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Mt.

Mc.

Lc.

Ioan

F. A.

Rom.

1 Cor.

2 Cor.

Gal.

Ef.

Fil.

Col.

1 Tes.

2 Tes.

1 Tim.

2 Tim.

Tit

Filim.

Evr.

Iac.

1 Pet.

2 Pet.

1 Ioan

2 Ioan

3 Ioan

Iuda

Apoc.

Mt.

Mk.

Lk.

Jn.

Acts

Rom.

1 Cor.

2 Cor.

Gal.

Eph.

Php.

Col.

1 Th.

2 Th.

1 Tim.

2 Tim.

Titus

Phm.

Heb.

Jas.

1 Pet.

2 Pet.

1 Jn.

2 Jn.

3 Jn.

Jude

Rev.

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Pagina PageCartea BookAbreviere Abbreviation

Prefa^™

Introducere

Evanghelia dup™ Matei

Evanghelia dup™ Marcu

Evanghelia dup™ Luca

Evanghelia dup™ Ioan

Faptele Apostolilor

Romani

1 Corinteni

2 Corinteni

Galateni

Efeseni

Filipeni

Coloseni

1 Tesaloniceni

2 Tesaloniceni

1 Timotei

2 Timotei

Tit

Filimon

Evrei

Iacov

1 Petru

2 Petru

1 Ioan

2 Ioan

3 Ioan

Iuda

Apocalipsa

Glosar

H™r^i

Preface

Introduction

Matthew

Mark

Luke

John

Acts

Romans

1 Corinthians

2 Corinthians

Galatians

Ephesians

Philippians

Colossians

1 Thessalonians

2 Thessalonians

1 Timothy

2 Timothy

Titus

Philemon

Hebrews

James

1 Peter

2 Peter

1 John

2 John

3 John

Jude

Revelation

Word List

Maps

CarteaGenezaExodul Leviticul NumeriDeuteronomulIosuaJudec™torii Rut1 Samuel2 Samuel1 •mp™ra^i2 •mp™ra^i1 Cronici 2 Cronici EzraNeemiaEsteraIovPsalmiiProverbeleEclesiastul C‹ntarea C‹nt™rilorIsaiaIeremiaPl‹ngerile lui IeremiaEzechiel DanielOsea IoelAmosObadiaIonaMicaNaumHabacuc ˇefania Hagai ZahariaMaleahi

BookGenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SolomonIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachi

C™r^ileVechiului Testament

Books of theOld Testament

AbreviereGen.Ex.Lv.Num.Dt.Ios.Jud.Rut1 Sam.2 Sam.1 •mp.2 •mp.1 Cr.2 Cr.EzraNeem.Est.IovPs.Pv.Ecl.C‹nt.Is.Ier.Pl.Ezec.Dan.OseaIoelAm.Ob.IonaMicaNaumHab.ˇef.Hag.Zah.Mal.

AbbreviationGen.Ex.Lev.Num.Deut.Josh.JudgesRuth1 Sam.2 Sam.1 Kings2 Kings1 Chron.2 Chron.EzraNeh.EstherJobPs.Prov.Ecc.S. of S.Isa.Jer.Lam.Ezek.Dan.Hos.JoelAmosObad.JonahMicahNahumHab.Zeph.Hag.Zech.Mal.

Unul dintre principiile-cheie care au stat labaza realiz™rii acestei versiuni a SfinteiScripturi este c™ o bun™ traducere ¶nseamn™ obun™ comun ica r e . P r i nc ipa l a g r i j ™ atraduc™torilor a fost aceea de a comunica¶ntotdeauna cititorului mesajul autorilorc™r^ilor Bibliei la fel de clar `i natural cum ¶ltransmiteau scrierile originale oamenilor dinacele vremuri. O traducere fidel™ nu ¶nseamn™doar a potrivi cuvinte din dic^ionar. Este unproces, o ¶ncercare de exprimare a mesajuluioriginal ¶ntr-o form™ care nu numai s™ aib™acela`i ¶n^eles, dar s™ fie la fel de relevant™, s™trezeasc™ acela`i interes `i s™ aib™ ast™ziacela`i impact pe care l-a avut `i acum aproapedou™ mii de ani.

Astfel, comunicarea eficient™ a fost foarteimportant™ pentru traduc™torii acestui text.Aceast™ dorin^™ de a comunica ¶n mod corectnu a neglijat acurate^ea, dar aceasta a fost¶n^eleas™ ¶n sensul unei fidele red™ri a ideilor `inu a unei des™v‹r`ite coresponden^e ¶ntrediferite tr™s™turi formale ale limbajului.

Autorii Scripturii, `i ¶n special cei ai NouluiTestament, au ar™tat prin stilul folosit c™ erauinteresa^i de o bun™ comunicare. Traduc™torii

acestei versiuni rom‹ne`ti au considerat c™acesta este un exemplu demn de urmat. Astfel,ei au hot™r‹t ca mesajul biblic s™ fie prezentatcititorilor c™rora li se adreseaz™ aceast™lucrare, ¶ntr-o form™ simpl™ `i natural™. Ei aufolosit limbajul astfel ¶nc‹t acesta s™ nu ridiceo piedic™ ¶n calea ¶n^elegerii, ci s™ pun™ lad i s p o z i ^ i a c i t i t o r u l u i c h e i a n e c e s a r ™descoper i r i i adev™rur i lor d in Sf in te leScripturi.

Pentru a ¶nlesni ¶n^elegerea, au fost folositeanumite elemente speciale. Cuvintele saufrazele care necesit™ o explica^ie mai lung™sunt urmate de un indice numeric `i explicate¶n notele de subsol. Cuvintele sau sintagmelecare apar de mai multe ori sunt urmate desemnul (*) `i sunt explicate ¶n lista de cuvintede la sf‹r`itul c™r^ii. •n plus, sunt identificatecitatele din Sf‹nta Scriptur™ `i este indicat™provenien^a lor ¶n notele de subsol unde apar`i variante de traducere acolo unde s-aconsiderat necesar. •n c‹teva cazuri, cuvinteindicate ¶n mod implicit de context sunt redate¶n text pentru a ¶nlesni ¶n^elegerea lui. Astfelde cuvinte explicative sunt marcate prinsemnele { }.

Prefa^™

v

IntroducereNoul Testament este numele folosit de

secole pentru a indica un grup de scrieri careformeaz™ cea de-a doua parte a Bibliei. Bibliaeste o culegere de c™r^i structurat™ ¶n dou™p™r^i. De fapt, chiar cuv‹ntul „Biblie“ vine dela un cuv‹nt grecesc care ¶nseamn™ „c™r^i“.Cuv‹ntul tradus prin „testament“ era folositpen t ru a i nd i ca un „ l eg™m‹n t“ s au o„¶n^elegere“ `i se refer™ la promisiunea luiDumnezeu de a-ÿi binecuv‹nta poporul.Vechiul Testament este o culegere de scriericare prezint™ leg™m‹ntul f™cut de Dumnezeucu poporul evreu (Israel) ¶n vremea lui Moise.Noul Testament este o culegere de scrieri careprezint™ leg™m‹ntul f™cut de Dumnezeu cu to^icei ce cred ¶n Isus Cristos.

Scrierile Vechiului Testament relateaz™lucr™rile pline de m™re^ie ale lui Dumnezeufa^™ de poporul evreu `i dezv™luie planul S™ude a folosi acest popor spre binecuv‹ntarea¶ntregii lumi. Aceste scrieri vorbesc desprevenirea unui M‹ntuitor (Mesia) pe careDumnezeu •l va trimite s™ ¶mplineasc™ planulS™u. Scrierile Noului Testament sunt ocontinuare a istoriei Vechiului Testament. Elerelateaz™ venirea M‹ntuitorului (Isus Cristos)`i prezint™ semnifica^ia venirii Lui pentru¶ntreaga omenire. Vechiul Testament estefoarte important deoarece el ofer™ informa^iilede fond necesare ¶n^elegerii Noului Testament.La r‹ndul lui, Noul Testament ¶ntrege`tei s to r i a m‹n tu i r i i ¶ ncepu t™ ¶ n Vech iu lTestament.

Vechiul TestamentScrierile Vechiului Testament sunt o

culegere de 39 de c™r^i apar^in‹nd unor autoridiferi^i. •n cea mai mare parte, ele au fostscrise ¶n ebraic™, limba Israelului antic, ¶ns™exist™ `i sec^iuni scrise ¶n aramaic™, limbaoficial™ a Imperiului Babilonian. Unele p™r^iale Vechiului Testament au fost scrise cu 3 500de ani ¶n urm™, iar ¶ntre scrierea primei `i

ultimei c™r^i au trecut mai mult de 1 000 de ani.•n aceast™ culegere sunt prezente c™r^i cucaracter juridic, pagini de istorie, proz™,c‹ntece, poezie, precum `i ¶nv™^™turi ale¶n^elep^ilor.

Potrivit opiniei generale, Vechiul Testamenteste ¶mp™r^it ¶n trei sec^iuni: Legea, Profe^ii `iScrierile Sfinte. Legea con^ine cinci c™r^inumite: „Cele cinci c™r^i ale lui Moise“. Primacarte este Geneza, `i ea vorbe`te despre¶nceputul lumii a`a cum o `tim noi ast™zi,despre primul b™rbat `i prima femeie, precum`i despre primul lor p™cat ¶mpotriva luiDumnezeu. Ea vorbe`te, de asemenea, despremarele potop `i familia salvat™ de Dumnezeude la aces t potop, despre ¶nceputur i lepoporului Israel, poporul ales de Dumnezeuspre a fi folosit ¶ntr-un scop cu totul deosebit.

Povestea lui AvraamDumnezeu a f™cut un leg™m‹nt cu Avraam,

unul din marii oameni ai credin^ei. •n aceast™¶n^elegere, Dumnezeu a promis s™-l fac™ peAvraam tat™l unei mari na^iuni `i s™ le dea, lui`i urma`ilor s™i, ^ara Canaanului. Pentru aar™ta c™ a acceptat ¶n^elegerea, Avraam a fostcircumcis. Circumcizia a devenit astfel semnulleg™m‹ntului dintre Dumnezeu `i poporul S™u.Avraam nu `tia cum va ¶mplini Dumnezeulucrurile pe care le-a promis, dar a avutcredin^™ ¶n El. Acest lucru a fost pe placul luiDumnezeu.

Dumnezeu i-a spus lui Avraam s™ plece dincasa lui, s™-`i p™r™seasc™ familia aflat™ printresemi^ii din Mesopotamia, `i l-a condus ¶n ^arapromis™, Canaanul (numit `i Palestina). Lab™tr‹ne^e, Avraam a avut un fiu pe nume Isaac.Isaac a avut un fiu, pe nume Iacov, iar Iacov(numit `i Israel) a avut doisprezece fii `i ofiic™. Aceast™ familie a devenit poporul luiIsrael, dar na^iunea evreiasc™ nu `i-a uitatniciodat™ originea tribal™. A continuat s™ serefere la s ine sub denumirea de „Cele

vi

vii INTRODUCERE

dou™sprezece triburi ale lui Israel“ — urma`iicelor doisprezece fii ai lui Iacov: Ruben,Simeon, Levi, Iuda, Dan, Neftali, Gad, A`er,Isahar, Zabulon, Iosif `i Beniamin. Cei treistr™mo`i — Avraam, Isaac `i Iacov (Israel) —sunt cunoscu ^ i ca f i ind „p™r in ^ i i “ sau„patriarhii“ lui Israel.

