"


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Jesus answered, "<J>It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish." Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon.</J>


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As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. "<J>What you are about to do, do quickly,</J>" Jesus told him,


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Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the Feast, or to give something to the poor.


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<J>If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.</J>


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"<J>My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.</J>


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"<J>A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.</J>


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Simon Peter asked him, "Lord, where are you going?" Jesus replied, "<J>Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.</J>"


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Then Jesus answered, "<J>Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!</J>


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<J>In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.</J>


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<J>And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.</J>


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Jesus answered, "<J>I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.</J>


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<J>If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."</J>


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Jesus answered: "<J>Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?</J>


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<J>Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.</J>


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<J>Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.</J>


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<J>I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.</J>


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<J>the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.</J>


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<J>Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.</J>


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<J>Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."</J>


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Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, "But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?"


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Jesus replied, "<J>If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.</J>


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<J>He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.</J>


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<J>But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.</J>


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<J>Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.</J>


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<J>"You heard me say, 'I am going away and I am coming back to you.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.</J>


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<J>I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me,</J>


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<J>but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me. "Come now; let us leave.</J>


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<J>He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.</J>


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<J>Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.</J>


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<J>"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.</J>


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<J>If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.</J>


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<J>If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.</J>


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<J>This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.</J>


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<J>If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.</J>


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<J>I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.</J>


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<J>You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit - fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.</J>


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<J>If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.</J>


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<J>Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.</J>


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<J>If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin.</J>


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<J>If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father.</J>


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<J>"When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.</J>


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<J>They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.</J>


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<J>I have told you this, so that when the time comes you will remember that I warned you. I did not tell you this at first because I was with you.</J>


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<J>But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.</J>


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<J>When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:</J>


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<J>in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer;</J>


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<J>But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.</J>


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<J>All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.</J>


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Some of his disciples said to one another, "<J>What does he mean by saying, 'In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,' and'Because I am going to the Father'?"</J>


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They kept asking, "<J>What does he mean by'a little while'? We don't understand what he is saying."</J>


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Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, "<J>Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, 'In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me'?</J>


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<J>I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.</J>


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<J>A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.</J>


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<J>So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.</J>


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<J>In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.</J>


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<J>Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.</J>


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<J>"Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father.</J>


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<J>In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf.</J>


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<J>No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.</J>


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<J>I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father."</J>


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Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God."


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<J>"But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.</J>


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<J>"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."</J>


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After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: "<J>Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.</J>


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<J>For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.</J>


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<J>Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.</J>


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<J>And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.</J>


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<J>"I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.</J>


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<J>For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.</J>


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<J>I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.</J>


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<J>I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name - the name you gave me - so that they may be one as we are one.</J>


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<J>While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.</J>


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<J>"I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.</J>


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<J>I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.</J>


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<J>My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.</J>


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<J>"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,</J>


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<J>that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.</J>


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<J>I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.</J>


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<J>"Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.</J>


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<J>"Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me.</J>


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I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."


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When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was an olive grove, and he and his disciples went into it.


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So Judas came to the grove, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.


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Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, "<J>Who is it you want?</J>"


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"Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "<J>I am he,</J>" Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.)


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"<J>I told you that I am he,</J>" Jesus answered. "<J>If you are looking for me, then let these men go.</J>"


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This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: "<J>I have not lost one of those you gave me.</J>"


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Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.)


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Jesus commanded Peter, "<J>Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?</J>"


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Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him


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Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest's courtyard,


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but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the girl on duty there and brought Peter in.


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"You are not one of his disciples, are you?" the girl at the door asked Peter. He replied, "I am not."


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It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.


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"<J>I have spoken openly to the world,</J>" Jesus replied. "<J>I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret.</J>


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When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby struck him in the face. "Is this the way you answer the high priest?" he demanded.


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"<J>If I said something wrong,</J>" Jesus replied, "<J>testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?</J>"


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As Simon Peter stood warming himself, he was asked, "You are not one of his disciples, are you?" He denied it, saying, "I am not."


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One of the high priest's servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, "Didn't I see you with him in the olive grove?"


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Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover.


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Pilate said, "Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law." "But we have no right to execute anyone," the Jews objected.


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This happened so that the words Jesus had spoken indicating the kind of death he was going to die would be fulfilled.


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Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?"


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"Am I a Jew?" Pilate replied. "It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?"


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Jesus said, "<J>My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.</J>"


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"You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "<J>You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.</J>"


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"What is truth?" Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, "I find no basis for a charge against him.


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But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release 'the king of the Jews'?"


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The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe


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and went up to him again and again, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!" And they struck him in the face.


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Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, "Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him."


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When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!"


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As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, "Crucify! Crucify!" But Pilate answered, "You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him."


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The Jews insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God."


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and he went back inside the palace. "Where do you come from?" he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer.


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"Do you refuse to speak to me?" Pilate said. "Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?"


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Jesus answered, "<J>You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.</J>"


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From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, "If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar."


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When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge's seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha).


