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Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

• [NOTABLE] Was the earth formless from the start, or did it become formless after something went wrong? This verse is the center of the Gap Theory and the debate over how old the earth is. See Was or Became?, the Big Question page facing this verse in The Owner's Manual.

Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit contains seed. They will be yours for food.

• [NOTABLE] God gives people every seed bearing plant as a gift. Plants feed us, heal us and keep the earth alive, and this verse shows they came from God's hand.

Behold, this day You have driven me from the face of the earth, and from Your face I will be hidden; I will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”

• [NOTABLE] If Adam, Eve and Cain were the only people on earth, who was Cain afraid of? God even puts a mark on Cain so others will not kill him in 4:15, and in 4:17 Cain has a wife and builds a city. Many readers see this as a strong hint that other people were already living outside the garden, maybe even before Adam and Eve. This idea is called the pre Adamite view, and a French scholar named Isaac La Peyrere wrote a book about it in 1655. The traditional answer is that Adam and Eve had many other sons and daughters, 5:4, so the family may already have been large, and Cain married a relative. The Bible does not say for sure, which makes this one of its most famous puzzles.

And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne.

• [NOTABLE] Ishmael is born. Arabs have long seen Ishmael as their ancestor. Islamic tradition says Muhammad, who started Islam around AD 610, came from Ishmael's family line, most often through his son Kedar in 25:13. Muslim historians agree Muhammad descended from a man named Adnan, but even they do not agree on the names between Adnan and Ishmael. The Bible itself never names Muhammad.

But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking her son,

• [NOTABLE] Ishmael, now a teenager, mocks little Isaac, and Paul later calls it persecution in Galatians 4:29. Sarah demands that Hagar and Ishmael leave, and Abraham sends them into the desert with bread and water. Here the family splits in two. Isaac's line becomes the Jewish people, and Ishmael's line is seen as the father of the Arab peoples. Many Bible teachers trace the tension between Israel and her neighbors back to this family break. Today's wars also have modern causes like land, politics and religion, but the family split starts right here.

Now this matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son Ishmael.

But I will also make a nation of the slave woman’s son, because he is your offspring.”

• [NOTABLE] God does not forget Ishmael. He promises to make him a nation too, because he is Abraham's son. That promise comes true in 25:12 to 18, where Ishmael's twelve sons become twelve tribal rulers. God cares about both sides of this family.

Early in the morning, Abraham got up, took bread and a skin of water, put them on Hagar’s shoulders, and sent her away with the boy. She left and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba.

• [NOTABLE] Early the next morning Abraham sends Hagar and Ishmael away with only bread and a skin of water, and they wander in the desert near Beersheba. This is the moment the two halves of Abraham's family go their separate ways.

One day, while Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the field and was famished.

• [NOTABLE] The birthright meant a double share of the family wealth and the right to lead the family after the father died. Esau traded all of it for one bowl of soup because he was hungry right now. Hebrews 12:16 to 17 uses him as a warning: do not trade what God has promised you for something that feels good today. Jacob does not look great here either, since he took advantage of his brother. Esau's nickname Edom means red, and his family became the Edomites, who fought with Israel for centuries.

He said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am famished.” (That is why he was also called Edom.)

“First sell me your birthright,” Jacob replied.

“Look,” said Esau, “I am about to die, so what good is a birthright to me?”

“Swear to me first,” Jacob said. So Esau swore to Jacob and sold him the birthright.

Then Jacob gave some bread and lentil stew to Esau, who ate and drank and then got up and went away. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

and after some time his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph and said, “Sleep with me.”

• [NOTABLE] One of the oldest recorded false accusations of sexual assault. Joseph does everything right. He says no, he will not even be near her, and when she grabs him he runs. She keeps his cloak as evidence, tells her story first, and he goes to prison with no trial. Today the MeToo movement, which took off in 2017, gave real victims the courage to speak up. The HimToo movement, which started in 2018, warned that men can be falsely accused too. This story shows both matter: sexual sin is real, and so are false accusations. God's law says to hear every side and require more than one witness, Deuteronomy 19:15. And Yahweh was with Joseph, even in prison, 39:21.

But he refused. “Look,” he said to his master’s wife, “with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in his house, and he has entrusted everything he owns to my care.

No one in this house is greater than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. So how could I do such a great evil and sin against God?”

Although Potiphar’s wife spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be near her.

One day, however, Joseph went into the house to attend to his work, and not a single household servant was inside.

She grabbed Joseph by his cloak and said, “Sleep with me!” But leaving his cloak in her hand, he escaped and ran outside.

When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house,

she called her household servants. “Look,” she said, “this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us. He came to me so he could sleep with me, but I screamed as loud as I could.

When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”

So Potiphar’s wife kept Joseph’s cloak beside her until his master came home.

Then she told him the same story: “The Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me,

but when I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”

When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is what your slave did to me,” he burned with anger.

So Joseph’s master took him and had him thrown into the prison where the king’s prisoners were confined. While Joseph was there in the prison,

And they are to construct an ark of acacia wood, 45 inches long, 27 inches wide, and 27 inches high.

• [NOTABLE] This is the first time the Bible mentions the ark of the covenant, a wooden chest covered in gold, about 45 inches long. It held the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments, and God said He would meet with Moses above its gold lid, the mercy seat. Nobody knows where it is today, which makes it one of the great mysteries of history.

In the Tent of Meeting, outside the veil that is in front of the Testimony, Aaron and his sons are to tend the lamps before Yahweh from evening until morning. This is to be a permanent statute for the Israelites for the generations to come.

• [NOTABLE] This is the first time the Bible uses the name Tent of Meeting. It was God's tent in the middle of the camp, the place where He met with His people, and it moved with Israel until Solomon built the temple. John 1:14 says Jesus came and pitched His tent among us.

“Take the finest spices: 12½ pounds of liquid myrrh, half that amount (6¼ pounds) of fragrant cinnamon, 6¼ pounds of kaneh bosem,

• [NOTABLE] The recipe for the holy anointing oil. Most English Bibles call the third spice calamus, sweet cane or fragrant cane, but the Hebrew root words are kaneh bosem, which means fragrant reed. In 1936 a Polish scholar named Sula Benet pointed this out and made the case that kaneh bosem may have really been cannabis, the word she believed cannabis came from. The scholarly consensus is that it was not cannabis but a sweet smelling reed like calamus or lemongrass.

12½ pounds of cassia—all weighed by the sanctuary standard—and a gallon of olive oil.

Yahweh also said to Moses, “Take fragrant spices—gum resin, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense—in equal measures,

• [NOTABLE] The recipe for the holy incense, burned on the gold altar inside the tent every morning and evening, 30:7 to 8. Some point out that three of the four ingredients may be psychoactive, which means God was literally telling the Levite priests to light it up under a tent. Lab studies back this for frankincense, whose smoke acted on the brain in mice in a 2008 study, and for myrrh, a likely match for the gum resin, which eased pain in mice in 1996. Most scholars say the incense was a sweet smell picturing prayer rising to God, Psalm 141:2, and its effect on people is not proven.

Next, Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and everything in it; and so he consecrated them.

• [NOTABLE] The full consecration ceremony; oil poured abundantly on the high priest

He sprinkled some of the oil on the altar seven times, anointing the altar and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand, to consecrate them.

He also poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him to consecrate him.

Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what Yahweh meant when He said: ‘To those who come near Me I will show My holiness, and in the sight of all the people I will reveal My glory.’” But Aaron remained silent.

Then Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron,

• [NOTABLE] Strict rules for transporting the sacred objects; violation meant death

“Take a census of the Kohathites among the Levites by their clans and families,

men from thirty to fifty years old—everyone who is qualified to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting.

This service of the Kohathites at the Tent of Meeting regards the most holy things.

Whenever the camp sets out, Aaron and his sons are to go in, take down the veil of the curtain, and cover the ark of the Testimony with it.

They are to place over this a covering of fine leather, spread a solid blue cloth over it, and insert its poles.

Over the table of the Presence they are to spread a blue cloth and place the plates and cups on it, along with the bowls and pitchers for the drink offering. The regular bread offering is to remain on it.

And they shall spread a scarlet cloth over them, cover them with fine leather, and insert the poles.

They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand used for light, together with its lamps, wick trimmers, and trays, as well as the jars of oil with which to supply it.

Then they shall wrap it and all its utensils inside a covering of fine leather and put it on the carrying frame.

Over the gold altar they are to spread a blue cloth, cover it with fine leather, and insert the poles.

They are to take all the utensils for serving in the sanctuary, place them in a blue cloth, cover them with fine leather, and put them on the carrying frame.

Then they shall remove the ashes from the bronze altar, spread a purple cloth over it,

and place on it all the vessels used to serve there: the firepans, meat forks, shovels, and sprinkling bowls—all the equipment of the altar. They are to spread over it a covering of fine leather and insert the poles.

When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all their equipment, as soon as the camp is ready to move, the Kohathites shall come and do the carrying. But they must not touch the holy objects, or they will die. These are the transportation duties of the Kohathites regarding the Tent of Meeting.

Eleazar son of Aaron the priest shall oversee the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the daily grain offering, and the anointing oil. He has oversight of the entire tabernacle and everything in it, including the holy objects and their utensils.”

Then Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron,

“Do not allow the Kohathite tribal clans to be cut off from among the Levites.

In order that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy things, do this for them: Aaron and his sons are to go in and assign each man his task and what he is to carry.

But the Kohathites are not to go in and look at the holy objects, even for a moment, or they will die.”

Now Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath son of Levi, along with some Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—conducted

• [NOTABLE] Judgment on those who claim priestly authority without appointment; the censers were then hammered into a bronze covering for the altar as a memorial

a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 men of Israel renowned as leaders of the congregation and representatives in the assembly.

They came together against Moses and Aaron and told them, “You have taken too much upon yourselves! For everyone in the entire congregation is holy, and Yahweh is in their midst. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of Yahweh?”

When Moses heard this, he fell facedown.

Then he said to Korah and all his followers, “Tomorrow morning Yahweh will reveal who belongs to Him and who is holy, and He will bring that person near to Himself. The one He chooses He will bring near to Himself.

You, Korah, and all your followers are to do as follows: Take censers,

and tomorrow you are to place fire and incense in them in the presence of Yahweh. Then the man Yahweh chooses will be the one who is holy. It is you sons of Levi who have taken too much upon yourselves!”

Moses also said to Korah, “Now listen, you sons of Levi!

Is it not enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel and brought you near to Himself to perform the work at Yahweh’s tabernacle, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them?

He has brought you near, you and all your fellow Levites, but you are seeking the priesthood as well.

Therefore, it is you and all your followers who have conspired against Yahweh! As for Aaron, who is he that you should grumble against him?”

Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come!