Avraam a fost `i un alt fel de „p™rinte“. Demul te o r i , ¶n v remea I s rae lu lu i an t i c ,Dumnezeu a chemat anumi^i oameni spre a fipur t™ tor i i mesajului Lui . Ace`t ia eraureprezentan^ii lui Dumnezeu ¶n fa^a poporului.Pr in p rofe ^ i , Dumnezeu a f™cu t mul tef™g™duin^e poporului Israel, le-a transmisavertismente, legi, ¶nv™^™turi, lec^ii care sebazau pe experien^e trecute, dar `i lec^ii careaveau ¶n vedere evenimente viitoare. Avraam,„evreul“ este primul profet men^ionat ¶n Biblie.

Israel eliberat din sclavieFamilia lui Iacov (Israel) a crescut `i a ajuns

s™ includ™ aproape `aptezeci dintre urma`ii luidirec^i. Unul dintre fiii s™i, Iosif, a devenit unmare demnitar ¶n Egipt. Din cauza unorvremuri foarte grele, Iacov `i familia lui s-aumutat ¶n Egipt unde se g™sea hran™ din bel`ug.Acest trib al evreilor ajunsese aproape ona^iune, iar faraonul (regele Egiptului) i-atransformat ¶n sclavi. Cartea Exodul arat™ cum,¶n cele din urm™, dup™ patru sute de ani,Dumnezeu l-a folosit pe Moise pentru a eliberapoporul Israel din sclavia egiptean™ `i pentrua-i conduce pe evrei ¶napoi ¶n Palestina. Pre^uleliber™rii a fost foarte mare, ¶ns™ egiptenii aufost cei care l-au pl™tit. Faraonul `i toatefamiliile din Egipt `i-au pierdut primul n™scut¶nainte ca suveranul s™ accepte, ¶n sf‹r`it, s™-ielibereze pe evrei. Primul n™scut a trebuit s™moar™ pentru ca oamenii s™ fie elibera^i, iarpoporul Israel a comemorat acest lucru mait‹rziu, ¶n multe feluri, prin ¶nchinarea `i prinjertfele aduse.

Poporul Israel era preg™tit pentru c™l™toriaspre libertate. Fiecare familie t™iase `i fripseseun miel. Ei au pus s‹ngele mielului pascal pest‹lpii por^ii ca un semn special pentruDumnezeu. Au copt ¶n grab™ p‹ine f™r™ drojdie`i au m‹ncat. •n noaptea aceea, ¶ngerulDomnului a trecut prin ^ara Egiptului. •n caseleunde s‹ngele mielului nu era pe st‹lpii por^ii,primul n™scut din acea familie trebuia s™moar™. Astfel, poporul Israel a fost eliberat,¶ns™ , ¶n t imp ce i s rae l i ^ i i e rau gata s™

p™r™seasc™ Egiptul, faraonul s-a r™zg‹ndit. El`i-a trimis o`tile s™-i prind™ pe sclavii israeli^i`i s™-i aduc™ ¶napoi, dar Dumnezeu a intervenit`i a salvat poporul S™u. Dumnezeu a desp™r^it¶n dou™ Marea Ro`ie, a condus poporul S™uspre libertate, pe cel™lalt mal, `i a distrusarmata egiptenilor care ¶i urm™rea. Apoi,undeva ¶n Peninsula Arabic™, pe un munte ¶nde`ertul Sinai, Dumnezeu a f™cut un leg™m‹ntdeosebit cu poporul S™u.

Legea lui MoiseEliberarea poporului Is rae l de c™ t re

Dumnezeu `i leg™m‹ntul ¶ncheiat cu ei peMuntele Sinai au f™cut ca acest popor s™ fie cutotul deosebit fa^™ de toate celelalte na^iuni.Leg™m‹ntul con^inea promisiuni `i legi pentrupoporul Israel, iar o parte a acestui leg™m‹nt,cunoscut™ sub numele de „Cele zece porunci“a fost scris™ de Dumnezeu pe dou™ table depiatr™ `i a fost dat™ poporului. Aceste poruncicon^in principii de baz™ pentru felul de via^™ pecare ¶l a`tepta Dumnezeu de la poporul Israel.Ele includ toate ¶ndatoririle pe care le are unfiu al poporului Israel fa^™ de Dumnezeu,familie `i aproapele s™u.

Cele zece porunci `i restul legilor `i¶nv™^™turilor date pe Muntele Sinai au devenitcunoscute sub denumirea de „Legea luiMoise“ sau, mai simplu, „Legea“. De multeori, ace`ti termeni sunt folosi^i spre a se facereferire la primele cinci c™r^i ale Scripturilor,dar `i la ¶ntreg Vechiul Testament.

•n afar™ de Cele zece porunci `i alte regulide comportament, Legea lui Moise maicon^ine reguli `i instruc^iuni referitoare lapreo^i, jertfe, ¶nchinare `i zile sfinte. Acestease g™sesc ¶n cartea Leviticul. •n conformitatecu Legea lui Moise, to^i preo^ii `i ajutoarele lortrebuiau s™ apar^in™ tribului lui Levi. Acesteajutoare erau levi^ii, iar preotul cel maiimportant purta numele de mare preot.

Legea mai cuprinde instruc^iuni pentruridicarea Cortului Sf‹nt sau Cortul •nt‹lnirii,locul unde poporul Israel se aduna pentru a se¶nchina ¶naintea lui Dumnezeu. Tot ¶n Legesunt consemnate instruc^iuni cu privire la toateobiectele folosite ¶n ¶nchinare. Toate acesteai-au preg™ti t pe israeli ^ i pentru zidireaTemplului, cl™direa sf‹nt™ din Ierusalim, de peMuntele Sion, unde avea s™ se adune mait‹ rz iu poporu l pent ru a se ¶nchina lu iDumnezeu. Regulile cu privire la jertfe `i la

viiiINTRODUCERE

¶nchinare ¶i ajutau pe oameni s™ vad™ c™ aup™c™tuit unii ¶mpotriva altora `i ¶mpotriva luiDumnezeu, ¶ns™ ele ofereau `i o cale de iertare`i de ¶mp™care cu Dumnezeu. Aceste jertfe aupreg™tit calea pentru o mai bun™ ¶n^elegere ajertfei pe care Dumnezeu o pl™nuise pentruisp™`irea p™catelor ¶ntregii omeniri.

Legea con ^ i nea i n s t ruc ^ i un i pen t rucelebrarea unor zile sfinte sau s™rb™tori.Fiecare s™rb™toare avea o semnifica^ iespecial™. Unele s™rb™tori erau ocazii fericite dea celebra evenimente deosebite ale anului, cumar fi s™rb™toarea recoltei sau ziua primelorroade, Sabuot (Cincizecime sau s™rb™toareas™pt™m‹nilor) `i Sucot (s™rb™toarea corturilor).

Une l e s ™ rb™ to r i e r au ^ i nu t e pen t rucomemorarea lucr™rilor m™re^e ¶nf™ptuite deDumnezeu pentru poporul S™u. Pa`tele era unadintre aceste s™rb™tori. Fiecare familie retr™iaeliberarea din Egipt. Oamenii c‹ntau c‹ntecede slav™ lui Dumnezeu `i jertfeau un miel `ipreg™teau carnea potrivit r‹nduielii. Fiecarepahar de vin `i fiecare ¶mbuc™tur™ de m‹ncarele aminteau israeli^ilor de lucrurile pe care le-af™cut Dumnezeu spre a-i sc™pa de la o via^™ dedurere `i ¶ntristare.

Alte s™rb™tori erau pline de sobrietate. •nfiecare an, de Ziua Isp™`irii, poporul trebuias™-`i aminteasc™ lucrurile rele pe care lef™cuser™ ¶mpotriva semenilor lor `i ¶mpotrivalui Dumnezeu. Aceasta era o zi a ¶ntrist™rii,c‹nd israel i ^ i i nu m‹ncau; ¶ns™ era, deasemenea, ziua ¶n care marele preot aduceaje r t fe spec ia le ca re s™ acopere sau s™isp™`easc™ p™catele lor.

Leg™m‹ntul f™cut de Dumnezeu cu Israel erafoarte important pentru scriitorii VechiuluiTestament. Aproape toate c™r^ile Profe^ilor `iScrierile Sfinte se bazeaz™ pe faptul c™ poporulIsrael `i fiecare cet™^ean al Israelului a f™cut unleg™m‹nt special cu Dumnezeu. Ei l-au numit„Leg™m‹ntul Domnului“ sau pur `i simplu„Leg™m‹ntul“. C™r^ile lor de istorie prezint™evenimentele ¶n lumina acestui leg™m‹nt: dac™o anumit™ persoan™ sau ¶ntreg poporul eracredincios Domnului `i Leg™m‹ntului, atunciDumnezeu ¶i r™spl™tea. Dac™ poporul aabandonat Leg™m‹ntul, Dumnezeu i-a pedepsit.El ÿi-a trimis profe^ii pentru a le amintioamenilor de leg™m‹ntul S™u cu poporul evreu.Poe^ii lui Israel au c‹ntat despre lucrurileminunate pe care le-a f™cut Dumnezeu pentrupoporul S™u ascult™tor `i au pl‹ns pentru

suferin^a `i pedepsele care s-au ab™tut asupracelor care nu L-au ascultat pe Dumnezeu.Sc r i i t o r i i Vech iu lu i Tes t amen t ` i - aufundamentat concep^iile despre bine `i r™u petemelia ¶nv™^™turilor Leg™m‹ntului. De aceea,atunci c‹nd oameni nevinova^i sufereau, poe^ii¶ncercau s™ ¶n^eleag™ motivele acestei suferin^e.

•mp™r™^ia lui IsraelIstoria Israelului antic este o alternan^™ ¶ntre

i s to r i a poporu lu i ca re -L p™ r™se` t e peDumnezeu `i istoria lui Dumnezeu caresalveaz™ poporul `i ¶l face s™ se ¶ntoarc™ laSine. Acest ciclu a ¶nceput imediat dup™ cepoporul a acceptat Leg™m‹ntul lui Dumnezeu,`i de atunci s-a repetat mereu. La MunteleSinai, poporul Israel a acceptat s™-L urmeze peDumnezeu, pentru ca apoi s™ se r™zvr™teasc™ `is™ fie silit s™ pribegeasc™ timp de patruzeci deani ¶n de`er t . •n cele din urm™, Iosua,succesorul lui Moise a condus poporul ¶n ˇarapromis™. A avut loc o cucerire ini^ial™ `i opar^ial™ colonizare a ^inutului ¶ncredin^atIsraelului, iar ¶n primele secole dup™ aceast™colonizare par^ial™ oamenii au fost condu`i dejudec™tori.

•n cele din urm™, poporul a dorit s™ aib™ un¶mp™rat. Primul ¶mp™rat a fost Saul, dar el nu aascultat de Dumnezeu, `i Dumnezeu a ales unt‹n™r p™stor, pe nume David, pentru a fi noul¶mp™rat. Profetul Samuel a venit `i a turnatundelemn pe capul lui David, ung‹ndu-l astfelca ¶mp™rat al lui Israel. Dumnezeu i-a promislui David c™ viitorii ¶mp™ra^i ai Israelului vor fiurma`ii s™i din tribul lui Iuda. David a cuceritcetatea Ierusalim `i a f™cut din ea capitala sa,loc ¶n care avea s™ fie construit mai t‹rziuTemplul. El a desemnat preo^ii, profe^ii,compozitorii, muzicienii `i c‹nt™re^ii pentruserviciile religioase desf™`urate la Templu.David a scris el ¶nsu`i multe c‹nt™ri (psalmi),¶ns™ Dumnezeu nu i-a ¶ng™duit s™ zideasc™Templul.