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It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour. "Here is your king," Pilate said to the Jews.


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But they shouted, "Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!" "Shall I crucify your king?" Pilate asked. "We have no king but Caesar," the chief priests answered.


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Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha).


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Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.


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Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek.


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The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews."


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When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.


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"Let's not tear it," they said to one another. "Let's decide by lot who will get it." This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, "They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing." So this is what the soldiers did.


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Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.


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When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "<J>Dear woman, here is your son,</J>"


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and to the disciple, "<J>Here is your mother.</J>" From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.


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Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "<J>I am thirsty.</J>"


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A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips.


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When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "<J>It is finished.</J>" With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.


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Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down.


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The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other.


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Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.


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The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe.


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These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken,"


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Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away.


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He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.


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Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.


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At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid.


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Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.


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So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!"


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Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there,


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as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.


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and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.


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They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?" "They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him."


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"<J>Woman,</J>" he said, "<J>why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?</J>" Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."


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Jesus said to her, "<J>Mary.</J>" She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).


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Jesus said, "<J>Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'</J>"


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Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her.


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On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!"


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After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.


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<J>If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.</J>"


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So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."


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A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "<J>Peace be with you!</J>"


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Then he said to Thomas, "<J>Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.</J>"


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Then Jesus told him, "<J>Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.</J>"


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Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.


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But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.


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Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together.


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"I'm going out to fish," Simon Peter told them, and they said, "We'll go with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.


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Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.


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He said, "<J>Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.</J>" When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.


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Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, "It is the Lord," he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.


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The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.


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Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish,, but even with so many the net was not torn.


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Jesus said to them, "<J>Come and have breakfast.</J>" None of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord.


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When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "<J>Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?</J>" "Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you." Jesus said, "<J>Feed my lambs.</J>"


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Again Jesus said, "<J>Simon son of John, do you truly love me?</J>" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "<J>Take care of my sheep.</J>"


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The third time he said to him, "<J>Simon son of John, do you love me?</J>" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus said, "<J>Feed my sheep</J>.


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<J>I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.</J>"


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Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "<J>Follow me!</J>"


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Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, "Lord, who is going to betray you?")


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Jesus answered, "<J>If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.</J>"


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Because of this, the rumor spread among the brothers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, "<J>If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?</J>"


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This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.


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Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.


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until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.


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After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.


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On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "<J>Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.</J>


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So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"


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He said to them: "<J>It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.</J>


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<J>But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.</J>"


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They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.


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"Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."


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Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk from the city.


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When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.


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They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.


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and said, "Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus - 


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(With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out.


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Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)


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"For," said Peter, "it is written in the book of Psalms, "'May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,' and, "'May another take his place of leadership.'


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Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,


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beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection."


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Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.


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All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.


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When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language.


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(both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs - we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!"


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Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say.


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"'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.


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Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.


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I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.


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The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.


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"Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.


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This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.


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But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.


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David said about him: "'I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.


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"Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day.


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But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne.


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Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay.


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Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.


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For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, "'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand


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"Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."


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When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"


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Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.


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The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off - for all whom the Lord our God will call."


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With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation."


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Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.


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They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.


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Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,


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praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.


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One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer - at three in the afternoon.


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Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts.


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Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk."


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Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong.


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He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.


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they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.


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While the beggar held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon's Colonnade.


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When Peter saw this, he said to them: "Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?


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The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go.


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By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.


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But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer.


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Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,


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He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.


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For Moses said, 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you.


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And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, 'Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.'


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When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways."


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The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people.


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They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.


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Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and the other men of the high priest's family.


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They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: "By what power or what name did you do this?"


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If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed,


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then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.


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Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."


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When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.


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But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say.


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"What are we going to do with these men?" they asked. "Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it.


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But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this name."


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Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.


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But Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God.


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After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened.


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On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.


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When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. "Sovereign Lord," they said, "you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.


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You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: "'Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?


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The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.'


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Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.


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Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus."


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After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.


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All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.


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With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.


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There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales


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With his wife's full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles' feet.


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Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?


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Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God."


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When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened.


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Peter asked her, "Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?" "Yes," she said, "that is the price."


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Peter said to her, "How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also."


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At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.


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The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon's Colonnade.


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As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by.


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Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed.


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Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy.


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At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people. When the high priest and his associates arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin - the full assembly of the elders of Israel - and sent to the jail for the apostles.


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"We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside."


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On hearing this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were puzzled, wondering what would come of this.


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Then someone came and said, "Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people."


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At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles. They did not use force, because they feared that the people would stone them.


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Having brought the apostles, they made them appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest.


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"We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name," he said. "Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man's blood."


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God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.


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We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."


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But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while.


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Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing.


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After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered.


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Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail.


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But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God."


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His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.


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The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.


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Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.


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In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.


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So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.


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Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them


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This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.


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So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.


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Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.


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Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called) - Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen,


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Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, "We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God."


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So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin.


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They produced false witnesses, who testified, "This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law.


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For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us."


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All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.


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To this he replied: "Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran.


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"So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living.


