Hebrews 13:6 So then, we can say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.
What will man do to me?”
What can mere humans do to me?
I will trust, and I will not be afraid,
for my strength and might is Yah, Yahweh;
and he has become salvation for me.”
20 If you have died with Christ to the elemental spirits of the world, why do you submit to them as if living in the world? 21 “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch,” 22 which things are all meant for destruction by consuming according to human commandments and teachings, 23 which things although they have, to be sure, an appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and humility and unsparing treatment of the body, do not have any value against the indulgence of the flesh.
14 “I am the good shepherd, and I know my own, and my own know me,
the lifting up of my palms as the evening offering.
James
And let endurance have its perfect effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.
James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the dispersion. Greetings!
2 Consider it all joy, my brothers, whenever you encounter various trials, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.
5 Now if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask for it from God, who gives to all without reservation and not reproaching, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask for it in faith, without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed about. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
9 Now let the brother of humble circumstances boast in his high position, 10 but the rich person in his humiliation, because he will pass away like a flower of the grass. 11 For the sun rises with its burning heat and dries up the grass, and its flower falls off, and the beauty of its appearance is lost. So also the rich person in his pursuits will wither away.
12 Blessed is the person who endures testing, because when he is approved he will receive the crown of life that he has promised to those who love him.
No one who is being tempted should say, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each one is tempted when he is dragged away and enticed by his own desires. 15 Then desire, after it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is brought to completion, gives birth to death.
16 Do not be deceived, my dear brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of change. 18 By his will he gave birth to us through the message of truth, so that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
19 Understand this, my dear brothers: every person must be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, 20 for human anger does not accomplish the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore, putting aside all moral uncleanness and wicked excess, welcome with humility the implanted message which is able to save your souls.
22 But be doers of the message and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves, 23 because if anyone is a hearer of the message and not a doer, this one is like someone staring at his own face in a mirror, 24 for he looks at himself and goes away and immediately forgets what sort of person he was. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues to do it, not being a forgetful hearer but a doer who acts, this one will be blessed in what he does.
26 If anyone thinks he is religious, although he does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. 27 Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
My brothers, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with partiality. 2 For if someone enters into your assembly in fine clothing with a gold ring on his finger, and a poor person in filthy clothing also enters, 3 and you look favorably on the one wearing the fine clothing and you say, “Be seated here in a good place,” and to the poor person you say, “You stand or be seated there by my footstool,” 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my dear brothers! Did not God choose the poor of the world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor! Are not the rich exploiting you and they themselves dragging you into the courts? 7 Do they themselves not blaspheme the good name of the one to whom you belong?
8 However, if you carry out the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and thus are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles in one point only has become guilty of all of it. 11 For the one who said “Do not commit adultery” also said “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 Thus speak and thus act as those who are going to be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is merciless to the one who has not practiced mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
What is the benefit, my brothers, if someone says that he has faith but does not have works? That faith is not able to save him, is it? 15 If a brother or a sister is poorly clothed and lacking food for the day, 16 and one of you should say to them, “Go in peace, keep warm and eat well,” but does not give them what is necessary for the body, what is the benefit? 17 Thus also faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe, and shudder! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was working together with his works, and by the works the faith was perfected. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And likewise was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by a different route? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
Not many should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we will receive a greater judgment. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect individual, able to hold in check his whole body also.
And if we put bits in the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we also guide their whole bodies. 4 Behold also ships: although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot wishes. 5 So also the tongue is a small member of the body and boasts great things. Behold how small a fire sets ablaze how great a forest! 6 And the tongue is a fire! The world of unrighteousness, the tongue, is set among our members, defiling the whole body and setting on fire the course of human existence, being set on fire by hell.
7 For every species of animals and birds, of reptiles and sea creatures, is being tamed and has been tamed by the human species, 8 but no human being is able to tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so! 11 A spring does not pour forth from the same opening fresh and bitter water, does it? 12 A fig tree is not able, my brothers, to produce olives, or a grapevine figs. Neither can a saltwater spring produce fresh water.
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by his good behavior his works, with the humility of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and tell lies against the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there is disorder and every evil practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, obedient, full of mercy and good fruits, nonjudgmental, without hypocrisy, 18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace among those who make peace.
From where are conflicts and from where are quarrels among you? Is it not from this, from your pleasures that wage war among your members? 2 You desire and do not have; you murder and are filled with envy, and are not able to obtain; you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, in order that you may spend it on your pleasures.
Adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that in vain the scripture says, “The spirit which he caused to dwell in us desires jealously”? 6 But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says,
“God opposes the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.”
7 Therefore subject yourselves to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded! 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to gloominess. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
11 Do not speak evil of one another, brothers. The one who speaks evil of a brother or judges his brother speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of the law. 12 There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there, and carry on business and make a profit,” 14 you who do not know what will happen tomorrow, what your life will be like. For you are a smoky vapor that appears for a short time and then disappears. 15 Instead you should say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 Therefore, to the one who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
Come now, you rich people, weep and cry aloud over the miseries that are coming upon you! 2 Your wealth has rotted, and your clothing has become moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have become corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you, and it will consume your flesh like fire. You have stored up treasure in the last days. 4 Behold, the wages that were held back by you from the workers who reap your fields cry out, and the cries of the reapers have come to the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived self-indulgently on the earth and have lived luxuriously. You have fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned, you have murdered the righteous person; he does not resist you.
7 Therefore be patient, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the soil, being patient concerning it until it receives the early and late rains. 8 You also be patient. Strengthen your hearts, because the coming of the Lord is near. 9 Brothers, do not complain against one another, in order that you may not be judged. Behold, the judge stands before the doors!
Brothers, take as an example of perseverance and endurance the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold, we consider blessed those who have endured. You have heard about the patient endurance of Job, and you saw the outcome from the Lord, that the Lord is compassionate and merciful. 12 Now above all, my brothers, do not swear either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your yes be yes and your no, no, in order that you may not fall under judgment.
13 Is anyone among you suffering misfortune? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the elders of the church and they should pray over him, anointing him with olive oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous person accomplishes much.
Elijah was a human being with the same nature as us, and he prayed fervently for it not to rain, and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the earth produced its fruit.
My brothers, if anyone among you should wander away from the truth and someone turns him back, 20 he should know that the one who turns a sinner back from the error of his way will save that person’s soul from death, and will cover over a great number of sins.
James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the dispersion. Greetings!
Consider it all joy, my brothers, whenever you encounter various trials, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.
5 Now if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask for it from God, who gives to all without reservation and not reproaching, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask for it in faith, without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed about. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
9 Now let the brother of humble circumstances boast in his high position, 10 but the rich person in his humiliation, because he will pass away like a flower of the grass. 11 For the sun rises with its burning heat and dries up the grass, and its flower falls off, and the beauty of its appearance is lost. So also the rich person in his pursuits will wither away.
12 Blessed is the person who endures testing, because when he is approved he will receive the crown of life that he has promised to those who love him.
No one who is being tempted should say, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each one is tempted when he is dragged away and enticed by his own desires. 15 Then desire, after it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is brought to completion, gives birth to death.
16 Do not be deceived, my dear brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of change. 18 By his will he gave birth to us through the message of truth, so that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
Understand this, my dear brothers: every person must be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, 20 for human anger does not accomplish the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore, putting aside all moral uncleanness and wicked excess, welcome with humility the implanted message which is able to save your souls.
22 But be doers of the message and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves, 23 because if anyone is a hearer of the message and not a doer, this one is like someone staring at his own face in a mirror, 24 for he looks at himself and goes away and immediately forgets what sort of person he was. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues to do it, not being a forgetful hearer but a doer who acts, this one will be blessed in what he does.
26 If anyone thinks he is religious, although he does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. 27 Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
My brothers, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with partiality. 2 For if someone enters into your assembly in fine clothing with a gold ring on his finger, and a poor person in filthy clothing also enters, 3 and you look favorably on the one wearing the fine clothing and you say, “Be seated here in a good place,” and to the poor person you say, “You stand or be seated there by my footstool,” 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my dear brothers! Did not God choose the poor of the world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor! Are not the rich exploiting you and they themselves dragging you into the courts? 7 Do they themselves not blaspheme the good name of the one to whom you belong?
