Joel 2:15-32
New King James Version
15 (A)Blow the [a]trumpet in Zion,
(B)Consecrate a fast,
Call a sacred assembly;
16 Gather the people,
(C)Sanctify the congregation,
Assemble the elders,
Gather the children and nursing babes;
(D)Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber,
And the bride from her dressing room.
17 Let the priests, who minister to the Lord,
Weep (E)between the porch and the altar;
Let them say, (F)“Spare Your people, O Lord,
And do not give Your heritage to reproach,
That the nations should [b]rule over them.
(G)Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’ ”
The Land Refreshed(H)
18 Then the Lord will (I)be zealous for His land,
And pity His people.
19 The Lord will answer and say to His people,
“Behold, I will send you (J)grain and new wine and oil,
And you will be satisfied by them;
I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations.
20 “But (K)I will remove far from you (L)the northern army,
And will drive him away into a barren and desolate land,
With his face toward the eastern sea
And his back (M)toward the western sea;
His stench will come up,
And his foul odor will rise,
Because he has done [c]monstrous things.”
21 Fear not, O land;
Be glad and rejoice,
For the Lord has done [d]marvelous things!
22 Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field;
For (N)the open pastures are springing up,
And the tree bears its fruit;
The fig tree and the vine yield their strength.
23 Be glad then, you children of Zion,
And (O)rejoice in the Lord your God;
For He has given you the [e]former rain faithfully,
And He (P)will cause the rain to come down for you—
The former rain,
And the latter rain in the first month.
24 The threshing floors shall be full of wheat,
And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil.
25 “So I will restore to you the years (Q)that the swarming [f]locust has eaten,
The crawling locust,
The consuming locust,
And the chewing locust,
My great army which I sent among you.
26 You shall (R)eat in plenty and be satisfied,
And praise the name of the Lord your God,
Who has dealt wondrously with you;
And My people shall never be put to (S)shame.
27 Then you shall know that I am (T)in the midst of Israel:
(U)I am the Lord your God
And there is no other.
My people shall never be put to shame.
God’s Spirit Poured Out
28 “And(V) it shall come to pass afterward
That (W)I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
(X)Your sons and your (Y)daughters shall prophesy,
Your old men shall dream dreams,
Your young men shall see visions.
29 And also on My (Z)menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
30 “And (AA)I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth:
Blood and fire and pillars of smoke.
31 (AB)The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
(AC)Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.
32 And it shall come to pass
That (AD)whoever calls on the name of the Lord
Shall be [g]saved.
For (AE)in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be [h]deliverance,
As the Lord has said,
Among (AF)the remnant whom the Lord calls.
1 Corinthians 14:20-40
New King James Version
Tongues a Sign to Unbelievers
20 Brethren, (A)do not be children in understanding; however, in malice (B)be babes, but in understanding be mature.
21 (C)In the law it is written:
(D)“With men of other tongues and other lips
I will speak to this people;
And yet, for all that, they will not hear Me,”
says the Lord.
22 Therefore tongues are for a (E)sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who believe. 23 Therefore if the whole church comes together in one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, (F)will they not say that you are [a]out of your mind? 24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all. 25 [b]And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report (G)that God is truly among you.
Order in Church Meetings
26 How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, (H)has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. (I)Let all things be done for [c]edification. 27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret. 28 But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God. 29 Let two or three prophets speak, and (J)let the others judge. 30 But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, (K)let the first keep silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged. 32 And (L)the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. 33 For God is not the author of [d]confusion but of peace, (M)as in all the churches of the saints.
34 (N)Let [e]your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the (O)law also says. 35 And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church.
36 Or did the word of God come originally from you? Or was it you only that it reached? 37 (P)If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord. 38 But [f]if anyone is ignorant, let him be ignorant.
39 Therefore, brethren, (Q)desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak with tongues. 40 (R)Let all things be done decently and in order.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Corinthians 14:23 insane
- 1 Corinthians 14:25 NU omits And thus
- 1 Corinthians 14:26 building up
- 1 Corinthians 14:33 disorder
- 1 Corinthians 14:34 NU omits your
- 1 Corinthians 14:38 NU if anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized.
Joel 3
New King James Version
God Judges the Nations
3 “For behold, (A)in those days and at that time,
When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem,
2 (B)I will also gather all nations,
And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
And I (C)will enter into judgment with them there
On account of My people, My heritage Israel,
Whom they have scattered among the nations;
They have also divided up My land.
