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TEV - Today's English Version heading and whole paragraph/s - (Copyright 1976, 1992, American Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Since the two software editions of the TEV both use the 1976 edition, usually the TEV texts are taken from the 1976 edition. The 1992 edition is used only when it provides a significantly clearer translation.)

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Textual and exegetical commentary, and cross references - Commentary: by Robert Nguyen Cramer, unless otherwise noted. Cross references: mostly from various American Bible Society materials

<GT> Leviticus 11

"Animals That May Be Eaten" (TEV) - 39 If any animal that may be eaten dies, anyone who touches it will be unclean until evening. 40 And if anyone eats any part of the animal, he must wash his clothes, but he will still be unclean until evening; anyone who carries the dead body must wash his clothes, but he will still be unclean until evening. 41 You must not eat any of the small animals that move on the ground, 42 whether they crawl, or walk on four legs, or have many legs. 43 Do not make yourselves unclean by eating any of these. 44 I am the LORD your God, and you must keep yourselves holy, because I am holy. 45 I am the LORD who brought you out of Egypt so that I could be your God. You must be holy, because I am holy.

<RR1> Psalm 24

"The Great King" (TEV) - 3 Who has the right to go up the LORD's hill?(K) Who may enter his holy Temple? 4 Those who are pure in act and in thought, who do not worship idols or make false promises. 5 The LORD will bless them and save them; God will declare them innocent. 6 Such are the people who come to God, who come into the presence of the God of Jacob.

<RR2> Psalm 25

"A Prayer for Guidance and Protection" (TEV) - 8 Because the LORD is righteous and good, he teaches sinners the path they should follow. 9 He leads the humble in the right way and teaches them his will. 10 With faithfulness and love he leads all who keep his covenant and obey his commands. 11 Keep your promise, LORD, and forgive my sins, for they are many. 12 Those who have reverence for the LORD will learn from him the path they should follow. 13 They will always be prosperous, and their children will possess the land. 14 The LORD is the friend of those who obey him and he affirms his covenant with them.

<B1> Exodus 12

"The Passover" (TEV) - 1 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in Egypt: 2 "This month is to be the first month of the year for you. 3 Give these instructions to the whole community of Israel: On the tenth day of this month each man must choose either a lamb or a young goat for his household.

9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled, but eat it roasted whole, including the head, the legs, and the internal organs. 10 You must not leave any of it until morning; if any is left over, it must be burned. 11 You are to eat it quickly, for you are to be dressed for travel, with your sandals on your feet and your walking stick in your hand. It is the Passover Festival to honor me, the LORD.

"The Festival of Unleavened Bread" (TEV) - 15 The LORD said, "For seven days you must not eat any bread made with yeast -- eat only unleavened bread. On the first day you are to get rid of all the yeast in your houses, for if anyone during those seven days eats bread made with yeast, he shall no longer be considered one of my people. 16 On the first day and again on the seventh day you are to meet for worship. No work is to be done on those days, but you may prepare food. 17 Keep this festival, because it was on this day that I brought your tribes out of Egypt. For all time to come you must celebrate this day as a festival. 18 From the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month to the evening of the twenty-first day, you must not eat any bread made with yeast.

<B2> Jeremiah 31

"The Future Prosperity of God's People" (TEV) - 31 The LORD says, "The time is coming when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 32 It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt. Although I was like a husband to them, they did not keep that covenant. 33 The new covenant that I will make with the people of Israel will be this: I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 None of them will have to teach his fellow countryman to know the LORD, because all will know me, from the least to the greatest. I will forgive their sins and I will no longer remember their wrongs. I, the LORD, have spoken."

<B3> John 1

"The Word of Life" (TEV) - 14 The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us. We saw his glory, the glory which he received as the Father's only Son. 15 John spoke about him. He cried out, "This is the one I was talking about when I said, "He comes after me, but he is greater than I am, because he existed before I was born." 16 Out of the fullness of his grace he has blessed us all, giving us one blessing after another. 17 God gave the Law through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. The only Son, who is the same as God and is at the Father's side, he has made him known.

