25 Bible Verses About Judean Hills (NIV)

³⁹ At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, ⁴⁰ where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth.

¹ Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the LORD. ² Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart. ³ They do nothing wrong; they walk in his ways. ⁴ You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed. ⁵ Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! ⁶ Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands. ⁷ I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws. ⁸ I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me. ⁹ How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. ¹⁰ I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. ¹¹ I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. ¹² Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees. ¹³ With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. ¹⁴ I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. ¹⁵ I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. ¹⁶ I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word. ¹⁷ Do good to your servant, and I will live; I will obey your word. ¹⁸ Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. ¹⁹ I am a stranger on earth; do not hide your commands from me. ²⁰ My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times. ²¹ You rebuke the arrogant, who are cursed and who stray from your commands. ²² Remove from me scorn and contempt, for I keep your statutes. ²³ Though rulers sit together and slander me, your servant will meditate on your decrees. ²⁴ Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors. ²⁵ I am laid low in the dust; preserve my life according to your word. ²⁶ I recounted my ways and you answered me; teach me your decrees. ²⁷ Let me understand the teaching of your precepts; then I will meditate on your wonders. ²⁸ My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word. ²⁹ Keep me from deceitful ways; be gracious to me through your law. ³⁰ I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws. ³¹ I hold fast to your statutes, O LORD; do not let me be put to shame. ³² I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free. ³³ Teach me, O LORD, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end. ³⁴ Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart. ³⁵ Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. ³⁶ Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. ³⁷ Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word. ³⁸ Fulfill your promise to your servant, so that you may be feared. ³⁹ Take away the disgrace I dread, for your laws are good. ⁴⁰ How I long for your precepts! Preserve my life in your righteousness. ⁴¹ May your unfailing love come to me, O LORD, your salvation according to your promise; ⁴² then I will answer the one who taunts me, for I trust in your word. ⁴³ Do not snatch the word of truth from my mouth, for I have put my hope in your laws. ⁴⁴ I will always obey your law, for ever and ever. ⁴⁵ I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts. ⁴⁶ I will speak of your statutes before kings and will not be put to shame, ⁴⁷ for I delight in your commands because I love them. ⁴⁸ I lift up my hands to your commands, which I love, and I meditate on your decrees. ⁴⁹ Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope. ⁵⁰ My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life. ⁵¹ The arrogant mock me without restraint, but I do not turn from your law. ⁵² I remember your ancient laws, O LORD, and I find comfort in them. ⁵³ Indignation grips me because of the wicked, who have forsaken your law. ⁵⁴ Your decrees are the theme of my song wherever I lodge. ⁵⁵ In the night I remember your name, O LORD, and I will keep your law. ⁵⁶ This has been my practice: I obey your precepts. ⁵⁷ You are my portion, O LORD; I have promised to obey your words. ⁵⁸ I have sought your face with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise. ⁵⁹ I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes. ⁶⁰ I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands. ⁶¹ Though the wicked bind me with ropes, I will not forget your law. ⁶² At midnight I rise to give you thanks for your righteous laws. ⁶³ I am a friend to all who fear you, to all who follow your precepts. ⁶⁴ The earth is filled with your love, O LORD; teach me your decrees. ⁶⁵ Do good to your servant according to your word, O LORD. ⁶⁶ Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I believe in your commands. ⁶⁷ Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word. ⁶⁸ You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees. ⁶⁹ Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies, I keep your precepts with all my heart. ⁷⁰ Their hearts are callous and unfeeling, but I delight in your law. ⁷¹ It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees. ⁷² The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold. ⁷³ Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn your commands. ⁷⁴ May those who fear you rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in your word. ⁷⁵ I know, O LORD, that your laws are righteous, and in faithfulness you have afflicted me. ⁷⁶ May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant. ⁷⁷ Let your compassion come to me that I may live, for your law is my delight. ⁷⁸ May the arrogant be put to shame for wronging me without cause; but I will meditate on your precepts. ⁷⁹ May those who fear you turn to me, those who understand your statutes. ⁸⁰ May my heart be blameless toward your decrees, that I may not be put to shame. ⁸¹ My soul faints with longing for your salvation, but I have put my hope in your word. ⁸² My eyes fail, looking for your promise; I say, "When will you comfort me?" ⁸³ Though I am like a wineskin in the smoke, I do not forget your decrees. ⁸⁴ How long must your servant wait? When will you punish my persecutors? ⁸⁵ The arrogant dig pitfalls for me, contrary to your law. ⁸⁶ All your commands are trustworthy; help me, for men persecute me without cause. ⁸⁷ They almost wiped me from the earth, but I have not forsaken your precepts. ⁸⁸ Preserve my life according to your love, and I will