Matthew 24:15-35

New King James Version

The Great Tribulation^(A)

¹⁵^(B)“Therefore when you see the ^(C)‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” ^(D)(whoever reads, let him understand), ¹⁶“then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁷Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. ¹⁸And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. ¹⁹But ^(E)woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ²⁰And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. ²¹For ^(F)then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. ²²And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; ^(G)but for the ^[a]elect’s sake those days will be shortened.

²³^(H)“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. ²⁴For ^(I)false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, ^(J)if possible, even the elect. ²⁵See, I have told you beforehand.

²⁶“Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. ²⁷^(K)For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. ²⁸^(L)For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.

The Coming of the Son of Man^(M)

²⁹^(N)“Immediately after the tribulation of those days ^(O)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰^(P)Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, ^(Q)and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ³¹^(R)And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His ^[b]elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

The Parable of the Fig Tree^(S)

³²“Now learn ^(T)this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³So you also, when you see all these things, know ^(U)that ^[c]it is near—at the doors! ³⁴Assuredly, I say to you, ^(V)this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. ³⁵^(W)Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

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Footnotes

Matthew 24:22 chosen ones’
Matthew 24:31 chosen ones
Matthew 24:33 Or He

Romans 7:1-12

New King James Version

Freed from the Law

7 Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law ^[a]has dominion over a man as long as he lives? ²For ^(A)the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. ³So then ^(B)if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man. ⁴Therefore, my brethren, you also have become ^(C)dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should ^(D)bear fruit to God. ⁵For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law ^(E)were at work in our members ^(F)to bear fruit to death. ⁶But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve ^(G)in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.

Sin’s Advantage in the Law

⁷What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, ^(H)I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, ^(I)“You shall not covet.” ⁸But ^(J)sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For ^(K)apart from the law sin was dead. ⁹I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. ¹⁰And the commandment, ^(L)which was to bring life, I found to bring death. ¹¹For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. ¹²Therefore ^(M)the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.

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Footnotes

Romans 7:1 rules

Psalm 57

New King James Version

Prayer for Safety from Enemies^(A)

To the Chief Musician. Set to ^[a]“Do Not Destroy.” A Michtam of David ^(B)when he fled from Saul into the cave.

57 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me!
For my soul trusts in You;
^(C)And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge,
^(D)Until these calamities have passed by.

²I will cry out to God Most High,
To God ^(E)who performs all things for me.
³^(F)He shall send from heaven and save me;
He reproaches the one who ^[b]would swallow me up. Selah
God ^(G)shall send forth His mercy and His truth.

⁴My soul is among lions;
I lie among the sons of men
Who are set on fire,
^(H)Whose teeth are spears and arrows,
And their tongue a sharp sword.
⁵^(I)Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
Let Your glory be above all the earth.

⁶^(J)They have prepared a net for my steps;
My soul is bowed down;
They have dug a pit before me;
Into the midst of it they themselves have fallen. Selah

⁷^(K)My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and give praise.
⁸Awake, ^(L)my glory!
Awake, lute and harp!
I will awaken the dawn.

⁹^(M)I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing to You among the ^[c]nations.
¹⁰^(N)For Your mercy reaches unto the heavens,
And Your truth unto the clouds.

¹¹^(O)Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
Let Your glory be above all the earth.

Footnotes

Psalm 57:1 Heb. Al Tashcheth
Psalm 57:3 snaps at or hounds me, or crushes me
Psalm 57:9 Gentiles

Numbers 23-25

New King James Version

The Prophecies of Balaam

23 Then Balaam said to Balak, ^(A)“Build seven altars for me here, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.”

²And Balak did just as Balaam had spoken, and Balak and Balaam ^(B)offered a bull and a ram on each altar. ³Then Balaam said to Balak, ^(C)“Stand by your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps the Lord will come ^(D)to meet me, and whatever He shows me I will tell you.” So he went to a desolate height. ⁴^(E)And God met Balaam, and he said to Him, “I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.”

⁵Then the Lord ^(F)put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” ⁶So he returned to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, he and all the princes of Moab.

