Acts 14:16-17
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
16 In past generations he allowed all peoples to follow their own ways,(A) 17 yet he has not left himself without a witness in doing good, giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons and filling you with food and your hearts with joy.”(B)
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Acts 17:16-24
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Paul in Athens
16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply distressed to see that the city was full of idols.(A) 17 So he argued in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons and also in the marketplace[a] every day with those who happened to be there. 18 Also some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers debated with him. Some said, “What does this pretentious babbler want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign divinities.” (This was because he was telling the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.) 19 So they took him and brought him to the Areopagus and asked him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 It sounds rather strange to us, so we would like to know what it means.” 21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners living there would spend their time in nothing but telling or hearing something new.
22 Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, “Athenians, I see how extremely spiritual you are in every way. 23 For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands,(B)
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- 17.17 Or civic center
John 1:1-14
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Word Became Flesh
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.(A) 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being(B) 4 in him was life,[a] and the life was the light of all people.(C) 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. 9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.[b](D)
10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him, yet the world did not know him.(E) 11 He came to what was his own,[c] and his own people did not accept him. 12 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God,(F) 13 who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.(G)
14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son,[d] full of grace and truth.(H)
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John 3:8
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
8 The wind[a] blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”(A)
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- 3.8 The same Greek word means both wind and spirit
John 10:16
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
16 I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.(A)
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Romans 1:16-27
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The Power of the Gospel
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is God’s saving power for everyone who believes,[a] for the Jew first and also for the Greek.(A) 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith, as it is written, “The one who is righteous will live by faith.”[b](B)
The Guilt of Humankind
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and injustice of those who by their injustice suppress the truth.(C) 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 Ever since the creation of the world God’s eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been seen and understood through the things God has made. So they are without excuse,(D) 21 for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless hearts were darkened.(E) 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling a mortal human or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.(F)
24 Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves.(G) 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.(H)
26 For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. Their females exchanged natural intercourse[c] for unnatural,(I) 27 and in the same way also the males, giving up natural intercourse[d] with females, were consumed with their passionate desires for one another. Males committed shameless acts with males and received in their own persons the due penalty for their error.(J)
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Romans 2:10-16
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10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, both the Jew first and the Greek. 11 For God shows no partiality.(A)
12 All who have sinned apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged in accordance with the law. 13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous in God’s sight but the doers of the law who will be justified.(B) 14 When gentiles, who do not possess the law, by nature do[a] what the law requires, these, though not having the law, are a law to themselves. 15 They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, as their own conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts will accuse or perhaps excuse them 16 on the day when, according to my gospel, God through Christ Jesus judges the secret thoughts of all.(C)
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- 2.14 Or law by nature, do
1 John 4:7-8
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
God Is Love
7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.(A) 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.
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Matthew 25:37-40
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37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.’(A)
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Genesis 9:16
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16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”(A)
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Genesis 15:16
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16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”(A)
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Genesis 14
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Lot’s Captivity and Rescue
14 In the days of King Amraphel of Shinar, King Arioch of Ellasar, King Chedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal of Goiim,(A) 2 these kings made war with King Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, King Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, that is, Zoar.(B) 3 All these joined forces in the Valley of Siddim, that is, the Dead Sea.[a](C) 4 Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5 In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and subdued the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim,(D) 6 and the Horites in the hill country of Seir as far as El-paran on the edge of the wilderness;(E) 7 then they turned back and came to En-mishpat, that is, Kadesh, and subdued all the country of the Amalekites and also the Amorites who lived in Hazazon-tamar.(F) 8 Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, that is, Zoar, went out, and they joined battle in the Valley of Siddim 9 with King Chedorlaomer of Elam, King Tidal of Goiim, King Amraphel of Shinar, and King Arioch of Ellasar, four kings against five. 10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of bitumen pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, and the rest fled to the hill country. 11 So the enemy took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their provisions and went their way;(G) 12 they also took Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, who lived in Sodom, and his goods and departed.(H)
13 Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks[b] of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner; these were allies of Abram.(I) 14 When Abram heard that his nephew had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, three hundred eighteen of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.(J) 15 He divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and routed them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus. 16 Then he brought back all the goods and also brought back his nephew Lot with his goods and the women and the people.(K)
Abram Blessed by Melchizedek
17 After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh, that is, the King’s Valley.(L) 18 And King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High.[c](M) 19 He blessed him and said,
“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,[d]
maker of heaven and earth,(N)
20 and blessed be God Most High,[e]
who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”
And Abram gave him one-tenth of everything.(O) 21 Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.” 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have sworn to God[f] Most High,[g] maker of heaven and earth,(P) 23 that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, so that you might not say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’(Q) 24 I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten and the share of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. Let them take their share.”
Hebrews 7
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Priestly Order of Melchizedek
7 This “Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham as he was returning from defeating the kings and blessed him,”(A) 2 and to him Abraham apportioned “one-tenth of everything.” His name, in the first place, means “king of righteousness”; next, he is also king of Salem, that is, “king of peace.” 3 Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life but resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.(B)
4 See how great he is! Even[a] Abraham the patriarch gave him a tenth of the spoils.(C) 5 And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to collect tithes[b] from the people, that is, from their kindred, though these also are descended from Abraham.(D) 6 But this man, who does not belong to their ancestry, collected tithes[c] from Abraham and blessed him who had received the promises.(E) 7 It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. 8 In the one case, tithes are received by those who are mortal; in the other, by one of whom it is testified that he lives.(F) 9 One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, 10 for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.