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He gave him no inheritance here, not even a foot of ground. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child.


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God spoke to him in this way: 'Your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.


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But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,' God said, 'and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.'


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Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth. Later Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.


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"Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him


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and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt; so he made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace.


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"Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our fathers could not find food.


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On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph's family.


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Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a certain sum of money.


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"As the time drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt greatly increased.


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He dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our forefathers by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die.


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"At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child. For three months he was cared for in his father's house.


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He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian.


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Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not.


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The next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, 'Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other?'


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"But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, 'Who made you ruler and judge over us?


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"After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai.


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When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to look more closely, he heard the Lord's voice:


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'I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.' Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look.


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"Then the Lord said to him, 'Take off your sandals; the place where you are standing is holy ground.


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I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.'


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"This is the same Moses whom they had rejected with the words, 'Who made you ruler and judge?' He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush.


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He led them out of Egypt and did wonders and miraculous signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea and for forty years in the desert.


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"This is that Moses who told the Israelites, 'God will send you a prophet like me from your own people.'


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He was in the assembly in the desert, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers; and he received living words to pass on to us.


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"But our fathers refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt.


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They told Aaron, 'Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt - we don't know what has happened to him!'


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That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf. They brought sacrifices to it and held a celebration in honor of what their hands had made.


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But God turned away and gave them over to the worship of the heavenly bodies. This agrees with what is written in the book of the prophets: "'Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the desert, O house of Israel?


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You have lifted up the shrine of Molech and the star of your god Rephan, the idols you made to worship. Therefore I will send you into exile' beyond Babylon.


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"Our forefathers had the tabernacle of the Testimony with them in the desert. It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen.


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Having received the tabernacle, our fathers under Joshua brought it with them when they took the land from the nations God drove out before them. It remained in the land until the time of David,


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"'Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord. Or where will my resting place be?


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"You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit!


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Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him - 


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But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.


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dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.


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Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep.


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And Saul was there, giving approval to his death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.


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But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.


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When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said.


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Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great,


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and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, "This man is the divine power known as the Great Power."


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But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.


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Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.


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When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them.


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because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.


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When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money


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and said, "Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit."


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Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!


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Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart.


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When they had testified and proclaimed the word of the Lord, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages.


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Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road - the desert road - that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza."


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So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship,


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Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked.


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"How can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.


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The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: "He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth.


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In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth."


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The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?"


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As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?"


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Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." The eunuch answered, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."


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And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.


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When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.


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Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.


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Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest


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and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.


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Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus.


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In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, "<J>Ananias!</J>" "Yes, Lord," he answered.


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The Lord told him, "<J>Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying.</J>


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<J>In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.</J>"


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"Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem.


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But the Lord said to Ananias, "<J>Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.</J>


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Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord - Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here - has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit."


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Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized,


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and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus.


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All those who heard him were astonished and asked, "Isn't he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?"


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Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.


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but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him.


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When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple.


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But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus.


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So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.


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Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.


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"Aeneas," Peter said to him, "Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and take care of your mat." Immediately Aeneas got up.


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In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas), who was always doing good and helping the poor.


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Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, "Please come at once!"


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Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.


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Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, "Tabitha, get up." She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up.


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He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive.


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He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly.


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One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, "Cornelius!"


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Cornelius stared at him in fear. "What is it, Lord?" he asked. The angel answered, "Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.


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When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants.


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About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray.


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He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance.


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It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air.


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While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon's house was and stopped at the gate.


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While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Simon, three men are looking for you.


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The men replied, "We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to have you come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say."


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Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests. The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa went along.


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The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.


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He said to them: "You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean.


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Cornelius answered: "Four days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me


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Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea.'


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So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us."


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You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.


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You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached - 


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how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.


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"We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree,


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He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen - by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.


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He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.


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All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."


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The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.


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"Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have."


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So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.


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The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.


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"I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was.


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I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds of the air.


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"The voice spoke from heaven a second time, '<J>Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.</J>'


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"Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying.


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The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man's house.


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He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, 'Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter.


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Then I remembered what the Lord had said: '<J>John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.</J>'


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So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?"


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When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, "So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life."


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Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews.


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Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus.


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When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.


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He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.


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and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.


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One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.)


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The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea.


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It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them.


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When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.


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After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.


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The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance.


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Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists.


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Then the angel said to him, "Put on your clothes and sandals." And Peter did so. "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me," the angel told him.


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Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision.


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They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.


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Then Peter came to himself and said, "Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating."


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When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.


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When she recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, "Peter is at the door!"


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"You're out of your mind," they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, "It must be his angel."


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Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. "Tell James and the brothers about this," he said, and then he left for another place.


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After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed. Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there a while.


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He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. Having secured the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king's country for their food supply.


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On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people.


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Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.


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When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark.


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In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul.


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While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."


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The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.


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When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.


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They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus,


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who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God.


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But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.


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Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said,


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"You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?


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Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun." Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand.


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When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.


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From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem.


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From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath they entered the synagogue and sat down.


