Scripture places the teaching of another generation within the life of families and the whole people of God. It addresses descendants in Israel, remembers a grandmother’s sincere faith, and calls older believers to faithful conduct and useful teaching. These passages show how a grandparent can contribute while honoring the responsibilities of parents and the younger person’s own response to God.
Explain what God has done and why it matters
Answer questions by explaining both God’s acts and their meaning. In Deuteronomy 6:20–25, a son asks about Israel’s testimonies, statutes, and judgments. The answer begins with slavery under Pharaoh and the LORD’s mighty rescue. It then explains that God brought Israel out to bring the people into the land he had promised and commanded them to fear and obey him for their good. The child receives reasons for obedience grounded in God’s saving work and faithfulness. Teach the biblical account with that connection intact.
Israel’s memorials were accompanied by explanation. Exodus 12:21–28 describes the Passover lamb, blood on the doorway, the LORD’s protection of Israel’s households, and the answer to children asking what the service means. Joshua 4:4–7 and 19–24 similarly connects twelve stones with Israel’s passage through the Jordan on dry ground. The explanation compares that crossing with the Red Sea and gives its purpose: that the peoples of the earth know the LORD’s mighty hand and Israel fear him. The memorial prompts a question, and faithful words supply its meaning. These are particular instructions and events in Israel’s history; what a grandparent can learn from them is to help the younger generation understand the God to whom Scripture bears witness.
Keep the goal of remembrance clear. Psalm 78:1–8 calls the people to hear teaching received from their fathers and pass it to children yet to be born, who will in turn teach their children. Verse 7 names the purpose: that they place their hope in God, remember his works, and keep his commandments. This reaches beyond remembering names and events. Help your grandchildren understand what the passage reveals about God and the trust and conduct it calls forth.
Tell that history truthfully. Psalm 78:12–39 recalls the sea crossing, guidance, water, food, unbelief, judgment, and God’s compassion. The people could receive his gifts while remaining faithless; their flattering words did not make their hearts steadfast. Yet God repeatedly showed mercy, remembering their frailty. The psalm continues through further rebellion and judgment to God’s choice of David to shepherd his people (Psalm 78:40–72). The younger generation is meant to learn from both the failures and the mercy. Speak honestly about sin and give God the credit for his faithfulness.
Let remembrance become praise. Psalm 145:4–13 describes one generation declaring God’s mighty acts to another, celebrating his goodness, compassion, righteousness, and enduring kingdom. Its praise makes God’s character known. As you speak of his care in your own life, be truthful about what happened and what you learned from his Word. Give thanks in a way that helps your hearers know the Lord whose goodness you are praising.
Further study: Jerome Creach
Help them know Scripture and trust Christ
Give Scripture a central place in what you pass on. Second Timothy 1:3–5 remembers the sincere faith of Timothy’s grandmother Lois and mother Eunice and expresses confidence that this faith also lives in Timothy. The KJV calls it “unfeigned faith”: real trust rather than an appearance put on for others. Paul values the faith of these women as part of Timothy’s story. Let your grandchildren encounter such sincerity in your own devotion and in the care with which you teach.
Second Timothy 3:14–15 recalls the teaching Timothy has received and the holy Scriptures he has known from childhood. Read alongside the remembrance of Lois and Eunice, this gives strong reason to recognize their part in his formation. It is reasonable to see his mother and grandmother helping to pass on that knowledge, although the letter does not describe their individual lessons. Their remembered faith encourages you to share Scripture patiently and help a younger person become familiar with its teaching.
Explain where Scripture directs his faith. In 2 Timothy 3:15, the sacred writings known from childhood—the Scriptures of Israel—are able to make Timothy wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Their purpose reaches its saving focus in Christ. Second Timothy 1:8–10 explains the good news Timothy must bear: God saves and calls by his purpose and grace, and Christ has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. Help the younger person understand God’s saving work and the call to trust Christ. Family heritage serves that personal faith.
Teaching also prepares a person to live faithfully. Second Timothy 3:16–17 names Scripture’s uses: doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness. It teaches truth, exposes what is wrong, sets conduct right, and trains in a righteous life, so that God’s servant is equipped for good works. The immediate charge concerns Timothy’s ministry, and the passage explains the benefit of the very Scriptures he learned as a child. Read and explain their meaning with your grandchildren; help them recognize what they should believe, receive as correction, and put into practice.
Encourage a growing capacity to serve. Paul’s remembrance of Timothy’s family leads into a charge to stir up God’s gift, endure for the gospel, and hold sound teaching in faith and love (2 Timothy 1:6–14). Timothy is called to act upon what he has received. As your grandchildren learn, encourage their own understanding, obedience, and willing service to Christ. A faithful inheritance is being carried forward when they increasingly trust and follow him themselves.
