American Standard Version of 1901
Versliste
And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.
When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thy hand.
Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
Again, when a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thy hand.
Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning; and thou hast delivered thy soul.
But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? None of his righteous deeds that he hath done shall be remembered: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
When the righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, {Or, he shall die}and dieth {Or, because of it}therein; {Or, for}in his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.
And thou, son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression; and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall he that is righteous be able to live thereby in the day that he sinneth.
When I say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his righteousness, and commit iniquity, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered; but {Or, for}in his iniquity that he hath committed, {Or, for it}therein shall he die.
There is no fear in love: but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath punishment; and he that feareth is not made perfect in love.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God.
All things were made through him; and without him {Or, was not anything made. That which hath been made was life in him; and the life &c.}was not anything made that hath been made.
In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness {Or, overcame See chapter 12:35 (Greek).}apprehended it not.
There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John.
The same came for witness, that he might bear witness of the light, that all might believe through him.
He was not the light, but came that he might bear witness of the light.
{Or, the true light, which lighteth every man, was coming}There was the true light, even the light which lighteth {Or, every man as he cometh}every man, coming into the world.
He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world knew him not.
He came unto {Greek: his own things}his own, and they that were his own received him not.
But as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become children of God, even to them that believe on his name:
who were {Greek: begotten}born, not of {Greek: bloods}blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh, and {Greek: tabernacled}dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, glory as of {Or, an only begotten from a father Compare Hebrews 11:17}the only begotten from the Father), full of grace and truth.
John beareth witness of him, and crieth, saying, {Some ancient authorities read (this was he that said).}This was he of whom I said, He that cometh after me is become before me: for he was {Greek: first in regard of me.}before me.
For of his fulness we all received, and {Or, grace upon grace.}grace for grace.
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
No man hath seen God at any time; {Many very ancient authorities read God only begotten.}the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
And this is the witness of John, when the Jews sent unto him from Jerusalem priests and Levites to ask him, Who art thou?
And he confessed, and denied not; and he confessed, I am not the Christ.
And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elijah? And he saith, I am not. Art thou the prophet? And he answered, No.
They said therefore unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?
He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as {Isaiah 40:3.}said Isaiah the prophet.
{Or, And certain had been sent from among the Pharisees.}And they had been sent from the Pharisees.
And they asked him, and said unto him, Why then baptizest thou, if thou art not the Christ, neither Elijah, neither the prophet?
John answered them, saying, I baptize {Or, with}in water: in the midst of you standeth one whom ye know not,
even he that cometh after me, the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to unloose.
These things were done in {Many ancient authorities read Bethabarah, some Betharabah. Compare Joshua 15:6, 61; 18:22.}Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
On the morrow he seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold, the Lamb of God, that {Or, beareth the sin}taketh away the sin of the world!
This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man who is become before me: for he was {Greek: first in regard of me.}before me.
And I knew him not; but that he should be made manifest to Israel, for this cause came I baptizing {Or, with}in water.
And John bare witness, saying, I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven; and it abode upon him.
And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize {Or, with}in water, he said unto me, Upon whomsoever thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and abiding upon him, the same is he that baptizeth {Or, with}in the Holy Spirit.
And I have seen, and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.
Again on the morrow John was standing, and two of his disciples;
and he looked upon Jesus as he walked, and saith, Behold, the Lamb of God!
And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
And Jesus turned, and beheld them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? And they said unto him, Rabbi (which is to say, being interpreted, Teacher), where abidest thou?
He saith unto them, Come, and ye shall see. They came therefore and saw where he abode; and they abode with him that day: it was about the tenth hour.
One of the two that heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.
He findeth first his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah (which is, being interpreted, {That is, Anointed. Compare Psalm 2:2.}Christ).
He brought him unto Jesus. Jesus looked upon him, and said, Thou art Simon the son of {Greek: Joanes: called in Matthew 16:17, Jonah.}John: thou shalt be called Cephas (which is by interpretation, {That is, Rock or Stone.}Peter).
On the morrow he was minded to go forth into Galilee, and he findeth Philip: and Jesus saith unto him, Follow me.
Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter.
Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
And Nathanael said unto him, Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.
Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!
Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
Nathanael answered him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art King of Israel.
Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee underneath the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.