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After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue rulers sent word to them, saying, "Brothers, if you have a message of encouragement for the people, please speak."


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Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: "Men of Israel and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me!


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The God of the people of Israel chose our fathers; he made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt, with mighty power he led them out of that country,


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Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years.


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After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: 'I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.'


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As John was completing his work, he said: 'Who do you think I am? I am not that one. No, but he is coming after me, whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.'


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"Brothers, children of Abraham, and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent.


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The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath.


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When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb.


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and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people.


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he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: "'You are my Son; today I have become your Father.'


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The fact that God raised him from the dead, never to decay, is stated in these words: "'I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.'


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"For when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed.


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"Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.


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Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.


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"'Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish, for I am going to do something in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you.'"


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As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath.


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When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.


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When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and talked abusively against what Paul was saying.


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Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: "We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.


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For this is what the Lord has commanded us: "'I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'"


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When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.


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But the Jews incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region.


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At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed.


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But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.


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So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders.


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There was a plot afoot among the Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them.


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But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country,


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He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed


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When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in human form!"


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The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.


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But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting:


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"Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.


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Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy."


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Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead.


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But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.


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They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch,


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strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God," they said.


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Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.


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From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.


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On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.


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Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: "Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved."


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This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.


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The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the brothers very glad.


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When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.


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Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses."


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After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: "Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe.


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God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us.


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Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?


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The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.


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Simon has described to us how God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself.


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"'After this I will return and rebuild David's fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it,


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that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things'


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"It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.


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Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.


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For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath."


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Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, two men who were leaders among the brothers.


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With them they sent the following letter: The apostles and elders, your brothers, To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings.


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We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said.


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It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements:


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You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.


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The men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter.


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After spending some time there, they were sent off by the brothers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them.


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But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.


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Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing."


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but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work.


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They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus,


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He came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was a Jewess and a believer, but whose father was a Greek.


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Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.


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As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey.


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Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.


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When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.


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During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us."


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After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.


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From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.


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On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there.


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One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message.


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When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. "If you consider me a believer in the Lord," she said, "come and stay at my house." And she persuaded us.


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Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.


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This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved."


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She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, "In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!" At that moment the spirit left her.


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When the owners of the slave girl realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities.


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They brought them before the magistrates and said, "These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar


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The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten.


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After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.


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About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.


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Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose.


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The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped.


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At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized.


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The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God - he and his whole family.


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When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: "Release those men."


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The jailer told Paul, "The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace."


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But Paul said to the officers: "They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out."


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The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed.


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After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia's house, where they met with the brothers and encouraged them. Then they left.


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When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.


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As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,


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explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. "This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ," he said.


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Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and not a few prominent women.


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But the Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason's house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd.


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But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting: "These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here,


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and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar's decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus."


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As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.


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Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.


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When the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, they went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up.


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The men who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.


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While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.


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So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.


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A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, "What is this babbler trying to say?" Others remarked, "He seems to be advocating foreign gods." They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.


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Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, "May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?


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(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)


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Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.


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For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.


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"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.


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And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.


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From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.


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God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.


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'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'


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"Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone - an image made by man's design and skill.


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For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."


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When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, "We want to hear you again on this subject."


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A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.


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There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them,


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When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.


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But when the Jews opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, "Your blood be on your own heads! I am clear of my responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles."


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Crispus, the synagogue ruler, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized.


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One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: "<J>Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.</J>


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<J>For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.</J>"


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While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him into court.


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Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to the Jews, "If you Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to listen to you.


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But since it involves questions about words and names and your own law - settle the matter yourselves. I will not be a judge of such things."


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Then they all turned on Sosthenes the synagogue ruler and beat him in front of the court. But Gallio showed no concern whatever.


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Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchrea because of a vow he had taken.


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They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.


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After spending some time in Antioch, Paul set out from there and traveled from place to place throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.


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Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures.


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He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John.


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He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.


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When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On arriving, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed.


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For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.


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While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples


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and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."


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Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus."


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When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.


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Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God.


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But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.


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This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.


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so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.


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Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out."


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Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.


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When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.


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A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.


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After all this had happened, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. "After I have been there," he said, "I must visit Rome also."


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He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he stayed in the province of Asia a little longer.


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A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in no little business for the craftsmen.


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He called them together, along with the workmen in related trades, and said: "Men, you know we receive a good income from this business.


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And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that man-made gods are no gods at all.


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There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited, and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty."


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Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul's traveling companions from Macedonia, and rushed as one man into the theater.


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Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater.


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The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there.


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The Jews pushed Alexander to the front, and some of the crowd shouted instructions to him. He motioned for silence in order to make a defense before the people.


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But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"


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The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: "Men of Ephesus, doesn't all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven?


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You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess.


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If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. They can press charges.


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As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of today's events. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it."


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When the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples and, after encouraging them, said good-by and set out for Macedonia.