⁷And he ^(G)took up his ^[a]oracle and said:

“Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram,
From the mountains of the east.
^(H)‘Come, curse Jacob for me,
And come, ^(I)denounce Israel!’

⁸“How^(J) shall I curse whom God has not cursed?
And how shall I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced?
⁹For from the top of the rocks I see him,
And from the hills I behold him;
There! ^(K)A people dwelling alone,
^(L)Not reckoning itself among the nations.

¹⁰“Who^(M) can count the ^[b]dust of Jacob,
Or number one-fourth of Israel?
Let me die ^(N)the death of the righteous,
And let my end be like his!”

¹¹Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? ^(O)I took you to curse my enemies, and look, you have blessed them bountifully!”

¹²So he answered and said, ^(P)“Must I not take heed to speak what the Lord has put in my mouth?”

Balaam’s Second Prophecy

¹³Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from which you may see them; you shall see only the outer part of them, and shall not see them all; curse them for me from there.” ¹⁴So he brought him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, ^(Q)and built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

¹⁵And he said to Balak, “Stand here by your burnt offering while I ^[c]meet the Lord over there.”

¹⁶Then the Lord met Balaam, and ^(R)put a word in his mouth, and said, “Go back to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” ¹⁷So he came to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab were with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?”

¹⁸Then he took up his oracle and said:

^(S)“Rise up, Balak, and hear!
Listen to me, son of Zippor!

¹⁹“God^(T) is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent.
Has He ^(U)said, and will He not do?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
²⁰Behold, I have received a command to bless;
^(V)He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.

²¹“He^(W) has not observed iniquity in Jacob,
Nor has He seen ^[d]wickedness in Israel.
The Lord his God is with him,
^(X)And the shout of a King is among them.
²²^(Y)God brings them out of Egypt;
He has ^(Z)strength like a wild ox.

²³“For there is no ^[e]sorcery against Jacob,
Nor any ^[f]divination against Israel.
It now must be said of Jacob
And of Israel, ‘Oh, ^(AA)what God has done!’
²⁴Look, a people rises ^(AB)like a lioness,
And lifts itself up like a lion;
^(AC)It shall not lie down until it devours the prey,
And drinks the blood of the slain.”

²⁵Then Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all!”

²⁶So Balaam answered and said to Balak, “Did I not tell you, saying, ^(AD)‘All that the Lord speaks, that I must do’?”

Balaam’s Third Prophecy

²⁷Then Balak said to Balaam, “Please come, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.” ²⁸So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that ^(AE)overlooks the ^[g]wasteland. ²⁹Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” ³⁰And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on every altar.

Balaam Foretells the Happiness of Israel

24 Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as at ^(AF)other times, to seek to use ^[h]sorcery, but he set his face toward the wilderness. ²And Balaam raised his eyes, and saw Israel ^(AG)encamped according to their tribes; and ^(AH)the Spirit of God came upon him.

³^(AI)Then he took up his oracle and said:

“The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor,
The utterance of the man whose eyes are opened,
⁴The utterance of him who hears the words of God,
Who sees the vision of the Almighty,
Who ^(AJ)falls down, with eyes wide open:

⁵“How lovely are your tents, O Jacob!
Your dwellings, O Israel!
⁶Like valleys that stretch out,
Like gardens by the riverside,
^(AK)Like aloes ^(AL)planted by the Lord,
Like cedars beside the waters.
⁷He shall pour water from his buckets,
And his seed shall be ^(AM)in many waters.

“His king shall be higher than ^(AN)Agag,
And his ^(AO)kingdom shall be exalted.

⁸“God^(AP) brings him out of Egypt;
He has strength like a wild ox;
He shall ^(AQ)consume the nations, his enemies;
He shall ^(AR)break their bones
And ^(AS)pierce them with his arrows.
⁹‘He^(AT) bows down, he lies down as a lion;
And as a lion, who shall rouse him?’

^(AU)“Blessed is he who blesses you,
And cursed is he who curses you.”

