Weekend Meditation 2011-4-30

ESV

Psa 17:1  A Prayer of David. Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry! Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!
Psa 17:2  From your presence let my vindication come! Let your eyes behold the right!
Psa 17:3  You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night, you have tested me, and you will find nothing; I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.
Psa 17:4  With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent.
Psa 17:5  My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped.
Psa 17:6  I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me; hear my words.
Psa 17:7  Wondrously show your steadfast love, O Savior of those who seek refuge from their adversaries at your right hand.
Psa 17:8  Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings,
Psa 17:9  from the wicked who do me violence, my deadly enemies who surround me.
Psa 17:10  They close their hearts to pity; with their mouths they speak arrogantly.
Psa 17:11  They have now surrounded our steps; they set their eyes to cast us to the ground.
Psa 17:12  He is like a lion eager to tear, as a young lion lurking in ambush.
Psa 17:13  Arise, O LORD! Confront him, subdue him! Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,
Psa 17:14  from men by your hand, O LORD, from men of the world whose portion is in this life. You fill their womb with treasure; they are satisfied with children, and they leave their abundance to their infants.
Psa 17:15  As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness. 

Pro 17:1  Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife.
Pro 17:2  A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.
Pro 17:3  The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the LORD tests hearts.
Pro 17:4  An evildoer listens to wicked lips, and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.
Pro 17:5  Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker; he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.
Pro 17:6  Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers.
Pro 17:7  Fine speech is not becoming to a fool; still less is false speech to a prince.
Pro 17:8  A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of the one who gives it; wherever he turns he prospers.
Pro 17:9  Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.
Pro 17:10  A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool.
Pro 17:11  An evil man seeks only rebellion, and a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
Pro 17:12  Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs rather than a fool in his folly.
Pro 17:13  If anyone returns evil for good, evil will not depart from his house.
Pro 17:14  The beginning of strife is like letting out water, so quit before the quarrel breaks out.
Pro 17:15  He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the LORD.
Pro 17:16  Why should a fool have money in his hand to buy wisdom when he has no sense?
Pro 17:17  A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
Pro 17:18  One who lacks sense gives a pledge and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor.
Pro 17:19  Whoever loves transgression loves strife; he who makes his door high seeks destruction.
Pro 17:20  A man of crooked heart does not discover good, and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.
Pro 17:21  He who sires a fool gets himself sorrow, and the father of a fool has no joy.
Pro 17:22  A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
Pro 17:23  The wicked accepts a bribe in secret to pervert the ways of justice.
Pro 17:24  The discerning sets his face toward wisdom, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
Pro 17:25  A foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him.
Pro 17:26  To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good, nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.
Pro 17:27  Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
Pro 17:28  Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.  

Gal 5:1  For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Gal 5:2  Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you.
Gal 5:3  I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.
Gal 5:4  You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.
Gal 5:5  For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.
Gal 5:6  For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
Gal 5:7  You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?
Gal 5:8  This persuasion is not from him who calls you.
Gal 5:9  A little leaven leavens the whole lump.
Gal 5:10  I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view than mine, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is.
Gal 5:11  But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed.
Gal 5:12  I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!
Gal 5:13  For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
Gal 5:14  For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
Gal 5:15  But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.
Gal 5:16  But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
Gal 5:17  For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
Gal 5:18  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Gal 5:19  Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,
Gal 5:20  idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,
Gal 5:21  envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Gal 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Gal 5:23  gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Gal 5:24  And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Gal 5:25  If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
Gal 5:26  Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. 

Morning Meditations 2011-4-26

ESV

Eph 1:1  Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:
Eph 1:2  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Eph 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
Eph 1:4  even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
Eph 1:5  he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
Eph 1:6  to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
Eph 1:7  In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
Eph 1:8  which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight
Eph 1:9  making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ
Eph 1:10  as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
Eph 1:11  In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,
Eph 1:12  so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.
Eph 1:13  In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
Eph 1:14  who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Eph 1:15  For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints,
Eph 1:16  I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,
Eph 1:17  that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,
Eph 1:18  having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
Eph 1:19  and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might
Eph 1:20  that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,
Eph 1:21  far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
Eph 1:22  And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church,
Eph 1:23  which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. 
Eph 2:1  And you were dead in the trespasses and sins
Eph 2:2  in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience--
Eph 2:3  among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
Eph 2:4  But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
Eph 2:5  even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved--
Eph 2:6  and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
Eph 2:7  so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Eph 2:8  For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
Eph 2:9  not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Eph 2:11  Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called "the uncircumcision" by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands--
Eph 2:12  remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
Eph 2:13  But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Eph 2:14  For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility
Eph 2:15  by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace,
Eph 2:16  and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.
Eph 2:17  And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.
Eph 2:18  For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
Eph 2:19  So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
Eph 2:20  built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,
Eph 2:21  in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.
Eph 2:22  In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. 

