Tuesday, February 15, 2033

^2:9then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, ¹⁰but chiefly those who walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, ¹¹whereas angels, though greater in might and power, don’t bring a slanderous judgment against them before the Lord. ¹²But these, as unreasoning creatures, born natural animals to be taken and destroyed, speaking evil in matters about which they are ignorant, will in their destroying surely be destroyed, ¹³receiving the wages of unrighteousness; people who count it pleasure to revel in the daytime, spots and defects, reveling in their deceit while they feast with you;

¹⁴having eyes full of adultery, and who can’t cease from sin, enticing unsettled souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children! ¹⁵Forsaking the right way, they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of wrongdoing; ¹⁶but he was rebuked for his own disobedience. A speechless donkey spoke with a man’s voice and stopped the madness of the prophet. ¹⁷These are wells without water, clouds driven by a storm, for whom the blackness of darkness has been reserved forever. ¹⁸For, uttering great swelling words of emptiness, they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by licentiousness, those who are indeed escaping from those who live in error; ¹⁹promising them liberty, while they themselves are bondservants of corruption; for a man is brought into bondage by whoever overcomes him.

²⁰For if, after they have escaped the defilement of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in it and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. ²¹For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. ²²But it has happened to them according to the true proverb, “The dog turns to his own vomit again,” and “the sow that has washed to wallowing in the mire.”

^13:14“But when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not” (let the reader understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, ¹⁵and let him who is on the housetop not go down, nor enter in, to take anything out of his house. ¹⁶Let him who is in the field not return back to take his cloak. ¹⁷But woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse babies in those days! ¹⁸Pray that your flight won’t be in the winter.

¹⁹For in those days there will be oppression, such as there has not been the like from the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will be. ²⁰Unless the Lord had shortened the days, no flesh would have been saved; but for the sake of the chosen ones, whom he picked out, he shortened the days. ²¹Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, there!’ don’t believe it. ²²For false christs and false prophets will arise and will show signs and wonders, that they may lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones. ²³But you watch. “Behold, I have told you all things beforehand.

^6:1And it came to pass in the year in which king Ozias died, that I saw the Lord sitting on a high and exalted throne, and the house was full of his glory. ²And seraphs stood round about him: each one had six wings: and with two they covered their face, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. ³And one cried to the other, and they said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. ⁴And the lintel shook at the voice they uttered, and the house was filled with smoke.

⁵And I said, Woe is me, for I am pricked to the heart; for being a man, and having unclean lips, I dwell in the midst of a people having unclean lips; and I have seen with mine eyes the King, the Lord of hosts. ⁶And there was sent to me one of the seraphs, and he had in his hand a coal, which he had taken off the altar with the tongs: ⁷and he touched my mouth, and said, Behold, this has touched thy lips, and will take away thine iniquities, and will purge off thy sins.

⁸And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go to this people? And I said, Behold, I am here, send me. And he said, Go, and say to this people, ⁹Ye shall hear indeed, but ye shall not understand; and ye shall see indeed, but ye shall not perceive. ¹⁰For the heart of this people has become gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.

¹¹And I said, How long, O Lord? And he said, Until the cities be deserted by reason of their not being inhabited, and the houses by reason of there being no men, and the land shall be left desolate. ¹²And after this God shall remove the men far off, and they that are left upon the land shall be multiplied.

^2:25Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. ²⁶It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. ²⁷He came in the Spirit into the temple. When the parents brought in the child, Jesus, that they might do concerning him according to the custom of the law, ²⁸then he received him into his arms and blessed God, and said, ²⁹“Now you are releasing your servant, Master, according to your word, in peace; ³⁰for my eyes have seen your salvation, ³¹which you have prepared before the face of all peoples; ³²a light for revelation to the nations, and the glory of your people Israel.”

^7:7But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater. ⁸Here people who die receive tithes, but there one receives tithes of whom it is testified that he lives. ⁹We can say that through Abraham even Levi, who receives tithes, has paid tithes, ¹⁰for he was yet in the body of his father when Melchizedek met him. ¹¹Now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people have received the law), what further need was there for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, and not be called after the order of Aaron?

¹²For the priesthood being changed, there is of necessity a change made also in the law. ¹³For he of whom these things are said belongs to another tribe, from which no one has officiated at the altar. ¹⁴For it is evident that our Lord has sprung out of Judah, about which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood. ¹⁵This is yet more abundantly evident, if after the likeness of Melchizedek there arises another priest, ¹⁶who has been made, not after the law of a fleshly commandment, but after the power of an endless life; ¹⁷for it is testified, “You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.”

^2:9then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, ¹⁰but chiefly those who walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, ¹¹whereas angels, though greater in might and power, don’t bring a slanderous judgment against them before the Lord. ¹²But these, as unreasoning creatures, born natural animals to be taken and destroyed, speaking evil in matters about which they are ignorant, will in their destroying surely be destroyed, ¹³receiving the wages of unrighteousness; people who count it pleasure to revel in the daytime, spots and defects, reveling in their deceit while they feast with you;

¹⁴having eyes full of adultery, and who can’t cease from sin, enticing unsettled souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children! ¹⁵Forsaking the right way, they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of wrongdoing; ¹⁶but he was rebuked for his own disobedience. A speechless donkey spoke with a man’s voice and stopped the madness of the prophet. ¹⁷These are wells without water, clouds driven by a storm, for whom the blackness of darkness has been reserved forever. ¹⁸For, uttering great swelling words of emptiness, they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by licentiousness, those who are indeed escaping from those who live in error; ¹⁹promising them liberty, while they themselves are bondservants of corruption; for a man is brought into bondage by whoever overcomes him.

²⁰For if, after they have escaped the defilement of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in it and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. ²¹For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. ²²But it has happened to them according to the true proverb, “The dog turns to his own vomit again,” and “the sow that has washed to wallowing in the mire.”

^2:22When the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord ²³(as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), ²⁴and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” ²⁵Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him.

²⁶It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. ²⁷He came in the Spirit into the temple. When the parents brought in the child, Jesus, that they might do concerning him according to the custom of the law, ²⁸then he received him into his arms and blessed God, and said, ²⁹“Now you are releasing your servant, Master, according to your word, in peace; ³⁰for my eyes have seen your salvation, ³¹which you have prepared before the face of all peoples; ³²a light for revelation to the nations, and the glory of your people Israel.”

³³Joseph and his mother were marveling at the things which were spoken concerning him. ³⁴Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary, his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which is spoken against. ³⁵Yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” ³⁶There was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher (she was of a great age, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity, ³⁷and she had been a widow for about eighty-four years), who didn’t depart from the temple, worshiping with fastings and petitions night and day.

³⁸Coming up at that very hour, she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of him to all those who were looking for redemption in Jerusalem. ³⁹When they had accomplished all things that were according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. ⁴⁰The child was growing, and was becoming strong in spirit, being filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.

^13:14“But when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not” (let the reader understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, ¹⁵and let him who is on the housetop not go down, nor enter in, to take anything out of his house. ¹⁶Let him who is in the field not return back to take his cloak. ¹⁷But woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse babies in those days! ¹⁸Pray that your flight won’t be in the winter.

¹⁹For in those days there will be oppression, such as there has not been the like from the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will be. ²⁰Unless the Lord had shortened the days, no flesh would have been saved; but for the sake of the chosen ones, whom he picked out, he shortened the days. ²¹Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, there!’ don’t believe it. ²²For false christs and false prophets will arise and will show signs and wonders, that they may lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones. ²³But you watch. “Behold, I have told you all things beforehand.