Israelites changed to people of Israel in the NT.

41-MAT.usfm

@@ -25,11 +25,11 @@
 \s5
 \v 9 Uzziah was the father of Jotham. Jotham was the father of Ahaz. Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah.
 \v 10 Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh. Manasseh was the father of Amon. Amon was the father of Josiah.
-\v 11 Josiah was the grandfather of Jechoniah and Jechoniah's brothers. They lived at the time when the Babylonian army took the Israelites as captives to the country of Babylon.
+\v 11 Josiah was the grandfather of Jechoniah and Jechoniah's brothers. They lived at the time when the Babylonian army took the people of Israel as captives to the country of Babylon.
 
 \s5
 \p
-\v 12 After the Babylonians exiled the Israelites to Babylon, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel. Shealtiel was an ancestor of Zerubbabel.
+\v 12 After the Babylonians took the people of Israel to Babylon, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel. Shealtiel was an ancestor of Zerubbabel.
 \v 13 Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud. Abiud was the father of Eliakim. Eliakim was the father of Azor.
 \v 14 Azor was the father of Zadok. Zadok was the father of Akim. Akim was the father of Eliud.
 
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@
 \v 15 Eliud was the father of Eleazar. Eleazar was the father of Matthan. Matthan was the father of Jacob.
 \v 16 Jacob was the father of Joseph. Joseph was Mary's husband, and Mary was Jesus' mother. Jesus is the one who is called Christ.
 \p
-\v 17 The list of Jesus' ancestors is as follows: Fourteen of them from the time when Abraham lived to the time when King David lived. There were another fourteen from the time when David lived until the time when the Israelites went away to Babylon, and then yet another fourteen from then until the time when Christ was born.
+\v 17 The list of Jesus' ancestors is as follows: Fourteen of them from the time when Abraham lived to the time when King David lived. There were another fourteen from the time when David lived until the time when people of Israel were taken away to Babylon, and then yet another fourteen from then until the time when Christ was born.
 
 \s5
 \p
@@ -191,7 +191,7 @@ He was preaching to the people who came there. He kept saying,
 \q
 \v 15 "The regions of Zebulun and Naphtali,
 \q regions by the road going to the Sea, on the eastern side of the Jordan River,
-\q regions in Galilee, home of many non-Israelites!
+\q regions in Galilee, where many Gentiles lived.
 \q
 \v 16 Those people do not know God, as if they were in darkness,
 \q but they will learn the truth, as if a bright light had shone on them.
@@ -327,7 +327,7 @@ He was preaching to the people who came there. He kept saying,
 
 \s5
 \p
-\v 43 "You have heard that God said to our ancestors, 'Love your fellow Israelites and hate foreigners, for they are your enemies.'
+\v 43 "You have heard people say, 'Love your neighbors and hate your enemies.'
 \v 44 But now listen to what I say to you: Love your enemies as well as your friends, and pray for those who cause you to suffer.
 \v 45 Do this in order to be like God, your Father who is in heaven. He acts kindly to all people. For example, he causes the sun to shine equally on wicked people and on good people, and he sends rain both on people who obey his law and on people who do not.
 
@@ -742,7 +742,7 @@ produce grapes and thistles cannot produce figs, so no one thinks of picking gra
 \s5
 \c 11
 \p
-\v 1 When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples about what they should do, he sent them to various Israelite towns. Then he went to teach and preach in other Israelite towns in that area.
+\v 1 When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he sent them to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee.
 \p
 \v 2 While John the Baptizer was in prison, he heard what Christ was doing. So he sent some of his disciples to him
 \v 3 to ask him, "Are you the one John told us about, that we should be looking for? Or should we look for someone else to come?"

43-LUK.usfm

@@ -235,7 +235,7 @@
 
 \s5
 \p
-\v 25 At that time there was an old man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. He did what was pleasing to God and obeyed God's laws. He was eagerly waiting for God to send the Christ to give comfort to the Israelite people, and the Holy Spirit was directing him.
+\v 25 At that time there was an old man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. He did what was pleasing to God and obeyed God's laws. He was eagerly waiting for God to send the Christ to give comfort to people of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was directing him.
 \v 26 The Holy Spirit had previously revealed to him that he would not die until he saw the Christ, God's promised one, who would be both king and savior.
 