Is it not enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? Must you also appoint yourself as ruler over us?

Moreover, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you gouge out the eyes of these men? No, we will not come!”

Then Moses became very angry and said to Yahweh, “Do not regard their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them or mistreated a single one of them.”

And Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before Yahweh tomorrow—you and they and Aaron.

Each man is to take his censer, place incense in it, and present it before Yahweh—250 censers. You and Aaron are to present your censers as well.”

So each man took his censer, put fire and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

When Korah had gathered his whole assembly against them at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the glory of Yahweh appeared to the whole congregation.

And Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron,

“Separate yourselves from this congregation so that I may consume them in an instant.”

But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the whole congregation?”

Then Yahweh said to Moses,

“Tell the congregation to move away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”

So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.

And he warned the congregation, “Move away now from the tents of these wicked men. Do not touch anything that belongs to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.”

So they moved away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Meanwhile, Dathan and Abiram had come out and stood at the entrances to their tents with their wives and children and infants.

Then Yahweh said to Moses,

“Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to remove the censers from the flames and to scatter the coals far away, because the censers are holy.

As for the censers of those who sinned at the cost of their own lives, hammer them into sheets to overlay the altar, for these were presented before Yahweh, and so have become holy. They will serve as a sign to the Israelites.”

So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned up, and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar,

just as Yahweh commanded him through Moses. This was to be a reminder to the Israelites that no outsider who is not a descendant of Aaron should approach to offer incense before Yahweh, lest he become like Korah and his followers.

Hear, O Israel: Yahweh our God, Yahweh is One.

• [NOTABLE] The Shema, named for its first Hebrew word, hear. Jews still pray it every morning and evening, and Jesus called the next verse the greatest commandment, Mark 12:29 to 30.

And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.

Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.

If you build a new house, you are to construct a railing around your roof, so that you do not bring bloodguilt on your house if someone falls from it.

• [NOTABLE] Flat roofs were living space, so God required a railing. It is one of the oldest building safety codes, and it teaches that loving your neighbor includes keeping them safe.

If a man is newly married, he must not be sent to war or be pressed into any duty. For one year he is free to stay at home and bring joy to the wife he has married.

• [NOTABLE] God gave a new husband a year off from the army and other duties so he could make his wife happy. Marriage mattered to God more than the war.

This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in all you do.

• [NOTABLE] God's pep talk to a nervous new leader. Success is tied to knowing and doing God's word, and courage comes from God being with you, not from being fearless.

Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for Yahweh your God is with you wherever you go.”

to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’

• [NOTABLE] God wanted a pile of rocks that would make kids ask questions. Faith is passed on by telling the story of what God did.

you are to tell them, ‘The waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of Yahweh. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters were cut off.’ Therefore these stones will be a memorial to the Israelites forever.”

Then the men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not seek the counsel of Yahweh.

• [NOTABLE] The Gibeonites fooled Israel with moldy bread and worn out sandals. Israel trusted their own eyes and never prayed about it.

But if it is unpleasing in your sight to serve Yahweh, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. As for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh!”

• [NOTABLE] One of the most quoted verses on home signs. Joshua made the choice for his family first, out loud, before the people answered.

After that whole generation had also been gathered to their fathers, another generation rose up who did not know Yahweh or the works that He had done for Israel.

• [NOTABLE] Faith is always one generation from being lost. Their parents saw the Jordan stop, but nobody told the kids.

Then Yahweh said to Gideon, “You have too many men for Me to deliver Midian into their hands, lest Israel glorify themselves over Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’

• [NOTABLE] God cut Gideon's army from 32,000 to 300 so nobody could brag. When the odds are impossible, everyone knows who won the battle.

Then she called out, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” When Samson awoke from his sleep, he thought, “I will escape as I did before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that Yahweh had departed from him.

• [NOTABLE] One of the saddest lines in the Bible. Samson kept playing with sin until the strength was gone, and he did not even notice.

In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

• [NOTABLE] The theme of the whole book, said twice. With no king and no shared standard, everyone made up their own rules, and chapters 17 to 21 show where that leads.

In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

• [NOTABLE] The theme of the whole book, said twice. With no king and no shared standard, everyone made up their own rules, and chapters 17 to 21 show where that leads.

But Ruth replied: “Do not urge me to leave you or to turn from following you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.

• [NOTABLE] One of the greatest promises of loyalty ever spoken, and a Moabite widow said it. Ruth chose Naomi's people and Naomi's God for life. It is still read at weddings.

Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May Yahweh punish me, and ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.”

May Yahweh repay your work, and may you receive a rich reward from Yahweh, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have taken refuge.”

• [NOTABLE] Boaz prays that God will reward Ruth for hiding under His wings. Then Boaz becomes the answer to his own prayer, when Ruth asks him to spread the corner of his garment, the same Hebrew word as wings, over her, 3:9.

Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be Yahweh, who has not left you this day without a kinsman-redeemer. May his name become famous in Israel.

• [NOTABLE] Naomi came home empty, 1:21. Now she has a redeemer, and Ruth is better than seven sons.

He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.”

There is no one holy like Yahweh. Indeed, there is no one besides You! And there is no Rock like our God.

• [NOTABLE] Hannah's song. Moses called God the Rock in Deuteronomy 32:4, and Hannah sings it too: there is no Rock like our God. Mary sang the same kind of song in Luke 1.

Afterward, Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far Yahweh has helped us.”

• [NOTABLE] Ebenezer means stone of help. It is the same name as the place where Israel lost the ark in chapter 4. Now the name stands for God's help. The old hymn says, Here I raise my Ebenezer.

But Samuel declared: “Does Yahweh delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams.

• [NOTABLE] Saul tried to cover disobedience with a big offering. God wants a heart that listens more than a show of religion. Jesus made the same point in Matthew 9:13.

But David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of Yahweh of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

• [NOTABLE] David's speech to Goliath. The fight is not about size or weapons but about whose name you come in. The battle is Yahweh's.

This day Yahweh will deliver you into my hand. This day I will strike you down, cut off your head, and give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the creatures of the earth. Then the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.

And all those assembled here will know that it is not by sword or spear that Yahweh saves; for the battle is Yahweh’s, and He will give all of you into our hands.”

And David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of every man grieved for his sons and daughters. But David found strength in Yahweh his God.

• [NOTABLE] David's lowest day: his town burned, his family taken, and his own men ready to stone him. He did not quit. He found his strength in God first, then he acted.

David again assembled the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand in all.

• [NOTABLE] The ark was being transported wrongly (on a cart, not carried by Kohathites); Uzzah's death shows even good intentions cannot violate God's holiness protocols

And he and all his troops set out for Baale of Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name—the name of Yahweh of Hosts, who is enthroned between the cherubim that are on it.

They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart,

bringing with it the ark of God. And Ahio was walking in front of the ark.

David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before Yahweh with all kinds of wood instruments, harps, stringed instruments, tambourines, sistrums, and cymbals.

Then David became angry because Yahweh had burst forth against Uzzah. So he named that place Perez-uzzah, as it is called to this day.

That day David feared Yahweh and asked, “How can the ark of Yahweh ever come to me?”

So he was unwilling to move the ark of Yahweh to the City of David; instead, he took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.

Thus the ark of Yahweh remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite for three months, and Yahweh blessed him and all his household.

Then King David went in, sat before Yahweh, and said, “Who am I, O Lord Yahweh, and what is my house, that You have brought me this far?

• [NOTABLE] God just promised David a house forever, and David does not brag. He sits before Yahweh and asks, Who am I? Real thanks starts with being amazed at grace.

“Do not be afraid,” said David, “for surely I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.”

• [NOTABLE] Mephibosheth was lame, afraid and from the family of David's old enemy. David brought him to eat at the king's table like one of his sons. Many see a picture of grace: we are brought to the King's table, not because of our feet, but because of a promise.

Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man! This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.

• [NOTABLE] Four words that broke a king. Nathan told a story, let David judge it, then turned the story around. Sin we condemn in others is often sin we hide in ourselves.

But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”

• [NOTABLE] David's baby son died, and David got up, washed and worshiped. Many have taken comfort from these words: a parent who loses a little child can hope to see that child again.

The king was shaken and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And as he walked, he cried out, “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”

• [NOTABLE] One of the saddest cries in the Bible. Absalom tried to kill his father and take his throne, and David still wished he had died in his place. A father's love does not quit.

He said: “Yahweh is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer.

• [NOTABLE] David's song after God saved him from all his enemies. The same song is Psalm 18. A hunted man who hid in rocks and caves found his real hiding place in God.

My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation. My stronghold, my refuge, and my Savior, You save me from violence.

“No,” replied the king, “I insist on paying a price, for I will not offer to Yahweh my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for 1¼ pounds of silver.

• [NOTABLE] Araunah offered his land and his oxen for free. David said no. Giving God what costs us nothing is not really giving. The temple was later built on this very spot, 2 Chronicles 3:1.

Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the tabernacle and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the ram’s horn, and all the people proclaimed, “Long live King Solomon!”

• [NOTABLE] Solomon's anointing establishes him as David's successor and stops Adonijah's coup

But will God indeed dwell upon the earth? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain You, much less this temple I have built.

• [NOTABLE] Solomon built the finest building Israel ever had and then said it was too small for God. God is not stuck in a building. Yet He chose to put His Name there, and later He came to live among us in Jesus, John 1:14.

After they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken away from you?” “Please, let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.

• [NOTABLE] Elisha could have asked for anything. He asked for more of God's Spirit to carry on Elijah's work. The double portion was the oldest son's share, Deuteronomy 21:17.

And Hezekiah prayed before Yahweh: “O Yahweh, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth.

• [NOTABLE] Hezekiah took the enemy's threatening letter into the temple, spread it out before God and prayed. A simple picture of what to do with a scary letter.

Incline Your ear, O Yahweh, and hear; open Your eyes, O Yahweh, and see. Listen to the words that Sennacherib has sent to defy the living God.

Truly, O Yahweh, the kings of Assyria have laid waste these nations and their lands.

And now, O Yahweh our God, please save us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O Yahweh, are God.”

“Go and inquire of Yahweh for me, for the people, and for all Judah concerning the words in this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of Yahweh that burns against us because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book by doing all that is written about us.”

• [NOTABLE] When Josiah heard God's word read, he did not argue with it. He tore his clothes and asked what God wanted. That is how revival starts.

And Jabez called out to the God of Israel, “If only You would bless me and enlarge my territory! May Your hand be with me and keep me from harm, so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted the request of Jabez.

• [NOTABLE] His name sounds like pain in Hebrew, but he asked God to bless him and keep him from harm, and God answered. A short prayer in a long list of names.

Give thanks to Yahweh, for He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.