8 However, if you carry out the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and thus are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles in one point only has become guilty of all of it. 11 For the one who said “Do not commit adultery” also said “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 Thus speak and thus act as those who are going to be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is merciless to the one who has not practiced mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
What is the benefit, my brothers, if someone says that he has faith but does not have works? That faith is not able to save him, is it? 15 If a brother or a sister is poorly clothed and lacking food for the day, 16 and one of you should say to them, “Go in peace, keep warm and eat well,” but does not give them what is necessary for the body, what is the benefit? 17 Thus also faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe, and shudder! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was working together with his works, and by the works the faith was perfected. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And likewise was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by a different route? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
Not many should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we will receive a greater judgment. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect individual, able to hold in check his whole body also. 3 And if we put bits in the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we also guide their whole bodies. 4 Behold also ships: although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot wishes. 5 So also the tongue is a small member of the body and boasts great things. Behold how small a fire sets ablaze how great a forest! 6 And the tongue is a fire! The world of unrighteousness, the tongue, is set among our members, defiling the whole body and setting on fire the course of human existence, being set on fire by hell.
7 For every species of animals and birds, of reptiles and sea creatures, is being tamed and has been tamed by the human species, 8 but no human being is able to tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so! 11 A spring does not pour forth from the same opening fresh and bitter water, does it? 12 A fig tree is not able, my brothers, to produce olives, or a grapevine figs. Neither can a saltwater spring produce fresh water.
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by his good behavior his works, with the humility of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and tell lies against the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there is disorder and every evil practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, obedient, full of mercy and good fruits, nonjudgmental, without hypocrisy, 18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace among those who make peace.
From where are conflicts and from where are quarrels among you? Is it not from this, from your pleasures that wage war among your members? 2 You desire and do not have; you murder and are filled with envy, and are not able to obtain; you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, in order that you may spend it on your pleasures.
4 Adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that in vain the scripture says, “The spirit which he caused to dwell in us desires jealously”? 6 But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says,
“God opposes the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.”
7 Therefore subject yourselves to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded! 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to gloominess. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
11 Do not speak evil of one another, brothers. The one who speaks evil of a brother or judges his brother speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of the law. 12 There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there, and carry on business and make a profit,” 14 you who do not know what will happen tomorrow, what your life will be like. For you are a smoky vapor that appears for a short time and then disappears. 15 Instead you should say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 Therefore, to the one who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
Come now, you rich people, weep and cry aloud over the miseries that are coming upon you! 2 Your wealth has rotted, and your clothing has become moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have become corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you, and it will consume your flesh like fire. You have stored up treasure in the last days. 4 Behold, the wages that were held back by you from the workers who reap your fields cry out, and the cries of the reapers have come to the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived self-indulgently on the earth and have lived luxuriously. You have fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned, you have murdered the righteous person; he does not resist you.
Therefore be patient, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the soil, being patient concerning it until it receives the early and late rains. 8 You also be patient. Strengthen your hearts, because the coming of the Lord is near. 9 Brothers, do not complain against one another, in order that you may not be judged. Behold, the judge stands before the doors! 10 Brothers, take as an example of perseverance and endurance the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold, we consider blessed those who have endured. You have heard about the patient endurance of Job, and you saw the outcome from the Lord, that the Lord is compassionate and merciful. 12 Now above all, my brothers, do not swear either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your yes be yes and your no, no, in order that you may not fall under judgment.
Is anyone among you suffering misfortune? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the elders of the church and they should pray over him, anointing him with olive oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous person accomplishes much. 17 Elijah was a human being with the same nature as us, and he prayed fervently for it not to rain, and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the earth produced its fruit.
19 My brothers, if anyone among you should wander away from the truth and someone turns him back, 20 he should know that the one who turns a sinner back from the error of his way will save that person’s soul from death, and will cover over a great number of sins.
James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the dispersion. Greetings!
James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the dispersion. Greetings!
From that time on, Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven is near.”
18 Now as he was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew, throwing a casting net into the sea (for they were fishermen). 19 And he said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of people.” 20 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 And going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 And immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
and James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (and he gave to them the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder”),
Now it happened that when the days were approaching for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers before him, and they went and entered into a village of the Samaritans in order to prepare for him. 53 And they did not welcome him because he was determined to go to Jerusalem. 54 Now when the disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to call fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 55 But he turned around and rebuked them, 56 and they proceeded to another village.
Now at that time, Herod the king laid hands on some of those from the church to harm them. 2 So he executed James the brother of John with a sword.
Philip, and Bartholomew, Thomas, and Matthew the tax collector, James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus,
And when they had entered, they went up to the upstairs room where they were staying—Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas son of James.
