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Genesis/创世纪

There is another tree, tree of life in the garden of Eden. Why the serpent didn't suggest to first eat the fruit from the tree of life...

I guess most of peple don't know that the first animal sent out was raven. and raven was mentioned quite often through out the book. 牛羊也是经常出现。为什么偶像崇拜会是金牛，hmm

各种族谱和奇葩的一些事情，兄弟互杀，异性乱睡。然而有些乱睡又被认为是罪过。

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Deuteronomy/申命记

all kinds of laws and rules..

随机的回翻到 25:8 她丈夫的弟兄当尽弟兄的本分，娶她为妻。。。他若执意说，哦不愿意娶她。他哥哥的妻就要当着长老到那人的跟前，脱了他的鞋，吐唾沫在他脸上。。。在以色列中，他的名必被称作拖鞋之家。“the house of him hose sandal was pulled off”

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Ecclesiastes/传道书

Vanity of vanities

"What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun"

"I perceived that this also is but a chasing after wind. For in much wisdom is much vexation, and those who increase knowledge increase sorrow"

Everything has its time

"a time to be born, and a time to die..."

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Song of Solomon

哎，念不下去。。太惊悚的比喻了。

“你的头发如同山羊群卧在基列山旁。你的牙齿如新剪毛的一群母羊，洗净上来，个个都有双生，没有一只丧掉子的。。”

“Your hair is like a flock of goats, moving down the slopes of Gilead. Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes that have come up from the washing, all of which bear twins, and not one among them i bereaved”

这画面，，moving down the slopes。。

"let us go out early to the vineyards, and see whether the vines have budded".

really? to check on the vines?

it is very hard for me to understand this chapter for the messages delivering .. I may look into the how come and what later.

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Isaiah

Back to the old tone (finally), people and countries did sinful thing. Judah and Jerusalem.

Sign of Immanuel "the yong woman is with child and shall bear a son" - the coming of Jesus. Isaiah 7:10, 9:6

Don't know what is a "Seraph", which has six wings: two covered faces, two covered feet, and with two they flew..

The countries/tribes got me confused again.

There have been 12 tribes. I don't remember since when. sometime after Moses led them out of Egypt or before??, They were wondering around then somehow managed to settle somewhere by taking other's land. The promised land?? Anyway, they had a country, a few great kings, David and Solomon are the outstanding ones. (Chapter 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles) Then because of again sinful and evil things the ungrateful people did, the country split into two, Judah and Jerusalem. They sometime fought against each other, sometime fought together against others. Then somehow both of them became captive. Assyrian, Babylon. Later they tried to rebuild the temple and return to Jerusalem (Ezra).

judgments on Israel, Assyria, Babylon, Moab, Damascus, Ethiopia, Egypt. mentioned again "will be like Sodom and Gomorrah "

Don't know the relationship (geog/origin/etc ) between these countries or places..

"See, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt; the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence"

这个有点好笑。踏着筋斗云来到埃及，埃及的众偶像都瑟瑟发抖了。出埃及记 Exodus 中，法老被七次灾难，开始的几次还派出魔法师斗法，血灾，蛙，虱，蝇，畜疫，疮，冰雹，蝗虫，黑暗，击杀长子（blood, frogs, lice, flies, livestock pestilence, boils, hail, locusts, darkness and the killing of firstborn children）斗到lice，法师们都败下来，对法老说，这是神的手段。"this is the finger of God".

跳跃的想到，摩西被召唤之际，各种推脱自己口才能力不行不肯，还差点被the Lord 杀掉。也是令人费解。“On the way, at a place where they spent the night, the Lord met him and tried to kill him. But Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son's foreskin, and touched Moses feet with it, and said Truely you are a bridegroom of blood to me! So he let him alone” Exodus 5:24-25

称呼/名字 God, the Lord, Lord of the host, Mighty etc， 也就是 神，主。

主 the Lord 有一种从属的关系，对比于，神God 更威严的跨界感，人和神这样。idol 的话，就感觉是捏捏就碎掉的泥塑。

Punishment on countries, enemies or not, the earth. but still promise "the return of the redeemed to Zion"