• [NOTABLE] This line became the temple's theme song. It was sung when the temple was dedicated, 2 Chronicles 5:13 and 7:3, and it is the chorus of all 26 verses of Psalm 136.

“No,” replied King David, “I insist on paying the full price, for I will not take for Yahweh what belongs to you, nor will I offer burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”

• [NOTABLE] Ornan offered David everything for free. David said no. Real worship costs something.

Yours, O Yahweh, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in heaven and on earth belongs to You. Yours, O Yahweh, is the kingdom, and You are exalted as head over all.

• [NOTABLE] Many think the ending of the Lord's Prayer in many later copies of Matthew 6:13, Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, comes from David's prayer here.

and if My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.

• [NOTABLE] God's answer to Solomon's prayer at the temple. Four steps, humble, pray, seek, turn, and three promises, hear, forgive, heal. See the Big Question pages If My People.

So he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. Yahweh is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.

• [NOTABLE] The prophet Azariah's whole message to King Asa in one line. Asa listened, and Judah had peace.

Our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this vast army that comes against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”

• [NOTABLE] King Jehoshaphat's prayer when three armies came at once. He admitted he had no plan, and looked to God.

And he said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what Yahweh says: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army, for the battle does not belong to you, but to God.

• [NOTABLE] God's answer through Jahaziel. Judah's army went out singing, and God turned the enemy armies against each other, 20:22 to 23.

Early in the morning they got up and left for the Wilderness of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood up and said, “Hear me, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Believe in Yahweh your God, and you will be upheld; believe in His prophets, and you will succeed.”

• [NOTABLE] Jehoshaphat's words to his army on the morning of the battle. Isaiah later told King Ahaz the opposite side of the same truth, Isaiah 7:9.

Then Azariah the priest, along with eighty brave priests of Yahweh, went in after him.

They took their stand against King Uzziah and said, “Uzziah, you have no right to offer incense to Yahweh. Only the priests, the descendants of Aaron, are consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have acted unfaithfully; you will not receive honor from Yahweh God.”

And they sang responsively with praise and thanksgiving to Yahweh: “For He is good; for His loving devotion to Israel endures forever.” Then all the people gave a great shout of praise to Yahweh, because the foundation of the house of Yahweh had been laid.

• [NOTABLE] The young people shouted for joy and the old people cried, and it was so loud nobody could tell which was which. See the Big Question pages Why Did the Old Men Weep?

But many of the older priests, Levites, and family heads who had seen the first temple wept loudly when they saw the foundation of this temple. Still, many others shouted joyfully.

The people could not distinguish the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people were making so much noise. And the sound was heard from afar.

And there by the Ahava Canal I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions.

• [NOTABLE] Ezra had told the king his God protects His people, so asking for soldiers would look like he did not believe it. He fasted and prayed instead, and they made it with all that gold.

For I was ashamed to ask the king for an escort of soldiers and horsemen to protect us from our enemies on the road, since we had told him, “The hand of our God is gracious to all who seek Him, but His great anger is against all who forsake Him.”

So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and He granted our request.

and said: “O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, because our iniquities are higher than our heads, and our guilt has reached the heavens.

• [NOTABLE] Ezra prays we, not they. He had done nothing wrong, but he stood with his people and owned their sin as his own.

Though we are slaves, our God has not forsaken us in our bondage, but He has extended to us grace in the sight of the kings of Persia, giving us new life to rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, and giving us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem.

When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

• [NOTABLE] Bad news from home broke his heart. Before he made a plan, he cried, fasted and prayed for days.

“What is your request?” replied the king. So I prayed to the God of heaven

• [NOTABLE] The king asked a question, and Nehemiah shot up a prayer before he answered. You can pray in the middle of a conversation.

After I had made an inspection, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”

• [NOTABLE] When fear hits, remember how big God is, then fight for the people you love.

So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it to go down to you?”

• [NOTABLE] His enemies kept inviting him to a meeting to hurt him. He said no four times. Not every meeting deserves your time.

Then Nehemiah told them, “Go and eat what is rich, drink what is sweet, and send out portions to those who have nothing prepared, since today is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of Yahweh is your strength.”

• [NOTABLE] The people cried when they heard God's law. Nehemiah told them to throw a party and share it, because God's joy is what makes you strong.

For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows if perhaps you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

• [NOTABLE] Where you are right now may be exactly where God wants you, for a reason you cannot see yet.

“Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day, and I and my maidens will fast as you do. After that, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish!”

• [NOTABLE] Esther fasted first, then did the right thing even though it could cost her life.

That night sleep escaped the king; so he ordered the Book of Records, the Chronicles, to be brought in and read to him.

• [NOTABLE] One sleepless night turned the whole story around. God can use the smallest things.

saying: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return. Yahweh gave, and Yahweh has taken away. Blessed be the name of Yahweh.”

• [NOTABLE] On the worst day of his life, Job worshiped. You can praise God even before you understand.

“You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept from God only good and not adversity?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

• [NOTABLE] Faith that only works on good days is not much faith. Job trusted God in both.

Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. I will still defend my ways to His face.

• [NOTABLE] Job did not understand God, but he still hoped in Him. Honest questions and real faith can live together.

Yet He knows the way I have taken; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.

• [NOTABLE] Fire does not destroy gold; it makes it pure. God knows your road even when you cannot see Him.

Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.

• [NOTABLE] God answers Job's questions with bigger questions. The God who made everything can be trusted with what we do not understand.

My ears had heard of You, but now my eyes have seen You.

• [NOTABLE] Job got something better than answers: he met God. Knowing about God is not the same as knowing Him.

After Job had prayed for his friends, Yahweh restored his prosperity and doubled his former possessions.

• [NOTABLE] Job prayed for the men who had hurt him. Forgiveness opened the door to his healing.

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers.

• [NOTABLE] The whole book opens with a choice. Who you walk with, stand with and sit with shapes who you become.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

• [NOTABLE] God does not promise there will be no valley. He promises to walk through it with you.

Of David. Yahweh is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? Yahweh is the stronghold of my life— whom shall I dread?

• [NOTABLE] Fear shrinks when you remember how big God is.

For His anger is fleeting, but His favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may stay the night, but joy comes in the morning.

• [NOTABLE] Hard nights do not last forever. Hang on until morning.

Taste and see that Yahweh is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!

• [NOTABLE] Faith is not only something you think about. Try God for yourself.

For the choirmaster. Of the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A song. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble.

• [NOTABLE] When everything shakes, God is the safe place to run.

Cast your burden upon Yahweh and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.

• [NOTABLE] You were not made to carry everything alone. Hand it to God.

So teach us to number our days, that we may present a heart of wisdom.

• [NOTABLE] Life is short. Remembering that helps you spend it on what matters.

As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

• [NOTABLE] East and west never meet. When God forgives, He does not keep bringing it up.

This is the day that Yahweh has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

• [NOTABLE] Every day is a gift from God. Choose joy in it.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

• [NOTABLE] God's word may not show you the whole road, but it shows you the next step.

A song of ascents. I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?

• [NOTABLE] Look past the mountains to the One who made them.

My help comes from Yahweh, the Maker of heaven and earth.

It is like fine oil on the head, running down on the beard, running down Aaron’s beard over the collar of his robes.

• [NOTABLE] The beauty of unity compared to the abundant anointing on Aaron; picture of the Spirit's blessing flowing from the head to the whole body

I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Your works, and I know this very well.

• [NOTABLE] God made you on purpose. Your worth comes from your Maker.

May my prayer be set before You like incense; my uplifted hands, like the evening offering.

• [NOTABLE] David explicitly connects prayer with the rising smoke of incense — the biblical basis for incense-as-prayer symbolism

Let everything that has breath praise Yahweh! Hallelujah!

• [NOTABLE] If you are breathing, you have a reason to praise Him.

in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

• [NOTABLE] Bring God into every part of life, not only Sunday, and He will lead the way.

The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

• [NOTABLE] Real wisdom starts with taking God seriously.

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

• [NOTABLE] How you say it can stop a fight or start one.

Commit your works to Yahweh and your plans will be achieved.

• [NOTABLE] Hand your plans to God first, and let Him shape them.

Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

• [NOTABLE] Pride is the step right before the crash.

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

• [NOTABLE] Real friends show up when life is hard.

The name of Yahweh is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

• [NOTABLE] When trouble comes, run to God first.

Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

• [NOTABLE] Your words can build people up or tear them down. Choose them well.

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

• [NOTABLE] What you teach kids early shapes their whole life. See Are Proverbs Promises?

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

• [NOTABLE] Good friends make each other better, even when it causes a few sparks.

A wife of noble character, who can find? She is far more precious than rubies.

• [NOTABLE] The whole A to Z poem is a picture of a strong, wise, godly woman. What matters most is that she fears Yahweh, 31:30.

The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he lacks nothing of value.

She brings him good and not harm all the days of her life.

She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.

She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.

She rises while it is still night to provide food for her household and portions for her maidservants.

She appraises a field and buys it; from her earnings she plants a vineyard.

She girds herself with strength and shows that her arms are strong.

She sees that her gain is good, and her lamp is not extinguished at night.

She stretches out her hands to the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.

She opens her arms to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.

When it snows, she has no fear for her household, for they are all clothed in scarlet.

She makes coverings for her bed; her clothing is fine linen and purple.

Her husband is known at the city gates, where he sits among the elders of the land.

She makes linen garments and sells them; she delivers sashes to the merchants.

Strength and honor are her clothing, and she can laugh at the days to come.

She opens her mouth with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband praises her as well:

“Many daughters have done noble things, but you surpass them all!”

Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears Yahweh is to be praised.

Give her the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her at the gates.

To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven:

• [NOTABLE] Life has seasons. Hard ones do not last forever, and good ones are not wasted.

a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to break down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

a time to search and a time to count as lost, a time to keep and a time to discard,

a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor.

• [NOTABLE] You were not made to do life alone. Find people who will pick you up. Many read these verses at weddings.

For if one falls down, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to help him up!

Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone?

And though one may be overpowered, two can resist. Moreover, a cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

• [NOTABLE] Life is short, so give your best to the work in front of you today.

Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again.

• [NOTABLE] Be generous and take good risks. What you give away has a way of coming back.

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of adversity come and the years approach of which you will say, “I find no pleasure in them,”

• [NOTABLE] Do not wait until you are old to get serious about God. Start now.

When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.

• [NOTABLE] After trying everything, the Teacher lands here. This is the bottom line of the whole book.

He has brought me to the house of wine, and his banner over me is love.

• [NOTABLE] Love is the flag he flies over her for everyone to see. Many Christians sing it about God's love, His banner over me is love.

O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you by the gazelles and does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until the time is right.

• [NOTABLE] Love is powerful, so do not rush it. Wait for the right time and the right person. Said three times: 2:7, 3:5 and 8:4.

