Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets.

神既在古时藉着众先知多次多方地晓谕列祖，

古时候，上帝藉着众先知多次多方向列祖说话，

古时候，神藉着众先知多次多方向列祖说话，

在古代，上帝曾借着先知以各种方式多次向我们的祖先说话；

神在古时候，曾经多次用种种方法，藉着先知向我们的祖先说话；

过去，神在不同的时代，用不同的方式，藉着先知们对祖先说话，

神既在古時藉着眾先知多次多方地曉諭列祖，

古時候，上帝藉着眾先知多次多方向列祖說話，

古時候，神藉着眾先知多次多方向列祖說話，

在古代，上帝曾藉著先知以各種方式多次向我們的祖先說話；

神在古時候，曾經多次用種種方法，藉著先知向我們的祖先說話；

上帝既用許多階段許多方式、在往古時候、藉着眾神言人向列祖說話，

過去，神在不同的時代，用不同的方式，藉著先知們對祖先說話，

昔上帝以諸先知多次多方諭列祖、

伊昔上帝、以多方托先知、數諭我祖、今值季世、使其子諭我、

古時天主藉諸先知屢次多方諭列祖、

粵若稽古、天主迭假先知之口、多方曉諭列祖；

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways,

In the past, God spoke to our people through the prophets. He spoke at many times. He spoke in different ways.

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,

Long ago God spoke to our ancestors by the prophets at different times and in different ways.

God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,

God, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers portions and in divers manners,

Long ago God spoke to the fathers by the prophets at different times and in different ways.

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

After God spoke long ago in various portions and in various ways to our ancestors through the prophets,

God, having in the past spoken to the fathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways,

Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding,or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.

“ Then, after doing all those things, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions.

And the Lord said to them,“ Now listen to what I say:“ If there were prophets among you, I, the Lord, would reveal myself in visions. I would speak to them in dreams.But not with my servant Moses. Of all my house, he is the one I trust.I speak to him face to face, clearly, and not in riddles! He sees the Lord as he is. So why were you not afraid to criticize my servant Moses?”

This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you.They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward.They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.

Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

But he was a prophet, and he knew God had promised with an oath that one of David’s own descendants would sit on his throne.

For he made this promise to our ancestors, to Abraham and his children forever.”

And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”

We know God spoke to Moses, but we don’t even know where this man comes from.”

Then he said,“ When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

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

For the message God delivered through angels has always stood firm, and every violation of the law and every act of disobedience was punished.

The Lord had said to Abram,“ Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”

“ And now we are here to bring you this Good News. The promise was made to our ancestors,

So a time was set, and on that day a large number of people came to Paul’s lodging. He explained and testified about the Kingdom of God and tried to persuade them about Jesus from the Scriptures. Using the law of Moses and the books of the prophets, he spoke to them from morning until evening.

But you work on the Sabbath, too, when you obey Moses’ law of circumcision.( Actually, this tradition of circumcision began with the patriarchs, long before the law of Moses.)

During the night God spoke to him in a vision.“ Jacob! Jacob!” he called.“ Here I am,” Jacob replied.“ I am God, the God of your father,” the voice said.“ Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make your family into a great nation.I will go with you down to Egypt, and I will bring you back again. You will die in Egypt, but Joseph will be with you to close your eyes.”

Then God blessed Noah and his sons and told them,“ Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth.All the animals of the earth, all the birds of the sky, all the small animals that scurry along the ground, and all the fish in the sea will look on you with fear and terror. I have placed them in your power.I have given them to you for food, just as I have given you grain and vegetables.But you must never eat any meat that still has the lifeblood in it.“ And I will require the blood of anyone who takes another person’s life. If a wild animal kills a person, it must die. And anyone who murders a fellow human must die.If anyone takes a human life, that person’s life will also be taken by human hands. For God made human beings in his own image.Now be fruitful and multiply, and repopulate the earth.”Then God told Noah and his sons,“ I hereby confirm my covenant with you and your descendants,and with all the animals that were on the boat with you— the birds, the livestock, and all the wild animals— every living creature on earth.Yes, I am confirming my covenant with you. Never again will floodwaters kill all living creatures; never again will a flood destroy the earth.”Then God said,“ I am giving you a sign of my covenant with you and with all living creatures, for all generations to come.I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my covenant with you and with all the earth.When I send clouds over the earth, the rainbow will appear in the clouds,and I will remember my covenant with you and with all living creatures. Never again will the floodwaters destroy all life.When I see the rainbow in the clouds, I will remember the eternal covenant between God and every living creature on earth.”Then God said to Noah,“ Yes, this rainbow is the sign of the covenant I am confirming with all the creatures on earth.”

