እኔም፥ ወንድሞች ሆይ፥ ወደ እናንተ በመጣሁ ጊዜ በቃልና በጥበብ ብልጫ ለእግዚአብሔር ምስክርነቴን ለእናንተ እየነገርሁ አልመጣሁም። በመካከላችሁ ሳለሁ ከኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ በቀር እርሱም እንደተሰቀለ ሌላ ነገር እንዳላውቅ ቆርጬ ነበርና። እኔም በድካምና በፍርሃት በብዙ መንቀጥቀጥም በእናንተ ዘንድ ነበርሁ፤ እምነታችሁም በእግዚአብሔር ኃይል እንጂ በሰው ጥበብ እንዳይሆን፥ ቃሌም ስብከቴም መንፈስንና ኃይልን በመግለጥ ነበረ እንጂ፥ በሚያባብል በጥበብ ቃል አልነበረም። በበሰሉት መካከል ግን ጥበብን እንናገራለን፥ ነገር ግን የዚችን ዓለም ጥበብ አይደለም የሚሻሩትንም የዚችን ዓለም ገዦች ጥበብ አይደለም፤ ነገር ግን እግዚአብሔር አስቀድሞ ከዘመናት በፊት ለክብራችን የወሰነውን፥ ተሰውሮም የነበረውን የእግዚአብሔርን ጥበብ በምሥጢር እንናገራለን። ከዚችም ዓለም ገዦች አንዱ እንኳ ይህን ጥበብ አላወቀም፤ አውቀውስ ቢሆኑ የክብርን ጌታ ባልሰቀሉትም ነበር፤ ነገር ግን፡— ዓይን ያላየችው ጆሮም ያልሰማው በሰውም ልብ ያልታሰበው እግዚአብሔር ለሚወዱት ያዘጋጀው ተብሎ እንድተጻፈ፥ እንዲህ እንናገራለን። መንፈስም የእግዚአብሔርን ጥልቅ ነገር ስንኳ ሳይቀር ሁሉን ይመረምራልና ለእኛ እግዚአብሔር በመንፈሱ በኩል ገለጠው። በእርሱ ውስጥ ካለው ከሰው መንፈስ በቀር ለሰው ያለውን የሚያውቅ ሰው ማን ነው? እንዲሁም ደግሞ ከእግዚአብሔር መንፈስ በቀር ለእግዚአብሔር ያለውን ማንም አያውቅም። እኛ ግን ከእግዚአብሔር እንዲያው የተሰጠንን እናውቅ ዘንድ ከእግዚአብሔር የሆነውን መንፈስ እንጂ የዓለምን መንፈስ አልተቀበልንም። መንፈሳዊውን ነገር ከመንፈሳዊው ነገር ጋር አስተያይተን መንፈስ በሚያስተምረን ቃል ይህን ደግሞ እንናገራለን እንጂ የሰው ጥበብ በሚያስተምረን ቃል አይደለም። ለፍጥረታዊ ሰው የእግዚአብሔር መንፈስ ነገር ሞኝነት ነውና አይቀበለውም፤ በመንፈስም የሚመረመር ስለ ሆነ ሊያውቀው አይችልም። መንፈሳዊ ሰው ግን ሁሉን ይመረምራል ራሱ ግን በማንም አይመረመርም። እንዲያስተምረው የጌታን ልብ ማን አውቆት ነው? እኛ ግን የክርስቶስ ልብ አለን።
ወዮላቸው፥ በቃየል መንገድ ሄደዋልና ስለ ደመወዝም ለበለዓም ስሕተት ራሳቸውን አሳልፈው ሰጥተዋል በቆሬም መቃወም ጠፍተዋል። እነዚህ ከእናንተ ጋር ሲጋበዙ በፍቅር ግብዣችሁ እንደ እድፍ ናቸው፤ እንደ እረኞች ያለ ፍርሃት ራሳቸውን ይጠብቃሉ፤ በነፋስ የተወሰዱ ውኃ የሌለባቸው ደመናዎች፥ ፍሬ የማያፈሩ ሁለት ጊዜ የሞቱ ከነሥራቸው የተነቀሉ በበጋ የደረቁ ዛፎች፥ የገዛ ነውራቸውን አረፋ እየደፈቁ ጨካኝ የባሕር ማዕበል፥ ድቅድቅ ጨለማ ለዘላለም የተጠበቀላቸው የሚንከራተቱ ከዋክብት ናቸው። ከአዳም ጀምሮ ሰባተኛ የሆነ ሄኖክ፡— እነሆ፥ ጌታ በሁሉ ላይ እንዲፈርድ፥ በኃጢአተኝነትም ስላደረጉት ስለ ኃጢአተኛ ሥራቸው ሁሉ ዓመፀኞችም ኃጢአተኞች በእርሱ ላይ ስለ ተናገሩ ስለ ጭከና ነገር ሁሉ ኃጢአተኞችን ሁሉ እንዲወቅስ ከአእላፋት ቅዱሳኑ ጋር መጥቶአል ብሎ ለእነዚህ ደግሞ ትንቢት ተናገረ። እነዚህ እንደ ምኞታቸው እየሄዱ የሚያንጎራጉሩና ስለ ዕድላቸው የሚያጕረመርሙ ናቸው፥ እንዲረባቸውም ለሰው ፊት እያደሉ አፋቸው ከመጠን ይልቅ ታላቅ ቃል ይናገራል። እናንተ ግን፥ ወዳጆች ሆይ፥ በጌታችን በኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ ሐዋርያት ቀድሞ የተነገረውን ቃል አስቡ፤
አሁንም ከእግዚአብሔር ዘንድ ለአባቶቻችን ስለ ተሰጠው ስለ ተስፋ ቃል አለኝታ ልፋረድ ቆሜአለሁ። ወደዚህም ወደ ተስፋ ቃል አሥራ ሁለቱ ወገኖቻችን ሌሊትና ቀን በትጋት እያመለኩ ይደርሱ ዘንድ አለኝታ አላቸው፤ ስለዚህም አለኝታ፥ ንጉሥ አግሪጳ ሆይ፥ ከአይሁድ እከሰሳለሁ። እግዚአብሔር ሙታንን የሚያስነሣ እንደ ሆነ ስለ ምን በእናንተ ዘንድ የማይታመን ነገር ሆኖ ይቈጠራል? እኔም ራሴ የናዝሬቱን የኢየሱስን ስም የሚቃወም እጅግ ነገር አደርግ ዘንድ እንዲገባኝ ይመስለኝ ነበር። ይህንም ደግሞ በኢየሩሳሌም አደረግሁት፤ ከካህናት አለቆችም ሥልጣን ተቀብዬ እኔ ከቅዱሳን ብዙዎችን በወኅኒ አሳሰርኋቸው፥ ሲገድሉአቸውም አብሬ ተቸሁ። በምኵራብም ሁሉ ብዙ ጊዜ እየቀጣሁ ይሰድቡት ዘንድ ግድ አልኋቸው፤ ያለ ልክ ስቈጣባቸውም እስከ ውጭ አገር ከተማዎች ድረስ እንኳ አሳድድ ነበር። ስለዚህም ነገ ከካህናት አለቆች ሥልጣንና ትእዛዝ ተቀብዬ ወደ ደማስቆ ስሄድ፥
እግዚአብሔር በቅዱሳኑ ላይ ድንቅ ነው፤ የእስራኤል አምላክ እርሱ ኃይልን ብርታትንም ለሕዝቡ ይሰጣል፤ እግዚአብሔርም ይመስገን።
ኢየሱስም መልሶ እንዲህ ይላቸው ጀመር፡— ማንም እንዳያስታችሁ ተጠንቀቁ። ብዙዎች፡— እኔ ነኝ እያሉ በስሜ ይመጣሉና፥ ብዙዎችንም ያስታሉ። ጦርንም የጦርንም ወሬ በሰማችሁ ጊዜ አትደንግጡ፤ ይህ ሊሆን ግድ ነውና፥ ነገር ግን መጨረሻው ገና ነው። ሕዝብ በሕዝብ ላይ መንግሥትም በመንግሥት ላይ ይነሣልና፤ በልዩ ልዩ ስፍራ የምድር መናወጥ ይሆናል፤ ራብ ይሆናል፤ እነዚህ የምጥ ጣር መጀመሪያ ናቸው። እናንተ ግን ለራሳችሁ ተጠንቀቁ፤ ወደ ሸንጎ አሳልፈው ይሰጡአችኋል በምኵራብም ትገረፋላችሁ ምስክርም ይሆንባቸው ዘንድ ስለ እኔ በገዥዎችና በነገሥታት ፊት ትቆማላችሁ። አስቀድሞም ወንጌል ለአሕዛብ ሁሉ ይሰበክ ዘንድ ይገባል። ሲጐትቱአችሁና አሳልፈው ሲሰጡአችሁም ምን እንድትናገሩ አስቀድማችሁ አትጨነቁ፥ ዳሩ ግን በዚያች ሰዓት የሚሰጣችሁን ተናገሩ፤ የሚነግረው መንፈስ ቅዱስ ነው እንጂ እናንተ አይደላችሁምና። ወንድምም ወንድሙን አባትም ልጁን ለሞት አሳልፎ ይሰጣል፥ ልጆችም በወላጆቻቸው ላይ ይነሣሉ። ይገድሉአቸውማል፤ በሁሉም ዘንድ ስለ ስሜ የተጠላችሁ ትሆናላችሁ፤ እስከ መጨረሻ የሚጸና ግን እርሱ ይድናል። ነገር ግን በነቢዩ በዳንኤል የተባለውን የጥፋት ርኵሰት በማይገባው ስፍራ ቆሞ ብታዩ፥ አንባቢው ያስተውል፥ በዚያን ጊዜ በይሁዳ ያሉ ወደ ተራሮች ይሽሹ፥
1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. 6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: 7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: 8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. 11 And from thence he went against the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before was Kirjath-sepher: 12 These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; 12 And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjath-sepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife. 13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever. 13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife. 14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, 14 And it came to pass, when she came to him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she lighted from off her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What wilt thou? 15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. 15 And she said unto him, Give me a blessing: for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the nether springs. 16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage. 16 And the children of the Kenite, Moses’ father in law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which lieth in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people. 17 But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; 17 And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was called Hormah.
6 And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers: 7 Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope’s sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews. 8 Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead? 9 I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them. 11 And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities. 12 Whereupon as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests,
35 O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places: the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God. Psalm 69 To chief Musician upon Shoshannim, A Psalm of David.
5 And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you: 6 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 7 And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. 8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows. 9 But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them. 10 And the gospel must first be published among all nations. 11 But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost. 12 Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death. 13 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14 But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains: