No foreigner who becomes a follower of the LORD should say,‘ The LORD will certainly exclude me from his people.’ The eunuch should not say,‘ Look, I am like a dried-up tree.’”

与耶和华联合的外邦人不要说：“耶和华必定将我从他民中分别出来。”太监也不要说：“我是枯树。”

与耶和华联合的外邦人不要说：“耶和华将我和他的子民分别出来。”太监也不要说：“看哪，我是枯树。”

与耶和华联合的外邦人不要说：“耶和华将我和他的子民分别出来。”太监也不要说：“看哪，我是枯树。”

皈依耶和华的外族人啊，不要以为耶和华会把你和祂的子民分开，太监也不要觉得自己只是一棵枯树。

与耶和华联合的外族人不要说：“耶和华必把我从他的子民中分别出来。”被阉割了的人也不要说：“看哪！我是一棵枯树。”

不要让归附于耶和华的外邦人说：“耶和华必定会把我从他的子民中分离出去。”也不要让被阉割的人说：“看哪，我是一棵枯树！”

與耶和華聯合的外邦人不要說：耶和華必定將我從他民中分別出來。太監也不要說：我是枯樹。

與耶和華聯合的外邦人不要說：「耶和華將我和他的子民分別出來。」太監也不要說：「看哪，我是枯樹。」

與耶和華聯合的外邦人不要說：「耶和華將我和他的子民分別出來。」太監也不要說：「看哪，我是枯樹。」

皈依耶和華的外族人啊，不要以為耶和華會把你和祂的子民分開，太監也不要覺得自己只是一棵枯樹。

與耶和華聯合的外族人不要說：“耶和華必把我從他的子民中分別出來。”被閹割了的人也不要說：“看哪！我是一棵枯樹。”

皈依永恆主的外族人不要說：『永恆主必定將我從他人民中分別出來』；被閹割的人也不要說：『唉，我是棵枯乾了的樹了。』

不要讓歸附於耶和華的外邦人說：「耶和華必定會把我從他的子民中分離出去。」也不要讓被閹割的人說：「看哪，我是一棵枯樹！」

附耶和華之異邦人、勿曰耶和華必別我於其民、閹者勿曰我乃枯木、

異邦之人歸誠於我者、勿曰、耶和華不以我為赤子、閹者亦勿曰、我若枯木、

異邦之人歸主者勿曰、主必別我於其民之中、閹者亦勿曰、我若枯木、

Let no foreigner who is bound to the Lord say,“ The Lord will surely exclude me from his people.” And let no eunuch complain,“ I am only a dry tree.”

Suppose an outsider wants to follow the Lord. Then that person shouldn’t say,“ The Lord won’t accept me as one of his people.” And a eunuch shouldn’t say,“ I’m like a dry tree that doesn’t bear any fruit.”

Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say,“ The Lord will surely separate me from his people”; and let not the eunuch say,“ Behold, I am a dry tree.”

“ Don’t let foreigners who commit themselves to the Lord say,‘ The Lord will never let me be part of his people.’ And don’t let the eunuchs say,‘ I’m a dried up tree with no children and no future.’

No foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD should say,“ The LORD will exclude me from his people,” and the eunuch should not say,“ Look, I am a dried-up tree.”

Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say,“ The Lord will certainly separate me from His people.” Nor let the eunuch say,“ Behold, I am a dry tree.”

Do not let the son of the foreigner Who has joined himself to the Lord Speak, saying,“ The Lord has utterly separated me from His people”; Nor let the eunuch say,“ Here I am, a dry tree.”

Neither let the foreigner, that hath joined himself to Jehovah, speak, saying, Jehovah will surely separate me from his people; neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree.

No foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord should say,“ The Lord will exclude me from His people”; and the eunuch should not say,“ Look, I am a dried-up tree.”

Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I[ am] a dry tree.

Let no foreigner who has joined himself to Yahweh speak, saying,“ Yahweh will surely separate me from his people.” Do not let the eunuch say,“ Behold, I am a dry tree.”

and thus the Gentiles glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,“ Because of this I will confess you among the Gentiles, and I will sing praises to your name.”And again it says:“ Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”And again,“ Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise him.”And again Isaiah says,“ The root of Jesse will come, and the one who rises to rule over the Gentiles, in him will the Gentiles hope.”