<B4> Romans 10

"Israel and the Gospel" (TEV) - 1 My brothers, how I wish with all my heart that my own people might be saved! How I pray to God for them! 2 I can assure you that they are deeply devoted to God; but their devotion is not based on true knowledge. 3 They have not known the way in which God puts people right with himself, and instead, they have tried to set up their own way; and so they did not submit themselves to God's way of putting people right. 4 For Christ has brought the Law to an end, so that everyone who believes is put right with God.

<B5> Romans 14

"Do Not Make Your Brother Fall" (TEV) - 13 So then, let us stop judging one another. Instead, you should decide never to do anything that would make your brother stumble or fall into sin. 14 My union with the Lord Jesus makes me certain that no food is of itself ritually unclean; but if a person believes that some food is unclean, then it becomes unclean for him. 15 If you hurt your brother because of something you eat, then you are no longer acting from love. Do not let the food that you eat ruin the person for whom Christ died! 16 Do not let what you regard as good get a bad name. 17 For God's Kingdom is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of the righteousness, peace, and joy which the Holy Spirit gives. 18 And when someone serves Christ in this way, he pleases God and is approved by others.

<B6> Mark 6

"Jesus Feeds Five Thousand Men" (TEV) - 33 Many people, however, saw them leave and knew at once who they were; so they went from all the towns and ran ahead by land and arrived at the place ahead of Jesus and his disciples. 34 When Jesus got out of the boat, he saw this large crowd, and his heart was filled with pity for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began to teach them many things. 35 When it was getting late, his disciples came to him and said, "It is already very late, and this is a lonely place. 36 Send the people away, and let them go to the nearby farms and villages in order to buy themselves something to eat."

"Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret" (TEV) - 53 They crossed the lake and came to land at Gennesaret, where they tied up the boat. 54 As they left the boat, people recognized Jesus at once. 55 So they ran throughout the whole region; and wherever they heard he was, they brought to him the sick lying on their mats. 56 And everywhere Jesus went, to villages, towns, or farms, people would take their sick to the marketplaces and beg him to let the sick at least touch the edge of his cloak. And all who touched it were made well.

<B7> John 6

"Jesus Feeds Five Thousand Men" (TEV) - 1 After this, Jesus went across Lake Galilee (or, Lake Tiberias, as it is also called). 2 A large crowd followed him, because they had seen his miracles of healing the sick. 3 Jesus went up a hill and sat down with his disciples. 4 The time for the Passover Festival was near. 5 Jesus looked around and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, so he asked Philip, "Where can we buy enough food to feed all these people?" ( 6 He said this to test Philip; actually he already knew what he would do.)

"Jesus the Bread of Life" (TEV) - 28 So they asked him, "What can we do in order to do what God wants us to do?" 29 Jesus answered, "What God wants you to do is to believe in the one he sent." 30 They replied, "What miracle will you perform so that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, just as the scripture says, "He gave them bread from heaven to eat."

32 "I am telling you the truth," Jesus said. "What Moses gave you was not(M) the bread from heaven; it is my Father who gives you the real bread from heaven. 33 For the bread that God gives is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." 34 "Sir," they asked him, "give us this bread always."

44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him to me; and I will raise him to life on the last day. 45 The prophets wrote, "Everyone will be taught by God.' Anyone who hears the Father and learns from him comes to me. 46 This does not mean that anyone has seen the Father; he who is from God is the only one who has seen the Father. 47 I am telling you the truth: he who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate manna in the desert, but they died. 50 But the bread that comes down from heaven is of such a kind that whoever eats it will not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread, he will live forever. The bread that I will give him is my flesh, which I give so that the world may live."

52 This started an angry argument among them. "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" they asked. 53 Jesus said to them, "I am telling you the truth: if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in yourselves. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him to life on the last day. 55 For my flesh is the real food; my blood is the real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me, and I live in him. 57 The living Father sent me, and because of him I live also. In the same way whoever eats me will live because of me. 58 This, then, is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the bread that your ancestors ate, but then later died. The one who eats this bread will live forever."

"The Words of Eternal Life" (TEV) - 61 Without being told, Jesus knew that they were grumbling about this, so he said to them, "Does this make you want to give up? 62 Suppose, then, that you should see the Son of Man go back up to the place where he was before? 63 What gives life is God's Spirit; man's power is of no use at all. The words I have spoken to you bring God's life-giving Spirit. 64 Yet some of you do not believe." (Jesus knew from the very beginning who were the ones that would not believe and which one would betray him.) 65 And he added, "This is the very reason I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father makes it possible for him to do so."

