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45 Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before. That will be the experience of this evil generation.”

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45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.(A) That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”

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26 Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before.”

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26 Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.”(A)

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26 Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. 27 There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies. 28 For anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us. 30 For we know the one who said,

“I will take revenge.
    I will pay them back.”[a]

He also said,

“The Lord will judge his own people.”[b]

31 It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

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26 If we deliberately keep on sinning(A) after we have received the knowledge of the truth,(B) no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire(C) that will consume the enemies of God. 28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.(D) 29 How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God(E) underfoot,(F) who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant(G) that sanctified them,(H) and who has insulted the Spirit(I) of grace?(J) 30 For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[a](K) and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”[b](L) 31 It is a dreadful thing(M) to fall into the hands(N) of the living God.(O)

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Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 10:30 Deut. 32:35
  2. Hebrews 10:30 Deut. 32:36; Psalm 135:14

For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened—those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come— and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame.

When the ground soaks up the falling rain and bears a good crop for the farmer, it has God’s blessing. But if a field bears thorns and thistles, it is useless. The farmer will soon condemn that field and burn it.

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It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened,(A) who have tasted the heavenly gift,(B) who have shared in the Holy Spirit,(C) who have tasted the goodness(D) of the word of God(E) and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen[a] away, to be brought back to repentance.(F) To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God(G) all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed.(H) In the end it will be burned.

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Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 6:6 Or age, if they fall

Then Jesus demanded, “What is your name?”

And he replied, “My name is Legion, because there are many of us inside this man.”

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Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

“My name is Legion,”(A) he replied, “for we are many.”

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10 But these people scoff at things they do not understand. Like unthinking animals, they do whatever their instincts tell them, and so they bring about their own destruction. 11 What sorrow awaits them! For they follow in the footsteps of Cain, who killed his brother. Like Balaam, they deceive people for money. And like Korah, they perish in their rebellion.

12 When these people eat with you in your fellowship meals commemorating the Lord’s love, they are like dangerous reefs that can shipwreck you.[a] They are like shameless shepherds who care only for themselves. They are like clouds blowing over the land without giving any rain. They are like trees in autumn that are doubly dead, for they bear no fruit and have been pulled up by the roots. 13 They are like wild waves of the sea, churning up the foam of their shameful deeds. They are like wandering stars, doomed forever to blackest darkness.

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Footnotes

  1. 12 Or they are contaminants among you; or they are stains.

10 Yet these people slander whatever they do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct—as irrational animals do—will destroy them.(A)

11 Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain;(B) they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error;(C) they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.(D)

12 These people are blemishes at your love feasts,(E) eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves.(F) They are clouds without rain,(G) blown along by the wind;(H) autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted(I)—twice dead. 13 They are wild waves of the sea,(J) foaming up their shame;(K) wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.(L)

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14 They commit adultery with their eyes, and their desire for sin is never satisfied. They lure unstable people into sin, and they are well trained in greed. They live under God’s curse. 15 They have wandered off the right road and followed the footsteps of Balaam son of Beor,[a] who loved to earn money by doing wrong. 16 But Balaam was stopped from his mad course when his donkey rebuked him with a human voice.

17 These people are as useless as dried-up springs or as mist blown away by the wind. They are doomed to blackest darkness. 18 They brag about themselves with empty, foolish boasting. With an appeal to twisted sexual desires, they lure back into sin those who have barely escaped from a lifestyle of deception. 19 They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you. 20 And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before. 21 It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life. 22 They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to its vomit.”[b] And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud.”

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Footnotes

  1. 2:15 Some manuscripts read Bosor.
  2. 2:22 Prov 26:11.

14 With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce(A) the unstable;(B) they are experts in greed(C)—an accursed brood!(D) 15 They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam(E) son of Bezer,[a] who loved the wages of wickedness. 16 But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—an animal without speech—who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.(F)

17 These people are springs without water(G) and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them.(H) 18 For they mouth empty, boastful words(I) and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping(J) from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.”(K) 20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing(L) our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ(M) and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.(N) 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.(O) 22 Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,”[b](P) and, “A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.”

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Peter 2:15 Greek Bosor
  2. 2 Peter 2:22 Prov. 26:11

[Longer Ending of Mark]

After Jesus rose from the dead early on Sunday morning, the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons.

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[The earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have verses 9–20.]

When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene,(A) out of whom he had driven seven demons.

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22 They would not be guilty if I had not come and spoken to them. But now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Anyone who hates me also hates my Father. 24 If I hadn’t done such miraculous signs among them that no one else could do, they would not be guilty. But as it is, they have seen everything I did, yet they still hate me and my Father.

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22 If I had not come and spoken to them,(A) they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.(B) 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. 24 If I had not done among them the works no one else did,(C) they would not be guilty of sin.(D) As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father.

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16 If you see a fellow believer[a] sinning in a way that does not lead to death, you should pray, and God will give that person life. But there is a sin that leads to death, and I am not saying you should pray for those who commit it. 17 All wicked actions are sin, but not every sin leads to death.

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Footnotes

  1. 5:16 Greek a brother.

16 If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life.(A) I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death.(B) I am not saying that you should pray about that.(C) 17 All wrongdoing is sin,(D) and there is sin that does not lead to death.(E)

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39 But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved.

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39 But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.

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15 For some of the Jews killed the prophets, and some even killed the Lord Jesus. Now they have persecuted us, too. They fail to please God and work against all humanity 16 as they try to keep us from preaching the Good News of salvation to the Gentiles. By doing this, they continue to pile up their sins. But the anger of God has caught up with them at last.

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15 who killed the Lord Jesus(A) and the prophets(B) and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to everyone 16 in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles(C) so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit.(D) The wrath of God has come upon them at last.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Thessalonians 2:16 Or them fully

As the Scriptures say,

“God has put them into a deep sleep.
To this day he has shut their eyes so they do not see,
    and closed their ears so they do not hear.”[a]

Likewise, David said,

“Let their bountiful table become a snare,
    a trap that makes them think all is well.
Let their blessings cause them to stumble,
    and let them get what they deserve.
10 Let their eyes go blind so they cannot see,
    and let their backs be bent forever.”[b]

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Footnotes

  1. 11:8 Isa 29:10; Deut 29:4.
  2. 11:9-10 Ps 69:22-23 (Greek version).

as it is written:

“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
    eyes that could not see
    and ears that could not hear,(A)
to this very day.”[a](B)

And David says:

“May their table become a snare and a trap,
    a stumbling block and a retribution for them.
10 May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,(C)
    and their backs be bent forever.”[b](D)

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 11:8 Deut. 29:4; Isaiah 29:10
  2. Romans 11:10 Psalm 69:22,23