obey the statutes of your mouth. ⁸⁹ Your word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. ⁹⁰ Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures. ⁹¹ Your laws endure to this day, for all things serve you. ⁹² If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. ⁹³ I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life. ⁹⁴ Save me, for I am yours; I have sought out your precepts. ⁹⁵ The wicked are waiting to destroy me, but I will ponder your statutes. ⁹⁶ To all perfection I see a limit; but your commands are boundless. ⁹⁷ Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. ⁹⁸ Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me. ⁹⁹ I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. ¹⁰⁰ I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts. ¹⁰¹ I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey your word. ¹⁰² I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself have taught me. ¹⁰³ How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! ¹⁰⁴ I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. ¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. ¹⁰⁶ I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws. ¹⁰⁷ I have suffered much; preserve my life, O LORD, according to your word. ¹⁰⁸ Accept, O LORD, the willing praise of my mouth, and teach me your laws. ¹⁰⁹ Though I constantly take my life in my hands, I will not forget your law. ¹¹⁰ The wicked have set a snare for me, but I have not strayed from your precepts. ¹¹¹ Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart. ¹¹² My heart is set on keeping your decrees to the very end. ¹¹³ I hate double-minded men, but I love your law. ¹¹⁴ You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word. ¹¹⁵ Away from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commands of my God! ¹¹⁶ Sustain me according to your promise, and I will live; do not let my hopes be dashed. ¹¹⁷ Uphold me, and I will be delivered; I will always have regard for your decrees. ¹¹⁸ You reject all who stray from your decrees, for their deceitfulness is in vain. ¹¹⁹ All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross; therefore I love your statutes. ¹²⁰ My flesh trembles in fear of you; I stand in awe of your laws. ¹²¹ I have done what is righteous and just; do not leave me to my oppressors. ¹²² Ensure your servant's well-being; let not the arrogant oppress me. ¹²³ My eyes fail, looking for your salvation, looking for your righteous promise. ¹²⁴ Deal with your servant according to your love and teach me your decrees. ¹²⁵ I am your servant; give me discernment that I may understand your statutes. ¹²⁶ It is time for you to act, O LORD; your law is being broken. ¹²⁷ Because I love your commands more than gold, more than pure gold, ¹²⁸ and because I consider all your precepts right, I hate every wrong path. ¹²⁹ Your statutes are wonderful; therefore I obey them. ¹³⁰ The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. ¹³¹ I open my mouth and pant, longing for your commands. ¹³² Turn to me and have mercy on me, as you always do to those who love your name. ¹³³ Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me. ¹³⁴ Redeem me from the oppression of men, that I may obey your precepts. ¹³⁵ Make your face shine upon your servant and teach me your decrees. ¹³⁶ Streams of tears flow from my eyes, for your law is not obeyed. ¹³⁷ Righteous are you, O LORD, and your laws are right. ¹³⁸ The statutes you have laid down are righteous; they are fully trustworthy. ¹³⁹ My zeal wears me out, for my enemies ignore your words. ¹⁴⁰ Your promises have been thoroughly tested, and your servant loves them. ¹⁴¹ Though I am lowly and despised, I do not forget your precepts. ¹⁴² Your righteousness is everlasting and your law is true. ¹⁴³ Trouble and distress have come upon me, but your commands are my delight. ¹⁴⁴ Your statutes are forever right; give me understanding that I may live. ¹⁴⁵ I call with all my heart; answer me, O LORD, and I will obey your decrees. ¹⁴⁶ I call out to you; save me and I will keep your statutes. ¹⁴⁷ I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word. ¹⁴⁸ My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises. ¹⁴⁹ Hear my voice in accordance with your love; preserve my life, O LORD, according to your laws. ¹⁵⁰ Those who devise wicked schemes are near, but they are far from your law. ¹⁵¹ Yet you are near, O LORD, and all your commands are true. ¹⁵² Long ago I learned from your statutes that you established them to last forever. ¹⁵³ Look upon my suffering and deliver me, for I have not forgotten your law. ¹⁵⁴ Defend my cause and redeem me; preserve my life according to your promise. ¹⁵⁵ Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek out your decrees. ¹⁵⁶ Your compassion is great, O LORD; preserve my life according to your laws. ¹⁵⁷ Many are the foes who persecute me, but I have not turned from your statutes. ¹⁵⁸ I look on the faithless with loathing, for they do not obey your word. ¹⁵⁹ See how I love your precepts; preserve my life, O LORD, according to your love. ¹⁶⁰ All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal. ¹⁶¹ Rulers persecute me without cause, but my heart trembles at your word. ¹⁶² I rejoice in your promise like one who finds great spoil. ¹⁶³ I hate and abhor falsehood but I love your law. ¹⁶⁴ Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws. ¹⁶⁵ Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble. ¹⁶⁶ I wait for your salvation, O LORD, and I follow your commands. ¹⁶⁷ I obey your statutes, for I love them greatly. ¹⁶⁸ I obey your precepts and your statutes, for all my ways are known to you. ¹⁶⁹ May my cry come before you, O LORD; give me understanding according to your word. ¹⁷⁰ May my supplication come before you; deliver me according to your promise. ¹⁷¹ May my lips overflow with praise, for you teach me your decrees. ¹⁷² May my tongue sing of your word, for all your commands are righteous. ¹⁷³ May your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts. ¹⁷⁴ I long for your salvation, O LORD, and your law is my delight. ¹⁷⁵ Let me live that I may praise you, and may your laws sustain me. ¹⁷⁶ I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands.

²⁶ Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

¹² Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name.

¹⁴ Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil--

¹⁶ Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.

⁹ For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,

¹ What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. ² He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. ³ So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. ⁴ But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, ⁵ to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. ⁶ Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." ⁷ So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. ⁸ Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. ⁹ But now that you know God--or rather are known by God--how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? ¹⁰ You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! ¹¹ I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you. ¹² I plead with you, brothers, become like me, for I became like you. You have done me no wrong. ¹³ As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you. ¹⁴ Even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself. ¹⁵ What has happened to all your joy? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. ¹⁶ Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth? ¹⁷ Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may be zealous for them. ¹⁸ It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always and not just when I am with you. ¹⁹ My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, ²⁰ how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you! ²¹ Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says? ²² For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. ²³ His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise. ²⁴ These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. ²⁵ Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. ²⁶ But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. ²⁷ For it is written: "Be glad, O barren woman, who bears no children; break forth and cry aloud, you who have no labor pains; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband." ²⁸ Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. ²⁹ At that time the son born in the ordinary way persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. ³⁰ But what does the Scripture say? "Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman's son." ³¹ Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.

¹⁶ What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."

¹ Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. ² Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, ³ because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. ⁴ For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. ⁵ Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. ⁶ Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. ⁷ We live by faith, not by sight. ⁸ We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. ⁹ So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. ¹⁰ For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. ¹¹ Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. ¹² We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. ¹³ If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. ¹⁴ For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. ¹⁵ And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. ¹⁶ So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! ¹⁸ All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹ that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. ²¹ God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

⁴ Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

²⁰ For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

¹¹ He is "'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone. ' ¹² Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

¹ When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ² Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. ⁵ Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. ⁶ When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. ⁷ Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? ⁹ Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome ¹¹ (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs--we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" ¹² Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?" ¹³ Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine. " ¹⁴ Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. ¹⁵ These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! ¹⁶ No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ¹⁷ "'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. ¹⁸ Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. ¹⁹ I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. ²⁰ The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. ²¹ And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' ²² "Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. ²³ This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. ²⁴ But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. ²⁵ David said about him: "'I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. ²⁶ Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, ²⁷ because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. ²⁸ You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.' ²⁹ "Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. ³⁰ But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. ³¹ Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. ³² God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. ³³ Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. ³⁴ For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, "'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand ³⁵ until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."' ³⁶ "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." ³⁷ When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" ³⁸ Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call." ⁴⁰ With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." ⁴¹ Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. ⁴² They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³ Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. ⁴⁴ All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵ Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. ⁴⁶ Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

³⁸ Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away.

³⁶ Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."

³⁹ You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me,

²⁷ And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.

¹⁶ "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

¹ Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council.

¹ Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. ² He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him." ³ In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. " ⁴ "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" ⁵ Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. ⁷ You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' ⁸ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." ⁹ "How can this be?" Nicodemus asked. ¹⁰ "You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things? ¹¹ I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. ¹² I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven--the Son of Man. ¹⁴ Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵ that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. ¹⁶ "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. ¹⁹ This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. ²¹ But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." ²² After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. ²³ Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were constantly coming to be baptized. ²⁴ (This was before John was put in prison.) ²⁵ An argument developed between some of John's disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. ²⁶ They came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan--the one you testified about--well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him." ²⁷ To this John replied, "A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. ²⁸ You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.' ²⁹ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. ³⁰ He must become greater; I must become less. ³¹ "The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. ³² He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. ³³ The man who has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. ³⁴ For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. ³⁵ The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. ³⁶ Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."

¹⁶ He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. ¹⁷ The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: ¹⁸ "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, ¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." ²⁰ Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, ²¹ and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." ²² All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. "Isn't this Joseph's son?" they asked. ²³ Jesus said to them, "Surely you will quote this proverb to me: 'Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.'" ²⁴ "I tell you the truth," he continued, "no prophet is accepted in his hometown. ²⁵ I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. ²⁶ Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. ²⁷ And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed--only Naaman the Syrian." ²⁸ All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. ²⁹ They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff. ³⁰ But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

³⁹ When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth.

⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.