My beloved calls to me, “Arise, my darling. Come away with me, my beautiful one.

• [NOTABLE] The famous spring song of the Bible. Winter is over and love comes alive, like new life after a hard season.

For now the winter is past; the rain is over and gone.

The flowers have appeared in the countryside; the season of singing has come, and the cooing of turtledoves is heard in our land.

The fig tree ripens its figs; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come away, my darling; come away with me, my beautiful one.”

Catch for us the foxes— the little foxes that ruin the vineyards— for our vineyards are in bloom.

• [NOTABLE] Small problems left alone can ruin a big love. Deal with the little things early.

My beloved is mine and I am his; he pastures his flock among the lilies.

• [NOTABLE] Love that belongs to each other, all the way. A favorite line for weddings and wedding rings.

O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you by the gazelles and does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until the time is right.

• [NOTABLE] The refrain again: wait for the right time. See 2:7.

Who is this coming up from the wilderness like a column of smoke, scented with myrrh and frankincense from all the spices of the merchant?

• [NOTABLE] A king's perfumes. Many Christians see here a picture of Jesus, the King and Bridegroom, who was given myrrh and frankincense as a baby.

O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you: Do not arouse or awaken love until the time is right.

• [NOTABLE] The third and last time the refrain is said. See 2:7.

Mighty waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away. If a man were to give all the wealth of his house for love, his offer would be utterly scorned.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

• [NOTABLE] God knew you before you were born and made you for a purpose.

This is what Yahweh says: “Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the ancient paths: ‘Where is the good way?’ Then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it!’

• [NOTABLE] When you do not know which way to go, the old, proven way of God brings rest.

This is what Yahweh says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches.

• [NOTABLE] Brains, muscle and money are not the point. Knowing God is.

But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am Yahweh, who exercises loving devotion, justice and righteousness on the earth— for I delight in these things,” declares Yahweh.

But blessed is the man who trusts in Yahweh, whose confidence is in Him.

• [NOTABLE] Trusting God keeps you green and growing even in a drought.

He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor does it cease to produce fruit.

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh:

• [NOTABLE] God can take a ruined life and reshape it into something new.

“Go down at once to the potter’s house, and there I will give you My message.”

So I went down to the potter’s house and saw him working at the wheel.

But the vessel that he was shaping from the clay became flawed in his hand; so he formed it into another vessel, as it seemed best for him to do.

Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

“O house of Israel, declares Yahweh, can I not treat you as this potter treats his clay? Just like clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares Yahweh, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.

• [NOTABLE] Written to exiles facing seventy years in Babylon. God's plans are good even in a long, hard season. Read it with 29:10.

Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.

Yahweh appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with loving devotion.

• [NOTABLE] God's love does not run out, even after His people ran away.

Call to Me, and I will answer and show you great and unsearchable things you do not know.

• [NOTABLE] God invites you to ask, and He answers. Spoken while Jeremiah was locked up.

Yet I bring this back to my heart, and therefore I have hope:

• [NOTABLE] Hope in the middle of the ruins. God's mercy does not run out, and every morning brings a fresh supply. The source of the hymn Great Is Thy Faithfulness.

Because of the loving devotion of Yahweh we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail.

They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!

“Yahweh is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.”

Yahweh is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.

It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of Yahweh.

You, O Yahweh, reign forever; Your throne endures from generation to generation.

• [NOTABLE] When everything has fallen, God's throne has not. The way back starts with asking Him to bring us back.

Why have You forgotten us forever? Why have You forsaken us for so long?

Restore us to Yourself, O Yahweh, so we may return; renew our days as of old,

I searched for a man among them to repair the wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, so that I should not destroy it. But I found no one.

• [NOTABLE] God looks for people who will pray and stand up for others. One person can make a difference.

Say to them: ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord Yahweh, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’

• [NOTABLE] God's heart is to save, not to destroy. The door to turn back is open.

The hand of Yahweh was upon me, and He brought me out by His Spirit and set me down in the middle of the valley, and it was full of bones.

• [NOTABLE] Nothing is too dead for God. His word and His Spirit bring life to what looks hopeless.

He led me all around among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, and indeed, they were very dry.

Then He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones come to life?” “O Lord Yahweh,” I replied, “only You know.”

And He said to me, “Prophesy concerning these bones and tell them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of Yahweh!

This is what the Lord Yahweh says to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you will come to life.

I will attach tendons to you and make flesh grow upon you and cover you with skin. I will put breath within you so that you will come to life. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.’”

So I prophesied as I had been commanded. And as I prophesied, there was suddenly a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone.

As I looked on, tendons appeared on them, flesh grew, and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them.

Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and tell the breath that this is what the Lord Yahweh says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, so that they may live!”

So I prophesied as He had commanded me, and the breath entered them, and they came to life and stood on their feet—a vast army.

Then you, My people, will know that I am Yahweh, when I open your graves and bring you up from them.

I will put My Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I, Yahweh, have spoken, and I will do it, declares Yahweh.’”

Wherever the river flows, there will be swarms of living creatures and a great number of fish, because it flows there and makes the waters fresh; so wherever the river flows, everything will flourish.

• [NOTABLE] Life flows out from where God is. Wherever His presence goes, dead places come alive.

and declared: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him.

• [NOTABLE] Daniel's praise when God answered prayer. History is not out of control; God rules over every king and every season.

He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.

He reveals the deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.

• [NOTABLE] Faith that trusts God whether or not He rescues. Obeying God is not a deal for a good outcome.

If the God whom we serve exists, then He is able to deliver us from the blazing fiery furnace and from your hand, O king.

But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.”

Now when Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house, where the windows of his upper room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before.

• [NOTABLE] Daniel did not start praying when trouble came, and he did not stop because of it. A steady habit carried him through the test.

Incline Your ear, O my God, and hear; open Your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears Your name. For we are not presenting our petitions before You because of our righteous acts, but because of Your great compassion.

• [NOTABLE] How to pray: honest about sin, leaning on God's mercy, asking boldly for His name's sake.

O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For Your sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people bear Your name.”

So I will betroth you to Me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in loving devotion and compassion.

• [NOTABLE] God's wedding vow to an unfaithful people. His love is not a contract that ends when we fail; it is a promise He keeps forever.

And I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will know Yahweh.”

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.

• [NOTABLE] Not knowing God is not a small problem. Ignoring His word destroys people; knowing Him gives life.

For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

• [NOTABLE] Jesus quoted this twice. God cares more about a loving heart than religious routine.

It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms, but they never realized that it was I who healed them.

• [NOTABLE] God as a parent teaching a toddler to walk. He leads with kindness, not chains.

I led them with cords of kindness, with ropes of love; I lifted the yoke from their necks and bent down to feed them.

I will heal their apostasy; I will freely love them, for My anger has turned away from them.

• [NOTABLE] The book ends with healing, not judgment. God's love is free, and it makes the people who return bloom again.

I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like the lily and take root like the cedars of Lebanon.

His shoots will sprout, and his splendor will be like the olive tree, his fragrance like the cedars of Lebanon.

They will return and dwell in his shade; they will grow grain and blossom like the vine. His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.

Tell it to your children; let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation.

• [NOTABLE] What God does, and what He teaches us through hard times, is meant to be passed down from one generation to the next.

I will repay you for the years eaten by locusts— the swarming locust, the young locust, the destroying locust, and the devouring locust— My great army that I sent against you.

• [NOTABLE] God can restore what was lost. Wasted years are not the end of the story when people return to Him.

You will have plenty to eat, until you are satisfied. You will praise the name of Yahweh your God, who has worked wonders for you. My people will never again be put to shame.

Then you will know that I am present in Israel and that I am Yahweh your God, and there is no other. My people will never again be put to shame.

Can two walk together without agreeing where to go?

• [NOTABLE] A famous line, often used for marriage and friendship: people who walk together need to agree on the way. In Amos it is the first of his riddles that show nothing happens without a cause.

Surely the Lord Yahweh does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets.

• [NOTABLE] God does not act in secret. He warns before He judges.

“Therefore, that is what I will do to you, O Israel, and since I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel!

• [NOTABLE] A warning before judgment, and one of the most preached lines in the prophets: be ready for the day you meet God.

Seek good, not evil, so that you may live. And Yahweh, the God of Hosts, will be with you, as you have claimed.

• [NOTABLE] Real faith shows up in how we treat people, especially in court and in business.

Hate evil and love good; establish justice in the gate. Perhaps Yahweh, the God of Hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.”

But let justice roll on like a river, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

• [NOTABLE] God wants justice more than religious ceremony. Martin Luther King Jr. quoted it in his I Have a Dream speech.

Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord Yahweh, when I will send a famine on the land— not a famine of bread or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of Yahweh.

• [NOTABLE] The worst hunger is when God's word goes silent.

For the Day of Yahweh is near for all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your recompense will return upon your own head.

• [NOTABLE] What we do to others comes back to us. Edom gloated over its brother's fall, and the same fall came on Edom.

But I, with the voice of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to You. I will fulfill what I have vowed. Salvation is from Yahweh!”

• [NOTABLE] Jonah's prayer from inside the fish ends with the heart of the whole book: nobody saves himself, and God saves whom He will.

So should I not care about the great city of Nineveh, which has more than 120,000 people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well?”

• [NOTABLE] The book ends with God's question and no answer from Jonah. God cares about people His prophet wanted judged, and the reader has to answer too.

Yahweh is slow to anger and great in power; Yahweh will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. His path is in the whirlwind and storm, and clouds are the dust beneath His feet.

• [NOTABLE] Jonah quoted the mercy half of Exodus 34:6 to 7; Nahum quotes the justice half. God is patient, but His patience has an end.

Yahweh is good, a stronghold in the day of distress; He cares for those who trust in Him.

• [NOTABLE] In the middle of a poem about God's anger is one of the Bible's most comforting promises. The same God is a flood to His enemies and a fortress to those who trust Him.

Look at the proud one; his soul is not upright— but the righteous will live by faith—

• [NOTABLE] Paul built the gospel on this line, Romans 1:17 and Galatians 3:11, and it changed Martin Luther's life. The proud lean on themselves; the righteous lean on God.

But Yahweh is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him.

• [NOTABLE] After all the noise of the woes and the idols that cannot speak, the living God is on His throne. The right answer is quiet awe.

O Yahweh, I have heard the report of You; I stand in awe, O Yahweh, of Your deeds. Revive them in these years; make them known in these years. In Your wrath, remember mercy!

• [NOTABLE] Habakkuk knows judgment is coming and does not argue with it. He asks God to be Himself: just, and merciful too.

