Saturday, August 2, 2025

^13:1Let every soul be in subjection to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those who exist are ordained by God. ²Therefore he who resists the authority withstands the ordinance of God; and those who withstand will receive to themselves judgment. ³For rulers are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. Do you desire to have no fear of the authority? Do that which is good, and you will have praise from the authority, ⁴for he is a servant of God to you for good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid, for he doesn’t bear the sword in vain; for he is a servant of God, an avenger for wrath to him who does evil. ⁵Therefore you need to be in subjection, not only because of the wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. ⁶For this reason you also pay taxes, for they are servants of God’s service, continually doing this very thing. ⁷Therefore give everyone what you owe: if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if customs, then customs; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. ⁸Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. ⁹For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other commandments there are, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰Love doesn’t harm a neighbor. Love therefore is the fulfillment of the law.

WEB, public domain

^12:30“He who is not with me is against me, and he who doesn’t gather with me, scatters. ³¹Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. ³²Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in that which is to come. ³³“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit. ³⁴You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. ³⁵The good man out of his good treasure brings out good things, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings out evil things. ³⁶I tell you that every idle word that men speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. ³⁷For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

WEB, public domain

^4:22All testified about him and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth; and they said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” ²³He said to them, “Doubtless you will tell me this proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done at Capernaum, do also here in your hometown.’” ²⁴He said, “Most certainly I tell you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. ²⁵But truly I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land. ²⁶Elijah was sent to none of them, except to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. ²⁷There were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed, except Naaman, the Syrian.” ²⁸They were all filled with wrath in the synagogue as they heard these things. ²⁹They rose up, threw him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill that their city was built on, that they might throw him off the cliff. ³⁰But he, passing through the middle of them, went his way.

WEB, public domain

^13:1Let every soul be in subjection to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those who exist are ordained by God. ²Therefore he who resists the authority withstands the ordinance of God; and those who withstand will receive to themselves judgment. ³For rulers are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. Do you desire to have no fear of the authority? Do that which is good, and you will have praise from the authority, ⁴for he is a servant of God to you for good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid, for he doesn’t bear the sword in vain; for he is a servant of God, an avenger for wrath to him who does evil. ⁵Therefore you need to be in subjection, not only because of the wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. ⁶For this reason you also pay taxes, for they are servants of God’s service, continually doing this very thing. ⁷Therefore give everyone what you owe: if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if customs, then customs; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. ⁸Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. ⁹For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other commandments there are, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰Love doesn’t harm a neighbor. Love therefore is the fulfillment of the law.

WEB, public domain

^5:10Take, brothers, for an example of suffering and of perseverance, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹Behold, we call them blessed who endured. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and have seen the Lord in the outcome, and how the Lord is full of compassion and mercy. ¹²But above all things, my brothers, don’t swear—not by heaven, or by the earth, or by any other oath; but let your “yes” be “yes”, and your “no”, “no”, so that you don’t fall into hypocrisy. ¹³Is any among you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praises. ¹⁴Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the assembly, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; ¹⁵and the prayer of faith will heal him who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. ¹⁶Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective. ¹⁷Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it didn’t rain on the earth for three years and six months. ¹⁸He prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit. ¹⁹Brothers, if any among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back, ²⁰let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

WEB, public domain

^12:30“He who is not with me is against me, and he who doesn’t gather with me, scatters. ³¹Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. ³²Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in that which is to come. ³³“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit. ³⁴You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. ³⁵The good man out of his good treasure brings out good things, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings out evil things. ³⁶I tell you that every idle word that men speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. ³⁷For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

WEB, public domain

^4:22All testified about him and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth; and they said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” ²³He said to them, “Doubtless you will tell me this proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done at Capernaum, do also here in your hometown.’” ²⁴He said, “Most certainly I tell you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. ²⁵But truly I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land. ²⁶Elijah was sent to none of them, except to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. ²⁷There were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed, except Naaman, the Syrian.” ²⁸They were all filled with wrath in the synagogue as they heard these things. ²⁹They rose up, threw him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill that their city was built on, that they might throw him off the cliff. ³⁰But he, passing through the middle of them, went his way.

WEB, public domain