And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye shall see the heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, to the saints that are {Some very ancient authorities omit at Ephesus.}at Ephesus, and the faithful in Christ Jesus:
{Or, to those that are at Colossae, holy and faithful brethren in Christ}to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ that are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
seeing that his divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that called us {Some ancient authorities read through glory and virtue.}by his own glory and virtue;
Wherefore, brethren, give the more diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never stumble:
It is actually reported that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not even among the Gentiles, that one of you hath his father's wife.
And {Or, are ye puffed up?}ye are puffed up, and {Or, did ye not rather mourn…you?}did not rather mourn, that he that had done this deed might be taken away from among you.
For I verily, being absent in body but present in spirit, have already as though I were present judged him that hath so wrought this thing,
in the name of our Lord Jesus, ye being gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus,
to deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord {Some ancient authorities omit Jesus.}Jesus.
Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
Purge out the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, even as ye are unleavened. For our passover also hath been sacrificed, even Christ:
wherefore let us {Greek: keep festival.}keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
I wrote unto you in my epistle to have no company with fornicators;
{Or, not altogether with the fornicators &c.}not at all meaning with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous and extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world:
but {Or, now I write}as it is, I wrote unto you not to keep company, if any man that is named a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one no, not to eat.
For what have I to do with judging them that are without? Do not ye judge them that are within?
But them that are without God judgeth. Put away the wicked man from among yourselves.
{Some ancient authorities read For.}But I determined this for myself, that I would not come again to you with sorrow.
For if I make you sorry, who then is he that maketh me glad but he that is made sorry by me?
And I wrote this very thing, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice; having confidence in you all, that my joy is the joy of you all.
For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be made sorry, but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you.
But if any hath caused sorrow, he hath caused sorrow, not to me, but in part (that I press not too heavily) to you all.
Sufficient to such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by {Greek: the more.}the many;
so that contrariwise ye should {Some ancient authorities omit rather.}rather forgive him and comfort him, lest by any means such a one should be swallowed up with his overmuch sorrow.
Wherefore I beseech you to confirm your love toward him.
For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, {Some ancient authorities read whereby.}whether ye are obedient in all things.
But to whom ye forgive anything, I forgive also: for what I also have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, for your sakes have I forgiven it in the {Or, person}presence of Christ;
that no advantage may be gained over us by Satan: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
Now when I came to Troas for the {Greek: good tidings: see marginal note on Matthew 4:23.}gospel of Christ, and when a door was opened unto me in the Lord,
I had no relief for my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother: but taking my leave of them, I went forth into Macedonia.
But thanks be unto God, who always leadeth us in triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest through us the savor of his knowledge in every place.
For we are a sweet savor of Christ unto God, in them that {Or, are being saved}are saved, and in them that {Or, are perishing}perish;
to the one a savor from death unto death; to the other a savor from life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?
For we are not as the many, {Or, making merchandise of the word of God. Compare 2 Peter 2:3}corrupting the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God, speak we in Christ.
But {Or, when we are judged of the Lord, we are chastened.}when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.
But as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become children of God, even to them that believe on his name:
These things spake Jesus; and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that the Son may glorify thee:
even as thou gavest him authority over all flesh, that {Greek: whatsoever thou hast given him, to them he &c.}to all whom thou hast given him, he should give eternal life.
And this is life eternal, that they should know thee the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, even Jesus Christ.
I glorified thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which thou hast given me to do.
And now, Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
I manifested thy name unto the men whom thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them to me; and they have kept thy word.
Now they know that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are from thee:
for the words which thou gavest me I have given unto them; and they received them, and knew of a truth that I came forth from thee, and they believed that thou didst send me.
I {Greek: make request.}pray for them: I {Greek: make request.}pray not for the world, but for those whom thou hast given me; for they are thine:
and all things that are mine are thine, and thine are mine: and I am glorified in them.
And I am no more in the world, and these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep them in thy name which thou hast given me, that they may be one, even as we are.
While I was with them, I kept them in thy name which thou hast given me: and I guarded them, and not one of them perished, but the son of perdition; {Psalm 41:9?}that the scripture might be fulfilled.
But now I come to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy made full in themselves.
I have given them thy word; and the world hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
I {Greek: make request.}pray not that thou shouldest take them {Greek: out of}from the world, but that thou shouldest keep them {Greek: out of}from {Or, evil}the evil one.
They are not of the world even as I am not of the world.
{Or, Consecrate}Sanctify them in the truth: thy word is truth.
As thou didst send me into the world, even so sent I them into the world.
And for their sakes I {Or, Consecrate}sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.
Neither for these only do I {Greek: make request.}pray, but for them also that believe on me through their word;
that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us: that the world may believe that thou didst send me.
