Thursday, April 23

9All the nations are gathered together, and the rulers shall be assembled from among them. Who will declare these things or tell us things from the beginning? Let them bring forth their witnesses, and be proven right; and let them speak the truth.

10'You are My witnesses, and I am a witness,' says the Lord God, 'and My Servant whom I chose, that you may know and believe, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no other God, nor shall there be after Me.

11I am God, and besides Me there is no one who saves.

12I proclaimed, and I saved. I denounced foreign gods so there were none among you. You are My witnesses, and I am a witness,' says the Lord God.

13'Even from the beginning, there is no one who can deliver out of My hands; I will work, and who will reverse it?'

14Thus says the Lord God who redeems you, the Holy One of Israel: 'For your sake I will send to Babylon and arouse all who flee, and the Chaldeans shall be bound in ships.

1But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, And no torture will ever touch them.

2In the eyes of the undiscerning they seemed to have died, And their departure was considered to be misfortune,

3And their passage from us to be their destruction; But they are at peace.

4For though in man's view they were punished, Their hope is full of immortality.

5Though chastened in a few things, Great kindness will be shown them, For God tested them and found them worthy of Himself.

6He tested them like gold in a furnace And accepted them as a whole burnt offering.

7In the time of their visitation they will shine forth, And they will run about like sparks through straw.

8They will judge nations and rule over peoples, And the Lord shall reign over them unto the ages.

9Those who trust in Him will understand truth, And the faithful shall continue with Him in love, Because grace and mercy are upon His elect.

7But though a righteous man may die before his time, He shall be at rest.

8For old age is not honored for its length of existence, Nor measured by its number of years;

9But discernment is gray hair for mankind, And a spotless life is the maturity of old age.

10There was once a man pleasing to God and loved by Him, And while living among sinners he was taken up.

11He was caught up lest evil change his understanding Or deceit deceive his soul.

12For envy arising from lack of judgment obscures what is good, And a whirling of desire undermines an innocent heart.

13He was made perfect, For in a short time he fulfilled long years,

14For his soul was pleasing to the Lord; Therefore, He took him early from the midst of evil. Yet peoples saw this but did not understand, Nor take such a thing to heart,

15That the Lord's grace and mercy are with His elect And that He watches over His holy ones.

2For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known.

3Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.

4'And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.

5But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!

6'Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God.

7But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

8'Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God.

9But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.

10'And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.

11'Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say.

12For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.'

23And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.

24So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: 'Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them,

25who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: 'Why did the nations rage, And the people plot vain things?

26The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together Against the LORD and against His Christ.'

27'For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together

28to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.

29Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word,

30by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.'

31And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

1Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church.

2Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

3And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread.

4So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover.

5Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.

6And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison.

7Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, 'Arise quickly!' And his chains fell off his hands.

8Then the angel said to him, 'Gird yourself and tie on your sandals'; and so he did. And he said to him, 'Put on your garment and follow me.'

9So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.

10When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.

11And when Peter had come to himself, he said, 'Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.'

24'Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

25Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.

26For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself,

27and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.

28Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice

29and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

30I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.

17These things I command you, that you love one another.

18'If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.

19If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

20Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.

21But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.

22If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.

23He who hates Me hates My Father also.

24If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father.

25But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, 'They hated Me without cause.'

26'But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.

27And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

1These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble.

2They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service.