Then God said to Noah,“ Leave the boat, all of you— you and your wife, and your sons and their wives.Release all the animals— the birds, the livestock, and the small animals that scurry along the ground— so they can be fruitful and multiply throughout the earth.”So Noah, his wife, and his sons and their wives left the boat.And all of the large and small animals and birds came out of the boat, pair by pair.

The Lord appeared to Isaac and said,“ Do not go down to Egypt, but do as I tell you.Live here as a foreigner in this land, and I will be with you and bless you. I hereby confirm that I will give all these lands to you and your descendants, just as I solemnly promised Abraham, your father.I will cause your descendants to become as numerous as the stars of the sky, and I will give them all these lands. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed.I will do this because Abraham listened to me and obeyed all my requirements, commands, decrees, and instructions.”

So God said to Noah,“ I have decided to destroy all living creatures, for they have filled the earth with violence. Yes, I will wipe them all out along with the earth!“ Build a large boat from cypress wood and waterproof it with tar, inside and out. Then construct decks and stalls throughout its interior.Make the boat 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.Leave an 18 inch opening below the roof all the way around the boat. Put the door on the side, and build three decks inside the boat— lower, middle, and upper.“ Look! I am about to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy every living thing that breathes. Everything on earth will die.But I will confirm my covenant with you. So enter the boat— you and your wife and your sons and their wives.Bring a pair of every kind of animal— a male and a female— into the boat with you to keep them alive during the flood.Pairs of every kind of bird, and every kind of animal, and every kind of small animal that scurries along the ground, will come to you to be kept alive.And be sure to take on board enough food for your family and for all the animals.”So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him.

As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway.At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and he said,“ I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants.Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions— to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants.What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.”

One day Moses was tending the flock of his father in law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God.There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up.“ This is amazing,” Moses said to himself.“ Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.”When the Lord saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush,“ Moses! Moses!”“ Here I am!” Moses replied.“ Do not come any closer,” the Lord warned.“ Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground.I am the God of your father— the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God.Then the Lord told him,“ I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering.So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey— the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live.Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them.Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”But Moses protested to God,“ Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?”God answered,“ I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.”But Moses protested,“ If I go to the people of Israel and tell them,‘ The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me,‘ What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?”God replied to Moses,“ I Am Who I Am. Say this to the people of Israel: I Am has sent me to you.”God also said to Moses,“ Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors— the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob— has sent me to you. This is my eternal name, my name to remember for all generations.“ Now go and call together all the elders of Israel. Tell them,‘ Yahweh, the God of your ancestors— the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob— has appeared to me. He told me,“ I have been watching closely, and I see how the Egyptians are treating you.I have promised to rescue you from your oppression in Egypt. I will lead you to a land flowing with milk and honey— the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live.”’“ The elders of Israel will accept your message. Then you and the elders must go to the king of Egypt and tell him,‘ The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. So please let us take a three day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord, our God.’“ But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand forces him.So I will raise my hand and strike the Egyptians, performing all kinds of miracles among them. Then at last he will let you go.And I will cause the Egyptians to look favorably on you. They will give you gifts when you go so you will not leave empty handed.Every Israelite woman will ask for articles of silver and gold and fine clothing from her Egyptian neighbors and from the foreign women in their houses. You will dress your sons and daughters with these, stripping the Egyptians of their wealth.”

This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break.When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket.Then the man said,“ Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!” But Jacob said,“ I will not let you go unless you bless me.”“ What is your name?” the man asked. He replied,“ Jacob.”“ Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the man told him.“ From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won.”“ Please tell me your name,” Jacob said.“ Why do you want to know my name?” the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there.Jacob named the place Peniel( which means“ face of God”), for he said,“ I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.”

Then the Lord said,“ My Spirit will not put up with humans for such a long time, for they are only mortal flesh. In the future, their normal lifespan will be no more than 120 years.”