 \s5
@@ -250,12 +250,12 @@
 \q1
 \v 31 the one you prepared in the midst of all the peoples.
 \q1
-\v 32 He will be like a light that will reveal your truth to the Gentiles, and he will bring honor to the Israelite people."
+\v 32 He will be like a light that will reveal your truth to the Gentiles, and he will bring honor to your people Israel."
 
 \s5
 \p
 \v 33 Jesus' father and mother were very amazed at what Simeon said about him. Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Jesus' mother, Mary,
-\v 34 "Note what I say: God has determined that because of this child, many Israelite people will turn away from God, and many others will turn to God. He will be like a sign to warn people, and many people will oppose him.
+\v 34 "Note what I say: God has determined that because of this child, many people in Israel will turn away from God, and many others will turn to God. He will be like a sign to warn people, and many people will oppose him.
 \v 35 As a result, the thoughts of many people will be made evident. A sword will also pierce your own soul."
 
 \s5
@@ -454,8 +454,8 @@ He said to them, "Do not force people to give you money by threatening them, and
 
 \s5
 \v 25 But think about this: There were many widows in Israel during the time when the prophet Elijah lived, when there was a great famine throughout the country because there had been no rain for three and half years.
-\v 26 But God did not send Elijah to help any of those Israelite widows. God sent him to the town of Zarephath near the city of Sidon to help a widow.
+\v 26 But God did not send Elijah to help any of the widows in Israel. God sent him to woman who was a widow who lived in the town of Zarephath, near the city Sidon.
-\v 27 There were also many Israelite lepers in Israel during the time when the prophet Elisha lived. But Elisha did not heal any of them. He healed only Naaman, a man from Syria."
+\v 27 There were also many lepers in Israel during the time when the prophet Elisha lived. But Elisha did not heal any of them. He healed only Naaman, a man from Syria."
 
 \s5
 \v 28 When all the people in the synagogue heard him say that, they were very angry.
@@ -713,7 +713,7 @@ He said to them, "Do not force people to give you money by threatening them, and
 
 \s5
 \p
-\v 9 When Jesus heard what the officer had said, he was amazed at him. Then he turned to the crowd that was with him and said, "I tell you, I have not found any Israelite who trusts me as much as this Gentile does!"
+\v 9 When Jesus heard what the officer had said, he was amazed at him. Then he turned to the crowd that was with him and said, "I tell you, in all of Israel I have not found anyone who trusts me as much as this Gentile does!"
 \v 10 When those people who had come from the centurion returned to his house, they found out that the slave was in good health again.
 \p
 
@@ -2565,7 +2565,7 @@ They replied, "The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth, who was
 \v 20 But our chief priests and leaders handed him over to the Roman authorities. The authorities sentenced him to die, and they killed him by nailing him to a cross.
 
 \s5
-\v 21 We were hoping that he was the one who would free us Israelites from our enemies! But this does not seem possible now, because three days have already passed since he was killed.
+\v 21 We were hoping that he was the one who would set Israel free from our enemies! But this does not seem possible now, because three days have already passed since he was killed.
 
 \s5
 \v 22 In spite of this, some women from our group amazed us. Early this morning they went to the burial chamber,

44-JHN.usfm

@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ John answered, "No."
 
 \s5
 \v 46 Nathaniel replied, "From Nazareth? Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip replied, "Come and you will see!"
-\v 47 When Jesus saw Nathaniel approaching, he said this about him, "Look there! There is an honest and good Israelite! He never deceives anyone!"
+\v 47 When Jesus saw Nathaniel approaching, he said this about him, "Look there! There is an Israelite who never deceives anyone!"
 \v 48 Nathaniel asked him, "How do you know what kind of man I am? You do not know me." Jesus replied, "I saw you before Philip called you, when you were sitting by yourself under the fig tree."
 
 \s5

45-ACT.usfm

@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@
 
 \s5
 \p
-\v 22 Peter continued speaking, "My fellow Israelites, listen to me! When Jesus from Nazareth lived among you, God proved to you that he had sent him by making him able to do many amazing miracles that showed that he was from God. You yourselves know that this is true.
+\v 22 Peter continued speaking, "Men of Israel, listen to me! When Jesus from Nazareth lived among you, God proved to you that he had sent him by making him able to do many amazing miracles that showed that he was from God. You yourselves know that this is true.
 \v 23 Even though you knew that, you handed this man Jesus over into the hands of his enemies. However, God had already planned for that, and he knew all about it. Then you urged men who do not obey God's law to kill Jesus. They did that by nailing him to a cross.
 \v 24 He died, but God raised him up again, because it was not possible for him to remain dead. God caused Jesus to become alive again."
 
