Genesis 1:1 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
SEPTEMBER
18
PSALMS:
18, 48, 78, 108,
138
PROVERBS: 18
OLD
TESTAMENT: HOSEA 10: - 14:9
NEW
TESTAMENT: JUDE 1:25
PSALMS: 18
For
the director of music. Of David the servant of the LORD. He sang to the LORD the
words of this song when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies
and from the hand of Saul. He said:
1
I
love you, O LORD, my strength.
2
The
LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my
God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.
He
is my shield and the horn A of my salvation, my
stronghold.
3
I
call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise,
and
I am saved from my enemies.
4
The
cords of death entangled me;
the
torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
5
The
cords of the grave B coiled around me;
the
snares of death confronted me.
6
In
my distress I called to the LORD;
I
cried to my God for help.
From
his temple he heard my voice;
my
cry came before him, into his ears.
7
The
earth trembled and quaked,
and
the foundations of the mountains shook;
they
trembled because he was angry.
8
Smoke
rose from his nostrils;
consuming
fire came from his mouth,
burning
coals blazed out of it.
9
He
parted the heavens and came down;
dark
clouds were under his feet.
10
He
mounted the cherubim and flew;
he
soared on the wings of the wind. [1]
11
He
made darkness his covering, his canopy around him--
the
dark rain clouds of the sky.
12
Out
of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced,
with
hailstones and bolts of lightning.
13
The
LORD thundered from heaven;
the
voice of the Most High resounded. C
14
He
shot his arrows and scattered the enemies,
great
bolts of lightning and routed them.
15
The
valleys of the sea were exposed
and
the foundations of the earth laid bare
at
your rebuke, O LORD,
at
the blast of breath from your nostrils.
16
He
reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he
drew me out of deep waters.
17
He
rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from
my foes, who were too strong for me.
18
They
confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but
the LORD was my support.
19
He
brought me out into a spacious place;
he
rescued me because he delighted in me.
20
The
LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness;
according
to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.
21
For
I have kept the ways of the LORD;
I
have not done evil by turning from my God.
22
All
his laws are before me;
I
have not turned away from his decrees.
23
I
have been blameless before him
and
have kept myself from sin.
24
The
LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according
to the cleanness of my hands in his sight. [2]
25
To
the faithful you show yourself faithful,
to
the blameless you show yourself blameless,
26
to
the pure you show yourself pure,
but
to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.
27
You
save the humble
but
bring low those whose eyes are haughty.
28
You,
O LORD, keep my lamp burning;
my
God turns my darkness into light.
29
With
your help I can advance against a troop D;
with
my God I can scale a wall.
30
As
for God, his way is perfect;
the
word of the LORD is flawless.
He
is a shield
for
all who take refuge in him.
31
For
who is God besides the LORD?
And
who is the Rock except our God?
32
It
is God who arms me with strength
and
makes my way perfect.
33
He
makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he
enables me to stand on the heights.
34
He
trains my hands for battle;
my
arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35
You
give me your shield of victory,
and
your right hand sustains me;
you
stoop down to make me great.
36
You
broaden the path beneath me,
so
that my ankles do not turn.
37
I
pursued my enemies and overtook them;
I
did not turn back till they were destroyed.
38
I
crushed them so that they could not rise;
they
fell beneath my feet. [3]
39
You
armed me with strength for battle;
you
made my adversaries bow at my feet.
40
You
made my enemies turn their backs in flight,
and
I destroyed my foes.
41
They
cried for help, but there was no one to save them--
to
the LORD, but he did not answer.
42
I
beat them as fine as dust borne on the wind;
I
poured them out like mud in the streets.
43
You
have delivered me from the attacks of the people;
you
have made me the head of nations;
people
I did not know are subject to me.
44
As
soon as they hear me, they obey me;
foreigners
cringe before me.
45
They
all lose heart;
they
come trembling from their strongholds.
46
The
LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock!
Exalted
be God my Savior!
47
He
is the God who avenges me,
who
subdues nations under me,
48
who
saves me from my enemies.
You
exalted me above my foes;
from
violent men you rescued me.
49
Therefore
I will praise you among the nations, O LORD;
I
will sing praises to your name.
50
He
gives his king great victories;
he
shows unfailing kindness to his anointed,
to
David and his descendants forever. [4]
PSALMS: 48
A
song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah.