Further study: A.K.M. Adam · Matt Skinner · Biblical Studies Press · Wartburg Project
Pass on wisdom as someone still learning
Pass on wisdom that helps the younger person recognize and choose what is good. In Proverbs 4:1–9, a father asks his children to listen and recalls being a son who was himself taught by his father. He passes on the call to retain instruction, get wisdom, and love it. The account presents a chain of received and renewed teaching. A grandparent can contribute to such a chain by sharing sound instruction with both children and grandchildren, remaining accountable to the wisdom being taught.
Explain the reasons within the counsel. Proverbs 4:10–19 contrasts the way of wisdom with the way of people committed to wrongdoing. The righteous path is compared with growing light; the wicked stumble in darkness without understanding what causes their fall. In verses 20–27, the father connects guarding the heart with truthful speech, steady attention, and carefully considered steps. The heart matters because the course of life proceeds from it. Help your grandchildren consider the desires, judgments, and choices that shape conduct, and explain how God’s instruction directs them toward what is right.
Give them an active part in learning. Proverbs 2:1–9 calls the son to receive words, incline his ear, apply his heart, cry for understanding, and seek wisdom as treasure. These efforts lead toward the fear and knowledge of God because the LORD gives wisdom. Verses 10–22 explain its practical protection from crooked conduct and faithlessness. Invite careful attention and honest questions, and help the learner work through what a passage means and why a response follows. The aim is understanding they can exercise for themselves.
Continue receiving the same instruction you share. Psalm 119:97–104 grounds the psalmist’s understanding in love for God’s law, meditation, and keeping his precepts. He even speaks of understanding beyond teachers and the aged because he attends to God’s Word. Years of experience can be valuable, while God’s truth remains the measure of what is wise. Let Scripture correct your judgment, welcome what you still need to learn, and show the younger generation that teachability belongs to a faithful life.
Support parents and honor each generation’s responsibilities
Help your adult children carry the responsibilities Scripture gives them. Ephesians 6:1–4 calls children to obey their parents in the Lord and honor father and mother; it then charges fathers to bring them up in the Lord’s nurture and admonition without provoking them to anger. A grandparent’s teaching should strengthen this faithful upbringing. Titus 2:4–5 similarly directs older women’s teaching toward younger women’s love and faithful care for their own families. Offer counsel and help that encourage the parents’ obedience to God and their children’s regard for them.
Recognize the household responsibilities your children have taken up as adults. Genesis 2:24 describes a man leaving father and mother and being joined to his wife in one flesh. Marriage establishes a union for which husband and wife themselves are responsible. Together with the parental charge in Ephesians 6:4, this gives a grandparent reason to support the new household’s faithful life and take its entrusted responsibilities seriously. Your continuing love and wisdom can serve it without assuming that the authority once exercised over a child automatically governs that child’s marriage or children.
Care also travels toward the older generation. In 1 Timothy 5:3–8, children and grandchildren of a widow are to practice godliness within their own household and make a return to their parents. The KJV’s “nephews” in verse 4 means grandchildren here. Verse 16 explains the shared purpose: family support allows the church to help widows without such support. Receiving needed care is therefore compatible with a faithful life. Teach gratitude, honor, and practical concern for older relatives as part of the same family faithfulness you encourage in the young.
Further study: Biblical Studies Press
Call them to respond to God for themselves
Teach with the younger person’s own relationship to God in view. Ezekiel 18:1–20 answers a proverb blaming the present generation’s condition on its fathers. It describes a righteous man, his violent son, and a grandson who sees his father’s sins, considers them, and chooses a different course. The grandson practices justice and care for the needy, and God does not hold him guilty for his father’s wrongdoing. Each person answers for his own conduct. The account makes room for faithfulness to continue through a family and for a later generation to turn away from what was wrong in it.
Therefore keep calling them toward repentance and life. Ezekiel 18:21–32 describes a wicked person turning from wrongdoing and concludes with God’s appeal to turn and live. A family’s history does not make that appeal pointless. Psalm 103:15–18 gives corresponding hope: human life passes like grass, but the LORD’s mercy endures toward those who fear him, extending to children’s children who keep his covenant and remember his commands. The psalm praises mercy that outlasts a single lifetime while keeping the descendants’ response in view. Encourage trust and obedience with confidence in God’s mercy.