And as he was passing by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me!” And he stood up and followed him.
and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
Is not this one the son of the carpenter? Is not his mother called Mary and his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And are not all his sisters with us? From where then did this man get all these things?”
Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they were offended by him.
And his mother and his brothers arrived, and standing outside, they sent word to him to summon him. 32 And a crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Behold, your mother and your brothers are outside looking for you.” 33 And he answered them and said, “Who is my mother or my brothers?” 34 And looking around at those who were sitting around him in a circle, he said, “Behold, my mother and my brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God, this person is my brother and sister and mother.”
And after these things Jesus was going about in Galilee. For he did not want to go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. 2 Now the feast of the Jews—the feast of Tabernacles—was near. 3 So his brothers said to him, “Depart from here and go to Judea, so that your disciples also can see your works that you are doing. 4 For no one does anything in secret and yet he himself desires to be publicly recognized. If you are doing these things, reveal yourself to the world!” 5 (For not even his brothers believed in him.)
All these were busily engaged with one mind in prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus and with his brothers.
Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,
and when James and Cephas and John—those thought to be pillars—acknowledged the grace given to me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, in order that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcision.
But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he related to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Report these things to James and to the brothers,” and he departed and went to another place.
And on the next day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. 19 And after greeting them, he began to relate one after the other the things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.
Do we not have the right to take along a sister as wife, like the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?
And on the next day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. 19 And after greeting them, he began to relate one after the other the things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 20 And when they heard this, they began to glorify God. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many ten thousands there are among the Jews who have believed, and they are all zealous adherents of the law. 21 And they have been informed about you that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles the abandonment of Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or to live according to our customs. 22 What then is to be done? Doubtless they will all hear that you have come! 23 Therefore do this that we tell you: we have four men who have taken a vow upon themselves. 24 Take these men and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses so that they can shave their heads, and everyone will know that the things which they had been informed about you are nothing, but you yourself also agree with observing the law. 25 But concerning the Gentiles who have believed, we have written a letter after deciding they should avoid food sacrificed to idols and blood and what has been strangled and sexual immorality.” 26 Then Paul took along the men on the next day, and after he had purified himself together with them, he entered into the temple courts, announcing the completion of the days of purification until the time the offering would be presented on behalf of each one of them.
27 But when the seven days were about to be completed, the Jews from Asia who had seen him in the temple courts stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, 28 shouting, “Israelite men, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place! And furthermore he also brought Greeks into the temple, and has defiled this holy place!” 29 (For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him, whom they thought that Paul had brought into the temple.) 30 And the whole city was stirred up, and the people came running together, and they seized Paul and dragged him outside of the temple courts, and immediately the doors were shut.
31 And as they were seeking to kill him, a report came up to the military tribune of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. 32 He immediately took along soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. And when they saw the military tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. 33 Then the military tribune came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains, and inquired who he was and what it was that he had done. 34 But some in the crowd were shouting one thing and others another, and because he was not able to find out the truth on account of the commotion, he gave orders to bring him into the barracks. 35 And when he came to the steps, it happened that he had to be carried by the soldiers on account of the violence of the crowd, 36 for the crowd of people was following them, shouting, “Away with him!”
37 And as he was about to be brought into the barracks, Paul said to the military tribune, “Is it permitted for me to say something to you?” And he said, “Do you know Greek? 38 Then you are not the Egyptian who before these days raised a revolt and led out into the wilderness the four thousand men of the Assassins?” 39 But Paul said, “I am a Jewish man from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no unimportant city. Now I ask you, allow me to speak to the people.” 40 So when he permitted him, Paul, standing there on the steps, motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great silence, he addressed them in the Aramaic language, saying,
Consider it all joy, my brothers, whenever you encounter various trials,
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
because theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are you
when they insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things against you, lying on account of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.
And let endurance have its perfect effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.
Therefore you be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Now if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask for it from God, who gives to all without reservation and not reproaching, and it will be given to him.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you, if his son will ask him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or also if he will ask for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 Therefore if you, although you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him? 12 Therefore in all things, whatever you want that people should do to you, thus also you do to them. For this is the law and the prophets.
But be doers of the message and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves,
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and expel demons in your name, and perform many miracles in your name?’ 23 And then I will say to them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness!’
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain came down and the rivers came and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it did not collapse, because its foundation was laid on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain came down and the rivers came and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it collapsed, and its fall was great.”