C‹nd David era b™tr‹n `i aproape de moarte,el l-a numit pe Solomon, fiul lui, ¶mp™rat al luiIsrael. David `i-a sf™tuit fiul s™-L urmeze¶ntotdeauna pe Dumnezeu `i s™ respecteLeg™m‹ntul. Ca ¶mp™rat, Solomon a construitTemplul `i a extins grani^ele Israelului. •ntimpul domniei lui Solomon, Israel a ajuns ¶nculmea gloriei sale. Solomon a devenit un¶mp™rat cu un renume deosebit, iar Israel unpopor foarte puternic.

ix INTRODUCERE

Iuda `i Israel — •mp™r™^ia divizat™Dup™ moartea lui Solomon, a avut loc un

r™zboi civil `i poporul a fost divizat, cele zecetriburi din nord lu‹ndu-`i numele de Regatullui Israel. Triburile din sud `i-au luat numelede Regatul lui Iuda (de unde provine termenulde „iudeu“). Iuda a r™mas fidel Leg™m‹ntului,iar ¶mp™ra^ii din familia lui David au continuats™ domneasc™ ¶n Ierusalim p‹n™ c‹nd Iuda afost cucerit, iar poporul s™u a fost dus debabilonieni ¶n exil.

Peste ¶mp™r™^ia din nord au domnit maimulte dinastii, pentru c™ poporul nu a respectatLeg™m‹ntul f™cut cu Dumnezeu. De-a lungulanilor, regii lui Israel `i-au stabilit capitala ¶ndiferite cet™^i, dintre care ultima a fostSamaria. Pentru a avea mai mare controlasupra poporului, regii lui Israel au schimbatmodul de ¶nchinare c™tre Dumnezeu. Ei au alesal^i preo^i `i au construit dou™ noi temple, unulla Dan (la hotarul de nord al lui Israel), iarcel™lalt la Betel (de-a lungul hotarului dintreIsrael `i Iuda). •ntre Israel `i Iuda a avut loc unmare num™r de r™zboaie.

•n timpul acestei perioade de r™zboi civil `ide tulbur™ri sociale, Dumnezeu a trimis ¶n Iuda`i ¶n Israel mul^i profe^i. Unii dintre ei eraupreo^i, al^ii erau simpli ^™rani. Unii erausfetnici ai regilor, al^ii tr™iau vie^i simple. Uniidintre profe^i `i-au scris ¶nv™^™turile sauprofe^iile, dar mul^i dintre ei nu au f™cut-o.•ns™ to^i profe^ii au predicat despre dreptate,c ins te , nevoia de a jutor d in par tea lu iDumnezeu `i bizuirea pe El pentru a ob^ineacest ajutor.

Mul^i profe^i au avertizat poporul c™ va fi¶nfr‹nt `i ¶mpr™`tiat pe toat™ suprafa^ap™m‹n tu lu i dac™ nu se va ¶ n toa rce l aDumnezeu. Unii dintre ace`ti profe^i au avutviziuni at‹t ale slavei din viitor, c‹t `i aleunor pedepse viitoare. Mul^i dintre ei a`teptaucu ner™bdare timpul c‹nd va veni un nou¶mp™rat pentru a conduce ¶mp™r™^ia. Uniivedeau acest ¶mp™rat ca fiind un urma` al luiD a v i d , c a r e v a c o n d u c e p o p o r u l l u iDumnezeu ¶ntr-o nou™ er™ de aur. Al^iivedeau acest ¶mp™rat venind s™ domneasc™pentru totdeauna peste o ¶mp™r™^ie ve`nic™.Al^ii ¶l vedeau ca pe un slujitor care urma s™¶ndure multe pentru a aduce acest popor¶napoi la Dumnezeu. Dar to^i ¶l vedeau cafiind Mesia, Cel uns de Dumnezeu pentru aaduce o nou™ er™.

Distrugerea lui Israel `i a lui IudaPoporu l I s r ae l nu a l ua t s eama l a

avertismentele lui Dumnezeu, a`a c™ ¶n 722–721¶.Cr. Samaria a fost cucerit™ de asirieni.Poporul Israel a fost scos din case `i ¶mpr™`tiatpe tot cuprinsul Imperiului Asirian, desp™r^itpentru totdeauna de fra^ii `i surorile sale dinIuda. Apoi asirienii au adus str™ini pentru arepopula ^ara lui Israel. Ace`ti oameni au fostini^ia^i ¶n religia evreiasc™ `i nu pu^ini au¶ncercat s™ ^in™ Leg™m‹ntul. Ei au ajuns s™ fiecunoscu^i sub numele de samariteni. Asirieniiau ¶ncercat s™ cucereasc™ regatul lui Iuda.Multe cet™^i au fost invadate, dar Dumnezeu asalvat Ierusalimul. •mp™ratul Asiriei, biruit, s-a¶ntors ¶n ^ara sa `i acolo a fost ucis de doidintre fiii s™i. Astfel, Iuda a fost salvat.

Pentru o vreme, poporul lui Iuda s-aschimbat. Iudeii au ¶nceput s™-L asculte peDumnezeu, dar aceasta nu a durat mult. P‹n™la urm™, au fost `i ei ¶nfr‹n^i `i risipi^i pesuprafa^a p™m‹ntului. Babilonul a ajunsputernic `i a atacat regatul lui Iuda. La ¶nceput,agresorii au luat ca prizonieri c‹^iva oameniimportan^i. Dar c‹^iva ani mai t‹rziu, ¶n587–586 ¶.Cr., s-au ¶ntors spre a distrugeIerusalimul `i Templul din cetate. O parte dinoameni au fugit ¶n Egipt, dar cea mai mareparte a lor au fost du`i ¶n Babilon ca sclavi.Dumnezeu a trimis din nou profe^i, `i oameniiau ¶nceput s™-L asculte. Se pare c™ distrugereaTemplului `i a Ierusalimului, ca `i exilul ¶nBabilon, au avut un mare impact asuprapoporului, determin‹nd o schimbare real™.Profe^ii vorbeau din ce ¶n ce mai mult desprenoul ¶mp™rat `i ¶mp™r™^ia lui. Unul dintreace`ti profe^i, Ieremia, a vorbit chiar despre unNou Leg™m‹nt. Acest Nou Leg™m‹nt, spredeosebire de cel vechi, nu va fi scris pe tablede piatr™, ci urma s™ fie scris ¶n inimile celorcredincio`i din poporul lui Dumnezeu.

•ntoarcerea iudeilor ¶n Palestina•ntre t imp, la conducerea Imperiului

Medo-Persan a venit Cirus, care a cuceritBabilonul. El a permis oamenilor s™ se¶ntoarc™ ¶n ^™rile lor de ba`tin™. Astfel, la 70 deani dup™ exil, o mare parte a poporului lui Iudas-a ¶ntors acas™. Oamenii s-au str™duit s™-`irecl™deasc™ na^iunea, dar Iuda a r™mas unpopor mic `i departe de a fi puternic. Ei aureconstruit Templul, de`i f™r™ splendoareacelui ¶n™l^at de Solomon. Mul^i iudei s-au

xINTRODUCERE

¶ntors cu adev™rat la Dumnezeu `i au ¶nceputs™ studieze Legea, c™r^ile Profe^ilor `i celelaltescrieri sfinte. Mul^i b™rba^i au devenit scribi(oameni ¶nv™^a^i sau c™rturari) care au f™cutcopii ale Scripturilor. S-a ajuns chiar ca ace`tib™rba^i s™ ¶nfiin^eze `coli unde se studiauScripturile. Oamenii au ¶nceput s™ se adune ¶nziua de sabat (s‹mb™ta) spre a studia, a se ruga`i a se ¶nchina lui Dumnezeu ¶mpreun™. •nsinagogile lor se studiau Scripturile, `i mul^ioameni au ¶nceput s™ a`tepte venirea lui Mesia.

•n Occident, Alexandru cel Mare a c‹`tigatcontrolul asupra Greciei, `i nu dup™ mult timpa cucerit ¶ntreaga lume. El a r™sp‹ndit limbagreac™, precum `i obiceiurile `i cultura Greciei¶n multe p™r^i ale lumii. Dup™ moartea lui,¶mp™r™^ia lui s-a divizat `i ¶n cur‹nd un altimperiu a ap™rut `i a preluat controlul asupraunei mari p™r^i a lumii cunoscute ¶n vremeaaceea, incluz‹nd Palestina, unde locuiapoporul lui Iuda.

Noii conduc™tori, romanii, erau de cele maimulte ori cruzi `i duri, iar iudeii erau m‹ndri `i¶ i sf idau pe opresori . •n acele vremurizbuciumate, mul^i iudei se a`teptau ca Mesia s™vin™ ¶n timpul vie^ii lor. Iudeii vroiau s™ fiecondu`i doar de Dumnezeu `i de Mesia, pe careDumnezeu promisese c™-L va trimite pentru ei.Ei nu au ¶n^eles c™ Dumnezeu dorea s™ salveze¶ntreaga lume prin Mesia. Ei credeau c™ planullui Dumnezeu era s™ salveze iudeii de ¶ntreagalume. Unii iudei se mul^umeau s™ a`tepte caDumnezeu s™-L trimit™ pe Alesul S™u. Dar al^iis-au hot™r‹t s™-L „ajute“ pe Dumnezeu s™ pun™bazele ¶mp™r™^iei Sale. Ace`ti iudei purtaunumele de „zelo^i“. Zelo^ii au ¶ncercat s™ lupte¶mpotriva romanilor `i de multe ori au ucis al^iiudei care colaboraser™ cu romanii.

Grup™rile religioase ale iudeilor•n secolul I ¶.Cr., Legea lui Moise devenise

foarte important™ pentru iudei. Oameniistudiau `i dezb™teau Legea. De`i o ¶n^elegeau¶n mod diferit, mul^i iudei erau gata s™ moar™pentru Lege. Printre iudeii acelei vremi,existau trei mari grup™ri religioase `i ¶n fiecaregrupare erau c™rturari (sau ¶nv™^a^i).

SaducheiiUna d in t r e aces t e g rup™r i e ra cea a

saducheilor. Se pare c™ aceast™ denumireprovine de la numele Sadoc, marele preot dintimpul ¶mp™ratului David. Mul^i dintre preo^i

`i oamenii cu influen^™ erau saduchei. Ace`tioameni acceptau numai Legea (cele cinci c™r^iale lui Moise) ca autoritate ¶n problemereligioase. Legea ¶nv™^a multe lucruri desprepreo^i `i jertfe, dar nu men^iona existen^a uneivie^i viitoare. A`a c™ saducheii nu credeau¶ntr-o ¶nviere a mor^ilor.

FariseiiAlt™ grupare era aceea a fariseilor. Aceast™

denumire provine dintr-un cuv‹nt ebraic ce setraduce prin „a interpreta“ sau „a separa“.Ace`ti ¶nv™^a^i evrei ¶ncercau s™ predea `i s™interpreteze Legea lui Moise pentru oameniiobi`nui^i. Fariseii credeau c™ exista o tradi^ieoral™ care se p™strase chiar din zilele luiMoise. Ei credeau c™ b™rba^ii din fiecaregenera^ie puteau s™ interpreteze Legea ¶ntr-unfel care i-ar fi ¶ng™duit acesteia s™ satisfac™nevoile oamenilor din genera^ia respectiv™.Aceasta demonstra c™ fariseii acceptau caautoritate nu numai Legea lui Moise, dar `iProfe^ii, Scrierile Sfinte `i chiar tradi^iile lor.Ace`ti oameni ¶`i d™deau toat™ silin^a s™respecte Legea `i tradi^iile lor. A`a c™ eraufoarte aten^i la tot ce m‹ncau `i la fiecare lucrupe care ¶l atingeau. Aveau mare grij™ cu privirela ritualul sp™l™rii m‹inilor `i b™ile rituale. Eicredeau c™ oamenii vor ¶nvia din mor^i, pentruc™ ¶n^elegeau mesajul multor profe^i, carespuneau c™ a`a se va ¶nt‹mpla.

