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Job 1:21
[Bible Verses]Job 1:21 records the words Job spoke after losing his possessions and his children in a single day: "The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." It is regarded as a classic confession of faith in the midst of suffering and is frequently read at funeral services. Interpreters differ over whether the cause of suffering may rightly be attributed to God.
Psalm 121:1–2
[Bible Verses]Psalm 121 opens with the psalmist lifting his eyes to the hills and asking where his help will come from, followed by the answer, "My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth." The psalm celebrates God's protection along the road of travel and pilgrimage, and interpreters differ over what the "hills" signify.
Sarah
[People]Sarah is the wife of Abraham and the mother of Isaac in the Book of Genesis. Originally named Sarai, she remained childless into old age and, according to the biblical account, bore Isaac at the age of ninety in fulfillment of God's promise.
Joseph (Son of Jacob)
[People]Joseph is a figure in the Book of Genesis, the son of Jacob and Rachel. Sold into slavery in Egypt by his brothers, he rose to become the country's chief administrator and saved his family during a famine. He is distinct from Joseph of Nazareth, the legal father of Jesus.
Hagar and Ishmael
[People]Hagar was Sarah's Egyptian maidservant who bore Abraham his son Ishmael, Abraham's firstborn. Their story appears in Genesis 16, 21, and 25, and Paul uses the account allegorically in Galatians 4.
Elisha
[People]Elisha was a prophet of the northern kingdom of Israel who appears in the Old Testament books of Kings. He succeeded Elijah and is recorded as having performed many miracles.
Jonah (Prophet)
[People]Jonah was an Israelite prophet and the central figure of the Old Testament Book of Jonah. He is known for fleeing from God's command, spending three days in the belly of a great fish, and then going to Nineveh to call its people to repentance.
Andrew
[People]Andrew was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, the brother of Simon Peter, and a fisherman from Galilee. The Gospel of John portrays him as a former disciple of John the Baptist who followed Jesus and brought Peter to Him.
Mary Magdalene
[People]Mary Magdalene was a woman disciple who followed Jesus from the time of his Galilean ministry. All four Gospels record that she witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus and the empty tomb, and the Gospel of John presents her as the first person to meet the risen Jesus.
Thomas
[People]Thomas was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He declared that he would not believe until he had seen the risen Jesus for himself, and he then confessed, "My Lord and my God."
Matthew
[People]Matthew was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ, a tax collector who was called to become a disciple. The Gospels of Mark and Luke call the same figure Levi, and he is traditionally regarded as the author of the Gospel of Matthew.
Silas
[People]Silas appears in the New Testament book of Acts as a leader of the Jerusalem church who accompanied Paul on his second missionary journey. In the Pauline epistles and 1 Peter he appears under the name Silvanus.
John 20:31
[Bible Verses]A verse in which the author of the Gospel of John states the purpose of the book: that readers might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing they might have life through his name. It is frequently cited as a key to reading the Gospel of John as a whole.
Galatians 6:16
[Bible Verses]Galatians 6:16 is the benediction with which Paul closes the Epistle to the Galatians, invoking peace and mercy on those who walk according to "this rule" and upon "the Israel of God." Interpreters disagree over whether "the Israel of God" refers to the whole church or to Jewish believers, and the verse is frequently cited in discussions of the relationship between the church and Israel.
Hosea 8:7
[Bible Verses]A verse that indicts the Northern Kingdom of Israel for idolatry and futile political dependence, pronouncing judgment through the agricultural image of sowing the wind and reaping the whirlwind. It is often quoted to mean that wrong choices bring even greater calamity.
Ephesians 6:10-18
[Bible Verses]A passage near the end of Ephesians that describes the believer's struggle as a fight not against human beings but against evil spiritual forces. It likens truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, salvation, and the word of God to the whole armor of God and concludes with prayer. It is frequently cited in sermons and discussions on "spiritual warfare."
Matthew 24:30–31
[Bible Verses]A passage in the Olivet Discourse in which Jesus says that after the great tribulation the Son of Man will come on the clouds of heaven with great glory and His angels will gather His elect. Because interpreters differ on the Second Coming, the timing of the Rapture, and the passage's relation to the destruction of the Temple, it is frequently cited in discussions of eschatology.
1 Corinthians 15:10
[Bible Verses]In this verse the apostle Paul confesses that his becoming an apostle, and his having labored more than anyone else, are entirely owing to the grace of God. It is frequently cited and discussed as a text that shows how divine grace relates to human labor.
Mark 2:27–28
[Bible Verses]In a dispute over the Sabbath, Jesus declares that "the sabbath was made for man" and identifies himself as Lord of the Sabbath. The passage is frequently cited in discussions of the purpose of the Sabbath commandment, Lord's Day observance, and interdenominational debates over Sabbath keeping.
2 Peter 1:20–21
[Bible Verses]A passage stating that the prophecy of Scripture did not originate in the will of man but was spoken from God by people carried along by the Holy Spirit. It is frequently cited as a basis for the doctrine of biblical inspiration and in discussions of what "private interpretation" means.