And place the Urim and Thummim in the breastpiece of judgment, so that they will also be over Aaron’s heart whenever he comes before the LORD. Aaron will continually carry the judgment of the sons of Israel over his heart before the LORD.
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.
. . .
In the first year of the reign of Belshazzar over Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he lay on his bed. He wrote down the dream, and this is the summary of his account.
Daniel declared: “In my vision in the night I looked, and suddenly the four winds of heaven were churning up the great sea.
Then four great beasts came up out of the sea, each one different from the others:
The first beast was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and given the mind of a man.
Suddenly another beast appeared, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. So it was told, ‘Get up and gorge yourself on flesh!’
. . .
These are the garments that they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban, and a sash. They are to make these holy garments for your brother Aaron and his sons, so that they may serve Me as priests.
In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself stand forever.
Then the LORD said to Moses,
“See, I have called by name Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.
And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability, and knowledge in all kinds of craftsmanship,
to design artistic works in gold, silver, and bronze,
to cut gemstones for settings, and to carve wood, so that he may be a master of every craft.
. . .
Now when the people saw that Moses was delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him!”
So Aaron told them, “Take off the gold earrings that are on your wives and sons and daughters, and bring them to me.”
Then all the people took off their gold earrings and brought them to Aaron.
He took the gold from their hands, and with an engraving tool he fashioned it into a molten calf. And they said, “These, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”
When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before the calf and proclaimed: “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.”
. . .
You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every kind of precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald. Your mountings and settings were crafted in gold, prepared on the day of your creation.
A Psalm of David. The LORD said to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”
The LORD extends Your mighty scepter from Zion: “Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”
Your people shall be willing on Your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn, to You belongs the dew of Your youth.
The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”
The Lord is at Your right hand; He will crush kings in the day of His wrath.
. . .
Then I saw another angel flying overhead, with the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation and tribe and tongue and people.
These were the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun,
Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, and Shelah. These three were born to him by Bath-shua the Canaanite. Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD, who put him to death.
Tamar, Judah’s daughter-in-law, bore to him Perez and Zerah. Judah had five sons in all.
The sons of Perez: Hezron and Hamul.
. . .
When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.
For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.
My message and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,
so that your faith would not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.
. . .
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
By this we can be sure that we have come to know Him: if we keep His commandments.
If anyone says, “I know Him,” but does not keep His commandments, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
But if anyone keeps His word, the love of God has been truly perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him:
. . .
Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander.
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,
now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
As you come to Him, the living stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight,
you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
. . .
you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be offered for everyone—
for kings and all those in authority—so that we may lead tranquil and quiet lives in all godliness and dignity.
This is good and pleasing in the sight of God our Savior,
who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
. . .
After the death of Ahab, Moab rebelled against Israel.
Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers and instructed them: “Go inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this injury.”
But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are on your way to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’
Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘You will not get up from the bed on which you are lying. You will surely die.’” So Elijah departed.
When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, “Why have you returned?”
. . .
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.
After the death of Saul, David returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag two days.
On the third day a man with torn clothes and dust on his head arrived from Saul’s camp. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him homage.
“Where have you come from?” David asked. “I have escaped from the Israelite camp,” he replied.
“What was the outcome?” David asked. “Please tell me.” “The troops fled from the battle,” he replied. “Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.”
Then David asked the young man who had brought him the report, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”
. . .
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
We are obligated to thank God for you all the time, brothers, as is fitting, because your faith is growing more and more, and your love for one another is increasing.
That is why we boast among God’s churches about your perseverance and faith in the face of all the persecution and affliction you are enduring.
All this is clear evidence of God’s righteous judgment. And so you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.
. . .
After His suffering, He presented Himself to them with many convincing proofs that He was alive. He appeared to them over a span of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
For as I walked around and examined your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore what you worship as something unknown, I now proclaim to you.
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.
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.
With one accord they continued to meet daily in the temple courts and to break bread from house to house, sharing their meals with gladness and sincerity of heart,
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,
because we have heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all the saints—
the faith and love proceeding from the hope stored up for you in heaven, of which you have already heard in the word of truth, the gospel
. . .
And just as you saw a stone being cut out of the mountain without human hands, and it shattered the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold, so the great God has told the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy.”
He will speak out against the Most High and oppress the saints of the Most High, intending to change the appointed times and laws; and the saints will be given into his hand for a time, and times, and half a time.
As I continued to watch, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took His seat. His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze.
In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar, a vision appeared to me, Daniel, subsequent to the one that had appeared to me earlier.
And in the vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa, in the province of Elam. I saw in the vision that I was beside the Ulai Canal.
Then I lifted up my eyes and saw a ram with two horns standing beside the canal. The horns were long, but one was longer than the other, and the longer one grew up later.
I saw the ram charging toward the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand against him, and there was no deliverance from his power. He did as he pleased and became great.
As I was contemplating all this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between his eyes came out of the west, crossing the surface of the entire earth without touching the ground.
. . .
At that time the LORD said to me, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the originals, come up to Me on the mountain, and make an ark of wood.
And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke; and you are to place them in the ark.”
So I made an ark of acacia wood, chiseled out two stone tablets like the originals, and went up the mountain with the two tablets in my hands.
And the LORD wrote on the tablets what had been written previously, the Ten Commandments that He had spoken to you on the mountain out of the fire on the day of the assembly. The LORD gave them to me,
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.
For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love
He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will,
. . .
And the skillfully woven waistband of the ephod must be of one piece, of the same workmanship—with gold, with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and with finely spun linen.
“You are also to make an altar of acacia wood for the burning of incense.