Though the fig tree does not bud and no fruit is on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the sheep are cut off from the fold and no cattle are in the stalls,

• [NOTABLE] One of the boldest promises in the Bible. With nothing left on the farm, Habakkuk chooses joy in God Himself. The book that started with a complaint ends with a song.

yet I will exult in Yahweh; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!

Yahweh the Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like those of a deer; He makes me walk upon the heights! For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments.

Seek Yahweh, all you humble of the earth who carry out His justice. Seek righteousness; seek humility. Perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of Yahweh’s anger.

• [NOTABLE] Before the storm, God's door is still open. The humble who seek Him may be sheltered, and Zephaniah's own name means Yahweh hides.

Yahweh your God is among you; He is mighty to save. He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you with His love; He will rejoice over you with singing.”

• [NOTABLE] One of the very few places in the Bible where God Himself sings. The book that began with the Day of wrath ends with God's joy over His people.

Now this is what Yahweh of Hosts says: “Set your heart on your ways.

• [NOTABLE] Hard work, empty wallet. When God's house came last, nothing the people did was ever enough. Haggai says stop and think about where your life is going.

You have planted much but harvested little. You eat but never have enough. You drink but never have your fill. You put on clothes but never get warm. You earn wages to put into a bag pierced through.”

But now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares Yahweh. Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. And be strong, all you people of the land, declares Yahweh. Work! For I am with you, declares Yahweh of Hosts.

• [NOTABLE] To discouraged builders with a small temple, God gives three commands, be strong, work, do not be afraid, and one reason: I am with you.

This is the promise I made to you when you came out of Egypt. And My Spirit remains among you; do not be afraid.”

For this is what Yahweh of Hosts says: “After His Glory has sent Me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of His eye—

• [NOTABLE] The pupil is the part of the eye you protect without even thinking. That is how God guards His people.

So he said to me, “This is the word of Yahweh to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says Yahweh of Hosts.

• [NOTABLE] Zerubbabel had no army and no king. God's work gets done by God's Spirit, not by human muscle.

For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven eyes of Yahweh, which scan the whole earth, will rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.”

• [NOTABLE] The new temple looked tiny, but God was glad to see the work begin. Small beginnings matter to Him.

This is what Yahweh of Hosts says: “Old men and old women will again sit along the streets of Jerusalem, each with a staff in hand because of great age.

• [NOTABLE] God's picture of a city at peace is simple: grandparents on the benches and kids playing in the street.

And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing there.”

“Because I, Yahweh, do not change, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.

• [NOTABLE] The people kept breaking their promises, but God kept His. They were still alive only because He is always the same.

At that time those who feared Yahweh spoke with one another, and Yahweh listened and heard them. So a scroll of remembrance was written before Him regarding those who feared Yahweh and honored His name.

• [NOTABLE] When most people had stopped caring, a few friends kept talking about God. He was listening, and He wrote their names down.

“They will be Mine,” says Yahweh of Hosts, “on the day when I prepare My treasured possession. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.

So then, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do likewise will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever practices and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

• [NOTABLE] Jesus says some will be called least in the kingdom and some will be called great. Notice that the least are still in the kingdom. How you live and what you teach shapes your place in heaven. Paul says the same in 1 Corinthians 3:12 to 15, where a person's work is tested but the person is still saved.

You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘Hate your enemy.’

• [NOTABLE] Anybody can love their friends. Jesus raises the bar and tells us to love the people who hate us and to pray for them.

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

“Be careful not to perform your righteous acts before men to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

• [NOTABLE] If you do good things to get noticed, the applause is your whole reward. Give quietly, pray privately, and God sees it.

So when you give to the needy, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.

But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,

so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.

But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

• [NOTABLE] Jesus's core teaching on where to invest — earthly treasures perish; heavenly ones don't; 'where your treasure is, there will your heart be also'

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

• [NOTABLE] The impossibility of divided allegiance between God and money — one of Jesus's sharpest either/or statements

“Do not judge, or you will be judged.

• [NOTABLE] The most misunderstood and misquoted verse in the Bible. Jesus is not saying never call anything wrong. Verse 5 says to take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to help your brother. He is saying do not judge people for things you are guilty of yourself.

For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye but fail to notice the beam in your own eye?

How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while there is still a beam in your own eye?

You hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Do not give dogs what is holy; do not throw your pearls before swine. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.

• [NOTABLE] Right after do not judge, Jesus says use good sense. Do not keep pushing holy things on people who mock them and attack you. Move on, like He told the disciples in 10:14.

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.

• [NOTABLE] Ask, seek, knock. In Greek these mean keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. Prayer is not one try and quit.

For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

• [NOTABLE] This is a promise. Everyone who keeps asking receives. God always answers, even when the answer is not what we expected.

Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?

• [NOTABLE] A round stone looked a lot like a small loaf of bread. No good father would trick his hungry child.

Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?

• [NOTABLE] A snake could bite the child. A good father gives what feeds, not what harms.

So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

• [NOTABLE] If flawed parents give good gifts, God gives even better ones. Luke 11:13 says the best gift He gives is the Holy Spirit.

In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the Prophets.

• [NOTABLE] The Golden Rule. Rabbi Hillel taught, do not do to others what you hate, a generation before Jesus. Jesus turns it around. Do not just avoid harm, go do good first. He says this sums up the whole Old Testament.

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.

• [NOTABLE] Two gates and two roads. The wide road is easy and crowded. Following the crowd is not the same as following God.

But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it.

• [NOTABLE] Narrow means there is only one way in. Jesus said, I am the way, John 14:6. Few find it, so you have to look for it.

Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

• [NOTABLE] False prophets dress like sheep so they look like part of the flock. Inside they are wolves who feed on the flock. Do not trust the costume. Jesus warns about them again in 24:11 and 24:24.

By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?

• [NOTABLE] Fruit is how you tell. Not their title, their talk or the size of their crowd. Watch their life over time.

Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.

• [NOTABLE] Good fruit is a life that looks like Jesus. Paul lists it in Galatians 5:22 to 23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.

A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.

• [NOTABLE] What a tree is shows up in what it grows. A person cannot fake their fruit forever.

Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

• [NOTABLE] John the Baptist gave this same warning in 3:10, almost word for word. Now Jesus says it too.

So then, by their fruit you will recognize them.

• [NOTABLE] Jesus says it twice, in 7:16 and here, so you will not miss it. This is the right kind of judging. Test teachers by their fruit.

Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven.

• [NOTABLE] Saying Lord, Lord is not enough. Doing the Father's will is what counts. Real faith shows up in how you live. James 2:17 says faith without works is dead.

When Jesus had finished these parables, He withdrew from that place.

• [NOTABLE] The people who watched Jesus grow up could not believe in Him. He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.

“Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t His mother’s name Mary, and aren’t His brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?

Aren’t all His sisters with us as well? Where then did this man get all these things?”

And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown and in his own household is a prophet without honor.”

And He did not do many miracles there, because of their unbelief.

And after He had placed His hands on them, He went on from there.

• [NOTABLE] Jesus blesses the little children. Then a young man asks what good thing he must do to get eternal life, and Jesus points him to the only One who is truly good.

Just then a man came up to Jesus and inquired, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to obtain eternal life?”

“Why do you ask Me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”

“Which ones?” the man asked. Jesus answered, “‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness,

• [NOTABLE] The rich young ruler who kept all commandments but couldn't part with his wealth; Jesus's most famous statement on wealth as a barrier to salvation

honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.’”

“All these I have kept,” said the young man. “What do I still lack?”

Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”

When the young man heard this, he went away in sorrow, because he had great wealth.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Then Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown, among his relatives, and in his own household is a prophet without honor.”

• [NOTABLE] The people who know you best are often the last to listen. His own town knew Jesus as the carpenter, and even His brothers did not believe at first, John 7:5. If friends and family brush off your faith, you are in good company. Later His brother James led the church in Jerusalem.

He instructed them to take nothing but a staff for the journey—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts—

• [NOTABLE] Travel light. No food, bag or money meant trusting God to provide through the people they served.

and to wear sandals, but not a second tunic.

• [NOTABLE] No backup outfit. Depend on God, not on what you packed. Luke 22:35 says they lacked nothing.

And He told them, “When you enter a house, stay there until you leave that area.

• [NOTABLE] Stay in one house. Do not trade up when a nicer offer comes along.

If anyone will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that place, as a testimony against them.”

• [NOTABLE] Shaking off the dust meant, I did my part, and the choice is yours. A warning, not a tantrum. Paul did it too, Acts 13:51.

So they set out and preached that the people should repent.

• [NOTABLE] Repent means turn around. Change your mind, change your direction, come back to God.

As Jesus started on His way, a man ran up and knelt before Him. “Good Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

• [NOTABLE] Mark's parallel — adds that Jesus LOVED him, and clarifies that the danger is trusting IN riches, not merely having them

“Why do you call Me good?” Jesus replied. “No one is good except God alone.

You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not cheat others, honor your father and mother.’”

“Teacher,” he replied, “all these I have kept from my youth.”

Jesus looked at him, loved him, and said to him, “There is one thing you lack: Go, sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”

But the man was saddened by these words and went away in sorrow, because he had great wealth.

Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”

And the disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!

It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

They were even more astonished and said to one another, “Who then can be saved?”

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”

Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where His body was placed.

• [NOTABLE] Two women saw exactly where Jesus was buried. That answers the claim that they went to the wrong tomb.

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so they could go and anoint the body of Jesus.

• [NOTABLE] The earliest ending of Mark centers on the women as witnesses. This is before the disputed long ending.

Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they went to the tomb.

They were asking one another, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance of the tomb?”

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, even though it was extremely large.

So the women left the tomb and ran away, trembling and bewildered. And in their fear they did not say a word to anyone.

he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.

• [NOTABLE] Zacharias serving at the altar of incense when Gabriel appears to announce John the Baptist's birth; incense and angelic encounter linked

And at the hour of the incense offering, the whole congregation was praying outside.

But to those of you who will listen, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

• [NOTABLE] Anybody can love their friends. Jesus says love the people who hate you, and then shows what that looks like: do good to them, bless them and pray for them. Love is something you do, not just something you feel. Verse 31 is the Golden Rule. Jesus lived this on the cross when He prayed for the men killing Him, Luke 23:34.

bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone takes your cloak, do not withhold your tunic as well.

Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what is yours, do not demand it back.

Do to others as you would have them do to you.

Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

• [NOTABLE] Luke's version of Judge Not, one of the most misunderstood and misquoted passages in the Bible. See the note on Matthew 7:1 to 5 on.

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”

Jesus also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?

A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.

Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye but fail to notice the beam in your own eye?

How can you say, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while you yourself fail to see the beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of Him to every town and place He was about to visit.

• [NOTABLE] Jesus's second, larger sending — again in pairs of two; establishes the biblical pattern for ministry teams

So Jesus told them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come.

