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Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’;
Cursed is the ground because of you;
In toil you will eat of it
All the days of your life.
“Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you;
And you will eat the plants of the field;
Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”—
“Now the generation to come, your sons who rise up after you and the foreigner who comes from a distant land, when they see the plagues of the land and the diseases with which the Lord has afflicted it, will say,
‘All its land is brimstone and salt, a burning waste, unsown and unproductive, and no grass grows in it, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in His anger and in His wrath.’
“All the nations will say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land? Why this great outburst of anger?’
“Then men will say, ‘Because they forsook the covenant of the Lord, the God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.
‘They went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods whom they have not known and whom He had not allotted to them.
‘Therefore, the anger of the Lord burned against that land, to bring upon it every curse which is written in this book;
and the Lord uprooted them from their land in anger and in fury and in great wrath, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.’
“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.
“So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?”
O taste and see that the Lord is good;
How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
You water its furrows abundantly,
You settle its ridges,
You soften it with showers,
You bless its growth.
One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the Lord,
And He will repay him for his good deed.
Let me sing now for my well-beloved
A song of my beloved concerning His vineyard.
My well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill.
He dug it all around, removed its stones,
And planted it with the choicest vine.
And He built a tower in the middle of it
And also hewed out a wine vat in it;
Then He expected it to produce good grapes,
But it produced only worthless ones.
“And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,
Judge between Me and My vineyard.
“What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it?
Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones?
“So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard:
I will remove its hedge and it will be consumed;
I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground.
“I will lay it waste;
It will not be pruned or hoed,
But briars and thorns will come up.
I will also charge the clouds to rain no rain on it.”
For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel
And the men of Judah His delightful plant.
Thus He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed;
For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress.
“He will eat curds and honey at the time He knows enough to refuse evil and choose good.
“I have no wrath.
Should someone give Me briars and thorns in battle,
Then I would step on them, I would burn them completely.
When its limbs are dry, they are broken off;
Women come and make a fire with them,
For they are not a people of discernment,
Therefore their Maker will not have compassion on them.
And their Creator will not be gracious to them.
“So the Lord was no longer able to endure it, because of the evil of your deeds, because of the abominations which you have committed; thus your land has become a ruin, an object of horror and a curse, without an inhabitant, as it is this day.
“If it has been put into the fire for fuel, and the fire has consumed both of its ends and its middle part has been charred, is it then useful for anything?
“For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the Lord of hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.”
“O Lord, do not surrender your scepter to what has no being; and do not let them laugh at our downfall; but turn their plan against them, and make an example of him who began this against us.
To you then, O monarchs, my words are directed,
so that you may learn wisdom and not transgress.
Once, while they were watching for an opportune day, she went in as before with only two maids, and wished to bathe in the garden, for it was a hot day.
And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.
And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
“He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.
“And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.”
“Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.
“Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”
For the heart of this people has become dull,
With their ears they scarcely hear,
And they have closed their eyes,
Otherwise they would see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart and return,
And I would heal them.’
And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
“The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
“These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”—
“For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.
Looking at them, Jesus said, “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”
But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
And He began telling this parable: “A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any.
“And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’
“And he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer;
and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.’ ”
But He said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”
There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.
Therefore there arose a discussion on the part of John’s disciples with a Jew about purification.
Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven.
“If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.
“I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
“But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.
And these they brought before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them.
“This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness together with the angel who was speaking to him on Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers; and he received living oracles to pass on to you.
Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John,
who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit.
For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit.
And fixing his gaze on him and being much alarmed, he said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God.
“And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead.
And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. Some were saying, “What would this idle babbler wish to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.
because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, “We shall hear you again concerning this.”
but taking leave of them and saying, “I will return to you again if God wills,” he set sail from Ephesus.
And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.”
Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.”
When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying.
But as he was discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix became frightened and said, “Go away for the present, and when I find time I will summon you.”
on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.
Great in every respect. First of all, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God.
May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written,
“That You may be justified in Your words,
And prevail when You are judged.”
through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.
And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance;
and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;
and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be!
or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.
Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions.
One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only.
The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him.
Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind.
He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.
For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself;
for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.
For it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall give praise to God.”
So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.
Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way.
I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.
For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.
Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil;
for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.
So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.
Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense.
It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles.
The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.
But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.
but now, I am going to Jerusalem serving the saints.
that I may be rescued from those who are disobedient in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the saints;
Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away;
And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ.
I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able,
for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?
but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.
Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature.
For I do not wish to see you now just in passing; for I hope to remain with you for some time, if the Lord permits.
that you also be in subjection to such men and to everyone who helps in the work and labors.
in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints,
Therefore openly before the churches, show them the proof of your love and of our reason for boasting about you.
For it is superfluous for me to write to you about this ministry to the saints;
For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God.
All this time you have been thinking that we are defending ourselves to you. Actually, it is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ; and all for your upbuilding, beloved.
This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?
So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?
For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise.
So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world.
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment,
Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.
Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself,
Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.
constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father,
therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure.
For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you,
and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire,
But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness;
the Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day—and you know very well what services he rendered at Ephesus.
The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops.
Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?
God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.
For He did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking.
But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.
but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house—whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.
For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.
But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.
Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God;
so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise.
For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,
to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part of all the spoils, was first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace.
Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest perpetually.
Now observe how great this man was to whom Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth of the choicest spoils.
And those indeed of the sons of Levi who receive the priest’s office have commandment in the Law to collect a tenth from the people, that is, from their brethren, although these are descended from Abraham.
But the one whose genealogy is not traced from them collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises.
But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater.
In this case mortal men receive tithes, but in that case one receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives on.
And, so to speak, through Abraham even Levi, who received tithes, paid tithes,
for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.
Now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the Law), what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be designated according to the order of Aaron?
For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also.
For the one concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no one has officiated at the altar.
For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests.
And this is clearer still, if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek,
who has become such not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life.
For it is attested of Him,
“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”
For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness
(for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.
And inasmuch as it was not without an oath
(for they indeed became priests without an oath, but He with an oath through the One who said to Him,
“The Lord has sworn
And will not change His mind,
‘You are a priest forever’ ”);
so much the more also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.
When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.
since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation.
how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.
How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?
But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings,
partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated.
For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one.
For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.
All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.
Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.
And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,
if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.
Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.
having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children;
For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them.
This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder,
as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.
Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard.
If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this.
Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.
‘I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first.
If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.
Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.