Give that encouragement patiently and prayerfully. Second Timothy 2:22–26 calls the Lord’s servant to pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, and to teach opponents with gentleness rather than quarrelsomeness. The stated hope is that God may give repentance and bring them to acknowledge the truth. Timothy’s ministry supplies this instruction; its patient, God-dependent manner also helps a Christian grandparent guide another person. Speak truth clearly, continue in love, and seek from God the inward response that your own words cannot manufacture.
Pray for them and keep declaring God’s faithfulness
Bring the younger generation before God with affection and hope. Genesis 48:8–16 records Jacob embracing and kissing Joseph’s sons and blessing them. He recalls the God before whom Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who had sustained him throughout life, and the angel who had redeemed him from evil. His blessing asks that this same care rest upon the boys. Remembering God’s past faithfulness becomes a reason to seek his care for those who will live after him.
Jacob also speaks from a particular place in God’s covenant history. Genesis 48:3–7 includes God’s land promise and Jacob’s reception of Ephraim and Manasseh as his own sons; verses 17–22 include their differing future prominence and the assurance that God will bring the family back to the land. These are specific patriarchal declarations, not powers assigned to every grandparent. Hebrews 11:20–22 identifies the blessings and forward-looking confidence of Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph as acts of faith. Their example encourages you to seek God’s good for your grandchildren and entrust their future to him, with your hope resting in what he has actually promised.
Keep your own dependence on him visible. Psalm 71:5–9 remembers God’s care from youth and asks for help as strength fails. In verses 14–18, the psalmist resolves to continue hoping and praising, then asks God not to forsake him until he has declared divine strength to the present generation and those still to come. This testimony comes from someone who has known trouble and still needs rescue. Your continuing prayer, gratitude, and trust can help another generation see what it means to depend on God throughout life. Give them his Word, tell his faithfulness truthfully, and keep seeking his help as you do.
Further study: James Limburg · A.K.M. Adam
Read the passages
Scripture in context
26 contextual selections for this subject, including the passages cited above and further related reading. Every selected range is reproduced in full from the KJV. Context notes identify the setting and kind of evidence.
Creation narrative and marriage explanation 1 selections
Genesis 2:18–25 KJV · In this guide
Context: The search for a corresponding helper leads to the woman’s creation and the stated leaving, cleaving, and one-flesh union.
2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
2:19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.
2:20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.
2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
2:22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
2:23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
Patriarchal narrative and blessing 1 selections
Genesis 48:1–22 KJV · In this guide
Context: The whole encounter includes Joseph’s visit with his sons, Jacob’s covenant recollection, their reception as sons, embrace, blessing, and inheritance declarations.
48:1 And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
48:2 And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.
48:3 And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,
48:4 And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.
48:5 And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.
48:6 And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.
48:7 And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Beth-lehem.
48:8 And Israel beheld Joseph’s sons, and said, Who are these?
48:9 And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them.
48:10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.
48:11 And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed.
48:12 And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.
48:13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near unto him.
48:14 And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.
48:15 And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,
48:16 The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.
48:17 And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head.
48:18 And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.
48:19 And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.
48:20 And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
48:21 And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.
48:22 Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.
Covenant ordinance and narrative 1 selections
Exodus 12:21–28 KJV · In this guide
Context: Moses instructs Israel’s elders about the Passover, its observance, the children’s question, and the community’s worship and obedience.
12:21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover.
12:22 And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.
12:23 For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.
12:24 And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever.
12:25 And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the LORD will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service.
12:26 And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?
12:27 That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD’s passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.
12:28 And the children of Israel went away, and did as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.
Covenant instruction 2 selections
Deuteronomy 4:1–14 KJV · In this guide
Context: Moses addresses Israel before entering the land, joining obedience and the lesson of Baal-peor to remembrance of Horeb and the covenant.
4:1 Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you.
4:2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.
4:3 Your eyes have seen what the LORD did because of Baal-peor: for all the men that followed Baal-peor, the LORD thy God hath destroyed them from among you.
4:4 But ye that did cleave unto the LORD your God are alive every one of you this day.
4:5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.
4:6 Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
4:7 For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for?
4:8 And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?
4:9 Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons;
4:10 Specially the day that thou stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.
4:11 And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness.
4:12 And the LORD spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice.
4:13 And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.
4:14 And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it.
Deuteronomy 6:1–25 KJV · In this guide
Context: The chapter joins generations, wholehearted love, diligent teaching, remembered deliverance, covenant loyalty, and a son’s question about the commands.
6:1 Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it:
6:2 That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.
6:3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.
6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
6:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
6:6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
6:7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
6:8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
6:9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
6:10 And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,
6:11 And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full;
6:12 Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
6:13 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.
6:14 Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;
6:15 (For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.
6:16 Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.
6:17 Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee.
