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Paul Goes to Macedonia and Greece

20 When the uproar was over, Paul sent for the believers[a] and encouraged them. Then he said good-bye and left for Macedonia. While there, he encouraged the believers in all the towns he passed through. Then he traveled down to Greece, where he stayed for three months. He was preparing to sail back to Syria when he discovered a plot by some Jews against his life, so he decided to return through Macedonia.

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Footnotes

  1. 20:1 Greek disciples.

Through Macedonia and Greece

20 When the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples(A) and, after encouraging them, said goodbye and set out for Macedonia.(B) He traveled through that area, speaking many words of encouragement to the people, and finally arrived in Greece, where he stayed three months. Because some Jews had plotted against him(C) just as he was about to sail for Syria,(D) he decided to go back through Macedonia.(E)

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13 Yet how quickly they forgot what he had done!
    They wouldn’t wait for his counsel!
14 In the wilderness their desires ran wild,
    testing God’s patience in that dry wasteland.
15 So he gave them what they asked for,
    but he sent a plague along with it.
16 The people in the camp were jealous of Moses
    and envious of Aaron, the Lord’s holy priest.
17 Because of this, the earth opened up;
    it swallowed Dathan
    and buried Abiram and the other rebels.
18 Fire fell upon their followers;
    a flame consumed the wicked.

19 The people made a calf at Mount Sinai[a];
    they bowed before an image made of gold.
20 They traded their glorious God
    for a statue of a grass-eating bull.
21 They forgot God, their savior,
    who had done such great things in Egypt—
22 such wonderful things in the land of Ham,
    such awesome deeds at the Red Sea.
23 So he declared he would destroy them.
    But Moses, his chosen one, stepped between the Lord and the people.
    He begged him to turn from his anger and not destroy them.

24 The people refused to enter the pleasant land,
    for they wouldn’t believe his promise to care for them.
25 Instead, they grumbled in their tents
    and refused to obey the Lord.
26 Therefore, he solemnly swore
    that he would kill them in the wilderness,
27 that he would scatter their descendants[b] among the nations,
    exiling them to distant lands.

28 Then our ancestors joined in the worship of Baal at Peor;
    they even ate sacrifices offered to the dead!
29 They angered the Lord with all these things,
    so a plague broke out among them.
30 But Phinehas had the courage to intervene,
    and the plague was stopped.
31 So he has been regarded as a righteous man
    ever since that time.

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Footnotes

  1. 106:19 Hebrew at Horeb, another name for Sinai.
  2. 106:27 As in Syriac version; Hebrew reads he would cause their descendants to fall.

13 But they soon forgot(A) what he had done
    and did not wait for his plan to unfold.(B)
14 In the desert(C) they gave in to their craving;
    in the wilderness(D) they put God to the test.(E)
15 So he gave them(F) what they asked for,
    but sent a wasting disease(G) among them.

16 In the camp they grew envious(H) of Moses
    and of Aaron, who was consecrated to the Lord.
17 The earth opened(I) up and swallowed Dathan;(J)
    it buried the company of Abiram.(K)
18 Fire blazed(L) among their followers;
    a flame consumed the wicked.
19 At Horeb they made a calf(M)
    and worshiped an idol cast from metal.
20 They exchanged their glorious God(N)
    for an image of a bull, which eats grass.
21 They forgot the God(O) who saved them,
    who had done great things(P) in Egypt,
22 miracles in the land of Ham(Q)
    and awesome deeds(R) by the Red Sea.
23 So he said he would destroy(S) them—
    had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach(T) before him
    to keep his wrath from destroying them.

24 Then they despised(U) the pleasant land;(V)
    they did not believe(W) his promise.
25 They grumbled(X) in their tents
    and did not obey the Lord.
26 So he swore(Y) to them with uplifted hand
    that he would make them fall in the wilderness,(Z)
27 make their descendants fall among the nations
    and scatter(AA) them throughout the lands.

28 They yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor(AB)
    and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods;
29 they aroused the Lord’s anger(AC) by their wicked deeds,(AD)
    and a plague(AE) broke out among them.
30 But Phinehas(AF) stood up and intervened,
    and the plague was checked.(AG)
31 This was credited to him(AH) as righteousness
    for endless generations(AI) to come.

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32 The wicked are crushed by disaster,
    but the godly have a refuge when they die.

33 Wisdom is enshrined in an understanding heart;
    wisdom is not[a] found among fools.

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Footnotes

  1. 14:33 As in Greek and Syriac versions; Hebrew lacks not.

32 When calamity comes, the wicked are brought down,(A)
    but even in death the righteous seek refuge in God.(B)

33 Wisdom reposes in the heart of the discerning(C)
    and even among fools she lets herself be known.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 14:33 Hebrew; Septuagint and Syriac discerning / but in the heart of fools she is not known