EsenieniiCea de-a treia mare grupare religioas™ a

iudeilor erau esenienii. Mul^i dintre preo^ii dinIerusalim nu tr™iau dup™ voia lui Dumnezeu.De asemenea, marele preot era de multe oriales de romani `i, ¶n cele mai multe cazuri, nuera ales potrivit cu Legea lui Moise. De aceea,esenienii credeau c™ jertfele `i ¶nchinarea nu sedesf™`urau ¶ntr-un mod corespunz™tor laIerusalim. A`a c™ esenienii s-au mutat dinIerusalim spre a locui ¶n Pustia Iudeii. Eiaveau propria lor comunitate, unde puteau veni`i locui doar al^i esenieni. Ei posteau, se rugau`i a`teptau ca Dumnezeu s™-L trimit™ pe Mesia`i s™ cure^e Templul `i preo^imea. Mul^ispeciali`ti cred c™ esenienii erau lega^i cumvade comunitatea de la Qumran `i c™ exist™ oleg™tur™ ¶ntre ei `i multele scrieri str™vechi(inclusiv „Manuscrisele de la Marea Moart™“)g™site la Qumran `i ¶n alte locuri din PustiaIudeii.

xi INTRODUCERE

Noul TestamentDumnezeu ini^iase un plan pentru a c™rui

¶mplinire alesese un popor aparte. El f™cuse unleg™m‹nt cu acest popor, leg™m‹nt prin careace`ti oameni erau preg™ti^i s™ ¶n^eleag™dreptatea `i bun™tatea lui Dumnezeu. Prinprofe^i `i poe^i, El a dezv™luit planul S™u de abinecuv‹nta lumea prin instaurarea unei„¶mp™r™^ii“ perfecte din punct de vederespiritual, av‹nd la baz™ un leg™m‹nt nou `imult mai bun. Planul acesta trebuia s™ ¶nceap™o dat™ cu venirea lui Mesia. Profe^ii vorbiser™pe larg despre venirea Lui. Ei vestiser™ undeSe va na`te Mesia, ce fel de om va fi El `ilucrarea pe care va trebui s™ o duc™ la¶ndeplinire. Era timpul ca Mesia s™ vin™ `i s™ini^ieze Noul Leg™m‹nt.

Scrierile Noului Testament relateaz™ cum afost dezv™luit Noul Leg™m‹nt al lui Dumnezeu`i cum a fost pus ¶n aplicare de Isus, care esteCristosul („Unsul“, Mesia). Ele arat™ c™ NoulLeg™m‹nt este valabil pentru toate popoarele.Tot prin aceste scrieri afl™m `i ¶n ce fel aur™spuns oamenii din primul secol la ofertap l in™ de ¶ndura re ` i de d ragos te a lu iDumnezeu `i au devenit astfel parte a NouluiLeg™m‹nt. Aceste scrieri con^in instruc^iuni cuprivire la modul de via^™ al sfin^ilor luiDumnezeu ¶n aceast™ lume. De asemenea, ele¶nf™^i`eaz™ binecuv‹nt™rile pe care Dumnezeule-a promis poporului S™u pentru o via^™deplin™ aici, pe p™m‹nt, `i pentru via^a de dup™moarte ¶mpreun™ cu El.

Scr ie r i l e Noulu i Tes tament cupr inddou™zeci ` i `apte de „c™r ^ i“ d is t inc te ,provenind de la cel pu^in opt scriitori. To^i auscris ¶n greac™, aceasta fiind o limb™ largr™sp‹ndit™ ¶n primul secol. Peste o jum™tatedin totalul scrierilor respective au fostredactate de patru „apostoli“, oameni ale`i deIsus pentru a fi reprezentan^ii sau mesageriiS™i. Trei dintre ace`tia — Matei, Ioan `i Petru— au f™cut parte din grupul celor doisprezeceucenici apropia^i ai lui Isus ¶n timpul vie^iiSale pe acest p™m‹nt. Cel™lalt scriitor, Pavel, afost ales apostol de c™tre Isus mai t‹rziu,printr-o apari^ie miraculoas™.

Primele patru c™r^i, numite „Evangheliile“,sunt povestiri distincte despre via^a `i moartealui Isus Cristos. •n general, aceste c™r^i pun unaccent deosebit pe ¶nv™^™tura lui Isus, pescopu l ven i r i i Sa l e pe p™m‹n t ` i pesemnifica^ia esen^ial™ a mor^ii Sale, `i acord™

mai pu^in™ aten^ie faptelor vie^ii Sale din punctde vedere istoric. Acest lucru este adev™rat maiales pentru cartea a patra, Evanghelia dup™Ioan. Primele trei Evanghelii sunt foarteasem™n™toare ¶n con^inut. Multe fapte redatede una din aceste Evanghelii pot fi g™site¶ntr-una sau ¶n celelalte dou™ Evanghelii.Totu`i, fiecare scriitor se adreseaz™ unuianumit public `i pare s™ aib™ ¶n vedere un scopdiferit.

Cele patru Evanghelii sunt urmate deFaptele Apostolilor, o istorie a evenimentelorcare au urmat mor^ii lui Isus. Aceast™ cartearat™ cum a fost vestit darul de iubire al luiDumnezeu de c™tre ucenicii lui Isus ¶n ¶ntreagalume. Propov™duirea Evangheliei (VesteaBun™) a dus la acceptarea, pe scar™ larg™, acredin^ei cre`tine ¶n Palestina `i ¶n lumearoman™. Cartea Faptele Apostolilor a fostscris™ de Luca, el fiind martor la aproape toateevenimentele pe care le-a consemnat. Luca afost `i autorul celei de-a treia Evanghelii. Celedou™ c™r^i ale sale au o unitate logic™, FapteleApostolilor fiind urmarea natural™ a povestiriisale despre via^a lui Isus.

Dup™ Faptele Apostolilor, urmeaz™ ocolec^ie de scrisori c™tre persoane sau grupuride cre`tini. Aceste scrisori au fost trimise deconduc™tori cre`tini ca Pavel `i Petru, doidintre apostolii lui Isus. Ele au fost scrisepentru a ajuta oamenii din vremea aceea s™g™seasc™ solu^ii la problemele de tot felul careap™ruser™. Ele sunt valabile `i utile `i ast™ziprin contribu^ia lor la informarea, corectarea,¶nv™^area `i ¶ncurajarea cre`tinilor cu privire lacredin^a lor, la via^a lor ¶n comunitatea cre`tin™`i la rela^iile lor sociale.

U l t ima ca r t e a Nou lu i Tes t amen t ,Apocalipsa, este diferit™ de toate celelaltec™r^i, de`i scopul ei este similar celui alscrisorilor adresate bisericilor.

C™r^ile Noului TestamentUrm™toarele detalii despre c™r^ile Noului

Testament vor fi de folos celor care se afl™ ¶nfa^a textului biblic pentru prima dat™:

Matei. Matei este numele unuia dintre ceidoisprezece ucenici ai lui Isus. El era vame`iudeu c‹nd Isus l-a ales s™ fie unul dintreapostolii S™i. •n scrierea lui Matei se resimteinfluen^a originii sale evreie`ti. El pareinteresat ¶n special de ¶mplinirea profe^iilor dinVechiul Testament ¶n leg™tur™ cu via^a lui Isus.

xiiINTRODUCERE

Totu`i, Matei ¶`i centreaz™ cartea ¶n jurul¶nv™^™turii lui Isus.

Marcu. Ioan-Marcu a fost un t‹n™r prietenal unora dintre apostoli. Stilul s™u este succint`i plin de ac^iune. •n compara^ie cu Matei `iLuca, Marcu acord™ foarte pu^in interes¶nv™^™turilor lui Isus. Marcu avea ca ^int™aparent™ a scrierii sale g‹ndirea roman™ totaldiferit™ de cea evreiasc™, Evanghelia luiconcentr‹ndu-se pe ac^iunile lui Isus caredovedeau c™ El este Fiul lui Dumnezeu. Marcupare interesat, ¶n primul r‹nd, ca oamenii s™`tie c™ Isus a venit pe p™m‹nt pentru a salvaomenirea de consecin^ele p™catului.

Luca. Aceasta este una dintre cele dou™c™r^i scrise de Luca, un tovar™` de c™l™torie alapostolului Pavel. Luca era un doctor cu ovast™ cultur™ `i un scriitor talentat. El pare a fifamiliar cu Evanghelia lui Marcu `i cumajoritatea materialului din Evanghelia luiMatei, dar alege s™ includ™ ¶n special p™r^ilecare ar putea trezi interesul `i ar fi u`or de¶n^eles pentru cititorii s™i neevrei. Mai multdec‹t ceilal^i scriitori ai Evangheliilor, Lucapare interesat de o istorisire ordonat™ a vie^iilui Isus ca realitate istoric™. Totu`i, accentul nueste pus pe evenimentele din via^a lui Isus, cipe Isus •nsu`i, ca Om iubitor `i atent la nevoileoamenilor, care ¶i ¶nva^™ pe oameni adev™ratulsens al vie^ii, av‹nd puterea s™ ajute `i s™m‹ntuiasc™.

Ioan. Aceast™ Evanghelie este foartedeosebit™ de celelalte trei, `i acest lucru esteevident ¶nc™ din frumoasa `i profunda saintroducere. Ioan aduce mult material pe carenu-l g™sim ¶n celelalte Evanghelii. Principaluls™u scop este acela de a sus^ine c™ Isus esteMesia (Cristos), divinul Fiu al lui Dumnezeu `iM‹ntuitorul lumii.

Faptele Apostolilor. Cartea aceasta, scris™de Luca, preia `i continu™ istorisirea dinpunctul ¶n care se termin™ prima sa carte.•ncepe cu instruc^iunile lui Isus c™tre apostoliiLu i p r i n c a r e Domnu l l e c e r e s ™propov™duiasc™ Vestea Bun™ ¶n toat™ lumea,acesta f i ind mesajul despre iubirea luiDumnezeu pentru omenire. Isus vroia ca ei s™vorbeasc™ oamenilor despre misiunea Luidivin™. Care era aceast™ misiune? M‹ntuireaomenirii de consecin^ele p™catelor. Lucatraseaz™ tulbur™toarea ¶mplinire a acesteimi s iun i , concen t r ‹ndu - se pe f ap t e l epersonajelor principale: Petru `i Pavel. El arat™

cu c‹t™ rapiditate s-a r™sp‹ndit cre`tinismul,care a cunoscut un ¶nceput modest ¶n Ierusalim`i ¶n ^inuturile ¶nconjur™toare din Iudeea `iSamaria, `i s-a extins ating‹nd provinciile celemai ¶ndep™rtate ale Imperiului Roman.

Urm™to ru l g rup de sc r i e r i d in NoulTestament ¶l constituie scrisorile lui Pavel.Apostolul Pavel (care ini^ial se numea Saul)era un iudeu cu o educa^ie aleas™, originar dinTars, localitate aflat™ ¶n Cilicia (sud-estulTurciei). Instruit ¶n Ierusalim, el avea o pozi^ieproeminent™ printre farisei `i s-a opus ¶n modviolent mi`c™rii cre`tine ¶n anii de ¶nceput. Isusi-a ap™rut ¶ntr-o viziune `i i-a schimbat radicalsensul vie^ii. Zece ani mai t‹rziu, a ¶nceput s™c™l™toreasc™ pentru a duce oamenilor VesteaBun™ despre Cristos. •n aceast™ perioad™, ascris multe scrisori bisericilor (grupurilor decre` t in i ) , precum ` i c‹ torva persoane.Treisprezece din aceste scrisori sunt incluse ¶nNoul Testament.

Scrisoarea lui Pavel c™tre Romani este ceamai lung™ `i cea mai plin™ de semnifica^iidintre scrisorile sale. Cele mai multe dintre eleau fost adresate unor grupuri de cre`tini dincet™^ile ¶n care el a ¶nceput s™-i ¶nve^e peoameni despre Cristos `i s™ formeze biserici.•ns™ el ¶nc™ nu fusese la Roma c‹nd le-a scrisaceast™ scrisoare cre`tinilor de acolo. Pavel seafla ¶n Grecia, ¶n anul 57 d.Cr. Pentru c™ nu aputut ajunge la Roma a`a cum dorise, aconsemnat ¶n aceast™ scrisoare esen^ialul¶nv™^™turii sale. Este o prezentare foarte exact™a adev™rurilor fundamentale ale credin^eicre`tine.

C™r^ile 1 `i 2 Corinteni sunt dou™ dinscrisorile adresate de Pavel cre`tinilor dinCorint, care era un ora` din sudul Greciei. •nintroducerea acestor dou™ scrisori, Pavelabordeaz™ problemele ap™rute ¶n mijloculcre`tinilor de acolo `i r™spunde la c‹teva¶ntreb™ri care-i fuseser™ adresate. El scriedespre unitatea cre`tin™, c™s™torie, adulter `idesfr‹nare, divor^, obiceiuri evreie`ti etc. Uninteres deosebit ¶l prezint™ capitolul 13,celebrul pasaj unde Pavel vorbe`te despredragoste, ¶n care el vede solu^ia tuturorproblemelor corintenilor. Cea de-a douascrisoare urmeaz™ r™spunsului dat de corintenila cea dint‹i.

Scrisoarea lui Pavel c™tre Galateni trateaz™o alt™ problem™ semnalat™ printre cre`tinii dinGalatia. Pavel a vestit acolo mesajul cre`tin `i

xiii INTRODUCERE

a ¶ntemeiat c‹teva biserici. La un moment dat,¶n cetate `i-a f™cut apari ^ ia un grup de¶nv™^™tori evrei care au ¶ncercat s™ propageni`te idei total diferite de adev™rata ¶nv™^™tur™a lui Cristos. Problema era una crucial™ pentruc™ viza ¶nsu`i fundamentul unei bune rela^ii cuDumnezeu. Neput‹ndu-se deplasa ¶n Galatia ¶nacel moment, Pavel se ocup™ de problema lor¶n aceast™ scrisoare. Asemenea scrisorii c™treRomani, scrisoarea c™tre Galateni trateaz™adev™ruri le fundamentale ale credin^eicre`tine, dar dintr-o alt™ perspectiv™.

Pavel a scris Scrisoarea c™tre Efeseni ¶ntimp ce era ¶n ¶nchisoare, dar nu se `tie exactunde `i c‹nd. Tema acestei scrisori o constituieplanul lui Dumnezeu de a-i str‹nge pe to^icredincio`ii sub conducerea lui Cristos. Pavel¶i ¶ncurajeaz™ pe cre`tini s™-`i tr™iasc™ via^a ¶narmonie unii cu al^ii `i ¶ntr-o deplin™ ascultarede voia lui Dumnezeu.

Scrisoarea lui Pavel c™tre Filipeni a fostscris™ tot din ¶nchisoare, probabil din Roma.Pavel se confrunta, pe atunci, cu multenecazuri, dar avea ¶ncredere ¶n Dumnezeu, iarscrisoarea lui exprim™ din plin aceast™¶ncredere `i bucurie. Pavel a scris-o pentru a-i¶ncuraja pe cre`tinii din Filipi `i a le mul^umipentru sprijinul lor material.

Pavel a scris Scrisoarea c™tre Coloseni

pentru a combate anumite erezii care tulburauBiserica din Colose, un ora` din Asia Mic™(Turcia). Unele pasaje din aceast™ Epistol™ auafinit™^i cu Scrisoarea c™tre Efeseni. Pavelofer™ `i c‹teva lec^ii practice privind adev™ratavia^™ de cre`tin.

1 `i 2 Tesaloniceni s-au num™rat probabilprintre primele scrisori scrise de Pavel. •nprima sa c™l™torie ¶n Macedonia (nordulGreciei), Pavel le-a propov™duit locuitorilorTesalonicului mesajul cre`tin. Mul^i au crezut,dar Pavel a trebuit s™ se despart™ de ei foartecur‹nd. El le-a scris pentru a-i ¶ncuraja ¶n noualor credin^™. Scrisoarea mai con^ine c‹tevalucruri pe care credincio`ii nu le ¶n^eleseser™,¶n special cu privire la a`teptata revenire a luiCristos. Cea de-a doua scrisoare continu™aceast™ tem™.

1 Timotei, 2 Timotei `i Tit au fost scrisec™tre sf‹r`itul vie^ii lui Pavel `i au avut cadestinatari doi dintre cei mai apropia^icolaboratori ai s™i. Pavel l-a l™sat pe Timotei¶n Efes, iar pe Tit ¶n Creta pentru a rezolvac‹teva probleme cu privire la organizarea `i

func^ionarea bisericilor locale. Se pare c™Timotei `i Tit trebuiau s™ preg™teasc™ acestebiserici s™ se conduc™ `i s™ ac^ioneze singure.•n pr ima scr i soare c™ t re Timote i ` i ¶nsc r i soa r ea c™ t r e T i t , Pave l d™ c‹ t evainstruc^iuni pentru alegerea conduc™torilor `ipentru rezolvarea diferitelor probleme. Ceade-a doua scrisoare c™tre Timotei, scris™ din¶nchisoare ¶n timp ce Pavel sim^ea c™ seapropie de s f‹r` i tu l v ie ^ i i , es te foar tepersonal™, fiind plin™ de sfaturi `i ¶ncuraj™ri.Pavel ¶l ¶ndeamn™ pe Timotei s™-i urmezeexemplul de credin^™, curaj `i r™bdare.

Filimon este o scrisoare trimis™ de Pavel odat™ cu Scrisoarea c™tre Coloseni. Filimon, uncre`tin din Colose, era st™p‹nul unui sclavfugar, Onisim, care, sub influen^a lui Pavel,deven i s e c r e ` t i n . Sc r i soa r ea con ^ i nerug™mintea lui Pavel c™tre Filimon de a-l iertape Onisim `i de a-l primi ¶napoi.

Pe l‹ng™ scrisorile lui Pavel, mai exist™altele opt scrise de ucenicii lui Isus. AutorulScrisorii c™tre Evrei este controversat, dar nu¶ncape nici o ¶ndoial™ c™ aceasta le-a fostadresat™ evreilor care credeau ¶n Cristos. Ei seconfruntau cu pericolul de a se ¶ndep™rta de¶nv™^™tura cre`tin™. Aceast™ scrisoare a fostscris™ pentru a ¶nt™ri credin^a acestor cre`tini.Autorul subliniaz™ ¶nt‹ietatea lui Cristos fa^™de ceilal^i oameni. El ¶i ¶nva^™ c™ preo^iave`nic™ a lui Cristos Isus `i Leg™m‹ntul celNou sunt mai presus de preo^ia VechiuluiTestament `i de Vechiul Leg™m‹nt. Autorul¶ncheie ¶ncuraj‹ndu-i pe credincio`i s™ aib™¶ncredere ¶n Dumnezeu `i s™ tr™iasc™ pentru El.

Cuv‹ntul „practic“ este aproape ¶ntotdeaunafolosit pentru a califica Scrisoarea lui Iacov,„un slujitor“ al lui Dumnezeu `i al lui Isus.Unii cercet™tori sus^in c™ acest Iacov ar fi unuldintre fra^ii lui Isus. Trecutul evreiesc al luiIacov r™zbate din natura subiectelor abordate.El vorbe`te despre cinste `i dreptate, despreajutorarea celor s™raci `i p™zirea de influen^alumii, despre ¶n^elepciune, autocontrol,suferin^™ `i ispite, despre nevoia de a r™spundecu fapta la auzirea Cuv‹ntului credin^ei s™dit¶n ei `i la istorisirea lucr™rilor lui Dumnezeu.El ¶i mai ¶ncurajeaz™ pe credincio`i s™ se roage`i s™ a`tepte cu r™bdare revenirea DomnuluiIsus.

Scrisorile 1 `i 2 Petru au fost adresate deapostolul Petru cre`tinilor de pretutindeni. Elle vorbe`te credincio`ilor despre speran^a vie

xivINTRODUCERE

`i despre adev™rata lor cas™ din ceruri. Petru ¶iasigur™ c™ Dumnezeu nu i-a p™r™sit, de`i ei seconfrunt™ cu vremuri grele. Suferin^a va ducela cre`terea lor spiritual™. El le aminte`te c™Dumnezeu i-a binecuv‹ntat `i le-a iertatp™catele prin Isus Cristos `i c™ r™spunsul lor artrebui s™ fie o via^™ de sfin^enie. •n a doua sascrisoare, Petru ¶i ¶nfrunt™ pe ¶nv™^™toriimincino`i. El ¶i ¶nva^™ pe cre`tini care esteadev™rata cunoa`tere `i, de asemenea, vorbe`tedespre a doua venire a lui Cristos.

Scrisorile 1, 2 `i 3 Ioan au fost scrise deapostolul Ioan. Mesajele lui Ioan despredragoste ¶i asigur™ pe credincio`i c™ Dumnezeu¶i va accepta ¶ntotdeauna. Ioan ¶i ¶nva^™ c™trebuie s™-`i arate dragostea lor pentruDumnezeu iubindu-i pe cei din jur `i f™c‹ndvoia lui Dumnezeu. Cea de-a doua `i cea de-atreia scrisoare ¶i ¶ndeamn™ pe cre`tini s™ seiubeasc™ unii pe al^ii `i ¶i avertizeaz™ cu privirela ¶nv™^™torii mincino`i `i la lipsa de evlavie.

Autorul c™r^ii Iuda este fratele lui Iacov `iprobabil fratele lui Isus. Aceast™ scrisoare¶ncurajeaz™ credincio`ia `i se pronun^™¶mpotr iva celor ce provoac™ cer tur i ` idezbin™ri, precum `i contra ¶nv™^™torilormincino`i.

Apocalipsa apostolului Ioan este diferit™ detoate celelalte c™r^i ale Noului Testament. Ea¶ncepe prin a se adresa unor grupuri de cre`tinidin `apte cet™^i din Asia Mic™ (Turcia), ¶ns™continu™ cu descrierea unui r™zboi spiritualcare este de un maxim interes pentru cre`tiniidin orice vreme. Aceast™ carte folose`te unlimbaj figurat de o mare complexitate `itransmite revela^ia dat™ lui Ioan. Multe dinsimbolurile `i imaginile de aici sunt preluatedin Vechiul Testament `i pot fi ¶n^elesecompar‹ndu-le cu scrierile respective. Aceast™carte ¶i asigur™ pe cre`tini de victoria total™asupra for ^e lor r™ului pr in puterea lu iDumnezeu `i a lui Isus Cristos, Conduc™torul`i Ajutorul lor.

Noul Testament `i cititorul modernCititorul de ast™zi al Bibliei ar trebui s™ ^in™

seama de faptul c™ aceste c™r^i, scrise cu mii deani ¶n urm™, le-au fost destinate unor oamenicare au tr™it ¶n culturi foarte diferite de a sa. •ngeneral, scrierile respective au la baz™ principiiuniversal valabile, de`i relat™rile istorice,exemplele `i trimiterile pe care le fac nu pot fi¶n^elese deplin f™r™ o cunoa`tere sumar™ amomentului istoric `i a contextului cultural ¶ncare au avut loc.