"Isaiah wrote during the stormy period marking the expansion of the Assyrian empire and the decline of Israel. Isaiah wrote during the stormy period marking the expansion of the Assyrian empire and the decline of Israel... The godly King Hezekiah prayed earnestly, and Isaiah predicted that God would force the Assyrians to withdraw from the city (37:6-7).Nevertheless Isaiah warned Judah that her sin would bring captivity at the hands of Babylon." ( https://www.biblestudytools.com/isaiah/ )

Jeremiah

大致上背景还是Judah / Israel 夹在 Egypt, Assyria and Babylon 直接被打被惩罚什么的，劝百姓悔改。

不受待见的先知，不知道为什么，Jeremiah 四处奔走疾呼，但没什么人要搭理他的样子，还有人设计要杀害他. 主要求他过孤独的日子，，因为后代会死无葬身之地。

Baal 是什么。wiki: In the Northwest Semitic languages—Ugaritic, Phoenician, Hebrew, Amorite, and Aramaic—the word baʿal signified "owner" and, by extension, "lord",[9] a "master", or "husband".[12][13]

" Yet such fluidity in the use of the term baal did not prevent it from being attached to a god of distinct character. As such, Baal designated the universal god of fertility, and in that capacity his title was Prince, Lord of the Earth. He was also called the Lord of Rain and Dew, the two forms of moisture that were indispensable for fertile soil in Canaan. In Ugaritic and Hebrew, Baal’s epithet as the storm god was He Who Rides on the Clouds. In Phoenician he was called Baal Shamen, Lord of the Heavens."

" Fertility was envisaged in terms of seven-year cycles. In the mythology of Canaan, Baal, the god of life and fertility, locked in mortal combat with Mot, the god of death and sterility. If Baal triumphed, a seven-year cycle of fertility would ensue; but, if he were vanquished by Mot, seven years of drought and famine would ensue " ( https://www.britannica.com/topic/Baal-ancient-deity )

假先知。所以要怎么知道谁是假先知呢？

总之，伊是不被待见的先知，唱衰国运，还要大家不要反抗，你们一定会被捉到巴比伦去的，到了请安心做亡国奴，盖屋种田，吃喝其中，以后还会重归故土的。于是，就显然，伊自己就先被捉起来了。。

然后，Judah / Israel 陷落，都被抓到巴比伦了，圣殿被毁，盆盆罐罐都被搬去了。

中间还论述各国城邦的命运，巴比伦也会被攻陷。以色列人还会再兴起。

Lamentations

作者不详，

Outline

• Jerusalem's Misery and Desolation (ch. 1)
• The Lord's Anger against His People (ch. 2)
• Judah's Complaint -- and Basis for Consolation (ch. 3)
• The Contrast between Zion's Past and Present (ch. 4)
• Judah's Appeal to the Lord for Forgiveness and Restoration (ch. 5)

It pointed out that, "The author of these laments and those who preserved them understood clearly that the Babylonians were merely the human agents of divine judgment. It was God himself who had destroyed the city and temple"

Well, I guess it is quite obvious that the whole Bible, at least many chapters in the Old Testament, is about sin, punishment (by God or by the human agents or whatever disasters), and hope.

But it is not so obvious what is sin and rightous.It is like the constitution. Should one literally follow the scripts or the meaning and intention of it ? I thinkjavascript:;, it is the reason that people differ their interpretations and further differences. I guess, if someone quotes the scripts to against something, like demeaning females, I could ask him/her to bake bread on human excrement as the Lord has asked Ezekiel to do so.

Ezekiel

So the Lord asked him to lie on one side for 390 days and the other side for 40 days to bear the punishment on the house of Israel and Judah respectively.

Does it mean that Israel sinned more than Judah.. don't know why

The creatures with four faces, four wings, and wheels in his vision. Sounds similar to the one with six wings in previous book.

He is somewhat different from the other prophets. It seems that he saw visions more often than others. and God gave him strange instructions. and his telling of God's words was more of personal experience, "the word of the Lord came to me".