1
Great
is the LORD, and most worthy of praise,
in
the city of our God, his holy mountain.
2
It
is beautiful in its loftiness,
the
joy of the whole earth.
Like
the utmost heights of Zaphon A is Mount Zion,
the
B city of the Great King.
3
God
is in her citadels;
he
has shown himself to be her fortress.
4
When
the kings joined forces,
when
they advanced together,
5
they
saw her and were astounded;
they
fled in terror.
6
Trembling
seized them there,
pain
like that of a woman in labor.
7
You
destroyed them like ships of Tarshish
shattered
by an east wind.
8
As
we have heard,
so
have we seen
in
the city of the LORD Almighty,
in
the city of our God:
God
makes her secure forever.
Selah
9
Within
your temple, O God,
we
meditate on your unfailing love.
10
Like
your name, O God,
your
praise reaches to the ends of the earth;
your
right hand is filled with righteousness. [5]
11
Mount
Zion rejoices,
the
villages of Judah are glad
because
of your judgments.
12
Walk
about Zion, go around her,
count
her towers,
13
consider
well her ramparts,
view
her citadels,
that
you may tell of them to the next generation.
14
For
this God is our God for ever and ever;
he
will be our guide even to the end. [6]
PSALMS: 78
A
maskil A of Asaph.
1
O
my people, hear my teaching;
listen
to the words of my mouth.
2
I
will open my mouth in parables,
I
will utter hidden things, things from of old--
3
what
we have heard and known,
what
our fathers have told us.
4
We
will not hide them from their children;
we
will tell the next generation
the
praiseworthy deeds of the LORD,
his
power, and the wonders he has done.
5
He
decreed statutes for Jacob
and
established the law in Israel,
which
he commanded our forefathers
to
teach their children,
6
so
the next generation would know them,
even
the children yet to be born,
and
they in turn would tell their children.
7
Then
they would put their trust in God
and
would not forget his deeds
but
would keep his commands.
8
They
would not be like their forefathers--
a
stubborn and rebellious generation,
whose
hearts were not loyal to God,
whose
spirits were not faithful to him.
9
The
men of Ephraim, though armed with bows,
turned
back on the day of battle;
10
they
did not keep God's covenant
and
refused to live by his law.
11
They
forgot what he had done,
the
wonders he had shown them.
12
He
did miracles in the sight of their fathers
in
the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.
13
He
divided the sea and led them through;
he
made the water stand firm like a wall.
14
He
guided them with the cloud by day
and
with light from the fire all night.
15
He
split the rocks in the desert
and
gave them water as abundant as the seas;
16
he
brought streams out of a rocky crag
and
made water flow down like rivers.
17
But
they continued to sin against him,
rebelling
in the desert against the Most High.
18
They
willfully put God to the test
by
demanding the food they craved.
19
They
spoke against God, saying,
"Can
God spread a table in the desert?
20
When
he struck the rock, water gushed out,
and
streams flowed abundantly.
But
can he also give us food?
Can
he supply meat for his people?"
21
When
the LORD heard them, he was very angry;
his
fire broke out against Jacob,
and
his wrath rose against Israel,
22
for
they did not believe in God
or
trust in his deliverance.
23
Yet
he gave a command to the skies above
and
opened the doors of the heavens;
24
he
rained down manna for the people to eat, [7]
he
gave them the grain of heaven.
25
Men
ate the bread of angels;
he
sent them all the food they could eat.
26
He
let loose the east wind from the heavens
and
led forth the south wind by his power.
27
He
rained meat down on them like dust,
flying
birds like sand on the seashore.
28
He
made them come down inside their camp,
all
around their tents.
29
They
ate till they had more than enough,
for
he had given them what they craved.
30
But
before they turned from the food they craved,
even
while it was still in their mouths,
31
God's
anger rose against them;
he
put to death the sturdiest among them,
cutting
down the young men of Israel.
32
In
spite of all this, they kept on sinning;
in
spite of his wonders, they did not believe.
33
So
he ended their days in futility
and
their years in terror.
34
Whenever
God slew them, they would seek him;
they
eagerly turned to him again.
35
They
remembered that God was their Rock,
that
God Most High was their Redeemer.
36
But
then they would flatter him with their mouths,
lying
to him with their tongues;
37
their
hearts were not loyal to him,
they
were not faithful to his covenant.