¹⁰Then Balak’s anger was aroused against Balaam, and he ^(AV)struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, ^(AW)“I called you to curse my enemies, and look, you have bountifully blessed them these three times! ¹¹Now therefore, flee to your place. ^(AX)I said I would greatly honor you, but in fact, the Lord has kept you back from honor.”

¹²So Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not also speak to your messengers whom you sent to me, saying, ¹³‘If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the Lord, to do good or bad of my own will. What the Lord says, that I must speak’? ¹⁴And now, indeed, I am going to my people. Come, ^(AY)I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the ^(AZ)latter days.”

Balaam’s Fourth Prophecy

¹⁵So he took up his oracle and said:

“The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor,
And the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened;
¹⁶The utterance of him who hears the words of God,
And has the knowledge of the Most High,
Who sees the vision of the Almighty,
Who falls down, with eyes wide open:

¹⁷“I^(BA) see Him, but not now;
I behold Him, but not near;
^(BB)A Star shall come out of Jacob;
^(BC)A Scepter shall rise out of Israel,
And ^[i]batter the brow of Moab,
And destroy all the sons of ^[j]tumult.

¹⁸“And ^(BD)Edom shall be a possession;
Seir also, his enemies, shall be a possession,
While Israel does ^[k]valiantly.
¹⁹^(BE)Out of Jacob One ^[l]shall have dominion,
And destroy the remains of the city.”

²⁰Then he looked on Amalek, and he took up his oracle and said:

“Amalek was first among the nations,
But shall be last until he perishes.”

²¹Then he looked on the Kenites, and he took up his oracle and said:

“Firm is your dwelling place,
And your nest is set in the rock;
²²Nevertheless Kain shall be burned.
How long until Asshur carries you away captive?”

²³Then he took up his oracle and said:

“Alas! Who shall live when God does this?
²⁴But ships shall come from the coasts of ^(BF)Cyprus,^[m]
And they shall afflict Asshur and afflict ^(BG)Eber,
And so shall ^[n]Amalek, until he perishes.”

²⁵So Balaam rose and departed and ^(BH)returned to his place; Balak also went his way.

Israel’s Harlotry in Moab

25 Now Israel remained in ^(BI)Acacia Grove,^[o] and the ^(BJ)people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab. ²^(BK)They invited the people to ^(BL)the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and ^(BM)bowed down to their gods. ³So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and ^(BN)the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel.

⁴Then the Lord said to Moses, ^(BO)“Take all the leaders of the people and hang the offenders before the Lord, out in the sun, ^(BP)that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.”

⁵So Moses said to ^(BQ)the judges of Israel, ^(BR)“Every one of you kill his men who were joined to Baal of Peor.”

⁶And indeed, one of the children of Israel came and presented to his brethren a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, ^(BS)who were weeping at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. ⁷Now ^(BT)when Phinehas ^(BU)the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose from among the congregation and took a javelin in his hand; ⁸and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her body. So ^(BV)the plague was ^(BW)stopped among the children of Israel. ⁹And ^(BX)those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand.

¹⁰Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ¹¹^(BY)“Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the children of Israel, because he was zealous with My zeal among them, so that I did not consume the children of Israel in ^(BZ)My zeal. ¹²Therefore say, ^(CA)‘Behold, I give to him My ^(CB)covenant of peace; ¹³and it shall be to him and ^(CC)his descendants after him a covenant of ^(CD)an everlasting priesthood, because he was ^(CE)zealous for his God, and ^(CF)made ^[p]atonement for the children of Israel.’ ”

¹⁴Now the name of the Israelite who was killed, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, a leader of a father’s house among the Simeonites. ¹⁵And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi the daughter of ^(CG)Zur; he was head of the people of a father’s house in Midian.

¹⁶Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ¹⁷^(CH)“Harass the Midianites, and ^[q]attack them; ¹⁸for they harassed you with their ^(CI)schemes^[r] by which they seduced you in the matter of Peor and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a leader of Midian, their sister, who was killed in the day of the plague because of Peor.”