In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope.

那时，你们与基督无关，在以色列国民以外，在所应许的诸约上是局外人，并且活在世上没有指望，没有神。

要记得那时候，你们与基督无关，与以色列选民团体隔绝，在所应许的约上是局外人，而且在世上没有指望，没有上帝。

要记得那时候，你们与基督无关，与以色列选民团体隔绝，在所应许的约上是局外人，而且在世上没有指望，没有神。

那时，你们与基督无关，又不是以色列人，在上帝应许的诸约上是局外人，你们活在世上没有盼望，没有上帝。

那时，你们是在基督以外，与以色列国无分，在带有应许的约上是外人，在世上没有盼望，没有神。

那时候，你们与基督无关；被排除在以色列国民之外；在那些所应许的诸约上是外人；在这世界上没有盼望、没有神。

那時，你們與基督無關，在以色列國民以外，在所應許的諸約上是局外人，並且活在世上沒有指望，沒有神。

要記得那時候，你們與基督無關，與以色列選民團體隔絕，在所應許的約上是局外人，而且在世上沒有指望，沒有上帝。

要記得那時候，你們與基督無關，與以色列選民團體隔絕，在所應許的約上是局外人，而且在世上沒有指望，沒有神。

那時，你們與基督無關，又不是以色列人，在上帝應許的諸約上是局外人，你們活在世上沒有盼望，沒有上帝。

那時，你們是在基督以外，與以色列國無分，在帶有應許的約上是外人，在世上沒有盼望，沒有神。

那時你們在基督以外，跟以色列的公民團契隔絕，在帶應許的諸約上是外人，在世界上是無盼望無上帝的。

那時候，你們與基督無關；被排除在以色列國民之外；在那些所應許的諸約上是外人；在這世界上沒有盼望、沒有神。

當時爾與基督相隔、與以色列民相異、外乎應許諸約、無有所望、在世無上帝、

當時、爾遠基督、以色列之政不與、諸應許之約不及、悉無所望、處世不識上帝、

當時爾與基督相離、在以色列民中無分、與所應許之諸約無與、無有所望、處世而無天主、

爾應恆念昔時爾本與基督相隔、處於義塞社會之外、於盟約恩諾為局外人、在世無所仰望、不識天主。

remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.

Before you believed in Christ, you were separated from him. You were not considered to be citizens of Israel. You were not included in what the covenants promised. You were without hope and without God in the world.

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.

At that time you were without Christ, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world.

remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the people of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

that ye were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

At that time you were without the Messiah, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.

That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:

that you were at that time without the Messiah, alienated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

that you were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so called gods that do not even exist.

This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions.

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation,

not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways.

Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him.

And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope.

And I will make a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting covenant. I will give them their land and increase their numbers, and I will put my Temple among them forever.

What am I trying to say? Am I saying that food offered to idols has some significance, or that idols are real gods?No, not at all. I am saying that these sacrifices are offered to demons, not to God. And I don’t want you to participate with demons.

I asked you to come here today so we could get acquainted and so I could explain to you that I am bound with this chain because I believe that the hope of Israel— the Messiah— has already come.”

You are the children of those prophets, and you are included in the covenant God promised to your ancestors. For God said to Abraham,‘ Through your descendants all the families on earth will be blessed.’

“ Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.

O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who turn away from you will be disgraced. They will be buried in the dust of the earth, for they have abandoned the Lord, the fountain of living water.

God gave the promises to Abraham and his child. And notice that the Scripture doesn’t say“ to his children,” as if it meant many descendants. Rather, it says“ to his child”— and that, of course, means Christ.This is what I am trying to say: The agreement God made with Abraham could not be canceled 430 years later when God gave the law to Moses. God would be breaking his promise.

They are the people of Israel, chosen to be God’s adopted children. God revealed his glory to them. He made covenants with them and gave them his law. He gave them the privilege of worshiping him and receiving his wonderful promises.Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are their ancestors, and Christ himself was an Israelite as far as his human nature is concerned. And he is God, the one who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.

The Lord said,“ I have made a covenant with David, my chosen servant. I have sworn this oath to him:‘ I will establish your descendants as kings forever; they will sit on your throne from now until eternity.’” InterludeAll heaven will praise your great wonders, Lord; myriads of angels will praise you for your faithfulness.For who in all of heaven can compare with the Lord? What mightiest angel is anything like the Lord?The highest angelic powers stand in awe of God. He is far more awesome than all who surround his throne.O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies! Where is there anyone as mighty as you, O Lord? You are entirely faithful.You rule the oceans. You subdue their storm tossed waves.You crushed the great sea monster. You scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours; everything in the world is yours— you created it all.You created north and south. Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon praise your name.Powerful is your arm! Strong is your hand! Your right hand is lifted high in glorious strength.Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. Unfailing love and truth walk before you as attendants.Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord.They rejoice all day long in your wonderful reputation. They exult in your righteousness.You are their glorious strength. It pleases you to make us strong.Yes, our protection comes from the Lord, and he, the Holy One of Israel, has given us our king.

