Your country is desolate,
    your cities burned with fire;
your fields are being stripped by foreigners
    right before you,
    laid waste as when overthrown by strangers. 8  Daughter Zion is left
    like a shelter in a vineyard,
like a hut in a cucumber field,
    like a city under siege. 9  Unless the Lord Almighty
    had left us some survivors,
we would have become like Sodom,
    we would have been like Gomorrah. 10  Hear the word of the Lord,
    you rulers of Sodom;
listen to the instruction of our God,
    you people of Gomorrah! 11  “The multitude of your sacrifices—
    what are they to me?” says the Lord.
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
    of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure
    in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. 12  When you come to appear before me,
    who has asked this of you,
    this trampling of my courts? 13  Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
    Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
    I cannot bear your worthless assemblies. 14  Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals
    I hate with all my being.
They have become a burden to me;
    I am weary of bearing them. 15  When you spread out your hands in prayer,
    I hide my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
    I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood! 16  Wash and make yourselves clean.
    Take your evil deeds out of my sight;
    stop doing wrong. 17  Learn to do right; seek justice.
    Defend the oppressed.[a]
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
    plead the case of the widow. 18  “Come now, let us settle the matter,”
    says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
    they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
    they shall be like wool.

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4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house[a] to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion,
    a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
    will never be put to shame.”[b] 7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone,”[c] 8 and, “A stone that causes people to stumble
    and a rock that makes them fall.”[d] They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for. 9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

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10 You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, 11 persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. 12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

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Do not fret because of those who are evil
    or be envious of those who do wrong; 2  for like the grass they will soon wither,
    like green plants they will soon die away. 3  Trust in the Lord and do good;
    dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. 4  Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5  Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him and he will do this: 6  He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
    your vindication like the noonday sun. 7  Be still before the Lord
    and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
    when they carry out their wicked schemes. 8  Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
    do not fret—it leads only to evil. 9  For those who are evil will be destroyed,
    but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land. 10  A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
    though you look for them, they will not be found. 11  But the meek will inherit the land
    and enjoy peace and prosperity.

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Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction
    and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. 9  They are a garland to grace your head
    and a chain to adorn your neck. 10  My son, if sinful men entice you,
    do not give in to them. 11  If they say, “Come along with us;
    let’s lie in wait for innocent blood,
    let’s ambush some harmless soul; 12  let’s swallow them alive, like the grave,
    and whole, like those who go down to the pit; 13  we will get all sorts of valuable things
    and fill our houses with plunder; 14  cast lots with us;
    we will all share the loot”— 15  my son, do not go along with them,
    do not set foot on their paths; 16  for their feet rush into evil,
    they are swift to shed blood. 17  How useless to spread a net
    where every bird can see it! 18  These men lie in wait for their own blood;
    they ambush only themselves! 19  Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain;
    it takes away the life of those who get it.

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“Come, all you who are thirsty,
    come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
    come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
    without money and without cost. 2  Why spend money on what is not bread,
    and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
    and you will delight in the richest of fare. 3  Give ear and come to me;
    listen, that you may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
    my faithful love promised to David. 4  See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
    a ruler and commander of the peoples. 5  Surely you will summon nations you know not,
    and nations you do not know will come running to you,
because of the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel,
    for he has endowed you with splendor.” 6  Seek the Lord while he may be found;
    call on him while he is near. 7  Let the wicked forsake their ways
    and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,
    and to our God, for he will freely pardon. 8  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord. 9  “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10  As the rain and the snow
    come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
    without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
    so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11  so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. 12  You will go out in joy
    and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
    will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
    will clap their hands. 13  Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,
    and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.
This will be for the Lord’s renown,
    for an everlasting sign,
    that will endure forever.”

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The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.[c] 14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16 for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord
    so as to instruct him?”[d] But we have the mind of Christ.

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11 Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. 12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13 All God’s people here send their greetings. 14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

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2 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6  Who, being in very nature[a] God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7  rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature[b] of a servant,
    being made in human likeness. 8  And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross! 9  Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name, 10  that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11  and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

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24 Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. 25 I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— 26 the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. 27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. 29 To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.

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Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
    let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. 2  Let us come before him with thanksgiving
    and extol him with music and song. 3  For the Lord is the great God,
    the great King above all gods. 4  In his hand are the depths of the earth,
    and the mountain peaks belong to him. 5  The sea is his, for he made it,
    and his hands formed the dry land. 6  Come, let us bow down in worship,
    let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; 7  for he is our God
    and we are the people of his pasture,
    the flock under his care. Today, if only you would hear his voice, 8  “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah,[a]
    as you did that day at Massah[b] in the wilderness, 9  where your ancestors tested me;
    they tried me, though they had seen what I did. 10  For forty years I was angry with that generation;
    I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,
    and they have not known my ways.’ 11  So I declared on oath in my anger,
    ‘They shall never enter my rest.’”

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I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;
    he heard my cry for mercy. 2  Because he turned his ear to me,
    I will call on him as long as I live. 3  The cords of death entangled me,
    the anguish of the grave came over me;
    I was overcome by distress and sorrow. 4  Then I called on the name of the Lord:
    “Lord, save me!” 5  The Lord is gracious and righteous;
    our God is full of compassion. 6  The Lord protects the unwary;
    when I was brought low, he saved me. 7  Return to your rest, my soul,
    for the Lord has been good to you. 8  For you, Lord, have delivered me from death,
    my eyes from tears,
    my feet from stumbling, 9  that I may walk before the Lord
    in the land of the living.

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• 
  7 You are judging by appearances.[a] If anyone is confident that they belong to Christ, they should consider again that we belong to Christ just as much as they do. 8 So even if I boast somewhat freely about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than tearing you down, I will not be ashamed of it. 9 I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters. 10 For some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.” 11 Such people should realize that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present. 12 We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. 13 We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God himself has assigned to us, a sphere that also includes you. 14 We are not going too far in our boasting, as would be the case if we had not come to you, for we did get as far as you with the gospel of Christ. 15 Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work done by others. Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our sphere of activity among you will greatly expand, 16 so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. For we do not want to boast about work already done in someone else’s territory. 17 But, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”[b] 18 For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.

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God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble. 2  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3  though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging.[c] 4  There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy place where the Most High dwells. 5  God is within her, she will not fall;
    God will help her at break of day. 6  Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
    he lifts his voice, the earth melts. 7  The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress. 8  Come and see what the Lord has done,
    the desolations he has brought on the earth. 9  He makes wars cease
    to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the shields[d] with fire. 10  He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.”

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Samuel Anoints David 16 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.” 2 But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.” The Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.” 4 Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?” 5 Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. 6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.” 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” 9 Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the Lord chosen this one.” 10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11 So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.” 12 So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.” 13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.

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12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

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Light and Darkness, Sin and Forgiveness 5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all[b] sin. 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

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