And the glory which thou hast given me I have given unto them; that they may be one, even as we are one;
I in them, and thou in me, that they may be perfected into one; that the world may know that thou didst send me, and lovedst them, even as thou lovedst me.
Father, {Greek: that which thou hast given me, I desire that where I am, they also may be with me, that &c.}I desire that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
O righteous Father, the world knew thee not, but I knew thee; and these knew that thou didst send me;
and I made known unto them thy name, and will make it known; that the love wherewith thou lovedst me may be in them, and I in them.
Jesus saith to her, {Greek: Take not hold on me}Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended unto the Father: but go unto my brethren, and say to them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and my God and your God.
For there are certain men crept in privily, even they who were of old {Or, set forth}written of beforehand unto this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying {Or, the only Master, and our Lord Jesus Christ}our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
But there arose false prophets also among the people, as among you also there shall be false teachers, who shall privily bring in {Or, sects of perdition}destructive heresies, denying even the Master that bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for Jehovah hath spoken: I have {Or, made great and exalted See Ezekiel 31:4.}nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith Jehovah, Israel is my son, my first-born:
and I have said unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me; and thou hast refused to let him go: behold, I will slay thy son, thy first-born.
When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.
Ye are the children of Jehovah your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.
Do ye thus requite Jehovah,O foolish people and unwise?Is not he thy father that hath {Or, possessed Or, gotten}bought thee?He hath made thee, and established thee.
Of the Rock that {Or, bare}begat thee thou art unmindful,And hast forgotten God that gave thee birth.
And Jehovah saw it, and abhorred them,Because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters.
For thou art our Father, though Abraham knoweth us not, and Israel doth not acknowledge us: thou, O Jehovah, art our Father; our Redeemer from everlasting is thy name.
But now, O Jehovah, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
But I said, How {Or, shall I…nations?}I will put thee among the children, and give thee {Or, the goodliest heritage of the nations}a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of the nations! and I said, {Another reading is, Thou shalt…and shalt not &c.}Ye shall call me My Father, and shall not turn away from following me.
A son honoreth his father, and a servant his master: if then I am a father, where is mine honor? and if I am a master, where is my fear? saith Jehovah of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?
Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.
I am Jehovah, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.
Who is this that cometh from Edom, with {Or, crimsoned}dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.
Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winevat?
I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the peoples there was no man with me: yea, I {Or, will tread…and trample}trod them in mine anger, and trampled them in my wrath; and their {Or, strength}lifeblood {Or, shall be}is sprinkled upon my garments, and I {Or, will stain}have stained all my raiment.
For the day of vengeance {Or, is}was in my heart, and {Or, my year of redemption}the year of my redeemed is come.
And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my wrath, it upheld me.
And {Or, I will tread…and make…and I will pour out}I trod down the peoples in mine anger, and {Or, according to another reading, brake them in pieces}made them drunk in my wrath, and I {Or, brought down their strength to the earth}poured out their lifeblood on the earth.
I will make mention of the lovingkindnesses of Jehovah, and the praises of Jehovah, according to all that Jehovah hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.
For he said, Surely, they are my people, children that will not deal falsely: so he was their Saviour.
{Another reading is, In all their adversity he was no adversary}In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.
But they rebelled, and grieved his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them.
{Or, Then his people remembered the ancient days of Moses &c.}Then he remembered the days of old, Moses and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the {Another reading is, shepherd.}shepherds of his flock? where is he that put his holy Spirit in the midst of them?
that caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses? that divided the waters before them, to make himself an everlasting name?
that led them through the depths, as a horse in the wilderness, so that they stumbled not?
As the cattle that go down into the valley, the Spirit of Jehovah caused them to rest; so didst thou lead thy people, to make thyself a glorious name.
Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where are thy zeal and thy mighty acts? the yearning of thy heart and thy compassions are restrained toward me.
For thou art our Father, though Abraham knoweth us not, and Israel doth not acknowledge us: thou, O Jehovah, art our Father; our Redeemer from everlasting is thy name.
O Jehovah, why dost thou make us to err from thy ways, and hardenest our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants' sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.
Thy holy people possessed it but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary.
We are become as they over whom thou never barest rule, as they that were not called by thy name.
Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might {Or, flow down}quake at thy presence, {[Chapter 64:1 in Hebrew]}
as when fire kindleth the brushwood, and the fire causeth the waters to boil; to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence!
When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains quaked at thy presence.