It is to be square, a cubit long, a cubit wide, and two cubits high. Its horns must be of one piece.
Overlay with pure gold the top and all the sides and horns, and make a molding of gold around it.
And make two gold rings below the molding on opposite sides to hold the poles used to carry it.
Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.
. . .
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the originals, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.
Be ready in the morning, and come up on Mount Sinai to present yourself before Me on the mountaintop.
No one may go up with you; in fact, no one may be seen anywhere on the mountain—not even the flocks or herds may graze in front of the mountain.”
So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the originals. He rose early in the morning, and taking the two stone tablets in his hands, he went up Mount Sinai as the LORD had commanded him.
And the LORD descended in a cloud, stood with him there, and proclaimed His name, the LORD.
. . .
Aram was your customer because of your many products; they exchanged turquoise, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral, and rubies for your wares.
The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me out by His Spirit and set me down in the middle of the valley, and it was full of bones.
He led me all around among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, and indeed, they were very dry.
Then He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones come to life?” “O Lord GOD,” I replied, “only You know.”
And He said to me, “Prophesy concerning these bones and tell them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!
This is what the Lord GOD says to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you will come to life.
. . .
For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.
What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he is the owner of everything.
He is subject to guardians and trustees until the date set by his father.
So also, when we were children, we were enslaved under the basic principles of the world.
But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
to redeem those under the law, that we might receive our adoption as sons.
. . .
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.
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from that time and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will accomplish this.
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you.
For behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will restore from captivity My people Israel and Judah, declares the LORD. I will restore them to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they will possess it.’”
These are the words that the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah.
Yes, this is what the LORD says: “A cry of panic is heard—a cry of terror, not of peace.
. . .
And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made.
In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.
The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
. . .
When Jesus had spoken these things, He lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You.
For You granted Him authority over all people, so that He may give eternal life to all those You have given Him.
Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.
I have glorified You on earth by accomplishing the work You gave Me to do.
And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world existed.
. . .
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.
. . .
Then the LORD said to Moses,
“Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘These are My appointed feasts, the feasts of the LORD that you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.
For six days work may be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, a day of sacred assembly. You must not do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the LORD.
These are the LORD’s appointed feasts, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times.
The Passover to the LORD begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month.
. . .
Then the LORD said to Moses,
“Take Aaron and his sons, their garments, the anointing oil, the bull of the sin offering, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread,
and assemble the whole congregation at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.”
So Moses did as the LORD had commanded him, and the assembly gathered at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
And Moses said to them, “This is what the LORD has commanded to be done.”
. . .
Just then a man came up to Jesus and inquired, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to obtain eternal life?”
“Why do you ask Me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”
“Which ones?” the man asked. Jesus answered, “‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness,
honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.’”
“All these I have kept,” said the young man. “What do I still lack?”
. . .
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, in the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.
The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take along any extra oil.
But the wise ones took oil in flasks along with their lamps.
When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
. . .
“Speak to the Israelites and tell them that throughout the generations to come they are to make for themselves tassels for the corners of their garments, with a blue cord on each tassel.
Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together, against the LORD and against His Anointed One:
“Let us break Their chains and cast away Their cords.”
The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord taunts them.
Then He rebukes them in His anger, and terrifies them in His fury:
. . .
Of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—whom shall I dread?
When the wicked came upon me to devour my flesh, my enemies and foes stumbled and fell.
Though an army encamps around me, my heart will not fear; though a war breaks out against me, I will keep my trust.
One thing I have asked of the LORD; this is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and seek Him in His temple.
For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter; He will conceal me under the cover of His tent; He will set me high upon a rock.
. . .
Then I looked and saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000 who had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads.
And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of many waters and the loud rumbling of thunder. And the sound I heard was like harpists strumming their harps.
And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. And no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.
These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they are virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They have been redeemed from among men as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.
And no lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.
. . .
he too will drink the wine of God’s anger, poured undiluted into the cup of His wrath. And he will be tormented in fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.
And a third angel followed them, calling out in a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image, and receives its mark on his forehead or on his hand,
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of Him who holds the seven stars in His right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.
I know your deeds, your labor, and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate those who are evil, and you have tested and exposed as liars those who falsely claim to be apostles.
Without growing weary, you have persevered and endured many things for the sake of My name.
But I have this against you: You have abandoned your first love.
Therefore, keep in mind how far you have fallen. Repent and perform the deeds you did at first. But if you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
. . .
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.
I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God.
‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,’ and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.”
And the One seated on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Then He said, “Write this down, for these words are faithful and true.”
. . .
The wall was made of jasper, and the city itself of pure gold, as pure as glass.
The foundations of the city walls were adorned with every kind of precious stone: The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,
the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.
And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, with each gate consisting of a single pearl. The main street of the city was pure gold, as clear as glass.
Like them, he who overcomes will be dressed in white. And I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and His angels.
Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on another. For on whatever grounds you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.
And we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth.
So when you, O man, pass judgment on others, yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment?
Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?
But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
. . .
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.
What then shall we say? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed, I would not have been mindful of sin if not for the law. For I would not have been aware of coveting if the law had not said, “Do not covet.”
In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. And a certain man from Bethlehem in Judah, with his wife and two sons, went to reside in the land of Moab.
The man’s name was Elimelech, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah, and they entered the land of Moab and settled there.
Then Naomi’s husband Elimelech died, and she was left with her two sons,
who took Moabite women as their wives, one named Orpah and the other named Ruth. And after they had lived in Moab about ten years,
both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and without her husband.
. . .