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He traveled through that area, speaking many words of encouragement to the people, and finally arrived in Greece,


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where he stayed three months. Because the Jews made a plot against him just as he was about to sail for Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia.


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He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy also, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia.


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But we sailed from Philippi after the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and five days later joined the others at Troas, where we stayed seven days.


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On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight.


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Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead.


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Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. "Don't be alarmed," he said. "He's alive!"


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We went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard. He had made this arrangement because he was going there on foot.


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The next day we set sail from there and arrived off Kios. The day after that we crossed over to Samos, and on the following day arrived at Miletus.


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Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia, for he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost.


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When they arrived, he said to them: "You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia.


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I served the Lord with great humility and with tears, although I was severely tested by the plots of the Jews.


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You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house.


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I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.


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"And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there.


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However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me - the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.


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"Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again.


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Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.


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Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.


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So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.


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"Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.


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You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions.


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In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: '<J>It is more blessed to give than to receive.</J>'"


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What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.


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After we had torn ourselves away from them, we put out to sea and sailed straight to Cos. The next day we went to Rhodes and from there to Patara.


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After sighting Cyprus and passing to the south of it, we sailed on to Syria. We landed at Tyre, where our ship was to unload its cargo.


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Finding the disciples there, we stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.


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But when our time was up, we left and continued on our way. All the disciples and their wives and children accompanied us out of the city, and there on the beach we knelt to pray.


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We continued our voyage from Tyre and landed at Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and stayed with them for a day.


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Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven.


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Coming over to us, he took Paul's belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, "The Holy Spirit says, 'In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.'"


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Then Paul answered, "Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus."


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Some of the disciples from Caesarea accompanied us and brought us to the home of Mnason, where we were to stay. He was a man from Cyprus and one of the early disciples.


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When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: "You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law.


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They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs.


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Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved. Then everybody will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law.


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As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality."


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The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them.


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When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him,


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shouting, "Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple area and defiled this holy place."


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(They had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple area.)


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The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul, they dragged him from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut.


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While they were trying to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar.


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He at once took some officers and soldiers and ran down to the crowd. When the rioters saw the commander and his soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.


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The commander came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done.


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Some in the crowd shouted one thing and some another, and since the commander could not get at the truth because of the uproar, he ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks.


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When Paul reached the steps, the violence of the mob was so great he had to be carried by the soldiers.


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As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the barracks, he asked the commander, "May I say something to you?" "Do you speak Greek?" he replied.


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"Aren't you the Egyptian who started a revolt and led four thousand terrorists out into the desert some time ago?"


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Paul answered, "I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city. Please let me speak to the people."


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Having received the commander's permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the crowd. When they were all silent, he said to them in Aramaic:


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"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers and was just as zealous for God as any of you are today.


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I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison,


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as also the high priest and all the Council can testify. I even obtained letters from them to their brothers in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.


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"'Who are you, Lord?' I asked. "'<J>I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,</J>' he replied.


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"'What shall I do, Lord?' I asked. "'<J>Get up,' the Lord said, 'and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.</J>'


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"A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there.


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He stood beside me and said, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight!' And at that very moment I was able to see him.


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"Then he said: 'The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth.


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And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.'


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and saw the Lord speaking. '<J>Quick!</J>' he said to me. '<J>Leave Jerusalem immediately, because they will not accept your testimony about me.</J>'


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"'Lord,' I replied, 'these men know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who believe in you.


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And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.'


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The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, "Rid the earth of him! He's not fit to live!"


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the commander ordered Paul to be taken into the barracks. He directed that he be flogged and questioned in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this.


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As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, "Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn't even been found guilty?"


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When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. "What are you going to do?" he asked. "This man is a Roman citizen."


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Then the commander said, "I had to pay a big price for my citizenship." "But I was born a citizen," Paul replied.


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Those who were about to question him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains.


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The next day, since the commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him stand before them.


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Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, "My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day."


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Then Paul said to him, "God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!"


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Paul replied, "Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: 'Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.'"


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Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, "My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. I stand on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead."


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When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided.


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(The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.)


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There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees stood up and argued vigorously. "We find nothing wrong with this man," they said. "What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?"


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The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks.


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The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, "<J>Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.</J>"


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The next morning the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.


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They went to the chief priests and elders and said, "We have taken a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul.


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Now then, you and the Sanhedrin petition the commander to bring him before you on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about his case. We are ready to kill him before he gets here."


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Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, "Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him."


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So he took him to the commander. The centurion said, "Paul, the prisoner, sent for me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you."


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The commander took the young man by the hand, drew him aside and asked, "What is it you want to tell me?"


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He said: "The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul before the Sanhedrin tomorrow on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about him.


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Don't give in to them, because more than forty of them are waiting in ambush for him. They have taken an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him. They are ready now, waiting for your consent to their request."


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The commander dismissed the young man and cautioned him, "Don't tell anyone that you have reported this to me."