6:18 And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the LORD: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers,
6:19 To cast out all thine enemies from before thee, as the LORD hath spoken.
6:20 And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you?
6:21 Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand:
6:22 And the LORD shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes:
6:23 And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers.
6:24 And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.
6:25 And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.
Covenant public-reading command 1 selections
Deuteronomy 31:9–13 KJV · In this guide
Context: Moses delivers the written law to priests and elders and commands its seven-year public reading at the feast of tabernacles.
31:9 And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and unto all the elders of Israel.
31:10 And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles,
31:11 When all Israel is come to appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing.
31:12 Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law:
31:13 And that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.
Covenant-history narrative 1 selections
Joshua 4:1–24 KJV · In this guide
Context: The complete memorial-stones account includes the crossing, stones, return of the waters, and explanation for later children.
4:1 And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying,
4:2 Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,
4:3 And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night.
4:4 Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man:
4:5 And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel:
4:6 That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?
4:7 Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.
4:8 And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the LORD spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.
4:9 And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day.
4:10 For the priests which bare the ark stood in the midst of Jordan, until every thing was finished that the LORD commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua: and the people hasted and passed over.
4:11 And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, that the ark of the LORD passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people.
4:12 And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spake unto them:
4:13 About forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the LORD unto battle, to the plains of Jericho.
4:14 On that day the LORD magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life.
4:15 And the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying,
4:16 Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan.
4:17 Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of Jordan.
4:18 And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks, as they did before.
4:19 And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho.
4:20 And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal.
4:21 And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones?
4:22 Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.
4:23 For the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over:
4:24 That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever.
Lament, trust, and praise 1 selections
Psalms 71:1–24 KJV · In this guide
Context: The complete prayer joins rescue, remembered care from youth, threats and failing strength, and continued praise to later generations.
71:1 In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion.
71:2 Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save me.
71:3 Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress.
71:4 Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.
71:5 For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth.
71:6 By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother’s bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee.
71:7 I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong refuge.
71:8 Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honour all the day.
71:9 Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth.
71:10 For mine enemies speak against me; and they that lay wait for my soul take counsel together,
71:11 Saying, God hath forsaken him: persecute and take him; for there is none to deliver him.
71:12 O God, be not far from me: O my God, make haste for my help.
71:13 Let them be confounded and consumed that are adversaries to my soul; let them be covered with reproach and dishonour that seek my hurt.
71:14 But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.
71:15 My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof.
71:16 I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only.
71:17 O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.
71:18 Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.
71:19 Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high, who hast done great things: O God, who is like unto thee!
71:20 Thou, which hast shewed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth.
71:21 Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side.
71:22 I will also praise thee with the psaltery, even thy truth, O my God: unto thee will I sing with the harp, O thou Holy One of Israel.
71:23 My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee; and my soul, which thou hast redeemed.
71:24 My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long: for they are confounded, for they are brought unto shame, that seek my hurt.
Historical and didactic poetry 1 selections
Psalms 78:1–72 KJV · In this guide
Context: The whole teaching psalm begins with transmission to descendants and recounts deliverance, rebellion, judgment, mercy, and God’s choice of David.
78:1 Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
78:2 I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:
78:3 Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.
78:4 We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.
78:5 For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:
78:6 That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children:
78:7 That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:
78:8 And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.
78:9 The children of Ephraim, being armed, and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle.
78:10 They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law;
78:11 And forgat his works, and his wonders that he had shewed them.
78:12 Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
78:13 He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; and he made the waters to stand as an heap.
78:14 In the daytime also he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire.
78:15 He clave the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink as out of the great depths.
78:16 He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers.
78:17 And they sinned yet more against him by provoking the most High in the wilderness.
78:18 And they tempted God in their heart by asking meat for their lust.
78:19 Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?
78:20 Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed; can he give bread also? can he provide flesh for his people?
78:21 Therefore the LORD heard this, and was wroth: so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel;
78:22 Because they believed not in God, and trusted not in his salvation:
78:23 Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven,
78:24 And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven.
78:25 Man did eat angels’ food: he sent them meat to the full.
78:26 He caused an east wind to blow in the heaven: and by his power he brought in the south wind.
78:27 He rained flesh also upon them as dust, and feathered fowls like as the sand of the sea:
78:28 And he let it fall in the midst of their camp, round about their habitations.
78:29 So they did eat, and were well filled: for he gave them their own desire;
78:30 They were not estranged from their lust. But while their meat was yet in their mouths,
78:31 The wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel.
78:32 For all this they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works.
78:33 Therefore their days did he consume in vanity, and their years in trouble.