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@
 \q The Lord said to my Lord, 'Rule here at my right hand,
 \v 35 while I completely defeat your enemies.'"
 \p
-\v 36 Peter ended by saying, "So I want you and all other Israelites to know that God made Jesus both Lord and Christ, this same Jesus whom you had nailed to a cross and killed."
+\v 36 Peter ended by saying, "So I want you and all the people of Israel to know that God made Jesus both Lord and Christ, this same Jesus whom you had nailed to a cross and killed."
 
 \s5
 \p
@@ -187,7 +187,7 @@
 \s5
 \v 11 As the man kept holding on to Peter and John, all the people were so surprised that they did not know what to think! So they ran to them at the place in the temple courtyard that is called Solomon's Porch.
 \p
-\v 12 When Peter saw the people, he said to them, "Fellow Israelites, you should not be surprised about what has happened to this man! Why do you look at us as though we made this man walk by our own power or godliness?
+\v 12 When Peter saw the people, he said to them, "Men of Israel, you should not be surprised about what has happened to this man! Why do you look at us as though we made this man walk by our own power or godliness?
 
 \s5
 \v 13 So I will tell you what is really happening. Our ancestors, including Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, worshiped God. And now God has greatly honored Jesus. Your leaders brought Jesus to the governor, Pilate, so that his soldiers would execute him. You were the ones who rejected Jesus in the presence of Pilate, after Pilate had decided that he should release Jesus.
@@ -214,7 +214,7 @@
 \s5
 \v 24 Peter continued, "All the prophets have told about what would happen during these days. Those prophets include Samuel and all the others who later also spoke about these events before they happened.
 \v 25 When God strongly promised to bless our ancestors, he also surely promised to bless you. He said to Abraham about the Christ, 'I will bless all the peoples on the earth as a result of what your descendant will do.'"
-\v 26 Peter concluded, "So when God sent Jesus, his servant, he sent him first to you Israelites to bless you, in order to stop you doing what is wicked."
+\v 26 Peter concluded, "So when God sent Jesus, his servant, he sent him first to bless you and to turn you away from the wickedness you are doing."
 
 \s5
 \c 4
@@ -232,8 +232,8 @@
 
 \s5
 \p
-\v 8 As the Holy Spirit gave Peter power, Peter said to them, "You fellow Israelites who rule us, and all of you other elders, listen to me!
+\v 8 As the Holy Spirit gave Peter power, Peter said to them, "You rulers of the people of Israel, and all of you who are elders, listen to me!
-\v 9 Today you are questioning us about a good deed we did for a man who could not walk, and you ask us how he became healed. So let me tell you and all other Israelites this:
+\v 9 Today you are questioning us about a good deed we did for a man who could not walk, and you ask us how he became healed. 
 \v 10 It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth that this man was healed, so that he is now able to stand before you. It was you who nailed Jesus to a cross and killed him, but God caused him to become alive again.
 
 \s5
@@ -270,7 +270,7 @@
 \v 24 When the believers heard this, they all agreed as they prayed to God together, "O Lord! You made the sky, the earth and the oceans, and everything in them.
 \v 25 The Holy Spirit caused our ancestor, King David, who served you, to write these words:
 \q 'Why did the nations of the world become angry
-\q and the Israelite people plan uselessly against God?
+\q and why do people make their foolish plans? 
 \q
 
 \s5
@@ -280,7 +280,7 @@
 
 \s5
 \p
-\v 27 It is true! Both Herod and Pontius Pilate, together with the non-Jews and the Israelite people, came in this city against Jesus, the one you chose to serve you, O Lord.
+\v 27 It is true! Both Herod and Pontius Pilate, together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel,  all came together in this city to turn against Jesus, the one you chose to serve you, O Lord.
 \v 28 You allowed them to do this because it was what you decided long ago would happen.
 