Another Priest, Like Melchizedek
11 Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood—for the people received the law under this priesthood—what further need would there have been to speak of another priest arising according to the order of Melchizedek rather than one according to the order of Aaron?(G) 12 For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. 13 Now the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. 14 For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.(H)
15 It is even more obvious when another priest arises, resembling Melchizedek, 16 one who has become a priest, not through a legal requirement concerning physical descent but through the power of an indestructible life.(I) 17 For it is attested of him,
“You are a priest forever,
according to the order of Melchizedek.”(J)
18 There is, on the one hand, the abrogation of an earlier commandment because it was weak and ineffectual(K) 19 (for the law made nothing perfect); there is, on the other hand, the introduction of a better hope through which we approach God.(L)
20 This was confirmed with an oath, for others have become priests without an oath, 21 but this one became a priest with an oath because of the one who said to him,
22 accordingly Jesus has also become the guarantor of a better covenant.(N)
23 Furthermore, the former priests were many in number because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, 24 but he holds his priesthood permanently because he continues forever. 25 Consequently, he is able for all time to save[e] those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.(O)
26 For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.(P) 27 Unlike the other[f] high priests, he has no need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins and then for those of the people; this he did once for all when he offered himself.(Q) 28 For the law appoints as high priests humans, who are subject to weakness, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.(R)
Amos 9:7
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
7 Are you not like the Cushites to me,
O people of Israel? says the Lord.
Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt
and the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir?(A)
Hebrews 11
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Meaning of Faith
11 Now faith is the assurance[a] of things hoped for, the conviction[b] of things not seen.(A) 2 Indeed, by faith[c] our ancestors received approval. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.[d](B)
The Examples of Abel, Enoch, and Noah
4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable[e] sacrifice than Cain’s. Through this he received approval as righteous, God himself giving approval to his gifts; he died, but through his faith[f] he still speaks.(C) 5 By faith Enoch was taken so that he did not experience death, and “he was not found, because God had taken him.” For it was attested before he was taken away that “he had pleased God.”(D) 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would approach God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 7 By faith Noah, warned by God about events as yet unseen, respected the warning and built an ark to save his household; by this he condemned the world and became an heir to the righteousness that is in accordance with faith.(E)
The Faith of Abraham
8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance, and he set out, not knowing where he was going.(F) 9 By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.(G) 10 For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.(H) 11 By faith, with Sarah’s involvement, he received power of procreation, even though he was too old, because he considered[g] him faithful who had promised.(I) 12 Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, “as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.”(J)
13 All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth,(K) 14 for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better homeland, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.(L)
17 By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son,(M) 18 of whom he had been told, “It is through Isaac that descendants shall be named for you.”(N) 19 He considered the fact that God is able even to raise someone from the dead—and, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.(O) 20 By faith Isaac invoked blessings for the future on Jacob and Esau. 21 By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, “bowing in worship over the top of his staff.”(P) 22 By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions about his burial.[h](Q)
The Faith of Moses
23 By faith Moses was hidden by his parents for three months after his birth, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.[i](R) 24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called a son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to share ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered abuse suffered for the Christ[j] to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to the reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, unafraid of the king’s anger, for he persevered as though[k] he saw him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.[l](S)
The Faith of Other Israelite Heroes
29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned.(T) 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell after they had been encircled for seven days.(U) 31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient,[m] because she had received the spies in peace.(V)
32 And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions,(W) 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.(X) 35 Women received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection.(Y) 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging and even chains and imprisonment.(Z) 37 They were stoned to death; they were sawn in two;[n] they were killed by the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented(AA)— 38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains and in caves and holes in the ground.(AB)
39 Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better so that they would not, apart from us, be made perfect.(AC)
Footnotes
- 11.1 Or reality
- 11.1 Or evidence
- 11.2 Gk by this
- 11.3 Or was not made out of visible things
- 11.4 Gk greater
- 11.4 Gk through it
- 11.11 Other ancient authorities read By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered
- 11.22 Gk his bones
- 11.23 Other ancient authorities add By faith Moses, when he was grown up, killed the Egyptian, because he observed the humiliation of his brothers and sisters
- 11.26 Or the Messiah
- 11.27 Or because
- 11.28 Gk would not touch them
- 11.31 Or unbelieving
- 11.37 Other ancient authorities add they were tempted
Matthew 2
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Visit of the Magi
2 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, magi[a] from the east came to Jerusalem,(A) 2 asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star in the east[b] and have come to pay him homage.”(B) 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him, 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah[c] was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet:(C)
6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah,
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd[d] my people Israel.’ ”(D)
7 Then Herod secretly called for the magi[e] and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” 9 When they had heard the king, they set out, and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen in the east,[f] until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped,[g] they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.(E) 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.(F)
The Escape to Egypt
13 Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”(G) 14 Then Joseph[h] got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt(H) 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”
The Massacre of the Infants
16 When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi,[i] he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the magi.[j] 17 Then what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,
wailing and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.”(I)
The Return from Egypt
19 When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, 20 “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.” 21 Then Joseph[k] got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee.(J) 23 There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He will be called a Nazarene.”[l](K)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.