Cititorul modern poate g™si c™ lumeaBibliei este ¶ntruc‹tva ciudat™. Obiceiurile,atitudinile, vorbirea oamenilor pot p™reanefamiliare. Este rezonabil s™ evalu™m toateacestea dup™ standardele acelor zile `i locuri,`i nu dup™ cele moderne. Este important, deasemenea, s™ not™m c™ Biblia nu este o cartede `tiin^™. Ea a fost scris™ cu scopul de amarca evenimentele istorice `i a prezentasemnifica^ia lor pentru omenire. •nv™^™turileei implic™ adev™ruri universale care dep™`esccadrul specific al disciplinelor `tiin^ifice. Eler™m‹n relevante chiar `i ¶n aceast™ epoc™modern™ pentru c™ se refer™ la nevoilespirituale fundamentale ale omului, nevoi carer™m‹n neschimb™toare.

Oricine cite`te Biblia cu obiectivitate sepoate a`tepta s™ aib™ de c‹`tigat. To^i cei careo vor citi vor c™p™ta cuno`tin^e cu privire laistoria `i cultura lumii antice. Vor ¶nv™^adespre via^™, vor descoperi ¶nv™^™turile luiCristos Isus `i semnifica^ia lor `i-`i vor daseama de roadele ascult™rii de El. Totodat™,vor c‹`tiga o ¶n^elegere a lumii spirituale `i levor fi oferite lec^ii practice pentru a tr™i ovia^™ dinamic™ `i plin™ de bucurie. Vor g™sir™spunsuri la cele mai dificile ¶ntreb™ri alevie^ii. Iat™ deci c‹teva motive serioase pentrua citi aceast™ Carte. Cel ce-o va citi cu ominte deschis™ `i curioas™ va descoperi, dac™va c™uta , scopul lu i Dumnezeu pentruvia^a sa.

This special version of the New Testamentis for those who want an English translationthat accurately expresses the full meaning ofthe original text in a style that is clear andeasy to understand. It is especially helpful tothose who have limited experience withEnglish, including children and people whoare just learning English. It is designed to helpsuch people overcome or avoid the mostcommon difficulties in reading with under-standing.

The writers of Scripture, especially thosewho produced the New Testament writings,showed by the language style they used thatthey were interested in good communication.The translators of this English version consid-ered this an important example to follow. Sothey worked to express the meaning of theBiblical text in a form that would be simpleand natural. They used language that, insteadof working as a barrier to understanding,would provide a key to unlock the truths of theSc r ip tu r e s t o a l a rge s egmen t o f t heEnglish-speaking world.

The translation is based directly on theoriginal languages of Scripture. In the case ofthe New Testament, the source text was thatwhich is found in both the United BibleSocieties’ Greek New Testament (fourthrevised edition, 1993) and the Nestle-AlandNovum Testamentum Graece (twenty-seventhedition, 1993). For the Old Testament booksof Psalms and Proverbs, the translators fol-lowed the Hebrew Masoretic Text as it is rep-resented in the latest printed edition of BibliaHebraica Stuttgartensia (1984), while refer-ring occasionally to some earlier readings inthe Dead Sea Scrolls. In some cases, they alsofollowed the Septuagint (LXX), the Greektranslation of the Old Testament, where itrepresents readings that are actually earlier

than any known Hebrew manuscript. Theoccasional variation from these printed edi-tions was guided by reference to the findingsof more recent scholarship.

Several special features are used to aidunderstanding. Brief explanations or syn-onyms (italicized within parentheses) some-times follow difficult or ambiguous words inthe text. If a word or phrase needs fuller expla-nation, it is specially marked in one of twoways: (1) If its usage is unique or unusual, it ismarked by a letter of the alphabet linking it toa footnote that provides an explanation orimportant information. Included in such foot-notes are references to Scripture quotationsand information about alternate readings whensignificant differences occur in the ancientmanuscripts. (2) If it is a word that occurs fre-quently with the same meaning, its first occur-rence in a section is marked with an asterisk(*) indicating that an explanation can be foundin a Word List at the end of the book.

As in all translations, words that are impliedby the context are often supplied in the text tomake the meaning clear. For example, thephrase that in Greek is simply “David ofJesse” is always translated into English as“David the son of Jesse.” If such explanatorywords or phrases are extensive or unusual,they may be marked by half brackets. Forexample, in the translation, “The LORD gavethis command to Moses {for the people},” thephrase in half brackets is added to avoid anymisunderstanding that the Lord’s commandwas intended only for Moses and not for allthe people.

Finally, in the gospels, the first four booksof the New Testament, the section headingsare often followed by cross references. Theseidentify where the same or similar material isfound in one or more of the other gospels.

Preface

xv

IntroductionNew Testament is a name that has been

used for centuries to describe a group of writ-ings or “books” that make up the secondmajor part of the Bible. So the Bible is actu-ally two collections of books. In fact, theword Bib le comes f rom a Greek wordmeaning “books.” The word translated “testa-ment” was used to mean a “covenant” or“agreement.” It refers to God’s promise tobless his people. The Old Testament is thecollection of writings that relate to the agree-ment that God made with the descendants ofJacob (Israel) in the time of Moses. The NewTestament is the collection of writings thatrelate to the agreement that God made with allpeople who believe in Jesus Christ.

The Old Testament writings tell about thegreat things God did for the people of Israeland his plan for using them to bring his bless-ings to the whole world. These writings lookforward to the coming of a savior or “Messiah”(see “Christ” in the Word List). The New Tes-tament writings continue the Old Testamentstory. They describe the coming of that savior(Jesus Christ) and the meaning of his comingfor all people. The Old Testament is importantfor understanding the New Testament, since itprovides the necessary background. And theNew Testament completes the story of salva-tion that began in the Old Testament.

THE OLD TESTAMENTThe Old Testament writings are a collection

of thirty-nine different books produced bymany different authors. They were writtenmainly in Hebrew, the language of ancientIsrael. There are a few sections in Aramaic, aninternational language in Bible times. Portionsof the Old Testament were written over 3500years ago, and more than 1000 years passedbetween the writing of the first book and thelast. In this collection there are books of law,history, prose, songs, poetry, and wise sayings.

The Old Testament is often divided intothree main sections: the Law, the Prophets,and the Holy Writings. The Law contains fivebooks called “The Five Books of Moses.” Thefirst book is Genesis. It tells about the begin-ning of the world as we know it, the first manand woman, and their first sin against God. Ittells about the Great Flood and the family Godsaved through that flood, and it tells about thebeginnings of the nation of Israel, the peopleGod chose to use for a special purpose.

THE STORY OF ABRAHAMGod made an agreement with Abraham, a

great man of faith. In that agreement Godpromised to make Abraham the father of agreat nation and to give him and his descend-ants the land of Canaan. Abraham was circum-cised to show that he had accepted the agree-ment, and circumcision became the proof ofthe agreement between God and his people.Abraham did not know how God would dowhat he had promised but trusted him to makeit happen. This pleased God very much.

God told Abraham to leave his home inMesopotamia and led him to Canaan (latercalled the land of Israel, which was approxi-mately the same geographical area knowntoday as Palestine). In his old age Abrahamhad a son named Isaac, who had a son namedJacob. Jacob (also called Israel) had twelvesons and a daughter. This family became thenation of Israel, but it never forgot its tribalorigin. It continued to refer to itself as thetwelve tribes of Israel—descendants of thetwelve sons of Jacob: Reuben, Simeon, Levi,Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar,Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin. The threemain ancestors—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob(Israel)—are known as the “fathers” or “patri-archs” of Israel.

Abraham was also a “father” of anotherkind. Many times in ancient Israel, God called

xvi

xvii INTRODUCTION

certain people to speak for him. These specialpeople, or prophets, were God’s representa-tives to the rest of his people. Through theprophets God gave the people of Israelpromises, warnings, laws, teachings, lessonsdrawn from past experiences, and lessonsbased on fu ture events . Abraham “theHebrew” is the first prophet mentioned in theScriptures.

ISRAEL FREED FROM SLAVERYThe family of Jacob (Israel) grew to include

about 70 of his direct descendants. One of hissons, Joseph, became a high official in Egypt.Times were hard, so Jacob and his familymoved to Egypt, where there was plenty offood and l i fe was easier . This t r ibe ofHebrews grew to be a small nation, andPharaoh (the title or name of the king ofEgypt) made them serve as slaves. The bookof Exodus tells about how finally, after 400years, God used the prophet Moses to free thepeople of Israel from slavery in Egypt andtake them back to Palestine. The price forfreedom was high, but the Egyptians were theones who had to pay. Pharaoh and all the fam-ilies of Egypt lost their firstborn sons beforethe king finally agreed to let the people gofree. The firstborn had to die so that thepeople could be freed—and the people ofIsrael later remembered this in many ways intheir worship and sacrifices.

The people of Israel were ready for their tripto freedom. They had dressed for the escapefrom Egypt. Each family killed and roasted alamb. They put the blood from the lamb ontheir doorposts as a special sign to God. Theyhurriedly baked bread without yeast and atetheir meal. That night the Angel of the Lordwent through the land. If the blood of the lambwas not on the doorposts, the firstborn of thatfamily died. The people of Israel were freed.But as the Israelite slaves were about to leaveEgypt, Pharaoh changed his mind. He sent hisarmy to catch them and bring them back, butGod saved his people. He divided the Red Sea,making a path through it to lead his people tofreedom on the other side. Then he releasedthe waters to destroy the army of Egypt thatwas following behind them. After that, at amountain in the Sinai desert on the ArabianPeninsula, God made a special agreement withhis people.

THE LAW OF MOSESGod’s rescue of the people of Israel and his

agreement with them at Sinai set this nationapart from all others. This agreement con-tained promises and laws for the people ofIsrael. A part of this agreement, known as theTen Commandments, was written by God ontwo stone tablets and given to the people.These commands contain the basic principlesfor the kind of life God wanted the people ofIsrael to live, including their duty to God,family, and others.

The Ten Commandments and the rest of therules and teachings given at Mount Sinaibecame known as “the Law of Moses” orsimply “the Law.” Many times these terms areused to refer to the first five books of theScr ip tures and of ten to the ent i re OldTestament.

Besides the Ten Commandments and otherrules of conduct, the Law of Moses containsrules about priests, sacrifices, worship, andholy days. These rules are found in the book ofLeviticus. According to the Law of Moses, allpriests and their helpers came from the tribe ofLevi. These helpers were called “Levites.” Themost important priest was called the highpriest.

The Law of Moses included instructions forbuilding the Holy Tent (“Tabernacle”), orMeeting Tent, the place where the people ofIsrael went to worship God. It also has instruc-tions for making all the things to be used intheir worship. This prepared the Israelites forthe building of the Temple, the holy buildingin Jerusalem on Mount Zion, where the peoplewould later go to worship God. The rulesabout sacrifices and worship forced the peopleto see that they sinned against each other andagainst God. But they also gave the people away to be forgiven and to be reunited with oneanother and with God. These sacrifices pre-pared the way for a better understanding of thesacrifice God was preparing to give for all thepeople of the world.

The Law of Moses also contained instruc-tions for celebrating a number of holy days orfestivals. Each festival had its own specialmeaning. Some festivals were happy occasionsto celebrate special times of the year, such asthe harvest festivals of First Fruits, Shabuoth(Pentecost or the Festival of Weeks), and Suc-coth (the Festival of Shelters).

xviiiINTRODUCTION

Other festivals were for remembering thewonderful things God had done for his people.Passover was this kind of holy day. Eachfamily relived the escape from Egypt, gath-ering in their homes to remember this part ofIsrael’s history and to sing songs of praise toGod. A lamb was slaughtered and the mealprepared. Each cup of wine and piece of foodreminded the people of the things God haddone to save them from a life of pain andsadness.