It is a little surprised that Sodom was also promised to be restored. It might be mentioned elsewhere.

I don't quite like the parables of prostitutes.

Daniel

In total 12 chapters, not lengthy but with stunning visions. Tree made of different materials. Horns. Fights between ram and goat. Angels Gabriel, and Michael came into his visions. "Michael, the great prince"

The scripts are not so straightforward. The " four empires are the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek and Roman."

https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/daniel-9-27.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archangel

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Archangels

Are there different ranks among angels?

Yes. The angel greatest in both power and authority is Michael, the archangel. (Jude 9; Revelation 12:7) Seraphs are high-ranking angels who are stationed near Jehovah’s throne. (Isaiah 6:2, 6) Cherubs form another high-ranking order of angels having special duties. For example, cherubs guarded the entrance to the garden of Eden after Adam and Eve were expelled.—Genesis 3:23, 24.

The Bible gives the names of two angels: Michael and Gabriel. (Daniel 12:1; Luke 1:26) *

Hosea

Prostitution/adultery is all over this book. This book again is about the fate of Israel. Somehow, also in the other previous books, turning to Assyria and/or Egypt for help/alliance is seen as prostitution/adultery. But what could they do?

Hosea is one of the Twelve Prophets of the Jewish Hebrew Bible, also known as the Minor Prophets of the Christian Old Testament.The term "Minor" relates to the length of each book (ranging from a single chapter to fourteen); even the longest is short compared to the three major prophets, Isaiah, Ezekiel and Jeremiah.

The current version of Bible, how the books are collected?

12:

Book of Hosea, Book of Joel, Book of Amos, Book of Obadiah, Book of Jonah, Book of Micah, Book of Nahum, Book of Habakkuk, Book of Zephaniah, Book of Haggai, Book of Zechariah, and Book of Malachi

Joel

Locust, He saw it as punishment from the Lord, and urged them to repent.

It is interesting that fasting, weeping, putting on sackcloth, rolling in the dirt, and sitting in the ash are the "standard" ways to repent.

Amos

Judgements on countries

Obadiah

The shortest book in the old testament, only one chapter.

Condemn Edom.

So it is also a sin that "you gloated over your brother on the day of his misfortune"

Gloat: contemplate or dwell on one's own success or another's misfortune with smugness or malignant pleasure.

Jonah

He was such a funny guy. He tried to escape from the presence of the Lord, when the Lord spoke to him. So he boarded a ship and because of him, the ship was in danger, "the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea". Well, when everyone on the ship was crying for their lives, he was sleeping.. Now, he was thrown into the seas to spare the rest of the crew, and a large fish swallowed him. He was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.

Then he started praying to get out of this situation to the lad. His prayer was answered and he became a good guy following God's instruction to go to the great city of Nineveh to proclaim. The people in Nineveh however belived in God, they actually did turn from their evil ways (one of the few cases, mostly people would be stubborn). They fast and put on sackcloth. So God didn't bring any calamity upon them.

Now our Jonah was not happy at all, actually angry, it seemed to him that all the troubles he went through was in vain, "It is better for me to die than to live". God taught him a lesson through the bush.

Micah

Nahum

Punishment on Nineveh (Assyria)

Habakkuk

Zephaniah

"Zephaniah was a fourth-generation descendant of Hezekiah, a notable king of Judah from 715 to 686 b.c. The intent of the author was to announce to Judah God's approaching judgment. A Scythian incursion into Canaan may have provided the immediate occasion. This fierce, horse-mounted people originated in what is now southern Russia, but by the seventh century b.c. they had migrated across the Caucasus and settled in and along the northern territories of the Assyrian empire."

Haggai

Zechariah

Visions, 4 chariots

ch14:7 "and there shall be continuous day (it is known to the Lord), not day and not night, for at evening time there shall be light". -- hmm, what kind of day?

Malachi

2:15 divorce

tithes:1/10, how come 1/10, some rule set by Moses.

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New Testament

Matthew

Messiah Genealogy

Abraham to David 14 generations, David to the deportation to Babylon 14 generations, to the Messiah 14 generations.

