Nahum 2-3 - Jon B

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Nahum 2–3 (ESV)
Nahum 2:1 The scatterer has come up against you. Man the ramparts; watch the road; dress for battle; collect all your strength. 
Nahum 2:2 For the LORD is restoring the majesty of Jacob as the majesty of Israel, for plunderers have plundered them and ruined their branches. 
Nahum 2:3 The shield of his mighty men is red; his soldiers are clothed in scarlet. The chariots come with flashing metal on the day he musters them; the cypress spears are brandished. 
Nahum 2:4 The chariots race madly through the streets; they rush to and fro through the squares; they gleam like torches; they dart like lightning. 
Nahum 2:5 He remembers his officers; they stumble as they go, they hasten to the wall; the siege tower is set up. 
Nahum 2:6 The river gates are opened; the palace melts away; 
Nahum 2:7 its mistress is stripped; she is carried off, her slave girls lamenting, moaning like doves and beating their breasts. 
Nahum 2:8 Nineveh is like a pool whose waters run away. “Halt! Halt!” they cry, but none turns back. 
Nahum 2:9 Plunder the silver, plunder the gold! There is no end of the treasure or of the wealth of all precious things. 
Nahum 2:10 Desolate! Desolation and ruin! Hearts melt and knees tremble; anguish is in all loins; all faces grow pale! 
Nahum 2:11 Where is the lions’ den, the feeding place of the young lions, where the lion and lioness went, where his cubs were, with none to disturb? 
Nahum 2:12 The lion tore enough for his cubs and strangled prey for his lionesses; he filled his caves with prey and his dens with torn flesh. 
Nahum 2:13 Behold, I am against you, declares the LORD of hosts, and I will burn your chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your messengers shall no longer be heard. 
Nahum 3:1 Woe to the bloody city, all full of lies and plunder— no end to the prey! 
Nahum 3:2 The crack of the whip, and rumble of the wheel, galloping horse and bounding chariot! 
Nahum 3:3 Horsemen charging, flashing sword and glittering spear, hosts of slain, heaps of corpses, dead bodies without end— they stumble over the bodies! 
Nahum 3:4 And all for the countless whorings of the prostitute, graceful and of deadly charms, who betrays nations with her whorings, and peoples with her charms. 
Nahum 3:5 Behold, I am against you, declares the LORD of hosts, and will lift up your skirts over your face; and I will make nations look at your nakedness and kingdoms at your shame. 
Nahum 3:6 I will throw filth at you and treat you with contempt and make you a spectacle. 
Nahum 3:7 And all who look at you will shrink from you and say, “Wasted is Nineveh; who will grieve for her?” Where shall I seek comforters for you? 
Nahum 3:8 Are you better than Thebes that sat by the Nile, with water around her, her rampart a sea, and water her wall? 
Nahum 3:9 Cush was her strength; Egypt too, and that without limit; Put and the Libyans were her helpers. 
Nahum 3:10 Yet she became an exile; she went into captivity; her infants were dashed in pieces at the head of every street; for her honored men lots were cast, and all her great men were bound in chains. 
Nahum 3:11 You also will be drunken; you will go into hiding; you will seek a refuge from the enemy. 
Nahum 3:12 All your fortresses are like fig trees with first-ripe figs— if shaken they fall into the mouth of the eater. 
Nahum 3:13 Behold, your troops are women in your midst. The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; fire has devoured your bars. 
Nahum 3:14 Draw water for the siege; strengthen your forts; go into the clay; tread the mortar; take hold of the brick mold! 
Nahum 3:15 There will the fire devour you; the sword will cut you off. It will devour you like the locust. Multiply yourselves like the locust; multiply like the grasshopper! 
Nahum 3:16 You increased your merchants more than the stars of the heavens. The locust spreads its wings and flies away. 
Nahum 3:17 Your princes are like grasshoppers, your scribes like clouds of locusts settling on the fences in a day of cold— when the sun rises, they fly away; no one knows where they are. 
Nahum 3:18 Your shepherds are asleep, O king of Assyria; your nobles slumber. Your people are scattered on the mountains with none to gather them. 
Nahum 3:19 There is no easing your hurt; your wound is grievous. All who hear the news about you clap their hands over you. For upon whom has not come your unceasing evil?

 

Jonah 3 - Jon B

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Jonah 3 (ESV)

Jonah 3:1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying,
Jonah 3:2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.”
Jonah 3:3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth.
Jonah 3:4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”
Jonah 3:5 And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.
Jonah 3:6 The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
Jonah 3:7 And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water,
Jonah 3:8 but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.
Jonah 3:9 Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.”
Jonah 3:10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.