• [NOTABLE] The disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, and this is what He gave them. It is a pattern, not just words to repeat: put God first, ask for His kingdom, trust Him for today's needs, ask forgiveness and give it, and ask Him to keep you from temptation. Notice verse 4. We ask God to forgive us because we forgive others. Matthew 6:9 to 13 has the longer version.

Give us each day our daily bread.

And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’”

And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

• [NOTABLE] The Parable of the Rich Fool — building bigger barns instead of being rich toward God; the folly of laying up earthly wealth

Then He told them a parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced an abundance.

So he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, since I have nowhere to store my crops?’

Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and will build bigger ones, and there I will store up all my grain and my goods.

Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’

But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’

This is how it will be for anyone who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich toward God.”

Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, who lived each day in joyous splendor.

• [NOTABLE] The only parable where Jesus names a character (Lazarus); vivid picture of postmortem reversal of fortunes between the neglectful rich and the suffering poor

And a beggar named Lazarus lay at his gate, covered with sores

and longing to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

One day the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. And the rich man also died and was buried.

In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side.

So he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. For I am in agony in this fire.’

But Abraham answered, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things. But now he is comforted here, while you are in agony.

And besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that even those who wish cannot cross from here to you, nor can anyone cross from there to us.’

‘Then I beg you, father,’ he said, ‘send Lazarus to my father’s house,

for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also end up in this place of torment.’

But Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let your brothers listen to them.’

‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone is sent to them from the dead, they will repent.’

Then Abraham said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Then a certain ruler asked Him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

• [NOTABLE] Luke's parallel — closes with the crucial reminder that salvation of the rich is possible with God, though impossible by human effort

“Why do you call Me good?” Jesus replied. “No one is good except God alone.

You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and mother.’”

“All these I have kept from my youth,” he said.

On hearing this, Jesus told him, “You still lack one thing: Sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”

But when the ruler heard this, he became very sad, because he was extremely wealthy.

Seeing the man’s sadness, Jesus said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!

Indeed, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?”

But Jesus said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how His body was placed.

• [NOTABLE] Luke says the women checked the tomb and how the body was placed. They knew where to go on Sunday.

It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles.

• [NOTABLE] The Gospel admits the apostles did not believe the women. Nobody invents a detail that makes their own leaders look bad.

But their words seemed like nonsense to them, and they did not believe the women.

It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not cause trouble for the Gentiles who are turning to God.

• [NOTABLE] The church's first big decision: Gentile believers did not have to be circumcised or become Jews to follow Jesus, 15:11. The rules in 15:20 let Jewish and Gentile believers share a table. Paul fought this same fight in Galatians.

‘For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’

• [NOTABLE] Paul quotes a Greek poem, most likely by Epimenides of Crete, from about 600 BC. He uses the Greeks' own writers to point them to the true God.
• [NOTABLE] Paul quotes the Greek poet Aratus, from his poem Phaenomena, written about 270 BC. The Stoic writer Cleanthes wrote almost the same line.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

• [NOTABLE] THE ROMANS ROAD, STOP 2 OF 5. Sin pays a paycheck, and the paycheck is death. But eternal life is a free gift, and you cannot earn a gift. Next stop, 5:8.

I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea.

• [NOTABLE] Paul trusted this letter to a woman. Phoebe most likely carried Romans to Rome. Paul calls her diakonos, the same Greek word used for deacons in 1 Timothy 3:8. Some Bibles say servant and others say deacon.

Welcome her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and assist her with anything she may need from you. For she has been a great help to many people, including me.

Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow countrymen and fellow prisoners. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.

• [NOTABLE] Junia was a woman, and Paul counts her and Andronicus outstanding among the apostles. About AD 390 the great preacher John Chrysostom praised her for it. Apostle here likely means a sent out missionary, like Barnabas in Acts 14:14. For centuries many Bibles changed her to Junias, a man’s name never found in ancient writing. The other view reads it as well known to the apostles.

Rather, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.”

• [NOTABLE] Often quoted about heaven, but keep reading. Verse 10 says God has revealed these things to us by His Spirit. It is not only about someday. It is about what the Spirit shows believers now.

To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.

• [NOTABLE] Paul changed his style, not his message. With Jews he lived like a Jew, and with Gentiles like a Gentile, so he could reach people right where they were.

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide an escape, so that you can stand up under it.

• [NOTABLE] Your temptation is common, so you are not the only one. God is faithful, and with every temptation He makes a way out. Look for the exit sign.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a ringing gong or a clanging cymbal.

• [NOTABLE] Read at almost every wedding, but Paul wrote it to a church at war with itself over gifts and status. Without love, even the greatest gift is just noise. Love here is something you do, not just something you feel.

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have absolute faith so as to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

If I give all I possess to the poor and exult in the surrender of my body, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs.

Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth.

It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be restrained; where there is knowledge, it will be dismissed.

For we know in part and we prophesy in part,

but when the perfect comes, the partial passes away.

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I set aside childish ways.

Now we see but a dim reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love.

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

• [NOTABLE] One of the oldest Christian creeds. Paul passed on what he received, and many scholars, even skeptics, date it to within a few years of the cross. More than five hundred people saw the risen Jesus, and most were still alive to ask.

Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

• [NOTABLE] Paul quotes a line from the Greek playwright Menander, from his comedy Thais, about 300 BC. By Paul's day it was a common saying.

If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be under a curse. Come, O Lord!

• [NOTABLE] In the Greek, Come, O Lord is one Aramaic word, Maranatha, the language Jesus spoke. Paul left it untranslated in a Greek letter, which shows the very first believers were already praying for Jesus to come back.

Now it is God who establishes both us and you in Christ. He anointed us,

• [NOTABLE] God's threefold action on believers: established, anointed, sealed — the Spirit as guarantee

placed His seal on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a pledge of what is to come.

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

• [NOTABLE] Freedom here is not doing whatever you want. It is freedom from the veil, 3:16, from fear and from trying to earn God's love by keeping rules. When the Spirit is in charge, you are free to see Jesus clearly and become more like Him, 3:18.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.

• [NOTABLE] Paul was beaten, hungry and getting older, and he called it light and momentary. He was not pretending the pain was small. He was comparing it to forever. What you see is temporary. What you cannot see yet lasts.

For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

We are confident, then, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

• [NOTABLE] For a believer, death is not the end of the story. To be away from the body is to be at home with the Lord. Paul says the same in Philippians 1:23: to depart and be with Christ is far better.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!

• [NOTABLE] Not a cleaned up version of the old you. A brand new creation. The old has passed away, so your past does not get the final word.

But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me.

• [NOTABLE] STRENGTH IN WEAKNESS. Paul is not saying weakness is good. He begged God three times to take the thorn away, 12:8. He is saying God's power shows up best right where ours runs out, so Christ gets the credit. The fake super apostles bragged about their strengths. Paul bragged about his weaknesses, and that left them nothing to attack. Think of the last rap battle in the movie 8 Mile. B-Rabbit, Eminem's character, says every embarrassing thing about himself before his opponent can, and the other guy has nothing left to say. Pride can't do that. Only a humble person can admit weakness out loud, and that is when the power of Christ rests on him.

That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

• [NOTABLE] One sentence, three Persons: Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit. The word Trinity is not in the Bible, but verses like this one are why the church believes it. Many churches still end their services with these words.

I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

• [NOTABLE] Paul says the old Paul died with Jesus on the cross. The life he lives now is Christ living through him, by faith. The Christian life is not trying harder to be good. It is letting Jesus live His life in you. And it is personal: He loved me and gave Himself for me.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be encumbered once more by a yoke of slavery.

• [NOTABLE] Christ set us free so we would stay free. The yoke of slavery here is trying to earn God's love by keeping religious rules, like the Galatians adding circumcision. Freedom is not permission to sin either, 5:13. It is freedom to love God and serve people because you want to, not because you are scared.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

• [NOTABLE] Nine qualities, but Paul says fruit, not fruits. They grow together like one piece of fruit, not a basket where you pick your favorites. You cannot make fruit by straining. It grows when you stay connected to the vine, John 15:5. Compare the works of the flesh in 5:19 to 21. Works are made. Fruit is grown.

gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return.

• [NOTABLE] A farming law: plant corn, get corn. Plant to please your flesh and you harvest ruin. Plant to please the Spirit and you harvest life forever. Harvest takes time, so do not give up doing good, 6:9. People call this karma, but karma has no grace. God forgives the sinner, and He still lets us learn from what we planted.

The one who sows to please his flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; but the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God,

• [NOTABLE] The gospel in three verses. Grace means a gift you did not earn. Faith is how you receive it. Works do not save you, but you were saved to do good works, 2:10. The Greek word for workmanship is poiema, where we get poem. You are God's work of art.

not by works, so that no one can boast.

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,

• [NOTABLE] Paul runs out of words. God can do more than you ask, and more than you can even imagine, and He does it by His power already at work in you. The KJV says exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.

to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,

• [NOTABLE] The fivefold ministry. Jesus gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to His church, and their job is to equip every believer to do the ministry. See The Fivefold Ministry pages.

to equip the saints for works of ministry and to build up the body of Christ,

Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen.

• [NOTABLE] Your words can build people up or tear them down. Mean talk, bitterness and rage grieve the Holy Spirit, so the Spirit has feelings. The cure is to forgive the way God forgave you: fully, and before you deserved it.

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice.

Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.

Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,

• [NOTABLE] Redeeming the time means buying it back, like a shopper who grabs a deal before it is gone. Every day brings chances to do good, and once they pass they do not come back. Time is the one thing you cannot make more of, so spend it on what lasts.

redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

• [NOTABLE] Paul is in chains and might be killed, and he is not afraid. If he lives, he gets more time to serve Jesus. If he dies, he goes to be with Jesus, which is far better, 1:23. He chooses to stay for their sake, 1:24 to 25. See also Absent from the Body, 2 Corinthians 5:8.

But if I go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. So what shall I choose? I do not know.

I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better indeed.

I am not saying this out of need, for I have learned to be content regardless of my circumstances.

• [NOTABLE] Paul learned to be content with a full stomach or an empty one, 4:12. That is what 4:13 is about. I can do all things means I can get through anything, rich or broke, because Christ gives me strength. Athletes love to put it on their eye black, and that is fine, as long as you remember Paul wrote it hungry and in chains, not holding a trophy.

I know how to live humbly, and I know how to abound. In any and every situation I have learned the secret of being filled and being hungry, of having plenty and having need.

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

When you were dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our trespasses,

• [NOTABLE] The debt is a handwritten IOU, a list of everything we owe God. Paul says God did not just stamp it paid. He took it away and nailed it to the cross. Many preachers picture the sign nailed over Jesus' head that listed His crime, John 19:19, with our list nailed there instead.

having canceled the debt ascribed to us in the decrees that stood against us. He took it away, nailing it to the cross!

Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

• [NOTABLE] You were raised with Christ, so live like it. Where your mind goes, your life follows. This does not mean ignore life down here. It means let heaven set your priorities on earth.

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, as for the Lord and not for men,

• [NOTABLE] Paul first said this to slaves, so it covers every job. Your real boss is the Lord, and He pays in an inheritance. The King James says do it heartily. Work done for Him is worship, so the shop, the office and the kitchen count as ministry. See The Church Is Not a Building in Ephesians.

because you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as your reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

• [NOTABLE] Salt keeps food from going bad and gives it flavor. Your words should be kind, but not bland. Grace with salt means people can tell you love them and also that you mean it. Be ready with an answer, 1 Peter 3:15.

On the contrary, we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother caring for her children.

• [NOTABLE] Paul, the tough apostle who was beaten and jailed, calls himself a nursing mother. Real leaders are gentle. He gave them not just the gospel but his own life, 2:8, and then he was a father to them too, 2:11.

We cared so deeply that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our own lives as well. That is how beloved you have become to us.

and to aspire to live quietly, to attend to your own matters, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you.

• [NOTABLE] Mind your own business and earn your own way. Some in Thessalonica had quit working, maybe waiting for Jesus to come back. Paul worked night and day himself, 2:9. Later he wrote, if anyone is not willing to work, he shall not eat, 2 Thessalonians 3:10.

Then you will behave properly toward outsiders, without being dependent on anyone.

Rejoice at all times.

• [NOTABLE] People always ask, what is God's will for my life? Here it is in three short lines. Pray without ceasing does not mean nonstop words. It means keep the line open all day. Give thanks IN everything, not FOR everything.

Pray without ceasing.

Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

but test all things. Hold fast to what is good.

• [NOTABLE] God does not want blind faith. Check every teaching, prophecy and preacher against Scripture, keep what is good and throw out the rest. The very next town Paul visited, Berea, did exactly that, Acts 17:11.

Abstain from every form of evil.

But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.

• [NOTABLE] Paul just asked them to pray for him because not everyone has faith, 3:2. Then he turns it around: people are not always faithful, but the Lord is. Your safety does not rest on how strong you are. It rests on Him.

For even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “If anyone is unwilling to work, he shall not eat.”

• [NOTABLE] This is about the unwilling, not the unable. The church cared for widows and the sick, 1 Timothy 5:3. But a believer who could work and chose not to was not to live off everyone else. Paul set the example by working night and day, 3:8.

But as for you, brothers, do not grow weary in well-doing.

• [NOTABLE] Doing good gets old when people take advantage of you, like the idle ones in 3:11. Paul says keep going anyway. Galatians 6:9 says the same: in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.

• [NOTABLE] Peace does not come from your situation. It comes from a Person. Paul prays it over a church facing persecution, confusion about the end and lazy members. At all times and in every way means there is no situation too messy for His peace.

This is a trustworthy saying, worthy of full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst.

• [NOTABLE] The KJV says chief of sinners. Paul had hunted down Christians, 1:13. He does not say I was the worst. He says I am. If Jesus could save him, He can save anyone, 1:16.

First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be offered for everyone—

• [NOTABLE] Paul wrote this while Nero was emperor. Pray for leaders you like and leaders you do not. The goal is peaceful lives and people coming to know God, 2:4. Jeremiah told the exiles to pray for Babylon too, Jeremiah 29:7.

for kings and all those in authority—so that we may lead tranquil and quiet lives in all godliness and dignity.

But reject irreverent, silly myths. Instead, train yourself for godliness.

• [NOTABLE] Train is the Greek word our word gymnasium comes from. Paul is not against working out. He says it helps for this life, but godliness pays off now and forever. Put in the reps for your soul.

For physical exercise is of limited value, but godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for the present life and for the one to come.

Let no one despise your youth, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

• [NOTABLE] Timothy was young for a leader, maybe in his thirties. Paul does not tell him to argue. He tells him to outlive the critics: speech, conduct, love, faith and purity.

If anyone does not provide for his own, and especially his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

• [NOTABLE] In context, Paul means caring for your own widowed mother or grandmother, 5:4 and 5:16, instead of leaving it to the church. Even unbelievers take care of family. A believer who will not is worse.

Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain.

• [NOTABLE] The false teachers saw faith as a way to get rich, 6:5. Paul flips it: knowing God and being content is the real jackpot. You came in with nothing and you leave with nothing, Job 1:21.

For we brought nothing into the world, so we cannot carry anything out of it.

But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.

Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.

• [NOTABLE] Paul's classic warning, often misquoted as money is the root of all evil. He actually says the LOVE of money is the root of ALL KINDS of evil.

For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made the good confession before many witnesses.

• [NOTABLE] The word fight is agon, used for athletes in a contest. Faith takes effort. At the end of his life Paul could say, I have fought the good fight, 2 Timothy 4:7.

Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.

• [NOTABLE] Paul does not tell the rich to become poor. He tells them not to be proud, to trust God instead of money, and to be rich in good works, generous and ready to share. God richly provides all things for us to enjoy, 6:17.

Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, and to be generous and ready to share,

treasuring up for themselves a firm foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.

• [NOTABLE] Timothy seems to have been timid, 1 Corinthians 16:10. Fear is not from God. The KJV says a sound mind: the Greek word means a clear, disciplined mind that does not panic.

For this reason, even though I suffer as I do, I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day.

• [NOTABLE] Paul wrote this chained in prison, facing death. He does not say I know what I believe. He says I know whom. Faith rests on a Person who can be trusted.

And the things that you have heard me say among many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be qualified to teach others as well.

• [NOTABLE] Four generations in one verse: Paul, Timothy, faithful men, and others. This is how the faith reached you. Every believer is a link in the chain.

Join me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

• [NOTABLE] Three pictures of the Christian life. The soldier stays focused on his commander. The athlete plays by the rules. The hardworking farmer eats first. Each one says the same thing: hard work now, reward later.

A soldier refrains from entangling himself in civilian affairs, in order to please the one who enlisted him.

Likewise, a competitor does not receive the crown unless he competes according to the rules.

The hardworking farmer should be the first to partake of the crops.

This is a trustworthy saying: If we died with Him, we will also live with Him;

• [NOTABLE] Likely an early Christian saying or song. It has a warning, if we deny Him, He will deny us, Matthew 10:33, and a comfort: even when our faith is weak, God keeps His word.

if we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He will also deny us;

if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.

Indeed, all who desire to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,

• [NOTABLE] Not maybe, will. Jesus said the same, John 15:20. Paul had lived it at Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, 3:11. Opposition is not a sign you are doing it wrong.

Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction.

• [NOTABLE] Preach when it is popular and when it is not, when it is convenient and when it is not. The next verses explain why: people will want teachers who tell them what their itching ears want to hear, 4:3.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

• [NOTABLE] Paul's own epitaph, written as he waited to die. Years before he told Timothy to fight the good fight, 1 Timothy 6:12. Now he can say he did it. The goal is not a fast start but a faithful finish.

They profess to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.

• [NOTABLE] Saying you know God and living like you do not are two different things. Your life is the loudest sermon you preach.

In everything, show yourself to be an example by doing good works. In your teaching show integrity, dignity,

• [NOTABLE] Titus was young and left to lead a messy church. Paul does not tell him to win arguments first. He tells him to live so well that critics have nothing bad to say.

and wholesome speech that is above reproach, so that anyone who opposes us will be ashamed, having nothing bad to say about us.

It instructs us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live sensible, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

Remind the believers to submit to rulers and authorities, to be obedient and ready for every good work,

• [NOTABLE] Written to Christians on an island Paul just called liars and lazy gluttons. Even so: speak evil of no one and be gentle to all people.

to malign no one, and to be peaceable and gentle, showing full consideration to everyone.

But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared,

• [NOTABLE] One of the clearest short summaries of the gospel in the Bible. God saved us because He is kind, not because we earned it, and made us heirs of eternal life.

so that, having been justified by His grace, we would become heirs with the hope of eternal life.

And our people must also learn to devote themselves to good works in order to meet the pressing needs of others, so that they will not be unfruitful.

• [NOTABLE] Good works are not vague. They meet real needs of real people, so believers are not unfruitful.

I take great joy and encouragement in your love, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.

• [NOTABLE] Philemon was known for one thing: people left his house encouraged. Paul asks him to do it one more time, verse 20.

So although in Christ I am bold enough to order you to do what is proper,

• [NOTABLE] Paul had the authority to give an order. He asked out of love instead. Real leaders win hearts, not just obedience.

I prefer to appeal on the basis of love. For I, Paul, am now aged, and a prisoner of Christ Jesus as well.

Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.

For perhaps this is why he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back for good—

• [NOTABLE] The gospel turned a runaway and his master into family. In Christ the walls between people come down, Galatians 3:28.

no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a beloved brother. He is especially beloved to me, but even more so to you, both in person and in the Lord.

So if you consider me a partner, receive him as you would receive me.

• [NOTABLE] Paul takes the slave's debt on himself. Martin Luther wrote in 1522 that Christ does the same for us before the Father: we are all His Onesimus.

But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to my account.

We must pay closer attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

• [NOTABLE] The picture is a boat slipping past its harbor. Most people do not quit Jesus in one day; they drift.

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we profess.

• [NOTABLE] Our High Priest was tempted in every way like us, yet without sin, so we can come to God boldly for mercy and help.

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to reteach you the basic principles of God’s word. You need milk, not solid food!

• [NOTABLE] By now they should be teachers, but they still need the ABCs. Grown up faith is trained by practice.

For everyone who lives on milk is still an infant, inexperienced in the message of righteousness.

But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained their senses to distinguish good from evil.

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,

• [NOTABLE] The anchor became one of the earliest Christian symbols, carved in the Roman catacombs.

Just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment,

• [NOTABLE] One life, one death, then judgment. Compare the 2 Maccabees 12:45 note on prayer for the dead.

And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds.

• [NOTABLE] Some had already stopped coming. Faith is not a solo sport.

Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see.

• [NOTABLE] The Bible's best known definition of faith. The KJV says the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

• [NOTABLE] God made everything by His word, Genesis 1. Compare 2 Maccabees 7:28.

And without faith it is impossible to please God. For anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

• [NOTABLE] Anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us.

• [NOTABLE] The heroes of chapter 11 finished their race. Now it is our turn, eyes fixed on Jesus.

And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you.

• [NOTABLE] Hard times can be a Father's training, not His rejection. It hurts now and yields peace later.

For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises every son He receives.”

Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?

If you do not experience discipline like everyone else, then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.

Furthermore, we have all had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them. Should we not much more submit to the Father of our spirits and live?