The LORD who rules over all says,‘ It will someday come to pass that people– residents of many cities– will come.The inhabitants of one will go to another and say,“ Let’s go up at once to ask the favor of the LORD, to seek the LORD who rules over all. Indeed, I’ll go with you.”’Many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the LORD who rules over all and to ask his favor.The LORD who rules over all says,‘ In those days ten people from all languages and nations will grasp hold of– indeed, grab– the robe of one Jew and say,“ Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’”

The king commanded Ashpenaz, who was in charge of his court officials, to choose some of the Israelites who were of royal and noble descent–young men in whom there was no physical defect and who were handsome, well versed in all kinds of wisdom, well educated and having keen insight, and who were capable of entering the king’s royal service– and to teach them the literature and language of the Babylonians.So the king assigned them a daily ration from his royal delicacies and from the wine he himself drank. They were to be trained for the next three years. At the end of that time they were to enter the king’s service.As it turned out, among these young men were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.But the overseer of the court officials renamed them. He gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar, Hananiah he named Shadrach, Mishael he named Meshach, and Azariah he named Abednego.But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the royal delicacies or the royal wine. He therefore asked the overseer of the court officials for permission not to defile himself.Then God made the overseer of the court officials sympathetic to Daniel.But he responded to Daniel,“ I fear my master the king. He is the one who has decided your food and drink. What would happen if he saw that you looked malnourished in comparison to the other young men your age? If that happened, you would endanger my life with the king!”Daniel then spoke to the warden whom the overseer of the court officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:“ Please test your servants for ten days by providing us with some vegetables to eat and water to drink.Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who are eating the royal delicacies; deal with us in light of what you see.”So the warden agreed to their proposal and tested them for ten days.At the end of the ten days their appearance was better and their bodies were healthier than all the young men who had been eating the royal delicacies.So the warden removed the delicacies and the wine from their diet and gave them a diet of vegetables instead.Now as for these four young men, God endowed them with knowledge and skill in all sorts of literature and wisdom– and Daniel had insight into all kinds of visions and dreams.When the time appointed by the king arrived, the overseer of the court officials brought them into Nebuchadnezzar’s presence.When the king spoke with them, he did not find among the entire group anyone like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, or Azariah. So they entered the king’s service.In every matter of wisdom and insight the king asked them about, he found them to be ten times better than any of the magicians and astrologers that were in his entire empire.Now Daniel lived on until the first year of Cyrus the king.

For this is what the Lord has commanded us:‘ I have appointed you to be a light for the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”When the Gentiles heard this, they began to rejoice and praise the word of the Lord, and all who had been appointed for eternal life believed.

I will set up within my temple and my walls a monument that will be better than sons and daughters. I will set up a permanent monument for them that will remain.

“ Go and tell Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian,‘ The LORD God of Israel who rules over all says,“ I will carry out against this city what I promised. It will mean disaster and not good fortune for it. When that disaster happens, you will be there to see it.But I will rescue you when it happens. I, the LORD, affirm it! You will not be handed over to those whom you fear.

From Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those temporarily residing abroad( in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, the province of Asia, and Bithynia) who are chosen

to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. I serve the gospel of God like a priest, so that the Gentiles may become an acceptable offering, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

The LORD will certainly have compassion on Jacob; he will again choose Israel as his special people and restore them to their land. Resident foreigners will join them and unite with the family of Jacob.

An Ethiopian, Ebed Melech, a court official in the royal palace, heard that Jeremiah had been put in the cistern. While the king was holding court at the Benjamin Gate,Ebed Melech departed the palace and went to speak to the king. He said to him,“ Your royal Majesty, those men have been very wicked in all that they have done to the prophet Jeremiah. They have thrown him into a cistern and he is sure to die of starvation there because there is no food left in the city.Then the king gave Ebed Melech the Ethiopian the following order:“ Take thirty men with you from here and go pull the prophet Jeremiah out of the cistern before he dies.”So Ebed Melech took the men with him and went to a room under the treasure room in the palace. He got some worn-out clothes and old rags from there and let them down by ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern.Ebed Melech called down to Jeremiah,“ Put these rags and worn-out clothes under your armpits to pad the ropes. Jeremiah did as Ebed Melech instructed.So they pulled Jeremiah up from the cistern with ropes. Jeremiah, however, still remained confined to the courtyard of the guardhouse.

