Thursday, September 11, 2025

^1:1Paul, an apostle—not from men, nor through man, but through Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— ²and all the brothers who are with me, to the assemblies of Galatia: ³Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us out of this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father— ⁵to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. ⁶I marvel that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different “good news”, ⁷but there isn’t another “good news.” Only there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the Good News of Christ. ⁸But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you any “good news” other than that which we preached to you, let him be cursed. ⁹As we have said before, so I now say again: if any man preaches to you any “good news” other than that which you received, let him be cursed. ¹⁰For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? For if I were still pleasing men, I wouldn’t be a servant of Christ. ²⁰Now about the things which I write to you, behold, before God, I’m not lying. ²¹Then I came to the regions of Syria and Cilicia. ²²I was still unknown by face to the assemblies of Judea which were in Christ, ²³but they only heard, “He who once persecuted us now preaches the faith that he once tried to destroy.” ²⁴So they glorified God in me. ^2:1Then after a period of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus also with me. ²I went up by revelation, and I laid before them the Good News which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately before those who were respected, for fear that I might be running, or had run, in vain. ³But not even Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. ⁴This was because of the false brothers secretly brought in, who stole in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage, ⁵to whom we gave no place in the way of subjection, not for an hour, that the truth of the Good News might continue with you.

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^5:1They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. ²When he had come out of the boat, immediately a man with an unclean spirit met him out of the tombs. ³He lived in the tombs. Nobody could bind him any more, not even with chains, ⁴because he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him, and the fetters broken in pieces. Nobody had the strength to tame him. ⁵Always, night and day, in the tombs and in the mountains, he was crying out, and cutting himself with stones. ⁶When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and bowed down to him, ⁷and crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have I to do with you, Jesus, you Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, don’t torment me.” ⁸For he said to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” ⁹He asked him, “What is your name?” He said to him, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” ¹⁰He begged him much that he would not send them away out of the country. ¹¹Now on the mountainside there was a great herd of pigs feeding. ¹²All the demons begged him, saying, “Send us into the pigs, that we may enter into them.” ¹³At once Jesus gave them permission. The unclean spirits came out and entered into the pigs. The herd of about two thousand rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and they were drowned in the sea. ¹⁴Those who fed the pigs fled, and told it in the city and in the country. The people came to see what it was that had happened. ¹⁵They came to Jesus, and saw him who had been possessed by demons sitting, clothed, and in his right mind, even him who had the legion; and they were afraid. ¹⁶Those who saw it declared to them what happened to him who was possessed by demons, and about the pigs. ¹⁷They began to beg him to depart from their region. ¹⁸As he was entering into the boat, he who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. ¹⁹He didn’t allow him, but said to him, “Go to your house, to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you and how he had mercy on you.” ²⁰He went his way, and began to proclaim in Decapolis how Jesus had done great things for him, and everyone marveled.

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^14:1At that time, Herod the tetrarch heard the report concerning Jesus, ²and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptizer. He is risen from the dead. That is why these powers work in him.” ³For Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. ⁴For John said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” ⁵When he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet. ⁶But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced among them and pleased Herod. ⁷Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she should ask. ⁸She, being prompted by her mother, said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptizer.” ⁹The king was grieved, but for the sake of his oaths and of those who sat at the table with him, he commanded it to be given, ¹⁰and he sent and beheaded John in the prison. ¹¹His head was brought on a platter and given to the young lady; and she brought it to her mother. ¹²His disciples came, took the body, and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus. ¹³Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place apart. When the multitudes heard it, they followed him on foot from the cities.

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^1:1Paul, an apostle—not from men, nor through man, but through Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— ²and all the brothers who are with me, to the assemblies of Galatia: ³Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us out of this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father— ⁵to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. ⁶I marvel that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different “good news”, ⁷but there isn’t another “good news.” Only there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the Good News of Christ. ⁸But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you any “good news” other than that which we preached to you, let him be cursed. ⁹As we have said before, so I now say again: if any man preaches to you any “good news” other than that which you received, let him be cursed. ¹⁰For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? For if I were still pleasing men, I wouldn’t be a servant of Christ. ²⁰Now about the things which I write to you, behold, before God, I’m not lying. ²¹Then I came to the regions of Syria and Cilicia. ²²I was still unknown by face to the assemblies of Judea which were in Christ, ²³but they only heard, “He who once persecuted us now preaches the faith that he once tried to destroy.” ²⁴So they glorified God in me. ^2:1Then after a period of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus also with me. ²I went up by revelation, and I laid before them the Good News which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately before those who were respected, for fear that I might be running, or had run, in vain. ³But not even Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. ⁴This was because of the false brothers secretly brought in, who stole in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage, ⁵to whom we gave no place in the way of subjection, not for an hour, that the truth of the Good News might continue with you.