Joseph, namely step legal father of Jesus

Emmanuel: means God is with us.

3:7 why John didn't like Pharisees and Saducees?

3:11 funny saying, not worthy to carry his sandals..

3:16 the Spirit of God descending like a dove, which was quite different from the OT,

So the books of OT had been circulated during the time of OT. What happened during the time between OT and NT?

4:18 recuit the first disciples, It was like fair tales.xx went on the way and found xx and joined

5:13 - 16 Salt and light

5:31 again I don't like any of these describing women as whores

Jesus liked talking in parables

Why Judas would betray? He had seen the miracles Jesus had done.

Holy Spirit is something new.

Mark

very similar to Matthew. contents, styles.

Luke

It was address to Theophilus as an investigation report.

Mary (Jesus's mom) and Elizabeth (John's mom) were relatives. The Holy spirit and angel kept visiting them.

John

The beginning of this book is very unique.

who is the disciple that Jesus loved?

Acts

stories after Jesus was crucified.

why crucified? any other forms of death sentence?

who are "we"? seems like the author(s) traveled with Paul

spread the good news to the Gentiles/outside Jerusalem

Acts 11:26, Antioch was where the followers were first called Christians

Saul's (a.k.a, Paul) conversion from persecutor to one of influencers, later arrested and preached in Rome

Romans

Righteousness, Faith, Justification, Law, Sin

1: 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, "The one who is righteous will live by faith

3:22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe

4:13-15 It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. For if those who depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless, because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.

5:3-5 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

5:13 To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law.

5:18:19 Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

1 Corinthians

set many rules for the church.

13: 4-13, the well-known "Love" : love is patient, love is kind..

2 Corinthians

It is interesting about the collections/contribution/donation for the church. Not sure exactly what the Corinthians did, Paul was not quite happy with them

Church is a new thing after Jesus's death, I think.

Galatians

Law vs Faith

It seems to do with the strict laws, like circumcision.

Ephesians

Okay, why so many books by Paul were included in the New Testament?

Philippians

Paul really liked Timothy..

Colossians

Another book by Paul. The final greeting is relatively longer than other books. It is interesting to read the worldly things..

1 Thessalonians

by Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy

2 Thessalonians

1 Timothy

er, again, I don't like the regulations for women. "women should dress themselves modestly..not with expensive cloths" "I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man" -- very different from the way Jesus treated women.

2 Timothy

Titus

Philemon

Interesting one, 1/2 about pleading something for Onesimus..

how the books in the Bible were collected and put together, what is in and what is out?

Hebrews

Talk about God's son. Jesus is the highest priest.

James

Faith without works is dead.

5:12 Above all, my beloved, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your "yes" be yes and your "No" be no, so that you may not fail under condemnation.

1 Peter

Finally not by Paul by Peter

2 Peter

1:5-7 For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurane with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love.

2:19 people are slaves to whatever masters them.

1 John

2 John

3 John

Jude

Revelation

7 churches

24 elders

4 living creatures surrounding the throne, lion, ox, face like a human face, eagle

7 seals

lamb

7 angles trumpets (disasters)

er,, little scroll, I ate it ? ?

two witneses

Michael and his angels fought against the dragon (devil Satan)and his angles.

13:17-18 Persons with (devil/beast) mark on their right hand or forehead. Its number is 666. aha, is it why 666 is referred to ?

lamb and the 144,000

chapter 20 thousand years, the dragon/ancient serpent/the Devil and Satan was chained and locked in the pit for 1000 years. "after that, he must be let out for a little while. ... and the rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. and the judgement day, live and dead.

- I see now, what people were worried in 2000.

New Jerusalem with river of life, either side of which has trees of life.

Completed 8/8/2020

I did it !! It took about a year since last Sep (some time around that). Everyday 15 mins +.

I had this book for 15 or 16 years, I bought it in Hangzhou jie fang road, the church I think is still there. It has been with me since then.

I read some chapters here and there (different versions, different prints) but never had the resolution to read it all, cause... some of the books/chapters are boring.. It turned out more interesting than I thought.