3 They have (D)cast lots for My people,
Have given a boy as payment for a harlot,
And sold a girl for wine, that they may drink.
4 “Indeed, what have you to do with Me,
(E)O Tyre and Sidon, and all the coasts of Philistia?
Will you [a]retaliate against Me?
But if you [b]retaliate against Me,
Swiftly and speedily I will return your [c]retaliation upon your own head;
5 Because you have taken My silver and My gold,
And have carried into your temples My [d]prized possessions.
6 Also the people of Judah and the people of Jerusalem
You have sold to the Greeks,
That you may remove them far from their borders.
7 “Behold, (F)I will raise them
Out of the place to which you have sold them,
And will return your [e]retaliation upon your own head.
8 I will sell your sons and your daughters
Into the hand of the people of Judah,
And they will sell them to the (G)Sabeans,[f]
To a people (H)far off;
For the Lord has spoken.”
9 (I)Proclaim this among the nations:
“Prepare for war!
Wake up the mighty men,
Let all the men of war draw near,
Let them come up.
10 (J)Beat your plowshares into swords
And your [g]pruning hooks into spears;
(K)Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’ ”
11 Assemble and come, all you nations,
And gather together all around.
Cause (L)Your mighty ones to go down there, O Lord.
12 “Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
For there I will sit to (M)judge all the surrounding nations.
13 (N)Put in the sickle, for (O)the harvest is ripe.
Come, go down;
For the (P)winepress is full,
The vats overflow—
For their wickedness is great.”
14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!
For (Q)the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and moon will grow dark,
And the stars will diminish their brightness.
16 The Lord also will roar from Zion,
And utter His voice from Jerusalem;
The heavens and earth will shake;
(R)But the Lord will be a shelter for His people,
And the strength of the children of Israel.
17 “So you shall know that I am the Lord your God,
Dwelling in Zion My (S)holy mountain.
Then Jerusalem shall be holy,
And no aliens shall ever pass through her again.”
God Blesses His People
18 And it will come to pass in that day
That the mountains shall drip with new wine,
The hills shall flow with milk,
And all the brooks of Judah shall be flooded with water;
A (T)fountain shall flow from the house of the Lord
And water the Valley of [h]Acacias.
19 “Egypt shall be a desolation,
And Edom a desolate wilderness,
Because of violence against the people of Judah,
For they have shed innocent blood in their land.
20 But Judah shall abide forever,
And Jerusalem from generation to generation.
21 For I will (U)acquit them of the guilt of bloodshed, whom I had not acquitted;
For the Lord dwells in Zion.”
1 Corinthians 15:1-34
New King James Version
The Risen Christ, Faith’s Reality(A)
15 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel (B)which I preached to you, which also you received and (C)in which you stand, 2 (D)by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless (E)you believed in vain.
3 For (F)I delivered to you first of all that (G)which I also received: that Christ died for our sins (H)according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day (I)according to the Scriptures, 5 (J)and that He was seen by [a]Cephas, then (K)by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have [b]fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then (L)by all the apostles. 8 (M)Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.
9 For I am (N)the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because (O)I persecuted the church of God. 10 But (P)by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, (Q)yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 11 Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
The Risen Christ, Our Hope(R)
12 Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, (S)then Christ is not risen. 14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because (T)we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. 16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; (U)you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have [c]fallen (V)asleep in Christ have perished. 19 (W)If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.
The Last Enemy Destroyed
20 But now (X)Christ is risen from the dead, and has become (Y)the firstfruits of those who have [d]fallen asleep. 21 For (Z)since by man came death, (AA)by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall (AB)be made alive. 23 But (AC)each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. 24 Then comes the end, when He delivers (AD)the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign (AE)till He has put all enemies under His feet. 26 (AF)The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. 27 For (AG)“He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. 28 (AH)Now when all things are made subject to Him, then (AI)the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.
Effects of Denying the Resurrection
29 Otherwise, what will they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead do not rise at all? Why then are they baptized for the dead? 30 And (AJ)why do we stand in [e]jeopardy every hour? 31 I affirm, by (AK)the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, (AL)I die daily. 32 If, in the manner of men, (AM)I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage is it to me? If the dead do not rise, (AN)“Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”
33 Do not be deceived: (AO)“Evil company corrupts good habits.” 34 (AP)Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; (AQ)for some do not have the knowledge of God. (AR)I speak this to your shame.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Corinthians 15:5 Peter
- 1 Corinthians 15:6 Died
- 1 Corinthians 15:18 Died
- 1 Corinthians 15:20 Died
- 1 Corinthians 15:30 danger
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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