The Faithful Remnant

16 Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard.(A) A scroll(B) of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared(C) the Lord and honored his name.

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12 And I saw the dead, great and small,(A) standing before the throne, and books were opened.(B) Another book was opened, which is the book of life.(C) The dead were judged(D) according to what they had done(E) as recorded in the books.

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Who will not fear you, Lord,(A)
    and bring glory to your name?(B)
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
    and worship before you,(C)
for your righteous acts(D) have been revealed.”[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Revelation 15:4 Phrases in this song are drawn from Psalm 111:2,3; Deut. 32:4; Jer. 10:7; Psalms 86:9; 98:2.

But for you who revere my name,(A) the sun of righteousness(B) will rise with healing(C) in its rays. And you will go out and frolic(D) like well-fed calves.

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“So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers,(A) adulterers(B) and perjurers,(C) against those who defraud laborers of their wages,(D) who oppress the widows(E) and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners(F) among you of justice, but do not fear(G) me,” says the Lord Almighty.

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Record my misery;
    list my tears on your scroll[a](A)
    are they not in your record?(B)

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 56:8 Or misery; / put my tears in your wineskin

24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,(A)

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11 Therefore encourage one another(A) and build each other up,(B) just as in fact you are doing.

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You will keep in perfect peace(A)
    those whose minds are steadfast,
    because they trust(B) in you.

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He and all his family were devout and God-fearing;(A) he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly.

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31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria(A) enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.(B)

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12 For the word of God(A) is alive(B) and active.(C) Sharper than any double-edged sword,(D) it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.(E) 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.(F) Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

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19 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them(A) by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”(B)

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and said to him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem(A) and put a mark(B) on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament(C) over all the detestable things that are done in it.(D)

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15 The eyes of the Lord(A) are on the righteous,(B)
    and his ears are attentive(C) to their cry;

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19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit.(A) Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord,

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The Believers Pray

23 On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God.(A) “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.(B) 25 You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:(C)

“‘Why do the nations rage
    and the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth rise up
    and the rulers band together
against the Lord
    and against his anointed one.[a][b](D)

27 Indeed Herod(E) and Pontius Pilate(F) met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus,(G) whom you anointed. 28 They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.(H) 29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.(I) 30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders(J) through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”(K)

31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken.(L) And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit(M) and spoke the word of God(N) boldly.(O)

The Believers Share Their Possessions

32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.(P) 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify(Q) to the resurrection(R) of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace(S) was so powerfully at work in them all

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 4:26 That is, Messiah or Christ
  2. Acts 4:26 Psalm 2:1,2

13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room(A) where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.(B)

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Jesus Predicts His Death

20 Now there were some Greeks(A) among those who went up to worship at the festival. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida(B) in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

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40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ).(A) 42 And he brought him to Jesus.

Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called(B) Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter[a]).(C)

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip,(D) he said to him, “Follow me.”(E)

44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida.(F) 45 Philip found Nathanael(G) and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law,(H) and about whom the prophets also wrote(I)—Jesus of Nazareth,(J) the son of Joseph.”(K)

46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?”(L) Nathanael asked.

“Come and see,” said Philip.

47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite(M) in whom there is no deceit.”(N)

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Footnotes

  1. John 1:42 Cephas (Aramaic) and Peter (Greek) both mean rock.

38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.(A)

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35 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. 36 But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”(A)

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15 If I had spoken out like that,
    I would have betrayed your children.
16 When I tried to understand(A) all this,
    it troubled me deeply
17 till I entered the sanctuary(B) of God;
    then I understood their final destiny.(C)

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Mordecai Honored

That night the king could not sleep;(A) so he ordered the book of the chronicles,(B) the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him.

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Then Esther summoned Hathak, one of the king’s eunuchs assigned to attend her, and ordered him to find out what was troubling Mordecai and why.

So Hathak went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king’s gate. Mordecai told him everything that had happened to him, including the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay into the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews.(A) He also gave him a copy of the text of the edict for their annihilation, which had been published in Susa, to show to Esther and explain it to her, and he told him to instruct her to go into the king’s presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people.

Hathak went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had said. 10 Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai, 11 “All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned(B) the king has but one law:(C) that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter(D) to them and spares their lives. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.”

12 When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, 13 he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 For if you remain silent(E) at this time, relief(F) and deliverance(G) for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”(H)

15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast(I) for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”(J)

17 So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther’s instructions.

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