“ It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs,” he said.“ Yes, Lord,” she replied,“ but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”

Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large group of God- fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women.

but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, for the Jew first and also the Greek.For there is no partiality with God.

They will ask the way to Zion; they will turn their faces toward it. They will come and bind themselves to the LORD in a lasting covenant that will never be forgotten.

Now there was a man in Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort.He was a devout, God- fearing man, as was all his household; he did many acts of charity for the people and prayed to God regularly.

So Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him,“ Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.That is why I did not presume to come to you. Instead, say the word, and my servant must be healed.For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me. I say to this one,‘ Go,’ and he goes, and to another,‘ Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave,‘ Do this,’ and he does it.”

Then Paul left the synagogue and went to the house of a person named Titius Justus, a Gentile who worshiped God, whose house was next door to the synagogue.

For there are some eunuchs who were that way from birth, and some who were made eunuchs by others, and some who became eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who is able to accept this should accept it.”Then little children were brought to him for him to lay his hands on them and pray. But the disciples scolded those who brought them.But Jesus said,“ Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”And he placed his hands on them and went on his way.Now someone came up to him and said,“ Teacher, what good thing must I do to gain eternal life?”He said to him,“ Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”“ Which ones?” he asked. Jesus replied,“ Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony,honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.”The young man said to him,“ I have wholeheartedly obeyed all these laws. What do I still lack?”Jesus said to him,“ If you wish to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”But when the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he was very rich.Then Jesus said to his disciples,“ I tell you the truth, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven!Again I say, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter into the kingdom of God.”The disciples were greatly astonished when they heard this and said,“ Then who can be saved?”Jesus looked at them and replied,“ This is impossible for mere humans, but for God all things are possible.”Then Peter said to him,“ Look, we have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”Jesus said to them,“ I tell you the truth: In the age when all things are renewed, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.And whoever has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

Then Peter started speaking:“ I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism in dealing with people,

in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

But the one united with the Lord is one spirit with him.

‘ Some of your very own descendants whom you father will be taken away and will be made eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’”

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.

But you and your sons with you are responsible for your priestly duties, for everything at the altar and within the curtain. And you must serve. I give you the priesthood as a gift for service; but the unauthorized person who approaches must be put to death.”

The LORD will terrify them, for he will weaken all the gods of the earth. All the distant nations will worship the LORD in their own lands.

A man with crushed or severed genitals may not enter the assembly of the LORD.A person of illegitimate birth may not enter the assembly of the LORD; to the tenth generation no one related to him may do so.An Ammonite or Moabite may not enter the assembly of the LORD; to the tenth generation none of their descendants shall ever do so,

When Jesus heard this he was amazed and said to those who followed him,“ I tell you the truth, I have not found such faith in anyone in Israel!I tell you, many will come from the east and west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,

They must join with you, and they will be responsible for the care of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the tent, but no unauthorized person may approach you.

Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip,“ Get up and go south on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”( This is a desert road.)So he got up and went. There he met an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship,and was returning home, sitting in his chariot, reading the prophet Isaiah.Then the Spirit said to Philip,“ Go over and join this chariot.”So Philip ran up to it and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. He asked him,“ Do you understand what you’re reading?”The man replied,“ How in the world can I, unless someone guides me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.Now the passage of scripture the man was reading was this:“ He was led like a sheep to slaughter, and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth.In humiliation justice was taken from him. Who can describe his posterity? For his life was taken away from the earth.”Then the eunuch said to Philip,“ Please tell me, who is the prophet saying this about– himself or someone else?”So Philip started speaking, and beginning with this scripture proclaimed the good news about Jesus to him.Now as they were going along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said,“ Look, there is water! What is to stop me from being baptized?”