 

Publish Post

Easter Meditations 2011-4-25

ESV - English Standard version 2007

Psa 81:1 To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. Of Asaph. Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob!
Psa 81:2 Raise a song; sound the tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp.
Psa 81:3 Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our feast day.
Psa 81:4 For it is a statute for Israel, a rule of the God of Jacob.
Psa 81:5 He made it a decree in Joseph when he went out over the land of Egypt. I hear a language I had not known:
Psa 81:6 "I relieved your shoulder of the burden; your hands were freed from the basket.
Psa 81:7 In distress you called, and I delivered you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah
Psa 81:8 Hear, O my people, while I admonish you! O Israel, if you would but listen to me!
Psa 81:9 There shall be no strange god among you; you shall not bow down to a foreign god.
Psa 81:10 I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
Psa 81:11 "But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me.
Psa 81:12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels.
Psa 81:13 Oh, that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!
Psa 81:14 I would soon subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes.
Psa 81:15 Those who hate the LORD would cringe toward him, and their fate would last forever.
Psa 81:16 But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you."





Son 8:1 Oh that you were like a brother to me who nursed at my mother's breasts! If I found you outside, I would kiss you, and none would despise me.
Son 8:2 I would lead you and bring you into the house of my mother-- she who used to teach me. I would give you spiced wine to drink, the juice of my pomegranate.
Son 8:3 His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me!
Son 8:4 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases.
Son 8:5 Who is that coming up from the wilderness, leaning on her beloved? Under the apple tree I awakened you. There your mother was in labor with you; there she who bore you was in labor.
Son 8:6 Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD.
Son 8:7 Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised.
Son 8:8 We have a little sister, and she has no breasts. What shall we do for our sister on the day when she is spoken for?
Son 8:9 If she is a wall, we will build on her a battlement of silver, but if she is a door, we will enclose her with boards of cedar.
Son 8:10 I was a wall, and my breasts were like towers; then I was in his eyes as one who finds peace.
Son 8:11 Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon; he let out the vineyard to keepers; each one was to bring for its fruit a thousand pieces of silver.
Son 8:12 My vineyard, my very own, is before me; you, O Solomon, may have the thousand, and the keepers of the fruit two hundred.
Son 8:13 O you who dwell in the gardens, with companions listening for your voice; let me hear it.
Son 8:14 Make haste, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices.





Nah 1:1 An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh.
Nah 1:2 The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD is avenging and wrathful; the LORD takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies.
Nah 1:3 The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, and the LORD will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
Nah 1:4 He rebukes the sea and makes it dry; he dries up all the rivers; Bashan and Carmel wither; the bloom of Lebanon withers.
Nah 1:5 The mountains quake before him; the hills melt; the earth heaves before him, the world and all who dwell in it.
Nah 1:6 Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.
Nah 1:7 The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.
Nah 1:8 But with an overflowing flood he will make a complete end of the adversaries, and will pursue his enemies into darkness.
Nah 1:9 What do you plot against the LORD? He will make a complete end; trouble will not rise up a second time.
Nah 1:10 For they are like entangled thorns, like drunkards as they drink; they are consumed like stubble fully dried.
Nah 1:11 From you came one who plotted evil against the LORD, a worthless counselor.
Nah 1:12 Thus says the LORD, "Though they are at full strength and many, they will be cut down and pass away. Though I have afflicted you, I will afflict you no more.
Nah 1:13 And now I will break his yoke from off you and will burst your bonds apart."
Nah 1:14 The LORD has given commandment about you: "No more shall your name be perpetuated; from the house of your gods I will cut off the carved image and the metal image. I will make your grave, for you are vile."
Nah 1:15 Behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace! Keep your feasts, O Judah; fulfill your vows, for never again shall the worthless pass through you; he is utterly cut off.