“ I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you.And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.”Then God said to Abraham,“ Your responsibility is to obey the terms of the covenant. You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility.

So the Lord made a covenant with Abram that day and said,“ I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River—

This means that Abraham’s physical descendants are not necessarily children of God. Only the children of the promise are considered to be Abraham’s children.

“ The day is coming,” says the Lord,“ when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah.This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord.“ But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord.“ I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying,‘ You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the Lord.“ And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”

For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach them, and without the Law to instruct them.

Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.

O Hope of Israel, our Savior in times of trouble, why are you like a stranger to us? Why are you like a traveler passing through the land, stopping only for the night?

which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News.

You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews.

Then Moses went down to the people and repeated all the instructions and regulations the Lord had given him. All the people answered with one voice,“ We will do everything the Lord has commanded.”Then Moses carefully wrote down all the Lord’s instructions. Early the next morning Moses got up and built an altar at the foot of the mountain. He also set up twelve pillars, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel.Then he sent some of the young Israelite men to present burnt offerings and to sacrifice bulls as peace offerings to the Lord.Moses drained half the blood from these animals into basins. The other half he splattered against the altar.Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it aloud to the people. Again they all responded,“ We will do everything the Lord has commanded. We will obey.”Then Moses took the blood from the basins and splattered it over the people, declaring,“ Look, this blood confirms the covenant the Lord has made with you in giving you these instructions.”Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel climbed up the mountain.There they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there seemed to be a surface of brilliant blue lapis lazuli, as clear as the sky itself.And though these nobles of Israel gazed upon God, he did not destroy them. In fact, they ate a covenant meal, eating and drinking in his presence!

Foreigners will be your servants. They will feed your flocks and plow your fields and tend your vineyards.

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope,

“ Friends, why are you doing this? We are merely human beings— just like you! We have come to bring you the Good News that you should turn from these worthless things and turn to the living God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them.In the past he permitted all the nations to go their own ways,

“ Gather together and come, you fugitives from surrounding nations. What fools they are who carry around their wooden idols and pray to gods that cannot save!

I will raise my fist against all the prophets who see false visions and make lying predictions, and they will be banished from the community of Israel. I will blot their names from Israel’s record books, and they will never again set foot in their own land. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.

For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.

This letter is from Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, appointed by the command of God our Savior and Christ Jesus, who gives us hope.

He has been merciful to our ancestors by remembering his sacred covenant—

But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the other leaders of Israel replied,“ You may have no part in this work. We alone will build the Temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, just as King Cyrus of Persia commanded us.”

This is what the Lord says— Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies:“ I am the First and the Last; there is no other God.

I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.

Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory.

quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight.

Yes, I am giving you all these holy offerings that the people of Israel bring to the Lord. They are for you and your sons and daughters, to be eaten as your permanent share. This is an eternal and unbreakable covenant between the Lord and you, and it also applies to your descendants.”

This shows that Israel will go a long time without a king or prince, and without sacrifices, sacred pillars, priests, or even idols!

So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.

So, what about eating meat that has been offered to idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god and that there is only one God.There may be so called gods both in heaven and on earth, and some people actually worship many gods and many lords.But for us, There is one God, the Father, by whom all things were created, and for whom we live. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created, and through whom we live.

And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.

“ This is what the Lord says: If you can break my covenant with the day and the night so that one does not follow the other,only then will my covenant with my servant David be broken. Only then will he no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne. The same is true for my covenant with the Levitical priests who minister before me.And as the stars of the sky cannot be counted and the sand on the seashore cannot be measured, so I will multiply the descendants of my servant David and the Levites who minister before me.”The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said,“ Have you noticed what people are saying?—‘ The Lord chose Judah and Israel and then abandoned them!’ They are sneering and saying that Israel is not worthy to be counted as a nation.But this is what the Lord says: I would no more reject my people than I would change my laws that govern night and day, earth and sky.I will never abandon the descendants of Jacob or David, my servant, or change the plan that David’s descendants will rule the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Instead, I will restore them to their land and have mercy on them.”

Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done.Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip.They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents.They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy.They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.