One holy day, in particular, was veryserious. Every year, on the Day of Atonement,the people had to remember the many wrongthings they had done to others and to God.This was a day of sadness, and the people didnot eat. But on that day the high priest offeredspecial sacrifices to ‘cover over’ or atone fortheir sins.

The agreement between God and Israel wasvery important to the writers of the Old Testa-ment. Almost all of the books of the Prophetsand Holy Writings are based on the fact thatthe nation of Israel, and every citizen of Israel,had made a very special agreement with theirGod. They called it the “Agreement of theLord” or simply “the Agreement.” Their booksof history interpret events in light of theAgreement: If the individual or nation wasfaithful to God and the Agreement, then Godrewarded them. If the people abandoned theAgreement, then God punished them. God senthis prophets to remind the people of theiragreement with him. The poets of Israel sangof the wonderful things God did for his obe-dient people, and they mourned the pain andpunishments that came to those who dis-obeyed. These writers based their concepts ofright and wrong on the teaching of the Agree-ment. And when innocent people suffered, thepoets struggled to understand why.

THE KINGDOM OF ISRAELThe story of ancient Israel is the story of

people who were always leaving God, God res-cuing the people, the people turning back toGod and eventually leaving him again. Thiscycle began almost as soon as the people hadaccepted God’s Agreement, and it was repeatedagain and again. At Mount Sinai the people ofIsrael agreed to follow God, and then theyrebelled and were forced to wander 40 years inthe desert. Finally, Moses’ helper, Joshua, led

the people into the promised land. Then camethe battles to gain control of the different areasand to settle the first parts of what later came tobe known as the land of Israel. For the first fewcenturies after this settlement, the people weregoverned by local leaders called judges.

Eventually, the people wanted a king. Thefirst king God appointed for them was Saul.But Saul did not obey God, so God chose ashepherd boy named David to be the new king.The prophet Samuel came and poured oil onhis head, anointing him king of Israel. Godpromised David that the future kings of Israelwould be his descendants from the tribe ofJudah. David conquered the city of Jerusalemand made it his capital and the future site ofthe Temple . He organized the pr ies ts ,prophets, song writers, musicians, and singersfor the Temple worship. David even wrotemany of the songs (or psalms) himself, butGod did not let him build the Temple.

When David was old and about to die, withGod’s blessing he made his son Solomon kingof Israel. David warned his son to alwaysfollow God and obey the Agreement. As king,Solomon built the Temple in Jerusalem thatDavid had planned, and he expanded Israel’sborders. At this time Israel was at the highpoint of its power. Solomon became famous,and Israel became strong.

JUDAH AND ISRAEL—THE DIVIDED KINGDOMAt Solomon’s death there was disagreement

and a struggle among the people, and thenation was divided. The northern ten tribescalled themselves Israel. The southern tribescalled themselves Judah. (The modern term“Jew” comes from this name.) Judah remainedloyal to the Agreement, and David’s familycontinued ruling in Jerusalem for several hun-dred years.

In the northern kingdom (Israel) numerouskings and dynasties came and went, becausethe people did not follow the Agreement. Thekings of Israel had several capital cities at var-ious times, the last of which was Samaria. Inorder to strengthen their hold on the people,the kings of Israel changed the way to worshipGod. They chose new priests and built twonew temples—one at Dan (on the northernborder of Israel) and the other at Bethel (alongIsrael’s border with Judah). There were manywars between Israel and Judah.

xix INTRODUCTION

During this time of civil war and troubles,God sent many prophets to Judah and Israel.Some of the prophets were priests; others werefarmers. Some were advisors to kings; otherslived a much simpler l ife. Some of theprophets wrote their teachings or prophecies;many others did not. But all the prophetsspoke for justice, fairness, and the need todepend on God for help.

Many prophets warned that the peoplewould be defeated and scattered if they did notturn back to God. Some prophets saw visionsof future glories as well as future punishments.Many of them looked forward to the timewhen a new king would come to rule thekingdom. Some saw this king as a descendantof David who would lead the people of Godinto a new Golden Age. Some spoke of thisking as ruling forever over an eternal kingdom.Others saw him as a servant who would suffermany things in order to bring his people backto God. But all of them saw him as the Mes-siah, the one anointed (chosen) by God tobring in a new age.

THE DESTRUCTION OF ISRAEL AND JUDAHThe people of Israel did not listen to God’s

warnings. So, in 722/721 B.C. Samaria fell to theinvading Assyrians. The people of Israel weretaken f rom the i r homes and sca t t e redthroughout the Assyrian empire, lost forever totheir brothers and sisters in Judah. Then theAssyrians brought in foreigners to settle theland of Israel again. These people were taughtabout the religion of Judah and Israel, andmany of them tried to follow the Agreement.These people came to be known as the Samari-tans. The Assyrians tried to invade Judah.Many cities fell to the invaders, but God savedJerusalem. The defeated king of Assyriareturned to his homeland, and there he wasmurdered by two of his sons. So Judah wassaved.

For a while the people of Judah changed.They began to obey God, but only for a shorttime. They, too, were finally defeated and scat-tered. The nation of Babylon rose to powerand invaded Judah. At first they took only afew important people away as captives. But afew years later, in 587/586 B.C., they returned todestroy Jerusalem and the Temple. Some ofthe people escaped to Egypt, but most of themwere taken as slaves to Babylon. Again God

sent prophets to the people, and they began tolisten. It seems that the destruction of theTemple and Jerusalem and the exile inBabylon brought about a real change in thepeople. The prophets spoke more and moreabout the new king and his kingdom. One ofthe prophets, Jeremiah, even spoke of a newagreement. This agreement would not bewritten on tablets of stone, but would be in thehearts of God’s people.

THE RETURN TO PALESTINEMeanwhile, Cyrus came to power over the

Medo-Persian empire and conquered Babylon.Cyrus allowed people to return to their home-lands. So, after 70 years of exile, many of thepeople of Judah went back home. The peopletried to rebuild their nation, but Judahremained small and weak. The people rebuiltthe Temple, although it was not as beautiful asthe one Solomon had built. Many of the peopletruly turned to God and began studying theLaw, the writings of the prophets, and theother holy writings. Many men became scribes(special scholars), who made copies of theScriptures. Eventually, these men organizedschools for studying the Scriptures. The peoplebegan meeting together on the Sabbath (Sat-urday) to study, pray, and worship Godtogether. In their synagogues (meetings) theystudied the Scriptures, and many people beganlooking for the Messiah to come.

In the West, Alexander the Great gainedcontrol of Greece and soon conquered theworld. He spread the Greek language as wellas the customs and culture of Greece to manyparts of the world. When he died, his kingdomwas divided. Soon another empire grew andgained control of a large part of the knownworld, including Palestine, where the people ofJudah lived.

The new rulers, the Romans, were oftencruel and harsh, and the Jewish people wereproud and defiant. In these troubled timesthere were many Jews who were looking forthe Messiah to come in their own lifetime.They wanted to be ruled only by God and theMessiah that God had promised to send them.They did not understand that God planned tosave the world through the Messiah. Theythought that God’s plan was to save the Jewsfrom the world! Some were content to wait forGod to send his Messiah. Others thought that

xxINTRODUCTION

they should “help” God establish his newkingdom by making sure that the law of Moseswas observed and that the Temple, the land,and the Jewish people were kept pure. In orderto make this happen, they were willing tosuffer, to die, or to kill anyone, foreigners orother Jews, who threatened these goals. SuchJews eventua l ly came to be known as“Zealots.”

THE JEWISH RELIGIOUS GROUPSBy the first century B.C., the Law of Moses

had become extremely important to the Jews.They had studied and argued over the Law.The people understood the Law in differentways, but many Jews were ready to die for thatLaw. There were three major religious groupsamong the Jews, and there were scribes(scholars or experts of the Law) in each group.

The SadduceesOne of the groups was called the Sadducees.

This name probably comes from the nameZadok, the high priest in King David’s time.Many of the priests and the people in authoritywere Sadducees. These men accepted only theLaw (the five books of Moses) as theirauthority in religious matters. The Law ofMoses taught many things about the priestsand sacrifices, but it did not teach about lifeafter death. So the Sadducees did not believethat people would ever be raised from death.

The PhariseesAnother group was called the Pharisees.

This name comes from a Hebrew wordmeaning “to interpret (explain)” or “to sepa-rate.” These men tried to teach or interpret theLaw of Moses to the common people. ThePharisees believed that there was an oral tradi-tion going back to Moses’ time. They believedthat people of each generation could interpretthe Law in a way that would allow it to meetthe needs of that generation. This meant thatthe Pharisees could accept not only the Law ofMoses as their authority, but also the Prophets,the Holy Writings, and even their own tradi-tions. These men tried very hard to follow theLaw and their traditions. So they were verycareful about what they ate and what theytouched. They were careful about washingtheir hands and bathing. They also believedthat people would be raised from death,

because they understood many of the prophetsto say that would happen.

The EssenesThe third major group was the Essenes.

Many of the priests in Jerusalem did not livethe way God wanted them to. Also, theRomans had appointed many of the highpriests, and some of these men were not quali-fied according to the Law of Moses. Becauseof this, the Essenes did not think the worshipand sacrifices were being done properly in theJerusalem Temple. So they moved out into theJudean desert to live. They formed their owncommunity, where only other Essenes couldcome and live. They fasted, prayed, and waitedfor God to send the Messiah to purify theTemple and the priesthood. Many scholarsbelieve that the Essenes were connected insome way with the Qumran Community andthe many ancient writings (including the“Dead Sea Scrolls”) found at Qumran andother places in that area of the Judean desert.

THE NEW TESTAMENTGod had begun his plan. He had chosen a

special nation. He had made an agreementwith those people that would prepare them tounderstand his justice and his goodness.Through prophets and poets he had revealedhis plan to bless the world by establishing aperfect spiritual “kingdom” based on a newand better agreement. This plan would beginwith the coming of the promised Messiah. Theprophets had spoken of his coming in greatdetail. They had told where the Messiah wouldbe born, the type of person he would be, andthe work he would have to do. It was now timefor the Messiah to come and begin the newagreement.

The writings of the New Testament describehow God’s new agreement was revealed andput into effect by Jesus, who was the Christ(meaning “the Anointed One,” the Messiah).They teach that this agreement was to be forall people. And they tell how people in the firstcentury responded to God’s kind offer of loveand became a part of the new agreement.Many things that were part of the first agree-ment are given new meaning under the newagreement, especially ideas related to Israeliteworship, such as temple, priesthood, and sacri-fice. These writings give instructions to God’s

xxi INTRODUCTION

people about how to live in this world. Theyalso describe the blessings that God promiseshis people for a full and meaningful life hereand for life with him after death.

The New Testament writings includetwenty-seven different “books” by at leasteight different writers. All of them wrote inGreek, which was widely spoken in thefirst-century world. More than half of the totalwriting was done by four “apostles,” menchosen by Jesus to be his special representa-tives or helpers. Three of these, Matthew,John, and Peter, were among the twelveclosest followers of Jesus during his life onearth. The fourth, Paul, was chosen as anapostle later by Jesus through a miraculousappearance.

The first four books, called “Gospels,” areseparate accounts of the life and death of JesusChrist. Generally, these books emphasizeJesus’ teaching, the purpose of his appearanceon earth, and the special significance of hisdeath, rather than just the historical facts of hislife. This is especially true of the fourth book,the Gospel of John. The first three Gospels arevery similar in content. In fact, much of thematerial in one is found in one or both of theothers. Each writer, however, may be writingto a different audience and seems to have aslightly different goal in view.