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Then he called two of his centurions and ordered them, "Get ready a detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at nine tonight.


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This man was seized by the Jews and they were about to kill him, but I came with my troops and rescued him, for I had learned that he is a Roman citizen.


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I found that the accusation had to do with questions about their law, but there was no charge against him that deserved death or imprisonment.


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When I was informed of a plot to be carried out against the man, I sent him to you at once. I also ordered his accusers to present to you their case against him.


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So the soldiers, carrying out their orders, took Paul with them during the night and brought him as far as Antipatris.


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When the cavalry arrived in Caesarea, they delivered the letter to the governor and handed Paul over to him.


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The governor read the letter and asked what province he was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia,


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he said, "I will hear your case when your accusers get here." Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod's palace.


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Five days later the high priest Ananias went down to Caesarea with some of the elders and a lawyer named Tertullus, and they brought their charges against Paul before the governor.


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When Paul was called in, Tertullus presented his case before Felix: "We have enjoyed a long period of peace under you, and your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation.


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"We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect


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But the commander, Lysias, came and with the use of much force snatched him from our hands and ordered his accusers to come before you.


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By examining him yourself you will be able to learn the truth about all these charges we are bringing against him."


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When the governor motioned for him to speak, Paul replied: "I know that for a number of years you have been a judge over this nation; so I gladly make my defense.


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My accusers did not find me arguing with anyone at the temple, or stirring up a crowd in the synagogues or anywhere else in the city.


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However, I admit that I worship the God of our fathers as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that agrees with the Law and that is written in the Prophets,


text:
and I have the same hope in God as these men, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.


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"After an absence of several years, I came to Jerusalem to bring my people gifts for the poor and to present offerings.


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I was ceremonially clean when they found me in the temple courts doing this. There was no crowd with me, nor was I involved in any disturbance.


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But there are some Jews from the province of Asia, who ought to be here before you and bring charges if they have anything against me.


text:
unless it was this one thing I shouted as I stood in their presence: 'It is concerning the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.'"


text:
Then Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way, adjourned the proceedings. "When Lysias the commander comes," he said, "I will decide your case."


text:
He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard but to give him some freedom and permit his friends to take care of his needs.


text:
Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus.


text:
As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, "That's enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you."


text:
At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him.


text:
When two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, but because Felix wanted to grant a favor to the Jews, he left Paul in prison.


text:
where the chief priests and Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the charges against Paul.


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They urgently requested Festus, as a favor to them, to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way.


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Let some of your leaders come with me and press charges against the man there, if he has done anything wrong."


text:
After spending eight or ten days with them, he went down to Caesarea, and the next day he convened the court and ordered that Paul be brought before him.


text:
When Paul appeared, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many serious charges against him, which they could not prove.


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Then Paul made his defense: "I have done nothing wrong against the law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar."


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Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, "Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?"


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Paul answered: "I am now standing before Caesar's court, where I ought to be tried. I have not done any wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well.


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If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!"


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After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: "You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!"


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Since they were spending many days there, Festus discussed Paul's case with the king. He said: "There is a man here whom Felix left as a prisoner.


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When I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests and elders of the Jews brought charges against him and asked that he be condemned.


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"I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand over any man before he has faced his accusers and has had an opportunity to defend himself against their charges.


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When they came here with me, I did not delay the case, but convened the court the next day and ordered the man to be brought in.


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Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive.


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I was at a loss how to investigate such matters; so I asked if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem and stand trial there on these charges.


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When Paul made his appeal to be held over for the Emperor's decision, I ordered him held until I could send him to Caesar."


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Then Agrippa said to Festus, "I would like to hear this man myself." He replied, "Tomorrow you will hear him."


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The next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the audience room with the high ranking officers and the leading men of the city. At the command of Festus, Paul was brought in.


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Festus said: "King Agrippa, and all who are present with us, you see this man! The whole Jewish community has petitioned me about him in Jerusalem and here in Caesarea, shouting that he ought not to live any longer.


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I found he had done nothing deserving of death, but because he made his appeal to the Emperor I decided to send him to Rome.


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But I have nothing definite to write to His Majesty about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that as a result of this investigation I may have something to write.


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Then Agrippa said to Paul, "You have permission to speak for yourself." So Paul motioned with his hand and began his defense:


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"King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I make my defense against all the accusations of the Jews,


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and especially so because you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently.


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"The Jews all know the way I have lived ever since I was a child, from the beginning of my life in my own country, and also in Jerusalem.


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They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that according to the strictest sect of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee.


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This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. O king, it is because of this hope that the Jews are accusing me.


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"I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth.


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And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.


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Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. In my obsession against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.


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"On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests.


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About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions.


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We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, '<J>Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.</J>'


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"Then I asked, 'Who are you, Lord?' "'<J>I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,</J>' the Lord replied.


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'<J>Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you.</J>


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<J>to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.</J>'


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First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.


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But I have had God's help to this very day, and so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen - 


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that the Christ would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles."