38
Yet
he was merciful;
he
forgave their iniquities
and
did not destroy them.
Time
after time he restrained his anger
and
did not stir up his full wrath. [8]
39
He
remembered that they were but flesh,
a
passing breeze that does not return.
40
How
often they rebelled against him in the desert
and
grieved him in the wasteland!
41
Again
and again they put God to the test;
they
vexed the Holy One of Israel.
42
They
did not remember his power--
the
day he redeemed them from the oppressor,
43
the
day he displayed his miraculous signs in Egypt,
his
wonders in the region of Zoan.
44
He
turned their rivers to blood;
they
could not drink from their streams.
45
He
sent swarms of flies that devoured them,
and
frogs that devastated them.
46
He
gave their crops to the grasshopper,
their
produce to the locust.
47
He
destroyed their vines with hail
and
their sycamore-figs with sleet.
48
He
gave over their cattle to the hail,
their
livestock to bolts of lightning.
49
He
unleashed against them his hot anger,
his
wrath, indignation and hostility--
a
band of destroying angels.
50
He
prepared a path for his anger;
he
did not spare them from death
but
gave them over to the plague.
51
He
struck down all the firstborn of Egypt,
the
firstfruits of manhood in the tents of Ham.
52
But
he brought his people out like a flock;
he
led them like sheep through the desert.
53
He
guided them safely, so they were unafraid;
but
the sea engulfed their enemies.
54
Thus
he brought them to the border of his holy land, [9]
to
the hill country his right hand had taken.
55
He
drove out nations before them
and
allotted their lands to them as an inheritance;
he
settled the tribes of Israel in their homes.
56
But
they put God to the test
and
rebelled against the Most High;
they
did not keep his statutes.
57
Like
their fathers they were disloyal and faithless,
as
unreliable as a faulty bow.
58
They
angered him with their high places;
they
aroused his jealousy with their idols.
59
When
God heard them, he was very angry;
he
rejected Israel completely.
60
He
abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh,
the
tent he had set up among men.
61
He
sent the ark of his might into captivity,
his
splendor into the hands of the enemy.
62
He
gave his people over to the sword;
he
was very angry with his inheritance.
63
Fire
consumed their young men,
and
their maidens had no wedding songs;
64
their
priests were put to the sword,
and
their widows could not weep.
65
Then
the Lord awoke as from sleep,
as
a man wakes from the stupor of wine.
66
He
beat back his enemies;
he
put them to everlasting shame.
67
Then
he rejected the tents of Joseph,
he
did not choose the tribe of Ephraim;
68
but
he chose the tribe of Judah, [10]
Mount
Zion, which he loved.
69
He
built his sanctuary like the heights,
like
the earth that he established forever.
70
He
chose David his servant
and
took him from the sheep pens;
71
from
tending the sheep he brought him
to
be the shepherd of his people Jacob,
of
Israel his inheritance.
72
And
David shepherded them with integrity of heart;
with
skillful hands he led them. [11]
PSALMS: 108
A
song. A psalm of David.
1
My
heart is steadfast, O God;
I
will sing and make music with all my soul.
2
Awake,
harp and lyre!
I
will awaken the dawn.
3
I
will praise you, O LORD, among the nations;
I
will sing of you among the peoples.
4
For
great is your love, higher than the heavens;
your
faithfulness reaches to the skies.
5
Be
exalted, O God, above the heavens,
and
let your glory be over all the earth.
6
Save
us and help us with your right hand,
that
those you love may be delivered.
7
God
has spoken from his sanctuary:
"In triumph I will parcel out
Shechem
and
measure off the Valley of Succoth.
8 Gilead
is mine, Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim
is my helmet,
Judah
my scepter.
9 Moab
is my washbasin,
upon
Edom I toss my sandal;
over
Philistia I shout in triumph."
10
Who
will bring me to the fortified city?
Who
will lead me to Edom?
11
Is
it not you, O God, you who have rejected us
and
no longer go out with our armies?
12
Give
us aid against the enemy,
for
the help of man is worthless.
13
With
God we will gain the victory, [12]
and
he will trample down our enemies. [13]
PSALMS: 138
Of
David.
1
I
will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart;
before
the "gods" I will sing your praise.