Acts 19:21-41 - Jon B

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Acts 19:21–41 (ESV)

Acts 19:21 Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.”
Acts 19:22 And having sent into Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.
Acts 19:23 About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way.
Acts 19:24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen.
Acts 19:25 These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth.
Acts 19:26 And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods.
Acts 19:27 And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.”
Acts 19:28 When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
Acts 19:29 So the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s companions in travel.
Acts 19:30 But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him.
Acts 19:31 And even some of the Asiarchs, who were friends of his, sent to him and were urging him not to venture into the theater.
Acts 19:32 Now some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together.
Acts 19:33 Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had put forward. And Alexander, motioning with his hand, wanted to make a defense to the crowd.
Acts 19:34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all cried out with one voice, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
Acts 19:35 And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that fell from the sky?
Acts 19:36 Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash.
Acts 19:37 For you have brought these men here who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess.
Acts 19:38 If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another.
Acts 19:39 But if you seek anything further, it shall be settled in the regular assembly.
Acts 19:40 For we really are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.”
Acts 19:41 And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.

Acts 18:18-28 - Jon B

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Acts 18:18–28 (ESV)

Acts 18:18 After this, Paul stayed many days longer and then took leave of the brothers and set sail for Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had cut his hair, for he was under a vow.
Acts 18:19 And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there, but he himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.
Acts 18:20 When they asked him to stay for a longer period, he declined.
Acts 18:21 But on taking leave of them he said, “I will return to you if God wills,” and he set sail from Ephesus.
Acts 18:22 When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and then went down to Antioch.
Acts 18:23 After spending some time there, he departed and went from one place to the next through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.
Acts 18:24 Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures.
Acts 18:25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John.
Acts 18:26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.
Acts 18:27 And when he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed,
Acts 18:28 for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.

Acts 17:16-34 Part II - Jon B

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Acts 17:16–34 (ESV)
Acts 17:16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. 
Acts 17:17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. 
Acts 17:18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. 
Acts 17:19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 
Acts 17:20 For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” 
Acts 17:21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new. 
Acts 17:22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 
Acts 17:23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 
Acts 17:24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 
Acts 17:25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 
Acts 17:26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 
Acts 17:27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 
Acts 17:28 for “ ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “ ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ 
Acts 17:29 Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 
Acts 17:30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 
Acts 17:31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” 
Acts 17:32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.” 
Acts 17:33 So Paul went out from their midst. 
Acts 17:34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.

 

Acts 9:19-31 - Jon B

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Acts 9:19–31 (ESV)

Acts 9:19 and taking food, he was strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus.
Acts 9:20 And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”
Acts 9:21 And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?”
Acts 9:22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.
Acts 9:23 When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him,
Acts 9:24 but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him,
Acts 9:25 but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.
Acts 9:26 And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple.
Acts 9:27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.
Acts 9:28 So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord.
Acts 9:29 And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him. Acts 9:30 And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.
Acts 9:31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

Acts 8:26-40 - Jon B

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Acts 8:26–40 (ESV)
Acts 8:26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place.
Acts 8:27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship
Acts 8:28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah.
Acts 8:29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.”
Acts 8:30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
Acts 8:31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
Acts 8:32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth.
Acts 8:33 In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.”
Acts 8:34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?”
Acts 8:35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.
Acts 8:36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?”
Acts 8:38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.
Acts 8:39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.
Acts 8:40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

Acts 5:12-42 - Jon B

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Acts 5:12–42 (ESV)

Acts 5:12 Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon’s Portico.
Acts 5:13 None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem.
Acts 5:14 And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women,
Acts 5:15 so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them.
Acts 5:16 The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.
Acts 5:17 But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy
Acts 5:18 they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison.
Acts 5:19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said,
Acts 5:20 “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.”
Acts 5:21 And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach. Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.
Acts 5:22 But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported,
Acts 5:23 “We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside.”
Acts 5:24 Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to.
Acts 5:25 And someone came and told them, “Look! The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.”
Acts 5:26 Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.
Acts 5:27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them,
Acts 5:28 saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.”
Acts 5:29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.
Acts 5:30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.
Acts 5:31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
Acts 5:32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
Acts 5:33 When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them.
Acts 5:34 But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while.
Acts 5:35 And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men.
Acts 5:36 For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing.
Acts 5:37 After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered.
Acts 5:38 So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail;
Acts 5:39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice,
Acts 5:40 and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
Acts 5:41 Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.
Acts 5:42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.