For from of old men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye {Or, seen; O God, besides thee, one that &c.}seen a God besides thee, who worketh for him that waiteth for him.
Thou {Or, sparest}meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou wast wroth, and we sinned: {Or, in those is continuance, and we shall be saved The Hebrew is obscure.}in them have we been of long time; and shall we be saved?
For we are all become as one that is unclean, and all our righteousnesses are as a polluted garment: and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee; for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast {Hebrew: melted.}consumed us by means of our iniquities.
But now, O Jehovah, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
Be not wroth very sore, O Jehovah, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, look, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.
Thy holy cities are become a wilderness, Zion is become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.
Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burned with fire; and all our pleasant places are laid waste.
Wilt thou refrain thyself for these things, O Jehovah? wilt thou hold thy peace, and afflict us very sore?
who say to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast {Or, begotten me}brought {Another reading is, us.}me forth: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face; but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us.
keeping lovingkindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; and that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation.
The word of Jehovah came unto me again, saying,
What mean ye, that ye use this proverb {Or, in}concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge?
As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.
Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
Yet say ye, Wherefore doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live.
The soul that sinneth, it shall die: the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked? saith the Lord Jehovah; and not rather that he should return from his way, and live?
who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped,
Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath; for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment; and they that dwell therein shall die {Or, perhaps, like gnats}in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.
Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye dismayed at their revilings.
For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool; but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation unto all generations.
No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of Jehovah, and {Or, their righteousness is of me}their righteousness which is of me, saith Jehovah.
Then they that feared Jehovah spake one with another; and Jehovah hearkened, and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before him, for them that feared Jehovah, and that thought upon his name.
And they shall be mine, saith Jehovah of hosts, even mine own possession, in the day that I {Or, do this}make; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
Then shall ye return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. {[Chapter 3:19 in Hebrew]}
And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
Now lettest thou thy {Greek: bondservant.}servant depart, {Greek: Master.}Lord,According to thy word, in peace;
And his father and his mother were marvelling at the things which were spoken concerning him;
And Jehovah thy God will circumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love Jehovah thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh;
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.
Cast away from you all your transgressions, wherein ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
For as touching those who were once enlightened {Or, having both tasted of…and being made…and having tasted &c.}and tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit,
and {Or, tasted the word of God that it is good}tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come,
and then fell away, it is impossible to renew them again unto repentance; {Or, the while}seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
For the land which hath drunk the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them for whose sake it is also tilled, receiveth blessing from God:
For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more a sacrifice for sins,
but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a {Or, jealously}fierceness of fire which shall devour the adversaries.
For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of {Many ancient authorities read our.}the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the last state is become worse with them than the first.
For it were better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
It has happened unto them according to the true proverb, {Proverbs 26:11.}The dog turning to his own vomit again, and the sow that had washed to wallowing in the mire.
For this ye know of a surety, that no fornicator, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
And if the firstfruit is holy, so is the lump: and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
But if some of the branches were broken off, and thou, being a wild olive, wast grafted in among them, and didst become partaker with them {Many ancient authorities read of the root and of the fatness.}of the root of the fatness of the olive tree;
glory not over the branches: but if thou gloriest, it is not thou that bearest the root, but the root thee.
Thou wilt say then, Branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in.
Well; by their unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by thy faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
for if God spared not the natural branches, neither will he spare thee.
Behold then the goodness and severity of God: toward them that fell, severity; but toward thee, God's goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh it away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he cleanseth it, that it may bear more fruit.
Already ye are clean because of the word which I have spoken unto you.
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; so neither can ye, except ye abide in me.
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for apart from me ye can do nothing.
If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatsoever ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
Herein {Or, was}is my Father glorified, {Many ancient authorities read that ye bear much fruit, and be my disciples.}that ye bear much fruit; and so shall ye be my disciples.
But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
and kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.
But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thy heart to {Or, deceive}lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
While it remained, did it not remain thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thy power? How is it that thou hast conceived this thing in thy heart? thou has not lied unto men, but unto God.
And Ananias hearing these words fell down and gave up the ghost: and great fear came upon all that heard it.
And the {Greek: younger.}young men arose and wrapped him round, and they carried him out and buried him.
And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.
And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much. And she said, Yea, for so much.
But Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to try the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them that have buried thy husband are at the door, and they shall carry thee out.
And she fell down immediately at his feet, and gave up the ghost: and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her by her husband.
And great fear came upon the whole church, and upon all that heard these things.
whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them; whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.