78:34 When he slew them, then they sought him: and they returned and enquired early after God.
78:35 And they remembered that God was their rock, and the high God their redeemer.
78:36 Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues.
78:37 For their heart was not right with him, neither were they stedfast in his covenant.
78:38 But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.
78:39 For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.
78:40 How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert!
78:41 Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.
78:42 They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy.
78:43 How he had wrought his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Zoan:
78:44 And had turned their rivers into blood; and their floods, that they could not drink.
78:45 He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed them.
78:46 He gave also their increase unto the caterpiller, and their labour unto the locust.
78:47 He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycomore trees with frost.
78:48 He gave up their cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts.
78:49 He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them.
78:50 He made a way to his anger; he spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence;
78:51 And smote all the firstborn in Egypt; the chief of their strength in the tabernacles of Ham:
78:52 But made his own people to go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
78:53 And he led them on safely, so that they feared not: but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
78:54 And he brought them to the border of his sanctuary, even to this mountain, which his right hand had purchased.
78:55 He cast out the heathen also before them, and divided them an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.
78:56 Yet they tempted and provoked the most high God, and kept not his testimonies:
78:57 But turned back, and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers: they were turned aside like a deceitful bow.
78:58 For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images.
78:59 When God heard this, he was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel:
78:60 So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men;
78:61 And delivered his strength into captivity, and his glory into the enemy’s hand.
78:62 He gave his people over also unto the sword; and was wroth with his inheritance.
78:63 The fire consumed their young men; and their maidens were not given to marriage.
78:64 Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows made no lamentation.
78:65 Then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep, and like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine.
78:66 And he smote his enemies in the hinder parts: he put them to a perpetual reproach.
78:67 Moreover he refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim:
78:68 But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved.
78:69 And he built his sanctuary like high palaces, like the earth which he hath established for ever.
78:70 He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds:
78:71 From following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.
78:72 So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands.
Praise poetry 2 selections
Psalms 103:1–22 KJV · In this guide
Context: The full psalm praises forgiveness, compassion, enduring mercy, and divine kingship, contrasting mortal frailty with covenant faithfulness.
103:1 Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
103:3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
103:4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
103:5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
103:6 The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.
103:7 He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.
103:8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
103:9 He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.
103:10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
103:11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
103:13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.
103:14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
103:15 As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
103:16 For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.
103:17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children;
103:18 To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.
103:19 The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.
103:20 Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.
103:21 Bless ye the LORD, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.
103:22 Bless the LORD, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the LORD, O my soul.
Psalms 145:1–21 KJV · In this guide
Context: The full praise psalm joins daily praise, intergenerational declaration, God’s character, his kingdom, and his care.
145:1 I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.
145:2 Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.
145:3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.
145:4 One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.
145:5 I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.
145:6 And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness.
145:7 They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.
145:8 The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.
145:9 The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
145:10 All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee.
145:11 They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power;
145:12 To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.
145:13 Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.
145:14 The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.
145:15 The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.
145:16 Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.
145:17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.
145:18 The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.
145:19 He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.
145:20 The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.
145:21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.
Wisdom and devotional poetry 1 selections
Psalms 119:97–104 KJV · In this guide
Context: The complete Mem stanza joins love, meditation, keeping the Word, and departing from false ways.
119:97 O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.
119:98 Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me.
119:99 I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.
119:100 I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.
119:101 I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word.
119:102 I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me.
119:103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
119:104 Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.
Parental wisdom instruction 2 selections
Proverbs 2:1–22 KJV · In this guide
Context: The full appeal connects eager reception and seeking to God’s gift of wisdom and protection from destructive ways.
2:1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
2:2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;
2:3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;
2:4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
2:5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.
2:6 For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.
2:7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.
2:8 He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.
2:9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.
2:10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;
2:11 Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:
2:12 To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;
2:13 Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;
2:14 Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;
2:15 Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:
2:16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;
2:17 Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.
2:18 For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.
2:19 None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.
2:20 That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.
2:21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.
2:22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.
Proverbs 4:1–27 KJV · In this guide
Context: A father recalls his own father’s instruction; successive appeals develop wisdom’s value, contrasting paths, and careful direction of heart, words, and steps.
4:1 Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.
4:2 For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law.
4:3 For I was my father’s son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.
4:4 He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.
4:5 Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.
4:6 Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.
4:7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
4:8 Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.
4:9 She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.
4:10 Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many.
4:11 I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths.
4:12 When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.
4:13 Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.
4:14 Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.
4:15 Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.
4:16 For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.
4:17 For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.
4:18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
4:19 The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.
4:20 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.
4:21 Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.
4:22 For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
4:24 Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.