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At this point Festus interrupted Paul's defense. "You are out of your mind, Paul!" he shouted. "Your great learning is driving you insane."


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The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner.


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Then Agrippa said to Paul, "Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?"


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Paul replied, "Short time or long - I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains."


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They left the room, and while talking with one another, they said, "This man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment."


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When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment.


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We boarded a ship from Adramyttium about to sail for ports along the coast of the province of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.


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The next day we landed at Sidon; and Julius, in kindness to Paul, allowed him to go to his friends so they might provide for his needs.


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From there we put out to sea again and passed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us.


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When we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia.


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We made slow headway for many days and had difficulty arriving off Cnidus. When the wind did not allow us to hold our course, we sailed to the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone.


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We moved along the coast with difficulty and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.


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Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Fast. So Paul warned them,


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"Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also."


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But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship.


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Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a harbor in Crete, facing both southwest and northwest.


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When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had obtained what they wanted; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete.


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The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along.


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As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure.


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When the men had hoisted it aboard, they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Fearing that they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and let the ship be driven along.


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We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard.


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When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.


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After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: "Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss.


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But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed.


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and said, 'Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.'


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On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land.


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They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty feet deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet deep.


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Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight.


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In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow.


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Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, "Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved."


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Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. "For the last fourteen days," he said, "you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food - you haven't eaten anything.


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Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head."


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After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat.


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When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.


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When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could.


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Cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea and at the same time untied the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach.


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But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding of the surf.


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But the centurion wanted to spare Paul's life and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land.


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The rest were to get there on planks or on pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land in safety.


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The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold.


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Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand.


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When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, "This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live."


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The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.


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There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and for three days entertained us hospitably.


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His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him.


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They honored us in many ways and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed.


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After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the island. It was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux.


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From there we set sail and arrived at Rhegium. The next day the south wind came up, and on the following day we reached Puteoli.


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The brothers there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these men Paul thanked God and was encouraged.


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Three days later he called together the leaders of the Jews. When they had assembled, Paul said to them: "My brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or against the customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans.


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But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar - not that I had any charge to bring against my own people.


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For this reason I have asked to see you and talk with you. It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain."


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They replied, "We have not received any letters from Judea concerning you, and none of the brothers who have come from there has reported or said anything bad about you.


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But we want to hear what your views are, for we know that people everywhere are talking against this sect."


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They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. From morning till evening he explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.


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They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: "The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your forefathers when he said through Isaiah the prophet:


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"'Go to this people and say, "You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving."


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For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.'


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"Therefore I want you to know that God's salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!"


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and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.


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Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.


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To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.


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First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world.


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God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you


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in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God's will the way may be opened for me to come to you.


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I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.


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I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.


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For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."


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The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness,


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For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.


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For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.


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and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.


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Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.


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They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator - who is forever praised. Amen.


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Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.


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In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.


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Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.


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They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips,


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slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents;


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Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.


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You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.


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So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment?


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Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?


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But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.


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To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.


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But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.


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There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile;


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All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law.


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For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.


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(Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law,


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since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.)


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This will take place on the day when God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.


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Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God;


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an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth - 


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you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal?


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You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?


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Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised.


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If those who are not circumcised keep the law's requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised?


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The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.


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No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God.


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Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar. As it is written: "So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge."


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But if our unrighteousness brings out God's righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.)


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Someone might argue, "If my falsehood enhances God's truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?"


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Why not say - as we are being slanderously reported as saying and as some claim that we say - "Let us do evil that good may result"? Their condemnation is deserved.


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What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin.


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All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one."


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"Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit." "The poison of vipers is on their lips."


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Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.


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Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.


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But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.


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This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,


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God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished - 


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he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.


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Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith.


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since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.


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However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.


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David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:


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Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness.


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Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before!


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And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.


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And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.


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It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.


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Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring - not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.


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As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed - the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.


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Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be."


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Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead - since he was about a hundred years old - and that Sarah's womb was also dead.


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Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God,


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but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness - for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.


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Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,


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through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.


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Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;


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And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.


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Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.


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Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!


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For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!


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Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.


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Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned - 


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for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law.


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Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.


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But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!


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Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.


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For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.


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Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.


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For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.


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The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more,


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so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.


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We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.


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If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.


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For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin - 


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For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.


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Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.


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Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey - whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?


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But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted.


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I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.


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What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!


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But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.


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Do you not know, brothers - for I am speaking to men who know the law - that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives?


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For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage.


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So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man.


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So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.


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For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death.


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But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.


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What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, "Do not covet."


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But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead.


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For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death.


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Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.


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I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.


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For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing.


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Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.


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but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.


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Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.


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because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.


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For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man,


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in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.


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Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.


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You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.


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But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.


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And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.


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Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation - but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it.


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For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live,


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For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."


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Now if we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.


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I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.


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For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope


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that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.


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We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.


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Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.


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For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has?