2
I
will bow down toward your holy temple
and
will praise your name
for
your love and your faithfulness,
for
you have exalted above all things
your
name and your word.
3
When
I called, you answered me;
you
made me bold and stouthearted.
4
May
all the kings of the earth praise you, O LORD,
when
they hear the words of your mouth.
5
May
they sing of the ways of the LORD,
6
Though
the LORD is on high, he looks upon the lowly,
but
the proud he knows from afar.
7
Though
I walk in the midst of trouble,
you
preserve my life;
you
stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes,
with
your right hand you save me.
8
The
LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
your
love, O LORD, endures forever--
do
not abandon the works of your hands. [14]
PROVERBS: 18
18
1
An unfriendly man pursues selfish ends;
he
defies all sound judgment.
2
A
fool finds no pleasure in understanding
but
delights in airing his own opinions.
3
When
wickedness comes, so does contempt,
and
with shame comes disgrace.
4
The
words of a man's mouth are deep waters,
but
the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.
5
It
is not good to be partial to the wicked
or
to deprive the innocent of justice.
6
A
fool's lips bring him strife,
and
his mouth invites a beating.
7
A
fool's mouth is his undoing,
and
his lips are a snare to his soul.
8
The
words of a gossip are like choice morsels;
they
go down to a man's inmost parts.
9
One
who is slack in his work
is
brother to one who destroys.
10
The
name of the LORD is a strong tower;
the
righteous run to it and are safe.
11The
wealth of the rich is their fortified city;
they
imagine it an unscalable wall. [15]
12
Before
his downfall a man's heart is proud,
but
humility comes before honor.
13
He
who answers before listening--
that
is his folly and his shame.
14
A
man's spirit sustains him in sickness,
but
a crushed spirit who can bear?
15
The
heart of the discerning acquires knowledge;
the
ears of the wise seek it out.
16
A
gift opens the way for the giver
and
ushers him into the presence of the great.
17
The
first to present his case seems right,
till
another comes forward and questions him.
18
Casting
the lot settles disputes
and
keeps strong opponents apart.
19
An
offended brother is more unyielding than a fortified city,
and
disputes are like the barred gates of a citadel.
20
From
the fruit of his mouth a man's stomach is filled;
with
the harvest from his lips he is satisfied.
21
The
tongue has the power of life and death,
and
those who love it will eat its fruit.
22
He
who finds a wife finds what is good
and
receives favor from the LORD. [16]
23
A
poor man pleads for mercy,
but
a rich man answers harshly.
24
A
man of many companions may come to ruin,
but
there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. [17]
OLD
TESTAMENT: HOSEA 10:1 - 14:9
10
1
Israel was a spreading vine;
he
brought forth fruit for himself.
As
his fruit increased,
he
built more altars;
as
his land prospered,
he
adorned his sacred stones.
2
Their
heart is deceitful,
and
now they must bear their guilt.
The
LORD will demolish their altars
and
destroy their sacred stones.
3
Then
they will say, "We have no king
because
we did not revere the LORD.
But
even if we had a king,
what
could he do for us?"
4
They
make many promises,
take
false oaths
and
make agreements;
therefore
lawsuits spring up
like
poisonous weeds in a plowed field.
5
The
people who live in Samaria fear
for
the calf-idol of Beth Aven. A
Its
people will mourn over it,
and
so will its idolatrous priests,
those
who had rejoiced over its splendor, [18]
because
it is taken from them into exile.
6
It
will be carried to Assyria
as
tribute for the great king.
Ephraim
will be disgraced;
Israel
will be ashamed of its wooden idols. B
7
Samaria
and its king will float away
like
a twig on the surface of the waters.
8
The
high places of wickedness C will be destroyed--
it
is the sin of Israel.
Thorns
and thistles will grow up
and
cover their altars.
Then
they will say to the mountains, "Cover us!"
and
to the hills, "Fall on us!"
9
"Since
the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, O Israel,
and
there you have remained. D
Did
not war overtake
the
evildoers in Gibeah?
10
When
I please, I will punish them;
nations
will be gathered against them
to
put them in bonds for their double sin.
11
Ephraim
is a trained heifer
that
loves to thresh;
so
I will put a yoke
on
her fair neck.
I
will drive Ephraim, [19]
Judah
must plow,
and
Jacob must break up the ground.