The four Gospels are followed by Acts, ahistory of the events following the death ofJesus. It describes how God’s offer of love toall people was announced throughout theworld by Jesus’ followers. It tells how the pro-claiming of this “gospel” or “Good News”resulted in the conversion of thousands ofpeople throughout Palestine and the Romanworld to faith in Jesus Christ. The book ofActs was written by a medical doctor namedLuke, an eyewitness of much that he recorded.Luke was also the author of the third Gospel.His two books make a logical unit with Actsbeing the natural sequel to his account of thelife of Jesus.

Following Acts, there is a collection of let-ters written to individuals or groups ofbelievers in Christ. These letters were sentfrom leaders in the faith, such as Paul andPeter, two of Jesus’ apostles. These letterswere written to help the people of that timedeal with problems they were facing. Theyserve to inform, correct, teach, and encourage

not only those people but all who become fol-lowers of Jesus in regard to their faith, theirlife together, and their life in the world.

The final book of the New Testament, Reve-lation, is very different from all the other booksin the New Testament, although its purpose issimilar to that of other letters to churches.Written in a literary style similar to fantasy, itscentral aim is to encourage followers of Christ,assuring them of victory over evil.

THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENTHere is additional information on each of

the New Testament books, which should behelpful in preparation for reading each book:

Matthew. Matthew is the name of one ofJesus’ twelve closest followers. Matthew wasa Jewish tax collector when Jesus chose him asone of his apostles. Matthew’s writing showsthe influence of his Jewish background andinterests. He seems especially interested in thefulfillment of Old Testament prophecies in thelife of Jesus. Matthew really centers his book,however, around the teaching of Jesus.

Mark. John Mark was a young companionto some of the apostles. Mark’s style ofwriting is brief and full of action. UnlikeMatthew and Luke, he shows very littleinterest in Jesus’ teachings. Mark apparentlyaimed his writing at the Roman non-Jewishmind and centers on the actions of Jesus thatprove him to be the Son of God. Mark seemsmainly interested in people’s knowing thatJesus came to earth for the purpose of savingthem from the consequences of sin.

Luke. This is one of two books written by atraveling companion of the apostle Paul. Lukewas a well-educated medical doctor and a tal-ented writer. He seems familiar with Mark’sGospel and much of the material in the Gospelof Matthew, but he chooses to include mainlythe parts that would be attractive and under-standable to his non-Jewish audience. Morethan the other Gospel writers, he seems inter-ested in an orderly account of Jesus’ life as ahistorical reality. Emphasis, however, is noton the events in Jesus’ life, but on Jesus him-self as a loving, caring person who taughtpeople the real meaning of life and reachedout to the needs of all people with power tohelp and save.

John. This Gospel is very different from thefirst three. This is seen immediately from the

xxiiINTRODUCTION

beautiful but profound introduction. Johnintroduces much material that is not found inthe other Gospels. His main interest is inproving Jesus to be the Messiah (Christ), thedivine Son of God and savior of the world.

Acts. This book, written by Luke, takes upwhere his first book ends. It begins with Jesus’instructions to his followers to go throughoutthe world announcing the “Good News,” amessage about God’s love for all people. Jesuswanted them to tell what they now knew abouthis divine mission to save the earth’s peoplefrom the consequences of their wrongdoing.Luke traces the exciting fulfillment of thisassignment, centering on the activities of towmain characters, Peter and Paul. He showshow Christianity spread rapidly from a smallbeginning in Jerusalem into the surroundingregions of Judea and Samaria, and eventuallyto the farthest areas of the Roman empire.

The next group of New Testament writingsconsists of the Letters of Paul. The apostlePau l ( o r i g ina l l y named Sau l ) was awell-educated Jew from Tarsus in Cilicia(Southeast Turkey). Educated in Jerusalem, hewas a leader among the Pharisees, and he wasviolently opposed to the Christian movementin its early years. Jesus appeared to him in avision, however, and changed the whole direc-tion of his life. About ten years later, he begantraveling all over the Roman world to proclaimthe message about Christ. During this periodhe wrote many letters to churches (groups ofChristians) and to individuals. Thirteen ofthese l e t t e r s a re inc luded in the NewTestament.

Paul’s letter to the Romans is the longestand fullest of all his letters. Most of his lettersare to groups of Christians in cities where hehad pioneered in teaching people about Christand forming churches. However, when hewrote this letter to Christians living in Rome,he had never been there. He was in Greeceabout 57 A.D. Not being able to travel on toRome as he had wanted, he wrote his usualteaching in this letter. Besides dealing with anumber of o ther i s sues , he inc ludes acarefully-written presentation of the funda-mental truths of the Christian faith.

The l e t t e r s o f 1 Cor in th ians and2 Corinthians are two of several that Paulwrote to the Christians in Corinth, a city insouthern Greece. In the first of these two let-

ters, Paul deals with some problems that haddeveloped among the Christians there andanswers questions that some of them had sentto him. The subjects include Christian unity,marriage, sexual sin, divorce, Jewish customs,etc. Of particular interest is chapter 13, Paul’sfamous writing on love, which he sees as thesolution to all their problems. The secondletter follows up on the Corinthians’ responseto the first letter.

Paul’s letter to the Galatians deals with aproblem of a different kind among the Chris-tians in Galatia. Paul had proclaimed theChristian message there and had formed somechurches. Then a group of Jewish teacherswent there and taught some ideas that werevery different from the true teaching of Christ.The problem was a crucial one, because itinvolved the basis for a person’s good relation-ship with God. Being unable to travel toGalatia at the time, Paul strongly confrontedthe problem in this letter. Like his letter to theRomans, it also includes a presentation of thebasics of the Christian faith, but for a differentreason.

Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesians whilehe was in prison, but it is not certain where orwhen. The theme of this letter is God’s plan tobring all people together under the rule ofChrist. Paul encourages Christians to live theirlives in harmony with each other and withcomplete commitment to God’s purpose forthem.

Paul’s letter to the Philippians was alsowritten from prison, probably from Rome.Paul was facing many troubles at the time, buthe trusted God, and this letter is full of confi-dence and joy. Paul wrote to encourage theChristians in Philippi and to thank them forsome financial help they had sent to him.

Paul wrote the letter to the Colossians toconfront some false teachings that were trou-bling the church in Colossae, a city in AsiaMinor (modern Turkey). Parts of this letter aresimilar to the letter to the Ephesians. Paulgives some practical lessons for living the waya Christian should.

The l e t t e r s o f 1 Thessa lonians and 2 Thessalonians were probably among thefirst of Paul’s letters. On Paul’s first trip toMacedonia (northern Greece) he told thepeople of Thessalonica the Christian message.Many people believed, but Paul had to leave

xxiii INTRODUCTION

after a short time. Paul wrote to encourage thepeople in their new faith. He also discussessome things the people did not understand,especially concerning Christ’s expected return.The second letter continues this discussion.

The letters of 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, andTitus were written toward the end of Paul’slife to two of his close companions. Paul hadleft Timothy in Ephesus and Titus in Crete tohelp with some problems about the organiza-tion and function of the churches there. Appar-ently Timothy and Titus were to help thechurches in these places prepare for indepen-dent leadership and operation. In the first letterto Timothy and the letter to Titus, Paul givessome guidelines for the selection of leaders aswell as instructions for dealing with variousproblems and situations. The second letter toTimothy, written from prison as Paul facedwhat he felt was the end of his life, is very per-sonal. The letter is full of advice and encour-agement as he urges Timothy to follow hisown example of faith, courage, and endurance.

Philemon is a short letter written by Paul atthe same time he wrote the letter to the Colos-sians. Philemon, a Christian in Colossae, wasthe master of a run-away slave Onesimus, whohad become a Christian through Paul’s influ-ence. The letter is Paul’s appeal to Philemon toforgive Onesimus and welcome him back.

In addition to the letters of Paul, there areeight letters written by other followers ofJesus. The author of Hebrews is unknown, butit is clear that is was written to Jewishbelievers in Christ. They were in danger ofbeing pulled away from their belief in Jesus.This letter was written to encourage andstrengthen the faith of these Christians. Thewriter emphasizes the superiority of JesusChrist over all other beings and persons. Heteaches that the eternal priesthood of JesusChrist and the “better agreement” are superiorto the Old Testament priesthood and the “firstagreement.” The writer closes by encouragingthe people to trust in God and to live for Him.

The word “practical” is almost always usedin describing the letter from James, “a ser-vant” of God and Jesus. Some people thinkthis is one of Jesus’ brothers. The Jewish back-ground of James is clear as he teaches aboutfairness and justice, helping the poor, friend-ship with the world, wisdom, self-control,trials and temptations, doing and hearing, and

faith and works. He also encourages people topray and be patient.

The letters of 1 Peter and 2 Peter werewritten by the apostle Peter to Christians whowere living in many different places. Peterteaches such Christians about their living hopeand their real home in heaven. Because of thehard times they are facing, Peter assures themthat God has not forgotten them. They will bebetter because of their suffering. He remindsthem that God has blessed them and has for-given their sins through Jesus Christ. Theyshould respond by living right. In 2 Peter theapostle confronts false teachers. He teachesabout true knowledge and the second comingof Christ.

The letters of 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John

were written by the apostle John. John’s lettersof love assure the believers that God willalways accept them. John teaches that peopleshow their love to God by loving the peoplearound them and by doing the things Godwants them to do. The second and third lettersappeal to Christians to love one another, andthey warn against false teachers and ungodlybehavior.

The writer of the letter Jude is a brother ofJames and probably a brother of Jesus. Thisletter encourages faithfulness and speaks outagainst troublemakers and false teachers.

The Revelation of the apostle John beginswith words of criticism, encouragement, andinstruction addressed to groups of believers inseven different cities of Asia Minor (modernTurkey). But it continues with a picture ofspiritual warfare that is of interest to all fol-lowers of Christ. It uses highly figurative lan-guage as it tells of visions seen by the author.Many of the figures and images are from theOld Testament and can best be understood bycomparing them to Old Testament writings.This last book of the New Testament writingsassures believers of ultimate victory over theforces of evil through the power of God andJesus Christ, their leader and helper.

THE BIBLE AND TODAY’S READERToday’s reader of the Bible should keep in

mind that these books were written thousandsof years ago for people who lived in culturesvery different from ours today. Many of thehistorical accounts, illustrations, and refer-ences they contain can only be understood

xxivINTRODUCTION

with some knowledge of the time and culturein which the writers lived. Generally, however,the writings focus on principles that are uni-versally true. For example, Jesus told a storyabout a man sowing grain in a field that haddifferent types of soil conditions. Those exactconditions may be unfamiliar to a persontoday, but the lesson Jesus draws from theexample is appropriate for people in any timeor place.

The modern reader may find the world ofthe Bible somewhat strange. The customs, theattitudes, and the way people talk may be quiteunfamiliar. It is only reasonable to judge thesethings by their experience and ideals, not bytoday’s standards. It is also important to notethat the Bible was not written as a book of sci-ence. It was written mainly to describe histor-ical events and present the significance of

those events in ways that relate to all people.Its teachings present universal truths that arebeyond the realm of science. It remains rele-vant even in our own time, because it dealswith people’s basic spiritual needs, whichnever change.

If you read the Bible with an open mind,you can expect to receive many benefits. Youwill gain knowledge about the history and cul-ture of the ancient world. You will learn aboutthe life and teachings of Jesus Christ and whatit means to be his follower. You will gainbasic spiritual insights and learn practicallessons for living a dynamic and joy-filled life.You will find answers to life’s most difficultquestions. There are, therefore, many goodreasons for reading this book, and if you readit with a sincere and receptive spirit, you maywell discover God’s purpose for your life.

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