4They consult only to throw him down from his high position [to dishonor him];They delight in lies.They bless with [the words of] their mouths,But inwardly they curse. Selah.

8Trust [confidently] in Him at all times, O people;Pour out your heart before Him.God is a refuge for us. Selah.

12Also to You, O Lord, belong lovingkindness and compassion,For You compensate every man according to [the value of] his work. [Jer 17:10; Rev 22:12]

1Now I introduce and commend to you our sister 16:1 Phoebe ("bright," "pure") was chosen by Paul as his emissary to deliver this letter to Rome. She may have held a recognized position within the church.Phoebe, a deaconess (servant) of the church at 16:1 Cenchrea, a few miles east of Corinth, served as Corinth’s port and was probably visited by Paul during both his second and third missionary journeys. This letter was written from Corinth near the end of the third journey.Cenchrea,

2416:24 Early mss do not contain this verse; it was taken from the Latin Vulgate.[The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.]

27to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forevermore! Amen.

25"This is the 5:25 These words are ordinary Aramaic from that time, so some commentators have speculated that the wise men recognized them but just could not put them into orderly sentences. Yet here Daniel seems to clearly "read" the words simply by pronouncing them in Aramaic (cf note v 8). His interpretation (vv 26-28) goes far beyond what the simple words mean by themselves.inscription that was written, ‘mene, mene, tekel, upharsin [numbered, numbered, weighed, and divided].’

26This is the interpretation of the message: ‘mene’—God has numbered the days of your kingdom and put an end to it;

27‘tekel’—you have been weighed on the scales [of righteousness] and found deficient;

13Be on guard; stand firm in your faith [in God, respecting His precepts and keeping your doctrine sound]. Act like [mature] men and be courageous; be strong. [Ps 31:24]

14Let everything you do be done in love [motivated and inspired by God’s love for us].

24My love be with all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen.

6So then, being always filled with good courage and confident hope, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord—

7for we walk by faith, not by sight [living our lives in a manner consistent with our confident belief in God’s promises]—

17Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life].

2The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and the One who rescues me;My God, my rock and strength in whom I trust and take refuge;My shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower—my stronghold. [Heb 2:13]

31For who is God, but the Lord?Or who is a rock, except our God,

33He makes my feet like 18:33 I.e. the hoofs of a doe.hinds’ feet [able to stand firmly and tread safely on paths of testing and trouble];He sets me [securely] upon my high places.

3in every way and in every place, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with all gratitude.

18They found me in the temple presenting these offerings, after I had undergone [the rites of] purification, without any crowd or uproar. But there were some Jews from [the west coast province of] Asia [Minor],

24Several days later Felix came with his wife 24:24 Youngest daughter of Herod Agrippa I.Drusilla, who was a Jewess. He sent for Paul and listened to him talk about faith in Christ Jesus.

26But I have nothing specific about him to write to my lord. So I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the investigation has taken place, I will have something to put in writing.

6Your boasting [over the supposed spirituality of your church] is not good [indeed, it is vulgar and inappropriate]. 5:6 See note 3:16.Do you not know that [just] a little leaven ferments the whole batch [of dough, just as a little sin corrupts a person or an entire church]?

75:7 Paul is using the Passover celebration as an analogy. Leading up to the Passover meal was the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Ex 12:17-20), during which the Israelites were to remove all leaven from their homes to symbolize the removal of sin from their lives. Leaven (yeast) was often used as a symbol of spiritual corruption.Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new batch, just as you are, still unleavened. For Christ our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed.

13God alone sits in judgment on those who are outside [the faith]. Remove the wicked one from among you [expel him from your church]. [Deut 17:7]

4Then the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures also fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne, saying, "Amen. Hallelujah (praise the Lord)!" [Ps 106:48]

8She has been permitted to dress in fine linen, dazzling white and clean—for the fine linen signifies the righteous acts of the saints [the ethical conduct, personal integrity, moral courage, and godly character of believers].

10Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he [stopped me and] said to me, "You must not do that; I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers and sisters who have and hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God [alone]. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy [His life and teaching are the heart of prophecy]." [Acts 10:25, 26; 2 Pet 1:21]

10And now you intend to subjugate the people of Judah and Jerusalem as male and female slaves for yourselves. But are you yourselves not guilty of transgressions against the Lord your God?