12
Sow
for yourselves righteousness,
reap
the fruit of unfailing love,
and
break up your unplowed ground;
for
it is time to seek the LORD,
until
he comes
and
showers righteousness on you.
13
But
you have planted wickedness,
you
have reaped evil,
you
have eaten the fruit of deception.
Because
you have depended on your own strength
and
on your many warriors,
14
the
roar of battle will rise against your people,
so
that all your fortresses will be devastated--
as
Shalman devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle,
when
mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.
15
Thus
will it happen to you, O Bethel,
because
your wickedness is great.
When
that day dawns,
the
king of Israel will be completely destroyed. [20]
11
1
"When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and
out of Egypt I called my son.
2
But
the more I A called Israel,
the
further they went from me. B
They
sacrificed to the Baals
and
they burned incense to images.
3
It
was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
taking
them by the arms;
but
they did not realize
it
was I who healed them.
4
I
led them with cords of human kindness,
with
ties of love;
I
lifted the yoke from their neck
and
bent down to feed them.
5
"Will
they not return to Egypt
and
will not Assyria rule over them
because
they refuse to repent?
6
Swords
will flash in their cities,
will
destroy the bars of their gates
and
put an end to their plans.
7
My
people are determined to turn from me.
Even
if they call to the Most High,
he
will by no means exalt them.
8
"How can I give you up, Ephraim?
How
can I hand you over, Israel?
[21]
How
can I treat you like Admah?
How
can I make you like Zeboiim?
My
heart is changed within me;
all
my compassion is aroused.
9
I
will not carry out my fierce anger,
nor
will I turn and devastate Ephraim.
For
I am God, and not man--
the
Holy One among you.
I
will not come in wrath.
C
10
They
will follow the LORD;
he
will roar like a lion.
When
he roars,
his
children will come trembling from the west.
11They
will come trembling
like
birds from Egypt,
like
doves from Assyria.
I
will settle them in their homes,"
declares
the LORD.
12
Ephraim
has surrounded me with lies,
the
house of Israel with deceit.
And
Judah is unruly against God,
even
against the faithful Holy One. [22]
12
1
Ephraim feeds on the wind;
he
pursues the east wind all day
and
multiplies lies and violence.
He
makes a treaty with Assyria
and
sends olive oil to Egypt.
2
The
LORD has a charge to bring against Judah;
he
will punish Jacob A according to his ways
and
repay him according to his deeds.
3
In
the womb he grasped his brother's heel;
as
a man he struggled with God.
4
He
struggled with the angel and overcame him;
he
wept and begged for his favor.
He
found him at Bethel
and
talked with him there--
5
the
LORD God Almighty,
the
LORD is his name of renown!
6
But
you must return to your God;
maintain
love and justice,
and
wait for your God always.
7
The
merchant uses dishonest scales;
he
loves to defraud.
8
Ephraim
boasts,
"I
am very rich; I have become wealthy.
With
all my wealth they will not find in me [23]
any
iniquity or sin."
9
"I am the LORD your God,
who
brought you out of B
Egypt;
I
will make you live in tents again,
as
in the days of your appointed feasts.
10 I
spoke to the prophets,
gave
them many visions
and
told parables through them."
11
Is
Gilead wicked?
Its
people are worthless!
Do
they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal?
Their
altars will be like piles of stones
on
a plowed field.
12
Jacob
fled to the country of Aram C;
Israel
served to get a wife,
and
to pay for her he tended sheep.
13The
LORD used a prophet to bring Israel up from Egypt,
by
a prophet he cared for him.
14
But
Ephraim has bitterly provoked him to anger;
his
Lord will leave upon him the guilt of his bloodshed
and
will repay him for his contempt. [24]
13
1
When Ephraim spoke, men trembled;
he
was exalted in Israel.
But
he became guilty of Baal worship and died.
2
Now
they sin more and more;
they
make idols for themselves from their silver,
cleverly
fashioned images,
all
of them the work of craftsmen.
It
is said of these people,
"They
offer human sacrifice
and
kiss A the calf-idols."
3
Therefore
they will be like the morning mist,
like
the early dew that disappears,
like
chaff swirling from a threshing floor,
like
smoke escaping through a window.
4
"But I am the LORD your God,
who
brought you out of B
Egypt.
You
shall acknowledge no God but me,
no
Savior except me.
5 I
cared for you in the desert,
in
the land of burning heat.
6 When
I fed them, they were satisfied;
when
they were satisfied, they became proud;
then
they forgot me.
like
a leopard I will lurk by the path.
8
Like
a bear robbed of her cubs,
I
will attack them and rip them open.
Like
a lion I will devour them;
a
wild animal will tear them apart.
9
"You are destroyed, O Israel,
because
you are against me, against your helper.
10 Where
is your king, that he may save you?
Where
are your rulers in all your towns,
of
whom you said,
`Give
me a king and princes'?
11 So
in my anger I gave you a king,
and
in my wrath I took him away.
12
The
guilt of Ephraim is stored up,
his
sins are kept on record.
13
Pains
as of a woman in childbirth come to him,
but
he is a child without wisdom;
when
the time arrives,
he
does not come to the opening of the womb.
14
"I will ransom them from the power of the grave
C;
I
will redeem them from death.
Where,
O death, are your plagues?
Where,
O grave,
D is your destruction? [26]
"I
will have no compassion,
15
even though he thrives among his brothers.
An
east wind from the LORD will come,
blowing
in from the desert;
his
spring will fail
and
his well dry up.
His
storehouse will be plundered
of
all its treasures.
16
The
people of Samaria must bear their guilt,
because
they have rebelled against their God.
They
will fall by the sword;
their
little ones will be dashed to the ground,
their
pregnant women ripped open."
14
1
Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God.
Your
sins have been your downfall!
2
Take
words with you
and
return to the LORD.
Say
to him:
"Forgive
all our sins
and
receive us graciously,
that
we may offer the fruit of our lips. A
3
Assyria
cannot save us;
we
will not mount war-horses.
We
will never again say `Our gods'
to
what our own hands have made,
for
in you the fatherless find compassion."
4
"I
will heal their waywardness
and
love them freely,
for
my anger has turned away from them.
5
I
will be like the dew to Israel;
he
will blossom like a lily.
Like
a cedar of Lebanon
he
will send down his roots;
6
his young shoots will grow.
His
splendor will be like an olive tree,
his
fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.
7
Men
will dwell again in his shade.
He
will flourish like the grain.
He
will blossom like a vine,
and
his fame will be like the wine from Lebanon.
8
O
Ephraim, what more have I B to do with idols?
I
will answer him and care for him.
I
am like a green pine tree;
your
fruitfulness comes from me."
9
Who
is wise? He will realize these things.
Who
is discerning? He will understand them. [27]
The
ways of the LORD are right;
the
righteous walk in them,
but
the rebellious stumble in them. [28]
NEW
TESTAMENT: JUDE 1:25
1
1
Jude,
a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James,
To
those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by
A Jesus Christ:
2
Mercy,
peace and love be yours in abundance.
3
Dear
friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share,
I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for
all entrusted to the saints. 4 For certain men whose condemnation was
written about B long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are
godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and
deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
5
Though
you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord C
delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not
believe. 6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of
authority but abandoned their own home--these he has kept in darkness, bound
with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. 7 In a similar
way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual
immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the
punishment of eternal fire.
8
In
the very same way, these dreamers pollute their own bodies, reject authority and
slander celestial beings. 9 But even the archangel Michael, when he
was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a
slanderous accusation against him, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" 10
Yet these men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand; and
what things they do understand by instinct, like unreasoning animals--these are
the very things that destroy them.
11
Woe
to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into
Balaam's error; they have been destroyed in Korah's rebellion.
12
These
men are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest
qualm--shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown
along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted--twice dead. 13
They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars,
for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.
14
Enoch,
the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: "See, the Lord is coming with
thousands upon thousands of his holy ones 15 to judge everyone, and
to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly
way, and of all the harsh words ungodly [29]
sinners have spoken against him." 16 These men are grumblers and
faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves
and flatter others for their own advantage.
17
But,
dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold.
18
They
said to you, "In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own
ungodly desires." 19 These are the men who divide you, who follow
mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.
20
But
you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the
Holy Spirit. 21 Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the
mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.
22
Be
merciful to those who doubt; 23 snatch others from the fire and save
them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear--hating even the clothing stained by
corrupted flesh.
24
To
him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious
presence without fault and with great joy—25 to the only God our
Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord,
before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. [30]
[1]
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John 3:16-21 16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, F that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 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.G 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 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." H
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