He who answers a matter before he hears it—this is folly and disgrace to him.

So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts.

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool spouts folly. The eyes of the LORD are in every place, observing the evil and the good. A soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit. A fool rejects his father’s discipline, but whoever heeds correction is prudent. . . .

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come.

The natural man 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.

What good is it, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith, but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you tells him, “Go in peace; stay warm and well fed,” but does not provide for his physical needs, what good is that? So too, faith by itself, if it does not result in action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. . . .

We tear down arguments and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God; and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

For this people’s heart has grown callous; 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.’

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like a mighty rushing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. . . .

Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life.

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world. The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.

That is why I told you that you would die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think on these things.

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You.

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

You pore over the Scriptures because you presume that by them you possess eternal life. These are the very words that testify about Me,

Truly, truly, I tell you, he who believes has eternal life.

This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon come to pass. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John, who testifies to everything he saw. This is the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and obey what is written in it, because the time is near. John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from Him who is and was and is to come, and from the seven Spirits before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood, . . .

as it is written: “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see, and ears that could not hear, to this very day.”

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.

For this people’s heart has grown callous; 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.’

So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.

Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment. Indeed, he has crossed over from death to life.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.

He writes this way in all his letters, speaking in them about such matters. Some parts of his letters are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.

It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age— and then have fallen away—to be restored to repentance, because they themselves are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting Him to open shame.

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but think of yourself with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith God has given you.

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.

For the One whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.

Because of this, 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.

“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.

At this, they picked up stones to throw at Him. But Jesus was hidden and went out of the temple area.

Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

I run in the path of Your commandments, for You will enlarge my heart.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

Therefore prepare your minds for action. Be sober-minded. Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Is not David hiding on the hill of Hachilah, opposite Jeshimon?” So Saul, accompanied by three thousand chosen men of Israel, went down to the Wilderness of Ziph to search for David there. Saul camped beside the road at the hill of Hachilah opposite Jeshimon, but David was living in the wilderness. When he realized that Saul had followed him there, David sent out spies to verify that Saul had arrived. Then David set out and went to the place where Saul had camped. He saw the place where Saul and Abner son of Ner, the general of his army, had lain down. Saul was lying inside the inner circle of the camp, with the troops camped around him. . . .

Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true.

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

Now we who have believed enter that rest. As for the others, it is just as God has said: “So I swore on oath in My anger, ‘They shall never enter My rest.’” And yet His works have been finished since the foundation of the world.

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.

Nevertheless, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal its people and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth.

Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me—or at least believe on account of the works themselves.

If anyone desires to do His will, he will know whether My teaching is from God or whether I speak on My own.

So He said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples.

Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

After they had arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, “Does your Teacher pay the two drachmas?” “Yes,” he answered. When Peter entered the house, Jesus preempted him. “What do you think, Simon?” He asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs and taxes: from their own sons, or from others?” “From others,” Peter answered. “Then the sons are exempt,” Jesus declared. “But so that we may not offend them, go to the sea, cast a hook, and take the first fish you catch. When you open its mouth, you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for My tax and yours.”

Do not envy wicked men or desire their company; for their hearts devise violence, and their lips declare trouble. By wisdom a house is built and by understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with every precious and beautiful treasure. A wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge enhances his strength. . . .

Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, 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: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I always thank my God for you because of the grace He has given you in Christ Jesus. For in Him you have been enriched in every way, in all speech and all knowledge, . . .

Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.

Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, and to be generous and ready to share, treasuring up for themselves a firm foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Avoid irreverent, empty chatter and the opposing arguments of so-called “knowledge,” which some have professed and thus swerved away from the faith. Grace be with you all.

Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth. They are depraved in mind and disqualified from the faith.

As soon as night had fallen, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true.

Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

In my vision in the night I continued to watch, and I saw One like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. And He was given dominion, glory, and kingship, that the people of every nation and language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen.

and with diligence to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

This is the message that was revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz concerning Judah and Jerusalem: In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways so that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. Then He will judge between the nations and arbitrate for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer take up the sword against nation, nor train anymore for war. Come, O house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the LORD. . . .

For the LORD has poured out on you a spirit of deep sleep. He has shut your eyes, O prophets; He has covered your heads, O seers. And the entire vision will be to you like the words sealed in a scroll. If it is handed to someone to read, he will say, “I cannot, because it is sealed.” Or if the scroll is handed to one unable to read, he will say, “I cannot read.”

Heal me, O LORD, and I will be healed; save me, and I will be saved, for You are my praise.

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

Call to Me, and I will answer and show you great and unsearchable things you do not know.

I and the Father are one.”

At this time a man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

After He had said this, He told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to wake him up.” His disciples replied, “Lord, if he is sleeping, he will get better.” They thought that Jesus was talking about actual sleep, but He was speaking about the death of Lazarus. So Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead,

Now the Jewish Passover was near, and many people went up from the country to Jerusalem to purify themselves before the Passover. They kept looking for Jesus and asking one another as they stood in the temple courts, “What do you think? Will He come to the feast at all?” But the chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that anyone who knew where He was must report it, so that they could arrest Him. Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, the hometown of Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. So they hosted a dinner for Jesus there. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with Him. . . .

If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have seen and hated both Me and My Father.

When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—He will testify about Me.

Jesus answered, “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 not of this realm.”

Thomas replied, “My Lord and my God!”

But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.

There are many more things that Jesus did. If all of them were written down, I suppose that not even the world itself would have space for the books that would be written.

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs You are doing if God were not with him.” Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time to be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. . . .

For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He wishes.

Do not be amazed at this, for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice and come out—those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

If you had believed Moses, you would believe Me, because he wrote about Me.

It is written in the Prophets: ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from Him comes to Me—

“Truly, truly, I tell you,” Jesus declared, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

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

“Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means, “God with us”).

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

The Son of Man will go just as it is written about Him, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed. It would be better for him if he had not been born.”

But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?”

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh; but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. The mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.

Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.