Mat 25:1 "Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.
Mat 25:2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.
Mat 25:3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them,
Mat 25:4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.
Mat 25:5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept.
Mat 25:6 But at midnight there was a cry, 'Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.'
Mat 25:7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps.
Mat 25:8 And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.'
Mat 25:9 But the wise answered, saying, 'Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.'
Mat 25:10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut.
Mat 25:11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, lord, open to us.'
Mat 25:12 But he answered, 'Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.'
Mat 25:13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
Mat 25:14 "For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property.
Mat 25:15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.
Mat 25:16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more.
Mat 25:17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more.
Mat 25:18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money.
Mat 25:19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them.
Mat 25:20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.'
Mat 25:21 His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.'
Mat 25:22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.'
Mat 25:23 His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.'
Mat 25:24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, 'Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed,
Mat 25:25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.'
Mat 25:26 But his master answered him, 'You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed?
Mat 25:27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest.
Mat 25:28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents.
Mat 25:29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
Mat 25:30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
Mat 25:31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.
Mat 25:32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
Mat 25:33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.
Mat 25:34 Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
Mat 25:35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
Mat 25:36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.'
Mat 25:37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?
Mat 25:38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?
Mat 25:39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?'
Mat 25:40 And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'
Mat 25:41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
Mat 25:42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
Mat 25:43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.'
Mat 25:44 Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?'
Mat 25:45 Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.'
Mat 25:46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."





Mat 26:1 When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples,
Mat 26:2 "You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified."
Mat 26:3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas,
Mat 26:4 and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him.
Mat 26:5 But they said, "Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people."
Mat 26:6 Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,
Mat 26:7 a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table.
Mat 26:8 And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, "Why this waste?
Mat 26:9 For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor."
Mat 26:10 But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me.
Mat 26:11 For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.
Mat 26:12 In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial.
Mat 26:13 Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her."
Mat 26:14 Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests
Mat 26:15 and said, "What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?" And they paid him thirty pieces of silver.
Mat 26:16 And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.
Mat 26:17 Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?"
Mat 26:18 He said, "Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, 'The Teacher says, My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.'"
Mat 26:19 And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover.
Mat 26:20 When it was evening, he reclined at table with the twelve.
Mat 26:21 And as they were eating, he said, "Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me."
Mat 26:22 And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, "Is it I, Lord?"
Mat 26:23 He answered, "He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me.
Mat 26:24 The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born."
Mat 26:25 Judas, who would betray him, answered, "Is it I, Rabbi?" He said to him, "You have said so."
Mat 26:26 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is my body."
Mat 26:27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, "Drink of it, all of you,
Mat 26:28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Mat 26:29 I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom."
Mat 26:30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Mat 26:31 Then Jesus said to them, "You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'
Mat 26:32 But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee."
Mat 26:33 Peter answered him, "Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away."
Mat 26:34 Jesus said to him, "Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times."
Mat 26:35 Peter said to him, "Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!" And all the disciples said the same.
Mat 26:36 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, "Sit here, while I go over there and pray."
Mat 26:37 And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled.
Mat 26:38 Then he said to them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me."
Mat 26:39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will."
Mat 26:40 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, "So, could you not watch with me one hour?
Mat 26:41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Mat 26:42 Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, "My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done."
Mat 26:43 And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy.
Mat 26:44 So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again.
Mat 26:45 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, "Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
Mat 26:46 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand."
Mat 26:47 While he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people.
Mat 26:48 Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "The one I will kiss is the man; seize him."
Mat 26:49 And he came up to Jesus at once and said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" And he kissed him.
Mat 26:50 Jesus said to him, "Friend, do what you came to do." Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him.
Mat 26:51 And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.
Mat 26:52 Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword.
Mat 26:53 Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?
Mat 26:54 But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?"
Mat 26:55 At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me.
Mat 26:56 But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled." Then all the disciples left him and fled.
Mat 26:57 Then those who had seized Jesus led him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered.
Mat 26:58 And Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and going inside he sat with the guards to see the end.
Mat 26:59 Now the chief priests and the whole Council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death,
Mat 26:60 but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward
Mat 26:61 and said, "This man said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days.'"
Mat 26:62 And the high priest stood up and said, "Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?"
Mat 26:63 But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, "I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God."
Mat 26:64 Jesus said to him, "You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven."
Mat 26:65 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, "He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy.
Mat 26:66 What is your judgment?" They answered, "He deserves death."
Mat 26:67 Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him,
Mat 26:68 saying, "Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?"
Mat 26:69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, "You also were with Jesus the Galilean."
Mat 26:70 But he denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you mean."
Mat 26:71 And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, "This man was with Jesus of Nazareth."
Mat 26:72 And again he denied it with an oath: "I do not know the man."
Mat 26:73 After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, "Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you."
Mat 26:74 Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, "I do not know the man." And immediately the rooster crowed.
Mat 26:75 And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly.