ARKCODEX
John
Ch. 7–9
Jesus and His Brothers
1After this, Jesus traveled in Galilee; he did not want to travel in Judea, because the Jewish authorities there were wanting to kill him.
2The time for the Festival of Shelters was near,
3so Jesus' brothers said to him, “Leave this place and go to Judea, so that your followers will see the things that you are doing.
4People don't hide what they are doing if they want to be well known. Since you are doing these things, let the whole world know about you!”
5(Not even his brothers believed in him.)
6Jesus said to them, “The right time for me has not yet come. Any time is right for you.
7The world cannot hate you, but it hates me, because I keep telling it that its ways are bad.
8You go on to the festival. I am not going to this festival, because the right time has not come for me.”
9He said this and then stayed on in Galilee.
Jesus at the Festival of Shelters
10After his brothers had gone to the festival, Jesus also went; however, he did not go openly, but secretly.
11The Jewish authorities were looking for him at the festival. “Where is he?” they asked.
12There was much whispering about him in the crowd. “He is a good man,” some people said. “No,” others said, “he fools the people.”
13But no one talked about him openly, because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities.
14The festival was nearly half over when Jesus went to the Temple and began teaching.
15The Jewish authorities were greatly surprised and said, “How does this man know so much when he has never been to school?”
16Jesus answered, “What I teach is not my own teaching, but it comes from God, who sent me.
17Whoever is willing to do what God wants will know whether what I teach comes from God or whether I speak on my own authority.
18Those who speak on their own authority are trying to gain glory for themselves. But he who wants glory for the one who sent him is honest, and there is nothing false in him.
19Moses gave you the Law, didn't he? But not one of you obeys the Law. Why are you trying to kill me?”
20“You have a demon in you!” the crowd answered. “Who is trying to kill you?”
21Jesus answered, “I performed one miracle, and you were all surprised.
22Moses ordered you to circumcise your sons (although it was not Moses but your ancestors who started it), and so you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath.
23If a boy is circumcised on the Sabbath so that Moses' Law is not broken, why are you angry with me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?
24Stop judging by external standards, and judge by true standards.”
Is He the Messiah?
25Some of the people of Jerusalem said, “Isn't this the man the authorities are trying to kill?
26Look! He is talking in public, and they say nothing against him! Can it be that they really know that he is the Messiah?
27But when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from. And we all know where this man comes from.”
28As Jesus taught in the Temple, he said in a loud voice, “Do you really know me and know where I am from? I have not come on my own authority. He who sent me, however, is truthful. You do not know him,
29but I know him, because I come from him and he sent me.”
30Then they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.
31But many in the crowd believed in him and said, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more miracles than this man has?”
Guards Are Sent to Arrest Jesus
32The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering these things about Jesus, so they and the chief priests sent some guards to arrest him.
33Jesus said, “I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I shall go away to him who sent me.
34You will look for me, but you will not find me, because you cannot go where I will be.”
35The Jewish authorities said among themselves, “Where is he about to go so that we shall not find him? Will he go to the Greek cities where our people live, and teach the Greeks?
36He says that we will look for him but will not find him, and that we cannot go where he will be. What does he mean?”
Streams of Life-Giving Water
37On the last and most important day of the festival Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice, “Whoever is thirsty should come to me, and
38whoever believes in me should drink. As the scripture says, ‘Streams of life-giving water will pour out from his side.’”
39Jesus said this about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were going to receive. At that time the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not been raised to glory.
Division among the People
40Some of the people in the crowd heard him say this and said, “This man is really the Prophet!”
41Others said, “He is the Messiah!” But others said, “The Messiah will not come from Galilee!
42The scripture says that the Messiah will be a descendant of King David and will be born in Bethlehem, the town where David lived.”
43So there was a division in the crowd because of Jesus.
44Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.
The Unbelief of the Jewish Authorities
45When the guards went back, the chief priests and Pharisees asked them, “Why did you not bring him?”
46The guards answered, “Nobody has ever talked the way this man does!”
47“Did he fool you, too?” the Pharisees asked them.
48“Have you ever known one of the authorities or one Pharisee to believe in him?
49This crowd does not know the Law of Moses, so they are under God's curse!”
50One of the Pharisees there was Nicodemus, the man who had gone to see Jesus before. He said to the others,
51“According to our Law we cannot condemn people before hearing them and finding out what they have done.”
52“Well,” they answered, “are you also from Galilee? Study the Scriptures and you will learn that no prophet ever comes
53from Galilee.”
John 8
The Woman Caught in Adultery
1Then everyone went home, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
2Early the next morning he went back to the Temple. All the people gathered around him, and he sat down and began to teach them.
3The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees brought in a woman who had been caught committing adultery, and they made her stand before them all.
4“Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery.
5In our Law Moses commanded that such a woman must be stoned to death. Now, what do you say?”
6They said this to trap Jesus, so that they could accuse him. But he bent over and wrote on the ground with his finger.
7As they stood there asking him questions, he straightened up and said to them, “Whichever one of you has committed no sin may throw the first stone at her.”
8Then he bent over again and wrote on the ground.
9When they heard this, they all left, one by one, the older ones first. Jesus was left alone, with the woman still standing there.
10He straightened up and said to her, “Where are they? Is there no one left to condemn you?”
11“No one, sir,” she answered. “Well, then,” Jesus said, “I do not condemn you either. Go, but do not sin again.”]
Jesus the Light of the World
12Jesus spoke to the Pharisees again. “I am the light of the world,” he said. “Whoever follows me will have the light of life and will never walk in darkness.”
13The Pharisees said to him, “Now you are testifying on your own behalf; what you say proves nothing.”
14“No,” Jesus answered, “even though I do testify on my own behalf, what I say is true, because I know where I came from and where I am going. You do not know where I came from or where I am going.
15You make judgments in a purely human way; I pass judgment on no one.
16But if I were to do so, my judgment would be true, because I am not alone in this; the Father who sent me is with me.
17It is written in your Law that when two witnesses agree, what they say is true.
18I testify on my own behalf, and the Father who sent me also testifies on my behalf.”
19“Where is your father?” they asked him. “You know neither me nor my Father,” Jesus answered. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”
20Jesus said all this as he taught in the Temple, in the room where the offering boxes were placed. And no one arrested him, because his hour had not come.
You Cannot Go Where I Am Going
21Again Jesus said to them, “I will go away; you will look for me, but you will die in your sins. You cannot go where I am going.”
22So the Jewish authorities said, “He says that we cannot go where he is going. Does this mean that he will kill himself?”
23Jesus answered, “You belong to this world here below, but I come from above. You are from this world, but I am not from this world.
24That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. And you will die in your sins if you do not believe that ‘I Am Who I Am’.”
25“Who are you?” they asked him. Jesus answered, “What I have told you from the very beginning.
26I have much to say about you, much to condemn you for. The one who sent me, however, is truthful, and I tell the world only what I have heard from him.”
27They did not understand that Jesus was talking to them about the Father.
28So he said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, you will know that ‘I Am Who I Am’; then you will know that I do nothing on my own authority, but I say only what the Father has instructed me to say.
29And he who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, because I always do what pleases him.”
30Many who heard Jesus say these things believed in him.
The Truth Will Set You Free
31So Jesus said to those who believed in him, “If you obey my teaching, you are really my disciples;
32you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
33“We are the descendants of Abraham,” they answered, “and we have never been anybody's slaves. What do you mean, then, by saying, ‘You will be free’?”
34Jesus said to them, “I am telling you the truth: everyone who sins is a slave of sin.
35A slave does not belong to a family permanently, but a son belongs there forever.
36If the Son sets you free, then you will be really free.
37I know you are Abraham's descendants. Yet you are trying to kill me, because you will not accept my teaching.
38I talk about what my Father has shown me, but you do what your father has told you.”
39They answered him, “Our father is Abraham.” “If you really were Abraham's children,” Jesus replied, “you would do the same things that he did.
40All I have ever done is to tell you the truth I heard from God, yet you are trying to kill me. Abraham did nothing like this!
41You are doing what your father did.” “God himself is the only Father we have,” they answered, “and we are his true children.”
42Jesus said to them, “If God really were your Father, you would love me, because I came from God and now I am here. I did not come on my own authority, but he sent me.
43Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to listen to my message.
44You are the children of your father, the Devil, and you want to follow your father's desires. From the very beginning he was a murderer and has never been on the side of truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he is only doing what is natural to him, because he is a liar and the father of all lies.
45But I tell the truth, and that is why you do not believe me.
46Which one of you can prove that I am guilty of sin? If I tell the truth, then why do you not believe me?
47He who comes from God listens to God's words. You, however, are not from God, and that is why you will not listen.”
Jesus and Abraham
48They asked Jesus, “Were we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon in you?”
49“I have no demon,” Jesus answered. “I honor my Father, but you dishonor me.
50I am not seeking honor for myself. But there is one who is seeking it and who judges in my favor.
51I am telling you the truth: whoever obeys my teaching will never die.”
52They said to him, “Now we know for sure that you have a demon! Abraham died, and the prophets died, yet you say that whoever obeys your teaching will never die.
53Our father Abraham died; you do not claim to be greater than Abraham, do you? And the prophets also died. Who do you think you are?”
54Jesus answered, “If I were to honor myself, that honor would be worth nothing. The one who honors me is my Father—the very one you say is your God.
55You have never known him, but I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him, and I obey his word.
56Your father Abraham rejoiced that he was to see the time of my coming; he saw it and was glad.”
57They said to him, “You are not even fifty years old—and you have seen Abraham?”
58“I am telling you the truth,” Jesus replied. “Before Abraham was born, ‘I Am’.”
59Then they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and left the Temple.
John 9
Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
1As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been born blind.
2His disciples asked him, “Teacher, whose sin caused him to be born blind? Was it his own or his parents' sin?”
3Jesus answered, “His blindness has nothing to do with his sins or his parents' sins. He is blind so that God's power might be seen at work in him.
4As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me; night is coming when no one can work.
5While I am in the world, I am the light for the world.”
6After he said this, Jesus spat on the ground and made some mud with the spittle; he rubbed the mud on the man's eyes
7and told him, “Go and wash your face in the Pool of Siloam.” (This name means “Sent.”) So the man went, washed his face, and came back seeing.
8His neighbors, then, and the people who had seen him begging before this, asked, “Isn't this the man who used to sit and beg?”
9Some said, “He is the one,” but others said, “No he isn't; he just looks like him.” So the man himself said, “I am the man.”
10“How is it that you can now see?” they asked him.
11He answered, “The man called Jesus made some mud, rubbed it on my eyes, and told me to go to Siloam and wash my face. So I went, and as soon as I washed, I could see.”
12“Where is he?” they asked. “I don't know,” he answered.
The Pharisees Investigate the Healing
13Then they took to the Pharisees the man who had been blind.
14The day that Jesus made the mud and cured him of his blindness was a Sabbath.
15The Pharisees, then, asked the man again how he had received his sight. He told them, “He put some mud on my eyes; I washed my face, and now I can see.”
16Some of the Pharisees said, “The man who did this cannot be from God, for he does not obey the Sabbath law.” Others, however, said, “How could a man who is a sinner perform such miracles as these?” And there was a division among them.
17So the Pharisees asked the man once more, “You say he cured you of your blindness—well, what do you say about him?” “He is a prophet,” the man answered.
18The Jewish authorities, however, were not willing to believe that he had been blind and could now see, until they called his parents
19and asked them, “Is this your son? You say that he was born blind; how is it, then, that he can now see?”
20His parents answered, “We know that he is our son, and we know that he was born blind.
21But we do not know how it is that he is now able to see, nor do we know who cured him of his blindness. Ask him; he is old enough, and he can answer for himself!”
22His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities, who had already agreed that anyone who said he believed that Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue.
23That is why his parents said, “He is old enough; ask him!”
24A second time they called back the man who had been born blind, and said to him, “Promise before God that you will tell the truth! We know that this man who cured you is a sinner.”
25“I do not know if he is a sinner or not,” the man replied. “One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I see.”
26“What did he do to you?” they asked. “How did he cure you of your blindness?”
27“I have already told you,” he answered, “and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Maybe you, too, would like to be his disciples?”
28They insulted him and said, “You are that fellow's disciple; but we are Moses' disciples.
29We know that God spoke to Moses; as for that fellow, however, we do not even know where he comes from!”
30The man answered, “What a strange thing that is! You do not know where he comes from, but he cured me of my blindness!
31We know that God does not listen to sinners; he does listen to people who respect him and do what he wants them to do.
32Since the beginning of the world nobody has ever heard of anyone giving sight to a person born blind.
33Unless this man came from God, he would not be able to do a thing.”
34They answered, “You were born and brought up in sin—and you are trying to teach us?” And they expelled him from the synagogue.
Spiritual Blindness
35When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
36The man answered, “Tell me who he is, sir, so that I can believe in him!”
37Jesus said to him, “You have already seen him, and he is the one who is talking with you now.”
38“I believe, Lord!” the man said, and knelt down before Jesus.
39Jesus said, “I came to this world to judge, so that the blind should see and those who see should become blind.”
40Some Pharisees who were there with him heard him say this and asked him, “Surely you don't mean that we are blind, too?”
41Jesus answered, “If you were blind, then you would not be guilty; but since you claim that you can see, this means that you are still guilty.”
Proverbs
Ch. 5
15Be faithful to your own wife and give your love to her alone.
16Children that you have by other women will do you no good.
17Your children should grow up to help you, not strangers.
18So be happy with your wife and find your joy with the woman you married—
19pretty and graceful as a deer. Let her charms keep you happy; let her surround you with her love.
20Son, why should you give your love to another woman? Why should you prefer the charms of another man's wife?
21The Lord sees everything you do. Wherever you go, he is watching.
22The sins of the wicked are a trap. They get caught in the net of their own sin.
23They die because they have no self-control. Their utter stupidity will send them to their graves.