4:25 Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
4:26 Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.
4:27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.
Wisdom saying 1 selections
Proverbs 17:6 KJV · In this guide
Context: A complete two-line saying within a collection of discrete proverbs; both the grandchildren and parental clauses are retained. The neighboring sayings do not turn it into a command or outcome promise.
17:6 Children’s children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.
Prophetic correction and appeal 1 selections
Ezekiel 18:1–32 KJV · In this guide
Context: The whole oracle answers the sour-grapes proverb through successive generations and the possibility of turning, then calls Israel to repentance and life.
18:1 The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying,
18:2 What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge?
18:3 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.
18:4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
18:5 But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right,
18:6 And hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbour’s wife, neither hath come near to a menstruous woman,
18:7 And hath not oppressed any, but hath restored to the debtor his pledge, hath spoiled none by violence, hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment;
18:8 He that hath not given forth upon usury, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath executed true judgment between man and man,
18:9 Hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord GOD.
18:10 If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth the like to any one of these things,
18:11 And that doeth not any of those duties, but even hath eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbour’s wife,
18:12 Hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath spoiled by violence, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, hath committed abomination,
18:13 Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him.
18:14 Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father’s sins which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like,
18:15 That hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, hath not defiled his neighbour’s wife,
18:16 Neither hath oppressed any, hath not withholden the pledge, neither hath spoiled by violence, but hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment,
18:17 That hath taken off his hand from the poor, that hath not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live.
18:18 As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, spoiled his brother by violence, and did that which is not good among his people, lo, even he shall die in his iniquity.
18:19 Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live.
18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
18:21 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
18:22 All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.
18:23 Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?
18:24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
18:25 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?
18:26 When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.
18:27 Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.
18:28 Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
18:29 Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal?
18:30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
18:31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
18:32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.
Mission narrative 1 selections
Acts 16:1–5 KJV · In this guide
Context: Timothy is introduced as a disciple with a believing Jewish mother and Greek father, receives a good report, and accompanies Paul as the churches are strengthened.
16:1 Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek:
16:2 Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium.
16:3 Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek.
16:4 And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem.
16:5 And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.
Household instruction 1 selections
Ephesians 6:1–4 KJV · In this guide
Context: The household instructions address children’s obedience and honor, then fathers’ treatment and upbringing of children.
6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
6:2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)
6:3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
6:4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Shared Christian instruction 1 selections
Church and household instruction 1 selections
1 Timothy 5:1–16 KJV · In this guide
Context: Respectful relationships introduce the widow-care instructions, including family support, prayer, qualifications, and the church’s provision for those truly in need.
5:1 Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren;
5:2 The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.
5:3 Honour widows that are widows indeed.
5:4 But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God.
5:5 Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day.
5:6 But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.
5:7 And these things give in charge, that they may be blameless.
5:8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
5:9 Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years old, having been the wife of one man,
5:10 Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints’ feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.
5:11 But the younger widows refuse: for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry;
5:12 Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith.
5:13 And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.
5:14 I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.
5:15 For some are already turned aside after Satan.
5:16 If any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church be charged; that it may relieve them that are widows indeed.
Apostolic remembrance and ministerial exhortation 1 selections
2 Timothy 1:1–14 KJV · In this guide
Context: The greeting and thanksgiving remember family faith and prayer before exhorting Timothy to courageous witness, sound teaching, and dependence on the Spirit.
1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,
1:2 To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
1:3 I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;
1:4 Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;
1:5 When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.
1:6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.
1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
1:8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
1:10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:
1:11 Where unto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.
1:12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
1:13 Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
1:14 That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.
Ministerial instruction 2 selections
2 Timothy 2:1–7 KJV · In this guide
Context: Timothy is to be strong in Christ’s grace, entrust teaching to faithful teachers, and consider disciplined labor through soldier, athlete, and farmer comparisons.
2:1 Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
2:2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
2:3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
2:4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
2:5 And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.
2:6 The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.
2:7 Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.
2 Timothy 2:22–26 KJV · In this guide
Context: The charge joins righteous companionship, refusal of foolish disputes, gentle teaching, and dependence on God for repentance.
2:22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
2:23 But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.
2:24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
2:25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
2:26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
Ministerial exhortation 1 selections
2 Timothy 3:10–17 KJV · In this guide
Context: Paul’s teaching, conduct, and suffering frame the call to continue in learned truth and the Scriptures that give saving wisdom and equip for good works.
3:10 But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,
3:11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.
3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
3:14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
Church instruction 1 selections
Titus 2:1–15 KJV · In this guide
Context: Instruction to distinct groups and to Titus culminates in the saving grace of God and Christ’s purpose of forming a people zealous for good works.