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In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.


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And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.


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And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.


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For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.


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And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.


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He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?


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Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died - more than that, who was raised to life - is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.


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Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?


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As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."


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For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,


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neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.


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For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race,


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the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises.


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Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.


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Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children. On the contrary, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned."


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In other words, it is not the natural children who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring.


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For this was how the promise was stated: "At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son."


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Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad - in order that God's purpose in election might stand:


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For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."


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For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."


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But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?'"


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Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?


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What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath - prepared for destruction?


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What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory - 


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As he says in Hosea: "I will call them 'my people' who are not my people; and I will call her 'my loved one' who is not my loved one,"


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and, "It will happen that in the very place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' they will be called 'sons of the living God.'"


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Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: "Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved.


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It is just as Isaiah said previously: "Unless the Lord Almighty had left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah."


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What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;


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Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the "stumbling stone."


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As it is written: "See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."


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For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.


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Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.


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Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: "The man who does these things will live by them."


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But the righteousness that is by faith says: "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down)


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But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming:


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That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.


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For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.


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For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile - the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,


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How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?


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And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"


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But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our message?"


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Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.


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But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did: "Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world."


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Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? First, Moses says, "I will make you envious by those who are not a nation; I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding."


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And Isaiah boldly says, "I was found by those who did not seek me; I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me."


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But concerning Israel he says, "All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people."


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I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.


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God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don't you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah - how he appealed to God against Israel:


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"Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me"?


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And what was God's answer to him? "I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal."


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What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened,


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as it is written: "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear, to this very day."


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And David says: "May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them.


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Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.


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But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!


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I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry


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For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?


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If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.


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If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root,


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do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.


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Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid.


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Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.


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And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.


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After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!


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I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.


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And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.


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As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs,


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Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience,


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so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God's mercy to you.


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Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!


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Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship.


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Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will.


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For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.


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Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,


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We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.


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if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.


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Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.


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Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.


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On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."


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Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.


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Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.


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For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you.


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For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.


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Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.


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This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing.


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Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.


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Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.


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The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself."


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And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.


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The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.


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Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.


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Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.


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One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.


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The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him.


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Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.


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One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.


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He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.


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If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.


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For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.


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You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat.


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It is written: "'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.'"


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Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way.


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As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.


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If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died.


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For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,


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Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.


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It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.


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So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves.


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But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.


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For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: "The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me."


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For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.


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May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus,


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For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God's truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs


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so that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy, as it is written: "Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to your name."


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And again, Isaiah says, "The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in him."


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May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.


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I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.


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I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me


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to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.


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I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done - 


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by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.


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It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation.


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Rather, as it is written: "Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand."


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But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to see you,


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I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to visit you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while.


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For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.


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They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews' spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings.


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So after I have completed this task and have made sure that they have received this fruit, I will go to Spain and visit you on the way.


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I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.


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Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there,


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I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including me.


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They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.


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Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.


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Greet Andronicus and Junias, my relatives who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.


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Greet Apelles, tested and approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus.


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Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord. Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord.


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I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.


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For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.


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Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.


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Timothy, my fellow worker, sends his greetings to you, as do Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, my relatives.


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Gaius, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings. Erastus, who is the city's director of public works, and our brother Quartus send you their greetings.


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Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past,


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but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him - 


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To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ - their Lord and ours:


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Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.


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He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.


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I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.


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What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas"; still another, "I follow Christ."


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(Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.)


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For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel - not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.


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For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.


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For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."


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Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?


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For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.


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but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.


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For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.


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Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.


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But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.


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He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things - and the things that are not - to nullify the things that are,


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It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God - that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.


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When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.


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My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power,


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We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.


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No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.


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None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.


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However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"-


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but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.


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For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.


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We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.


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This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.


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The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.


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The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment:


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I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.


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You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?


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What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe - as the Lord has assigned to each his task.


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The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.


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By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds.


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his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work.


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If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.


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If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.


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Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise.


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For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness";


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whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future - all are yours,


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So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God.


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Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.


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Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, "Do not go beyond what is written." Then you will not take pride in one man over against another.


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For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?


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Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have become kings - and that without us! How I wish that you really had become kings so that we might be kings with you!


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For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men.


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We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored!


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To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless.


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We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it;


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when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world.


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Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.


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For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.


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But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have.


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It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father's wife.


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And you are proud! Shouldn't you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this?


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Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present.


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When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present,


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hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.


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Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?


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Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast - as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.


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Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.


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not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world.


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But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.


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If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints?


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Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases?


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Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church!


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I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers?


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The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?


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Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders


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nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.


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And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.


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"Everything is permissible for me" - but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me" - but I will not be mastered by anything.


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"Food for the stomach and the stomach for food" - but God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.


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Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never!


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Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, "The two will become one flesh."


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Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.


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Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;


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But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.


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The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife.


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Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.


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I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.


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But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.


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To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband.


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But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.


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To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her.


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And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him.


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For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.


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But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace.


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How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?


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Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches.


