This prophecy is addressed to a people who have been struck down and laid waste by their oppressors and by devastating circumstances that are beyond their control. One of the key themes in the chapter is ‘comfort’, especially in verses 12–16.

The author of this letter isn't identified, but was assumed by the early Church Fathers to be the author of John's Gospel. It's a beautifully simple but profound meditation on the nature of Christian love in the light of Christ.

Jude’s letter is an urgent call to fight for and defend the true faith. He thought he had cause to rejoice with a faithful community of believers but, to his horror, he finds they’re not only in crisis but seemingly unaware of the fact.

While yesterday's psalm about enemies might have felt further from our day-to-day experience, perhaps today's psalm has more resonances. The 'enemy' mentioned at the start is revealed in verse 14 as a former friend. 

Pink Floyd's most famous song is a challenge to the kind of system that forces people into pre-determined roles whatever their individual gifts and talents: 'All in all you're just another brick in the wall'. It's a call to l...

This is a very fierce chapter. The writer takes aim at 'false prophets', and doesn't spare them. They teach 'destructive, untrue doctrines' which lead them and their followers into immorality; they are 'bold and arrogant...

Is the Bible antisemitic? According to the way a disturbing incident on the London Underground on Friday was reported by the media, yes it is.

Some parts of Ecclesiastes can seem like a very bleak read. 'A live dog is better than a dead lion', says the Preacher (verse 4); at least while we're alive we can eat, drink and be cheerful, but when we're dead we're dead.

Long before medieval clergyman Thomas à Kempis wrote his devotional classic The Imitation of Christ, the apostle Paul explored what ‘imitation’ implied.

Paul frames his concluding thoughts with the phrases, ‘the peace of God’ (verse 7) and ‘the God of peace’ (verse 9). Despite his predicament, he is full of joy (verse 4), because the still, small voice of God is assuring him of his presence a...

Colossians 3 contains straightforward and direct instructions for holy living, set in the context of a profound insight: that because we're united with Christ, we have become completely new people (verse 10). How we are on the outside needs to m...

In Psalm 15, the focus moves away from endurance in the face of attack to an emphasis on God's blessings. 'Lord, who may enter your Temple? Who may worship on Zion, your sacred hill?' the psalmist asks (verse 1).

Ecclesiastes 5 goes in a different direction from the previous chapters. It talks about taking seriously what we promise to do for God. Its main message is when you make a vow to God, 'do not delay to fulfil it' (verse 4).

There's a repeated pattern in Exodus of the people complaining about how hard their lives are, and God stepping in to correct them or rescue them. It's as though they have to learn, after all their years of slavery, how to live as free people.

The healing of the man at the pool of Bethzatha, or Bethesda, makes a very rich story. The pool is known as a place of miracles – it was believed that an angel disturbed the waters from time to time, and that the first person in the water after tha...

John Newton's great hymn Amazing Grace quotes from the story of the healing of the man born blind: 'I once was lost, but now am found/ Was blind, but now I see.' He uses it as a picture of grace.

Like everyone else, Bible Society is deeply aware of how serious the coronavirus situation is. When we're facing challenges, whether it's close to home or out in the world on an unimaginable scale, it can be hard to pray. But it helps a lot...

There’s no comfort in the words of Job’s friends, who insist on seeing his suffering as a sign of his guilt. Neither defending himself nor staying silent alleviate his situation. It does seem like God is his enemy.

This is a deeply moving story. It portrays a man who has lost his independence with his sight, who has evidently lost any family he had (otherwise they would have cared for him and he would not have needed to beg), and who is so desperate for a solut...

How do you feel when people refuse to listen to and believe you, no matter the arguments or evidence supplied in your defence? In today’s chapter, Job – feeling misjudged and patronised – lets his frustration show and delivers a withering asses...