<B8> Matthew 7

"I Never Knew You" (TEV) - 21 "Not everyone who calls me "Lord, Lord' will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only those who do what my Father in heaven wants them to do. 22 When the Judgment Day comes, many will say to me, "Lord, Lord! In your name we spoke God's message, by your name we drove out many demons and performed many miracles!' 23 Then I will say to them, "I never knew you. Get away from me, you wicked people!'

<B9> Matthew 16

"Jesus Speaks about His Suffering and Death" (TEV) - 21 From that time on Jesus began to say plainly to his disciples, "I must go to Jerusalem and suffer much from the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law. I will be put to death, but three days later I will be raised to life." 22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "God forbid it, Lord!" he said. "That must never happen to you!" 23 Jesus turned around and said to Peter, "Get away from me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my way, because these thoughts of yours don't come from God, but from man."

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone wants to come with me, he must forget himself, carry his cross, and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his own life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 Will a person gain anything if he wins the whole world but loses his life? Of course not! There is nothing he can give to regain his life. 27 For the Son of Man is about to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will reward each one according to his deeds. 28 I assure you that there are some here who will not die until they have seen the Son of Man come as King."

<B10> Matthew 26

"Jesus Eats the Passover Meal with His Disciples" (TEV) - 17 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus and asked him, "Where do you want us to get the Passover meal ready for you?" 18 "Go to a certain man in the city," he said to them, "and tell him: "The Teacher says, My hour has come; my disciples and I will celebrate the Passover at your house." 19 The disciples did as Jesus had told them and prepared the Passover meal.

20 When it was evening, Jesus and the twelve disciples sat down to eat. 21 During the meal Jesus said, "I tell you, one of you will betray me." 22 The disciples were very upset and began to ask him, one after the other, "Surely, Lord, you don't mean me?" 23 Jesus answered, "One who dips his bread in the dish with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man will die as the Scriptures say he will, but how terrible for that man who will betray the Son of Man! It would have been better for that man if he had never been born!" 25 Judas, the traitor, spoke up. "Surely, Teacher, you don't mean me?" he asked. Jesus answered, "So you say."

"The Lord's Supper" (TEV) - 26 While they were eating, Jesus took a piece of bread, gave a prayer of thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples. "Take and eat it," he said; "this is my body." 27 Then he took a cup, gave thanks to God, and gave it to them. "Drink it, all of you," he said; 28 "this is my blood, which seals God's covenant, my blood poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you, I will never again drink this wine until the day I drink the new wine with you in my Father's Kingdom." 30 Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.

<B11> John 13

"Jesus Washes His Disciples' Feet" (TEV) - 2 Jesus and his disciples were at supper. The Devil had already put into the heart of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, the thought of betraying Jesus.(Y) 3 Jesus knew that the Father had given him complete power; he knew that he had come from God and was going to God. 4 So he rose from the table, took off his outer garment, and tied a towel around his waist. 5 Then he poured some water into a washbasin and began to wash the disciples' feet and dry them with the towel around his waist. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Are you going to wash my feet, Lord?"

12 After Jesus had washed their feet, he put his outer garment back on and returned to his place at the table. "Do you understand what I have just done to you?" he asked. 13 "You call me Teacher and Lord, and it is right that you do so, because that is what I am. 14 I, your Lord and Teacher, have just washed your feet. You, then, should wash one another's feet. 15 I have set an example for you, so that you will do just what I have done for you. 16 I am telling you the truth: no slave is greater than his master, and no messenger is greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know this truth, how happy you will be if you put it into practice!

"The New Commandment" (TEV) - 31 After Judas had left, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man's glory is revealed; now God's glory is revealed through him. 32 And if God's glory is revealed through him, then God will reveal the glory of the Son of Man in himself, and he will do so at once. 33 My children, I shall not be with you very much longer. You will look for me; but I tell you now what I told the Jewish authorities, "You cannot go where I am going.' 34 And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples."