Our fathers disciplined us for a short time as they thought best, but God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness.

No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who have been trained by it.

Pursue peace with everyone, as well as holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.

• [NOTABLE] Two things to chase on purpose, not wait for.

Continue in brotherly love.

• [NOTABLE] Church life in three commands: love each other, open your home, do not forget those in chains.

Remember those in prison as if you were bound with them, and those who are mistreated as if you were suffering with them.

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”

• [NOTABLE] Be content with what you have, because God Himself has promised to stay.

So we say with confidence: “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

• [NOTABLE] Leaders come and go, 13:7. Jesus does not change.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds,

• [NOTABLE] Trials test faith and build endurance, so you grow up complete, lacking nothing.

because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

• [NOTABLE] God does not scold you for asking. Ask in faith, without doubting.

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.

• [NOTABLE] The prize at the end of the race is the crown of life God promised to those who love Him.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.

• [NOTABLE] God is the Father of the lights, and unlike shadows that move, He never changes.

My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,

• [NOTABLE] Three habits that would end most fights before they start.

For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror,

and after observing himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.

But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom, and continues to do so—not being a forgetful hearer, but an effective doer—he will be blessed in what he does.

Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

• [NOTABLE] James's definition of real religion: help the helpless and stay clean from the world.

So too, faith by itself, if it does not result in action, is dead.

• [NOTABLE] The heart of the book. See The Big Question pages on faith and works.

In the same way, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it boasts of great things. Consider how small a spark sets a great forest ablaze.

• [NOTABLE] The tongue is small, but it can burn down a whole life.

The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere.

• [NOTABLE] Eight marks of God's wisdom, the opposite of the jealousy and ambition in 3:14 to 16.

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.

• [NOTABLE] The way up is down.

You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

• [NOTABLE] So plan with if the Lord wills, 4:15.

You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter.

You have condemned and murdered the righteous, who did not resist you.

Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.

• [NOTABLE] The New Testament instruction for healing prayer — elders, prayer, anointing with oil in Jesus's name

And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.

• [NOTABLE] The prayer of a righteous man has great power.

Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth yielded its crops.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

• [NOTABLE] The empty tomb is the reason for hope, and the inheritance can never spoil or fade.

and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you,

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in various trials

• [NOTABLE] Trials are like a furnace that shows faith is real gold.

so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy,

• [NOTABLE] They never saw Jesus, and still loved Him with an inexpressible and glorious joy.

now that you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who foretold the grace to come to you searched and investigated carefully,

• [NOTABLE] The prophets saw the sufferings of Christ ahead of time, and even angels long to look into it.

trying to determine the time and setting to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.

But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do,

• [NOTABLE] Holy means set apart for God, in all you do, not only on Sunday.

For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

• [NOTABLE] New life comes through the living and enduring word of God, like John 3:3.

Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,

• [NOTABLE] Babies cry for milk. New believers grow by craving the word.

Beloved, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from the desires of the flesh, which war against your soul.

• [NOTABLE] This world is not home. Live like visitors who belong somewhere better.

Treat everyone with high regard: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.

• [NOTABLE] Four commands in one line, written when the king was Nero.

For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His footsteps:

• [NOTABLE] The word for example meant a pattern children traced to learn their letters.

Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

• [NOTABLE] Jesus taught the same, Luke 6:28. Hurt people hurt people; blessed people bless.

Show hospitality to one another without complaining.

• [NOTABLE] Every believer has a gift. Use it to serve, not to show off.

As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve one another.

If anyone speaks, he should speak as one conveying the words of God. If anyone serves, he should serve with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you, as though something strange were happening to you.

• [NOTABLE] Suffering for Jesus is not strange. It means you share in His sufferings and His glory.

But rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed at the revelation of His glory.

But if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but glorify God that you bear that name.

• [NOTABLE] One of only three times the word Christian is in the Bible, with Acts 11:26 and 26:28.

Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you, watching over them not out of compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed, but out of eagerness;

• [NOTABLE] Lead willingly, not for money and not as a boss, but as an example.

not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, so that in due time He may exalt you.

• [NOTABLE] The way up is down, and God picks the timing.

And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore you, secure you, strengthen you, and establish you.

• [NOTABLE] Suffering is for a little while. God Himself promises four things: restore, secure, strengthen, establish.

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

• [NOTABLE] God has already given what it takes to live for Him, and even a share in His divine nature.

Through these He has given us His precious and magnificent promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, now that you have escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge;

• [NOTABLE] A ladder of seven steps from faith up to love. Keep climbing and you will not be useless.

and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;

and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.

For if you possess these qualities and continue to grow in them, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, brothers, strive to make your calling and election sure. For if you practice these things you will never stumble,

• [NOTABLE] Not to earn it, but to show it is real. Do these things and you will never stumble.

Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture comes from one’s own interpretation.

• [NOTABLE] How the Bible came to be: real men wrote, but the Spirit carried them like wind fills a sail.

For no such prophecy was ever brought forth by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

if He did not spare the ancient world when He brought the flood on its ungodly people, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, among the eight;

if all this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.

• [NOTABLE] If God rescued Noah and Lot, He can rescue you.

They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves to depravity. For a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.

• [NOTABLE] False freedom is the worst kind of slavery.

If indeed they have escaped the corruption of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, only to be entangled and overcome by it again, their final condition is worse than it was at first.

• [NOTABLE] Knowing the way and turning back is worse than never knowing it.

It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to have known it and then to turn away from the holy commandment passed on to them.

The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.

• [NOTABLE] God waits because He wants everyone to come to repentance.

Therefore, beloved, as you anticipate these things, make every effort to be found at peace—spotless and blameless in His sight.

• [NOTABLE] Live today the way you want to be found when He comes.

Consider also that our Lord’s patience brings salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom God gave him.

• [NOTABLE] Peter puts Paul's letters next to the rest of the Scriptures, and admits some parts are hard to understand.

He writes this way in all his letters, speaking in them about such matters. Some parts of his letters are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

• [NOTABLE] The last words Peter ever wrote: keep growing.

And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.

• [NOTABLE] No shadow, no dark side. That is why walking in the light matters, 1:7.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

• [NOTABLE] The promise every believer leans on when they fail.

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

• [NOTABLE] When we sin, Jesus speaks up for us like a defense lawyer who already paid the fine.

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

• [NOTABLE] Three pulls of the world: the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes and the pride of life.

For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.

The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.

You, however, have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.

• [NOTABLE] The believer's anointing from Christ — every believer, not just clergy, has this anointing

And as for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But just as His true and genuine anointing teaches you about all things, so remain in Him as you have been taught.

• [NOTABLE] The abiding anointing — the Holy Spirit as the believer's ongoing teacher

Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.

• [NOTABLE] Not just called His children. That is what we are.

By this we know what love is: Jesus laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

• [NOTABLE] Jesus laid down His life. Real love opens its wallet and its hands.

If anyone with earthly possessions sees his brother in need, but withholds his compassion from him, how can the love of God abide in him?

Little children, let us love not in word and speech, but in action and truth.

Beloved, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

• [NOTABLE] The shortest definition of God in the Bible.

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

And we have come to know and believe the love that God has for us. God is love; whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

• [NOTABLE] Living in love is living in God.

There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. The one who fears has not been perfected in love.

• [NOTABLE] Knowing God's love takes away the fear of punishment.

We love because He first loved us.

• [NOTABLE] Our love is always an answer to His.

because everyone born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith.

• [NOTABLE] Faith in Jesus is the win.

And this is that testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.

• [NOTABLE] Written so believers could be sure.

Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

• [NOTABLE] Bold prayer lines up with what God wants.

And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we already possess what we have asked of Him.

And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the very commandment you have heard from the beginning, that you must walk in love.

• [NOTABLE] John defines love by what you do, not how you feel.

Anyone who runs ahead without remaining in the teaching of Christ does not have God. Whoever remains in His teaching has both the Father and the Son.

• [NOTABLE] New teaching that leaves Jesus behind is not progress. Stay in His teaching and you have the Father and the Son.

If anyone comes to you but does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your home or even greet him.

• [NOTABLE] Not about being rude to unbelievers. It means do not give a traveling false teacher a base for his work.

Whoever greets such a person shares in his evil deeds.

I have many things to write to you, but I would prefer not to do so with paper and ink. Instead, I hope to come and speak with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.

• [NOTABLE] Some things are better said in person. Letters are good; being together is better.

Beloved, I pray that in every way you may prosper and enjoy good health, as your soul also prospers.

• [NOTABLE] A loving prayer for a friend. Is it a promise of health and wealth for every believer? See the Big Question pages in 3 John.

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

• [NOTABLE] What makes a spiritual father happiest is not size or money but kids who keep walking with God.

For they went out on behalf of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles.

• [NOTABLE] The people who send and pay for missionaries share in their work.

Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers for the truth.

Beloved, although I made every effort to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt it necessary to write and urge you to contend earnestly for the faith entrusted once for all to the saints.

• [NOTABLE] The faith was handed down whole. We guard it; we do not rewrite it.

But you, beloved, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,

• [NOTABLE] Four things to do while you wait for Jesus: build, pray, stay in His love and look for His mercy.

keep yourselves in the love of God as you await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you eternal life.

And indeed, have mercy on those who doubt;

• [NOTABLE] People with questions need mercy, not a lecture.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy—

• [NOTABLE] A letter full of warnings ends with a promise: God can keep you standing.

to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord before all time, and now, and for all eternity. Amen.

Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and obey what is written in it, because the time is near.

• [NOTABLE] Revelation starts with a blessing for anyone who reads it aloud and lives it.

But I have this against you: You have abandoned your first love.

• [NOTABLE] A busy church with the right beliefs can still lose its love for Jesus.

I know your deeds; you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were one or the other!

• [NOTABLE] Jesus wants a church that is useful to Him, not tepid.

So because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to vomit you out of My mouth!

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him, and he with Me.

• [NOTABLE] Jesus knocks at the door of a church that had shut Him out. He wants to come in and eat with us.

“Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things; by Your will they exist and were created.”

• [NOTABLE] Heaven praises God first as the Creator.

When He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

• [NOTABLE] The definitive statement that incense in heaven's throne room = the prayers of God's people

Then another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne.

• [NOTABLE] The angel offers incense WITH the prayers of the saints; smoke ascends before God; imagery of prayer-empowered heavenly action

And the smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, rose up before God from the hand of the angel.

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let the one who hears say, “Come!” And let the one who is thirsty come, and the one who desires the water of life drink freely.

• [NOTABLE] The Bible ends with an open invitation.

I testify to everyone who hears the words of prophecy in this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.

• [NOTABLE] John warns against changing the words of this book of prophecy. Many also apply it to the whole Bible.

And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and the holy city, which are described in this book.