Acts 11:19-30

English Standard Version

The Church in Antioch

¹⁹^(A)Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. ²⁰But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists^[a] also, ^(B)preaching the Lord Jesus. ²¹And ^(C)the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed ^(D)turned to the Lord. ²²The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. ²³When he came and saw ^(E)the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord ^(F)with steadfast purpose, ²⁴for he was a good man, ^(G)full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people ^(H)were added to the Lord. ²⁵So Barnabas went to ^(I)Tarsus to look for Saul, ²⁶and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called ^(J)Christians.

²⁷Now in these days ^(K)prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. ²⁸And one of them named ^(L)Agabus stood up and foretold ^(M)by the Spirit that there would be a great ^(N)famine over all the world (this took place in the days of ^(O)Claudius). ²⁹So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, ^(P)to send relief to ^(Q)the brothers^[b] living in Judea. ³⁰^(R)And they did so, sending it to ^(S)the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

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Footnotes

Acts 11:20 Or Greeks (that is, Greek-speaking non-Jews)
Acts 11:29 Or brothers and sisters

Isaiah 45:11-13

English Standard Version

¹¹Thus says ^(A)the Lord,
    the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him:
^(B)“Ask me of things to come;
    will you command me ^(C)concerning my children and ^(D)the work of my hands?^[a]
¹²^(E)I made the earth
    and created man on it;
it was my hands ^(F)that stretched out the heavens,
    and ^(G)I commanded all their host.
¹³^(H)I have stirred him up in righteousness,
    ^(I)and I will make all his ways level;
^(J)he shall build my city
    ^(K)and set my exiles free,
not for price or reward,”
    says the Lord of hosts.

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Footnotes

Isaiah 45:11 A slight emendation yields will you question me about my children, or command me concerning the work of my hands?

Isaiah 45:18-19

English Standard Version

¹⁸^(A)For thus says the Lord,
who created the heavens
    (he is God!),
who formed the earth and made it
    (he established it;
he ^(B)did not create it empty,
    ^(C)he formed it to be inhabited!):
“I am the Lord, and there is no other.
¹⁹^(D)I did not speak in secret,
    in a land of darkness;
I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,
    ^(E)‘Seek me in vain.’^[a]
I the Lord speak ^(F)the truth;
    I declare what is right.

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Footnotes

Isaiah 45:19 Hebrew in emptiness

Isaiah 45:20-25

English Standard Version

²⁰^(A)“Assemble yourselves and come;
    draw near together,
    you survivors of the nations!
^(B)They have no knowledge
    who ^(C)carry about their wooden idols,
^(D)and keep on praying to a god
    that cannot save.
²¹^(E)Declare and present your case;
    let them take counsel together!
Who told this long ago?
    Who declared it of old?
Was it not I, the Lord?
    And there is no other god besides me,
a righteous God ^(F)and a Savior;
    there is none besides me.

²²“Turn to me and be saved,
    ^(G)all the ends of the earth!
    For I am God, and there is no other.
²³^(H)By myself I have sworn;
    from my mouth has gone out in ^(I)righteousness
    a word that shall not return:
^(J)‘To me every knee shall bow,
    every tongue shall swear allegiance.’^[a]

²⁴^(K)“Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me,
    are righteousness and ^(L)strength;
to him shall come and be ashamed
    ^(M)all who were incensed against him.
²⁵In the Lord all the offspring of Israel
    shall be justified and shall glory.”

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Footnotes

Isaiah 45:23 Septuagint every tongue shall confess to God

Psalm 33

English Standard Version

The Steadfast Love of the Lord

33 ^(A)Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!
    ^(B)Praise befits the upright.
²Give thanks to the Lord with the ^(C)lyre;
    make melody to him with ^(D)the harp of ^(E)ten strings!
³Sing to him ^(F)a new song;
    play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

⁴For the word of the Lord is upright,
and all his work is done in ^(G)faithfulness.
⁵He ^(H)loves righteousness and justice;
^(I)the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

⁶By ^(J)the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
and by ^(K)the breath of his mouth all ^(L)their host.
⁷He gathers the waters of the sea as ^(M)a heap;
he ^(N)puts the deeps in storehouses.

⁸Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
⁹For ^(O)he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.

¹⁰The Lord ^(P)brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
    he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
¹¹^(Q)The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
    the plans of his heart to all generations.
¹²^(R)Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
    the people whom he has ^(S)chosen as his heritage!

¹³The Lord ^(T)looks down from heaven;
    he sees all the children of man;
¹⁴from ^(U)where he sits enthroned he ^(V)looks out
    on all the inhabitants of the earth,
¹⁵he who fashions the hearts of them all
    and observes all their deeds.
¹⁶^(W)The king is not saved by his great army;
    a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
¹⁷^(X)The war horse is a false hope for salvation,
    and by its great might it cannot rescue.

¹⁸Behold, ^(Y)the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
^(Z)on those who hope in his steadfast love,
¹⁹that he may ^(AA)deliver their soul from death
and keep them alive in ^(AB)famine.

²⁰Our soul ^(AC)waits for the Lord;
    he is our ^(AD)help and ^(AE)our shield.
²¹For our heart is ^(AF)glad in him,
    because we ^(AG)trust in his holy name.
²²Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
    even as we hope in you.

1 John 4:7-21

English Standard Version

God Is Love

⁷Beloved, ^(A)let us love one another, for love is from God, and ^(B)whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸^(C)Anyone who does not love does not know God, because ^(D)God is love. ⁹In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that ^(E)God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. ¹⁰In this is love, ^(F)not that we have loved God ^(G)but that he loved us and sent his Son to be ^(H)the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹²^(I)No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and ^(J)his love is perfected in us.

¹³^(K)By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴And ^(L)we have seen and testify that ^(M)the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of ^(N)the world. ¹⁵^(O)Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. ¹⁶So ^(P)we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. ^(Q)God is love, and ^(R)whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. ¹⁷By this ^(S)is love perfected with us, so that ^(T)we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because ^(U)as he is so also are we in this world. ¹⁸There is no fear in love, but ^(V)perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not ^(W)been perfected in love. ¹⁹^(X)We love because he first loved us. ²⁰^(Y)If anyone says, “I love God,” and ^(Z)hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot^[a] love God ^(AA)whom he has not seen. ²¹And ^(AB)this commandment we have from him: ^(AC)whoever loves God must also love his brother.

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Footnotes

1 John 4:20 Some manuscripts how can he

John 15:9-17

English Standard Version

⁹^(A)As the Father has loved me, ^(B)so have I loved you. Abide in my love. ¹⁰^(C)If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as ^(D)I have kept ^(E)my Father's commandments and abide in his love. ¹¹These things I have spoken to you, ^(F)that my joy may be in you, and that ^(G)your joy may be full.

¹²^(H)“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³^(I)Greater love has no one than this, ^(J)that someone lay down his life for his friends. ¹⁴You are ^(K)my friends ^(L)if you do what I command you. ¹⁵^(M)No longer do I call you servants,^[a] for the servant ^(N)does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for ^(O)all that I have heard from my Father ^(P)I have made known to you. ¹⁶You did not choose me, but ^(Q)I chose you and appointed you that you should go and ^(R)bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that ^(S)whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. ¹⁷These things I command you, ^(T)so that you will love one another.

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Footnotes

John 15:15 Or bondservants, or slaves (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface); likewise for servant later in this verse and in verse 20