<B12> Mark 15

"Jesus before Pilate" (TEV) - 1 Early in the morning the chief priests met hurriedly with the elders, the teachers of the Law, and the whole Council, and made their plans. They put Jesus in chains, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. 2 Pilate questioned him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "So you say." 3 The chief priests were accusing Jesus of many things, 4 so Pilate questioned him again, "Aren't you going to answer? Listen to all their accusations!" 5 Again Jesus refused to say a word, and Pilate was amazed.

"Jesus Is Crucified" (TEV) - 21 On the way they met a man named Simon, who was coming into the city from the country, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus' cross. (Simon was from Cyrene and was the father of Alexander and Rufus.) 22 They took Jesus to a place called Golgotha, which means "The Place of the Skull." 23 There they tried to give him wine mixed with a drug called myrrh, but Jesus would not drink it. 24 Then they crucified him and divided his clothes among themselves, throwing dice to see who would get which piece of clothing. 25 It was nine o'clock in the morning when they crucified him. 26 The notice of the accusation against him said: "The King of the Jews." 27 They also crucified two bandits with Jesus, one on his right and the other on his left.

<B13> Mark 16

"AN OLD ENDING TO THE GOSPEL" (TEV) - {9 After Jesus rose from death early on Sunday, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had driven out seven demons. 10 She went and told his companions. They were mourning and crying; 11 and when they heard her say that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe her.

<B14> John 21

"Jesus Appears to Seven Disciples" (TEV) - 1 After this, Jesus appeared once more to his disciples at Lake Tiberias. This is how it happened. 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael (the one from Cana in Galilee), the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples of Jesus were all together. 3 Simon Peter said to the others, "I am going fishing." "We will come with you," they told him. So they went out in a boat, but all that night they did not catch a thing. 4 As the sun was rising, Jesus stood at the water's edge, but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Then he asked them, "Young men, haven't you caught anything?" "Not a thing," they answered.

6 He said to them, "Throw your net out on the right side of the boat, and you will catch some." So they threw the net out and could not pull it back in, because they had caught so many fish. 7 The disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Peter heard that it was the Lord, he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken his clothes off) and jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples came to shore in the boat, pulling the net full of fish. They were not very far from land, about a hundred yards away. 9 When they stepped ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there with fish on it and some bread. 10 Then Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you have just caught."

11 Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net ashore full of big fish, a hundred and fifty-three in all; even though there were so many, still the net did not tear. 12 Jesus said to them, "Come and eat." None of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" because they knew it was the Lord. 13 So Jesus went over, took the bread, and gave it to them; he did the same with the fish. 14 This, then, was the third time Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from death.

<B15> Mark 16

"Jesus Appears to the Eleven" (TEV) - 14 Last of all, Jesus appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating. He scolded them, because they did not have faith and because they were too stubborn to believe those who had seen him alive. 15 He said to them, "Go throughout the whole world and preach the gospel to all mankind. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 Believers will be given the power to perform miracles: they will drive out demons in my name; they will speak in strange tongues; 18 if they pick up snakes or drink any poison, they will not be harmed; they will place their hands on sick people, and these will get well."

"Jesus Is Taken Up to Heaven" (TEV) - 19 After the Lord Jesus had talked with them, he was taken up to heaven and sat at the right side of God. 20 The disciples went and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and proved that their preaching was true by the miracles that were performed.}

<B16> Acts 5

"Miracles and Wonders" (TEV) - 12 Many miracles and wonders were being performed among the people by the apostles. All the believers met together in Solomon's Porch. 13 Nobody outside the group dared join them, even though the people spoke highly of them. 14 But more and more people were added to the group -- a crowd of men and women who believed in the Lord. 15 As a result of what the apostles were doing, sick people were carried out into the streets and placed on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. 16 And crowds of people came in from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing those who were sick or who had evil spirits in them; and they were all healed.

<B17> Acts 9

"Peter in Lydda and Joppa" (TEV) - 32 Peter traveled everywhere, and on one occasion he went to visit God's people who lived in Lydda. 33 There he met a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had not been able to get out of bed for eight years. 34 "Aeneas," Peter said to him, "Jesus Christ makes you well. Get up and make your bed." At once Aeneas got up. 35 All the people living in Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.

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