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Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.
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Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.
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God is known in her palaces for a refuge.
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For, lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together.
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They saw it, and so they marvelled; they were troubled, and hasted away.
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Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in travail.
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Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind.
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As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever. Selah.
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We have thought of thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple.
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According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: thy right hand is full of righteousness.
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Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments.
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Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof.
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Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following.
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For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.
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Genesis 43
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And the famine was sore in the land.
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And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food.
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And Judah spake unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.
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If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food:
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But if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down: for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.
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And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother?
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And they said, The man asked us straitly of our state, and of our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother? and we told him according to the tenor of these words: could we certainly know that he would say, Bring your brother down?
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And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones.
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I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever:
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For except we had lingered, surely now we had returned this second time.
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And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds:
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And take double money in your hand; and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight:
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Take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man:
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And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.
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And the men took that present, and they took double money in their hand and Benjamin; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.
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And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house, Bring these men home, and slay, and make ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon.
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And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house.
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And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph’s house; and they said, Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses.
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And they came near to the steward of Joseph’s house, and they communed with him at the door of the house,
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And said, O sir, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food:
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And it came to pass, when we came to the inn, that we opened our sacks, and, behold, every man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight: and we have brought it again in our hand.
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And other money have we brought down in our hands to buy food: we cannot tell who put our money in our sacks.
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And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto them.
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And the man brought the men into Joseph’s house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender.
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And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon: for they heard that they should eat bread there.
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And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed themselves to him to the earth.
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And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive?
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And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance.
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And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son.
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And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there.
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And he washed his face, and went out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on bread.
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And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians.
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And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marvelled one at another.
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And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin’s mess was five times so much as any of their’s. And they drank, and were merry with him.
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2 Chronicles 21
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Now Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And Jehoram his son reigned in his stead.
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And he had brethren the sons of Jehoshaphat, Azariah, and Jehiel, and Zechariah, and Azariah, and Michael, and Shephatiah: all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel.
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And their father gave them great gifts of silver, and of gold, and of precious things, with fenced cities in Judah: but the kingdom gave he to Jehoram; because he was the firstborn.
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Now when Jehoram was risen up to the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself, and slew all his brethren with the sword, and divers also of the princes of Israel.
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Jehoram was thirty and two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.
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And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, like as did the house of Ahab: for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife: and he wrought that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord.
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Howbeit the Lord would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and as he promised to give a light to him and to his sons for ever.
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In his days the Edomites revolted from under the dominion of Judah, and made themselves a king.
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Then Jehoram went forth with his princes, and all his chariots with him: and he rose up by night, and smote the Edomites which compassed him in, and the captains of the chariots.
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So the Edomites revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day. The same time also did Libnah revolt from under his hand; because he had forsaken the Lord God of his fathers.
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Moreover he made high places in the mountains of Judah and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication, and compelled Judah thereto.
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And there came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, Thus saith the Lord God of David thy father, Because thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat thy father, nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah,
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But hast walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and hast made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to go a whoring, like to the whoredoms of the house of Ahab, and also hast slain thy brethren of thy father’s house, which were better than thyself:
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Behold, with a great plague will the Lord smite thy people, and thy children, and thy wives, and all thy goods:
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And thou shalt have great sickness by disease of thy bowels, until thy bowels fall out by reason of the sickness day by day.
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Moreover the Lord stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines, and of the Arabians, that were near the Ethiopians:
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And they came up into Judah, and brake into it, and carried away all the substance that was found in the king’s house, and his sons also, and his wives; so that there was never a son left him, save Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.
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And after all this the Lord smote him in his bowels with an incurable disease.
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And it came to pass, that in process of time, after the end of two years, his bowels fell out by reason of his sickness: so he died of sore diseases. And his people made no burning for him, like the burning of his fathers.
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Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years, and departed without being desired. Howbeit they buried him in the city of David, but not in the sepulchres of the kings.
Acts 15
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And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.
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When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.
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And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.
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And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them.
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But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.
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And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.
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And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
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And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
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And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
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Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
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But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
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Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.
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And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me:
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Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.
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And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,
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After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:
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That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.
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Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.
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Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
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But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
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For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.
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Then pleased it the apostles and elders with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas and Silas, chief men among the brethren:
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And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia.
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Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:
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It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
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Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth.
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For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;
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That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.
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So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch: and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle:
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Which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation.
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And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed them.
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And after they had tarried there a space, they were let go in peace from the brethren unto the apostles.
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Notwithstanding it pleased Silas to abide there still.
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Paul also and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.