2:1 But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:
2:2 That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.
2:3 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
2:4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,
2:5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.
2:6 Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.
2:7 In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,
2:8 Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.
2:9 Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again;
2:10 Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.
2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
2:15 These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.
Evaluated examples of faith 1 selections
Hebrews 11:20–22 KJV · In this guide
Context: Three adjacent examples in the faith chapter concern Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph looking toward what God would do beyond their lives.
11:20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.
11:21 By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.
11:22 By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.
Go deeper
Sources & interpretation
The teaching starts with the cited Scripture. These consulted works inform wording, context, and interpretive questions. No qualified human review has been recorded for this guide.
How do Israel’s commands inform a Christian grandparent?
Deuteronomy names grandchildren and commands covenant remembrance within Israel. Titus and Colossians address Christian teaching and conduct with their own audiences.
- Transfer every covenant ordinance and land promise directly to each Christian household.
- Recognize Israel’s actual obligation and apply its concern for faithful transmission alongside the church’s own teaching duties.
- Treat Israel’s household instruction as having no relevance to Christians.
STRONG: The second approach retains both historical scope and the scripturally repeated concern for teaching. The article does not prescribe Passover observance, memorial stones, or seven-year assemblies for grandparents.
Further study: Anathea Portier-Young
Further examination: What does Deuteronomy actually command its first hearers to remember, and which New Testament instructions establish the continuing Christian work of teaching and example?
What can we say about Lois and Timothy’s childhood teaching?
Second Timothy 1:5 explicitly names sincere faith in Lois, Eunice, and Timothy. Second Timothy 3:14–15 names learned teaching and childhood Scripture without identifying all the teachers. Acts 16:1–3 identifies his mother as a believing Jewish woman and his father as Greek; it does not describe his father’s religious response.
- The passages narrate a precise teaching program carried out by Lois alone.
- The family’s faith and childhood Scripture strongly support family influence, while Paul’s instruction also contributes.
- The faith in 1:5 refers chiefly to Jewish devotion before explicit Christian confession, with later Christian faith left implicit for the women.
STRONG_INFERENCE / STRONG: Family influence is well supported; the detailed sequence of conversion and teaching is not supplied. The surrounding gospel language favors continuity of sincere faith directed toward Christ. Skinner’s plural reading of whom must be qualified by the singular/plural variation noted by EHV; the family-influence conclusion does not depend on settling that variant.
Further study: A.K.M. Adam · Matt Skinner · Biblical Studies Press · Wartburg Project
Further examination: Which facts are explicit in each passage, and what further claim about Lois requires inference? Does the conclusion survive either number of whom in 3:14?
What responsibility belongs to grandparents and what remains with parents?
Descendants are to be taught; fathers are charged with upbringing; marriage establishes a one-flesh union; older women help younger women in their responsibilities; grandchildren are included in widow care.
- Grandparent status grants continuing authority over every decision of an adult child’s household.
- Grandparents may teach and help while respecting the duties Scripture assigns to parents and spouses.
- Adult children’s responsibilities make grandparent instruction and counsel irrelevant.
STRONG_INFERENCE / STRONG: The second fits the positive responsibilities without inventing an additional governing office. These passages do not specify a complete household decision procedure or address every circumstance in which a grandparent becomes the primary caregiver.
Further study: Biblical Studies Press
Further examination: How can older believers’ teaching strengthen the responsibilities named in Ephesians 6 and Titus 2 while Genesis 2’s marital union is taken seriously?
Does faithful transmission guarantee a descendant’s faith?
Psalm 78 gives hope and obedience as teaching’s goal; Proverbs 2 calls the learner to receive and seek; Ezekiel 18 distinguishes three generations; Psalm 103:17–18 includes covenant response; 2 Timothy 2:25 depends on God for repentance.
- A faithful grandparent’s conduct guarantees every descendant’s salvation.
- Teaching is a real responsibility with a hopeful purpose, while descendants respond to God and their repentance depends on his grace.
- Because outcomes cannot be controlled, faithful teaching makes no meaningful difference.
STRONG: The second preserves the texts’ instructions and their reasons. Ezekiel’s point is responsible conduct and the call to turn within his prophetic setting; it is not used to resolve original sin, election, or every question about salvation.
Further examination: How do the stated goal of teaching, the learner’s response, and God’s work belong together in these passages?
How can Jacob’s blessing guide an ordinary grandparent?
Jacob’s affection and remembrance accompany adoption and tribal inheritance declarations. Hebrews explicitly names his blessing as faith; Psalm 71 prays for continuing testimony.