11"What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me [without your repentance]?"Says the Lord."I have had enough of [your] burnt offerings of ramsAnd the fat of well-fed cattle [without your obedience];And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls or lambs or goats [offered without repentance].

16"Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;Get your evil deeds out of My sight.Stop doing evil,

21How the faithful city has become a prostitute [idolatrous, despicable],She who was full of justice!Right standing with God once lodged in her,But now murderers.

20It is my own eager expectation and hope, that [looking toward the future] I will not disgrace myself nor be ashamed in anything, but that with courage and the utmost freedom of speech, even now as always, Christ will be magnified and exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.

23But I am hard-pressed between the two. I have the desire to leave [this world] and be with Christ, for that is far, far better;

29For you have been granted [the privilege] for Christ’s sake, not only to believe and confidently trust in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,

13Now there was a day when Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,

15and the 1:15 Terrorizing robbers from SW Arabia.Sabeans attacked and swooped down on them and took away the animals. They also killed the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you."

21He said,"Naked (without possessions) I came [into this world] from my mother’s womb,And naked I will return there.The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;Blessed be the name of the Lord."

8 13:8 Debt is generally to be avoided, but Paul probably is addressing debt to individuals with whom one has a personal relationship. Owe nothing to anyone except to 13:8 The key to understanding this and other statements about love is to know that this love (the Greek word agape) is not so much a matter of emotion as it is of doing things for the benefit of another person, that is, having an unselfish concern for another and a willingness to seek the best for other believers.love and seek the best for one another; for he who [unselfishly] loves his neighbor has fulfilled the [essence of the] law [relating to one’s fellowman]. [Matt 22:36-40]

11Do this, knowing that this is a critical time. It is already the hour for you to awaken from your sleep [of spiritual complacency]; for our salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed [in Christ].

12The night [this present evil age] is almost gone and the day [of Christ’s return] is almost here. So let us fling away the works of darkness and put on the [full] armor of light.

1Therefore, since we have these [great and wonderful] promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, completing holiness [living a consecrated life—a life set apart for God’s purpose] in the fear of God.

4Great is my confidence in you; great is my pride and boasting on your behalf. I am filled [to the brim] with comfort; I am overflowing with joy in spite of all our trouble.

11For [you can look back and] see what an earnestness and authentic concern this godly sorrow has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves [against charges that you tolerate sin], what indignation [at sin], what fear [of offending God], what longing [for righteousness and justice], what passion [to do what is right], what readiness to punish [those who sin and those who tolerate sin]! At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in the matter.

10Because you [Judah] have forgotten the God of your salvationAnd have not remembered the Rock of your Stronghold—Therefore you plant 17:10 Or gardens of Adonis, a mythological god.lovely plantsAnd set the grounds with vine slips of a strange god,

12Oh, the uproar of many peoplesWho roar like the roaring of the seas,And the noise of nationsWho roar like the rumbling of mighty waters!

2"Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to them, the [spiritual] shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord God, "Woe (judgment is coming) to the [spiritual] shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock?

16"I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bandage the crippled, and strengthen the weak and the sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong [who have become hard-hearted and perverse]. I will feed them with judgment and punishment. [Luke 19:10]

19As for My flock (the righteous), they must feed on what you trample with your feet and drink what you muddy with your feet!’ "

4For God said [through Moses], ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil oforinsultsortreats improperly father or mother is to be put to death.’ [Ex 20:12; 21:17; Lev 20:9; Deut 5:16]

8‘This people honors Me with their lips,But their heart is far away from Me.

28Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, your faith [your personal trust and confidence in My power] is great; it will be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed from that moment.

17‘Can [mortal] man be just before God or be more righteous than He?Can a man be pure before his Maker or be more cleansed than He? [1 John 1:7; Rev 1:5]

18‘God puts no trust or confidence, even in His [heavenly] servants,And He charges His angels with error.

19‘How much more [will He blame and charge] those who dwell in houses (bodies) of clay,Whose foundations are in the dust,Who are crushed like a moth.