WEB, public domain

^13:25As John was fulfilling his course, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. But behold, one comes after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’ ²⁶“Brothers, children of the stock of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, the word of this salvation is sent out to you. ²⁷For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they didn’t know him, nor the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him. ²⁸Though they found no cause for death, they still asked Pilate to have him killed. ²⁹When they had fulfilled all things that were written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. ³⁰But God raised him from the dead, ³¹and he was seen for many days by those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses to the people. ³²We bring you good news of the promise made to the fathers, ³³that God has fulfilled this to us, their children, in that he raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second psalm, ‘You are my Son. Today I have become your father.’

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^5:1They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. ²When he had come out of the boat, immediately a man with an unclean spirit met him out of the tombs. ³He lived in the tombs. Nobody could bind him any more, not even with chains, ⁴because he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him, and the fetters broken in pieces. Nobody had the strength to tame him. ⁵Always, night and day, in the tombs and in the mountains, he was crying out, and cutting himself with stones. ⁶When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and bowed down to him, ⁷and crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have I to do with you, Jesus, you Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, don’t torment me.” ⁸For he said to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” ⁹He asked him, “What is your name?” He said to him, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” ¹⁰He begged him much that he would not send them away out of the country. ¹¹Now on the mountainside there was a great herd of pigs feeding. ¹²All the demons begged him, saying, “Send us into the pigs, that we may enter into them.” ¹³At once Jesus gave them permission. The unclean spirits came out and entered into the pigs. The herd of about two thousand rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and they were drowned in the sea. ¹⁴Those who fed the pigs fled, and told it in the city and in the country. The people came to see what it was that had happened. ¹⁵They came to Jesus, and saw him who had been possessed by demons sitting, clothed, and in his right mind, even him who had the legion; and they were afraid. ¹⁶Those who saw it declared to them what happened to him who was possessed by demons, and about the pigs. ¹⁷They began to beg him to depart from their region. ¹⁸As he was entering into the boat, he who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. ¹⁹He didn’t allow him, but said to him, “Go to your house, to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you and how he had mercy on you.” ²⁰He went his way, and began to proclaim in Decapolis how Jesus had done great things for him, and everyone marveled.

WEB, public domain

^6:14King Herod heard this, for his name had become known, and he said, “John the Baptizer has risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.” ¹⁵But others said, “He is Elijah.” Others said, “He is a prophet, or like one of the prophets.” ¹⁶But Herod, when he heard this, said, “This is John, whom I beheaded. He has risen from the dead.” ¹⁷For Herod himself had sent out and arrested John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, for he had married her. ¹⁸For John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” ¹⁹Herodias set herself against him and desired to kill him, but she couldn’t, ²⁰for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and kept him safe. When he heard him, he did many things, and he heard him gladly. ²¹Then a convenient day came when Herod on his birthday made a supper for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee. ²²When the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and those sitting with him. The king said to the young lady, “Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you.” ²³He swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.” ²⁴She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask?” She said, “The head of John the Baptizer.” ²⁵She came in immediately with haste to the king and requested, “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptizer on a platter.” ²⁶The king was exceedingly sorry, but for the sake of his oaths and of his dinner guests, he didn’t wish to refuse her. ²⁷Immediately the king sent out a soldier of his guard and commanded to bring John’s head; and he went and beheaded him in the prison, ²⁸and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the young lady; and the young lady gave it to her mother. ²⁹When his disciples heard this, they came and took up his corpse and laid it in a tomb. ³⁰The apostles gathered themselves together to Jesus, and they told him all things, whatever they had done, and whatever they had taught.

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