- Every grandparent may declare a descendant’s future with Jacob’s patriarchal certainty.
- The account commends hopeful dependence on God while its adoption and inheritance declarations remain particular.
- The exceptional covenant setting leaves no exemplary value in Jacob’s faith.
STRONG: Hebrews supports the second approach. The main article uses the account to encourage affection, testimony, prayer, and trust, without assigning a prophetic office or prescribed blessing ceremony. The identity of the angel and the staff/bed textual relationship are not resolved here and are not premises of the application.
Further study: A.K.M. Adam · James Limburg
Further examination: What does Hebrews itself praise in Jacob’s act, and which elements of Genesis 48 belong to his unique place in the covenant history?
- Commentary on Deuteronomy 4:1–2, 6–9
Anathea Portier-Young · Working Preacher / Luther Seminary · 2012-09-02
Connects intergenerational remembrance with repeated teaching and obedience.
What was reviewed
Complete commentary body, opening “Moses will never enter” through concluding appeal; especially paragraphs on repetition, descendants, and hearing/doing. Accessed 2026-09-25.
Its conjecture about Moses’ burial and account of his interior motive at the rock are not adopted. Land promises retain Israel’s covenant setting.
- Commentary on Psalm 78:23–29
Jerome Creach · Working Preacher / Luther Seminary · 2015-08-02
Reads the food passage within the psalm’s teaching purpose, rebellion, judgment, and mercy.
What was reviewed
Complete commentary body, from whole-psalm orientation through conclusion; especially discussion of verses 1–8, 21–39, and the need to retain 30–31. Accessed 2026-09-25.
The article uses the pinned KJV and the whole psalm. It does not depend on the source’s rendering of the conjunction in verse 23 or generalize every judgment as remedial.
- Commentary on 2 Timothy 1:1–14
A.K.M. Adam · Working Preacher / Luther Seminary · 2010-10-03
Locates Lois and Eunice within remembered faith and Timothy’s call to persevere.
What was reviewed
Complete commentary body, testament framing through final paragraph; especially family faith, Paul’s relationship to Timothy, and grace in 1:9. Accessed 2026-09-25.
The suggested parallels for laying on hands do not establish a grandparent rite. Authorship alternatives and ordination implications are not resolved by this guide.
- Commentary on 2 Timothy 3:14—4:5
Matt Skinner · Working Preacher / Luther Seminary · 2013-10-20
Connects remembered teachers, childhood Jewish Scripture, perseverance, salvation, and useful ministry.
What was reviewed
Complete commentary body, including “Exhortations Renewed” and “Preaching the Message of Second Timothy”; focus on 3:10–17. Accessed 2026-09-25.
His plural-whom argument requires the textual qualification recorded in the EHV note. Identifying Lois and Eunice among 3:14’s teachers remains contextual inference; modern illustrations are not reused.
- NET Bible: 2 Timothy 1:5
Biblical Studies Press · NET Bible
Checks unfeigned as sincere and the assertion of faith in Timothy himself.
What was reviewed
Verse translation and all three numbered translator notes. Accessed 2026-09-25.
Brief translation comparison and notes only; linked word studies and lexicons were not inspected.
- Evangelical Heritage Version: 2 Timothy 3:14, footnote a
Wartburg Project · Bible Gateway / Wartburg Project · 2019
Qualifies an argument that depends on treating whom as uniformly plural.
What was reviewed
Displayed verse and footnote a on singular and plural witnesses. Accessed 2026-09-25.
The note does not list manuscripts or decide their relative weight; this task did not inspect a critical apparatus.
- NET Bible: 1 Timothy, printed page 2323
Biblical Studies Press · NET Bible / Bible.org
Checks grandchildren, respectful treatment, and godliness expressed in material family support.
What was reviewed
PDF page 6, printed p. 2323: 5:1–8 and notes 9–20, especially the grandchildren rendering and notes 11, 13–15, 20. Text extracted from the publisher-hosted PDF. Accessed 2026-09-25 · Read in part.
Partial PDF reading. The classic verse endpoint timed out and a direct fetch returned 403; the PDF was successfully accessed. No independent lexical work is claimed.
- Commentary on Psalm 71:1–6
James Limburg · Working Preacher / Luther Seminary · 2010-01-31
Connects remembered divine help, continuing distress, and testimony in 71:17–18.
What was reviewed
Complete commentary body: “Structure and Genre,” all three “Reading the Psalm” subsections, and “Toward a Sermon on this Psalm.” Accessed 2026-09-25.
The speaker is not identified as a grandparent. The source’s personal anecdotes, speculation about the psalmist’s religious biography, and contrast with Matthew 5 are not adopted.