"Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid.

I am listening to what the LORD God is saying; he promises peace to us, his own people, if we do not go back to our foolish ways.

Love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will embrace.

A child is born to us! A son is given to us! And he will be our ruler. He will be called, "Wonderful Counselor," "Mighty God," "Eternal Father," "Prince of Peace."

His royal power will continue to grow; his kingdom will always be at peace. He will rule as King David's successor, basing his power on right and justice, from now until the end of time. The LORD Almighty is determined to do all this.

and he will bring peace. When the Assyrians invade our country and break through our defenses, we will send our strongest leaders to fight them.

"Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom he is pleased!"

"God bless the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory to God!"

Now that we have been put right with God through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

He has brought us by faith into this experience of God's grace, in which we now live. And so we boast of the hope we have of sharing God's glory!

For Christ himself has brought us peace by making Jews and Gentiles one people. With his own body he broke down the wall that separated them and kept them enemies.

By his death on the cross Christ destroyed their enmity; by means of the cross he united both races into one body and brought them back to God.

And God's peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus.

Through the Son, then, God decided to bring the whole universe back to himself. God made peace through his Son's blood on the cross and so brought back to himself all things, both on earth and in heaven.

May the Lord himself, who is our source of peace, give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with you all.

and Abraham gave him one tenth of all he had taken. (The first meaning of Melchizedek's name is "King of Righteousness"; and because he was king of Salem, his name also means "King of Peace.")

God has raised from death our Lord Jesus, who is the Great Shepherd of the sheep as the result of his blood, by which the eternal covenant is sealed. May the God of peace provide you with every good thing you need in order to do his will, and may he, through Jesus Christ, do in us what pleases him. And to Christ be the glory forever and ever! Amen.

(SEE 13:20)

If you belonged to the world, then the world would love you as its own. But I chose you from this world, and you do not belong to it; that is why the world hates you.

But they will do all this to you because you are mine; for they do not know the one who sent me.

They strengthened the believers and encouraged them to remain true to the faith. "We must pass through many troubles to enter the Kingdom of God," they taught.

As the scripture says, "For your sake we are in danger of death at all times; we are treated like sheep that are going to be slaughtered."

I am so sure of you; I take such pride in you! In all our troubles I am still full of courage; I am running over with joy.

For while we were still with you, we told you ahead of time that we were going to be persecuted; and as you well know, that is exactly what happened.

Everyone who wants to live a godly life in union with Christ Jesus will be persecuted;

He preferred to suffer with God's people rather than to enjoy sin for a little while.

Be firm in your faith and resist him, because you know that other believers in all the world are going through the same kind of sufferings.

"I don't know, sir. You do," I answered. He said to me, "These are the people who have come safely through the terrible persecution. They have washed their robes and made them white with the blood of the Lamb.

"Do not be worried and upset," Jesus told them. "Believe in God and believe also in me.

And so it was that the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had a time of peace. Through the help of the Holy Spirit it was strengthened and grew in numbers, as it lived in reverence for the Lord.

That night the Lord stood by Paul and said, "Don't be afraid! You have given your witness for me here in Jerusalem, and you must also do the same in Rome."

But now I beg you, take courage! Not one of you will lose your life; only the ship will be lost.

So take courage, men! For I trust in God that it will be just as I was told.

Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the merciful Father, the God from whom all help comes!

And now, my friends, good-bye! Strive for perfection; listen to my appeals; agree with one another; live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.

So, in all our trouble and suffering we have been encouraged about you, friends. It was your faith that encouraged us,

and they are wrong about judgment, because the ruler of this world has already been judged.

Now is the time for this world to be judged; now the ruler of this world will be overthrown.

He ran to him, stood over him, took Goliath's sword out of its sheath, and cut off his head and killed him. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they ran away.

The men of Israel and Judah shouted and ran after them, pursuing them all the way to Gath and to the gates of Ekron. The Philistines fell wounded all along the road that leads to Shaaraim, as far as Gath and Ekron.

He goes up to the heights, taking many captives with him; he receives gifts from rebellious people. The LORD God will live there.

No, in all these things we have complete victory through him who loved us!

In order to set us free from this present evil age, Christ gave himself for our sins, in obedience to the will of our God and Father.

As for me, however, I will boast only about the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ; for by means of his cross the world is dead to me, and I am dead to the world.

But you belong to God, my children, and have defeated the false prophets, because the Spirit who is in you is more powerful than the spirit in those who belong to the world.

because every child of God is able to defeat the world. And we win the victory over the world by means of our faith.