 \s5
@@ -365,7 +365,7 @@
 \s5
 \v 29 But Peter, speaking for himself and the other apostles, replied, "We have to obey what God commands us to do, not what you people tell us to do!
 \v 30 You are the ones who killed Jesus by nailing him to a cross! But God, whom our ancestors worshiped, caused Jesus to become alive again after he died.
-\v 31 God has honored Jesus more than anyone. He has made him the one to save us and rule over us. He has allowed us Israelites to stop sinning, so that he might forgive us for our sins.
+\v 31 God has honored Jesus more than anyone. He has made him the one to save us and rule over us, so that the people of Israel would turn back to God and that he would forgive us for our sins.
 \v 32 We tell people about these things that we know happened to Jesus. The Holy Spirit, whom God has sent to us who obey him, is also confirming that these things are true."
 
 \s5
@@ -374,7 +374,7 @@
 \v 34 But there was a council member named Gamaliel. He was a member of the Pharisee group. He taught people the Jewish laws, and all the Jewish people respected him. He stood up in the council and told the guards to take the apostles out of the room for a short time.
 
 \s5
-\v 35 After the guards had taken the apostles out, he said to the other council members, "Fellow Israelites, you must think carefully about what you want to do to these men.
+\v 35 After the guards had taken the apostles out, he said to the other council members, "Men of Israel, you must think carefully about what you want to do to these men.
 \v 36 Some years ago a man named Theudas rebelled against the government. He told people that he was an important person, and about four hundred men joined him. But he was killed, and all those who had been accompanying him were scattered. So they were not able to do anything that they had planned.
 \v 37 After that, during the time when they were writing down names of the people in order to tax them, a man named Judas from the region of Galilee rebelled and persuaded some people to follow him. But he was killed, too, and all those who had accompanied him went off in different directions.
 
@@ -474,11 +474,11 @@
 \v 22 Moses was taught all the learning that the people in Egypt knew, and when he grew up, he spoke and did things powerfully.
 \p
 \v 23 "One day when Moses was about forty years old, he decided that he would go and visit his relatives, the Israelites.
-\v 24 He saw an Egyptian mistreating one of the Israelites. So he went over to help the Israelite man, and he avenged the Israelite man by killing the Egyptian.
+\v 24 He saw an Egyptian mistreating one of the Israelites, and he went and helped the Israelite, and he took revenge on the Egyptian and killed him. 
-\v 25 Moses thought that his fellow Israelites would understand that God had sent him to free them from being slaves. But they did not understand.
+\v 25 Moses thought his own people would understand that God had sent him to free them from being slaves. But they did not understand.
 
 \s5
-\v 26 The next day, Moses saw two Israelite men fighting each other. He tried to make them stop fighting by saying to them, 'Men, you two are fellow Israelites! Why are you hurting each other?'
+\v 26 The next day, Moses saw two Israelite men fighting each other. He tried to make them stop fighting by saying to them, 'Men, you brothers! Why are you hurting each other?'
 \v 27 But the man who was injuring the other man pushed Moses away and said to him, 'No one appointed you ruler and judge over us!
 \v 28 Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?'
 
@@ -497,12 +497,12 @@
 
 \s5
 \p
-\v 35 "This Moses is the one who had tried to help our Israelite people, but whom they rejected by saying, 'No one appointed you ruler and judge!' Moses is the one whom God himself sent to rule them and to free them from being slaves. He is the one whom an angel in the bush commanded to do that.
+\v 35 "This Moses is the one they rejected, saying, 'No one appointed you ruler and judge!' Moses is the one whom God himself sent to rule them and to free them from being slaves. He is the one whom an angel in the bush commanded to do that.
-\v 36 Moses is the one who led our ancestors out from Egypt. He did many kinds of miracles in Egypt in order to show that God was with him, at the Sea of Reeds, and during the forty years that the Israelite people lived in the wilderness.
+\v 36 Moses is the one who led our ancestors out from Egypt. He did many kinds of miracles in Egypt in order to show that God was with him, at the Sea of Reeds, and during the forty years in the wilderness.
-\v 37 This Moses is the one who said to the Israelite people, 'God will cause another man from among your own people to be a prophet like me for you.'
+\v 37 This Moses is the one who said to the Israelites, 'God will cause another man from among your own people to be a prophet like me for you.'
 
 \s5
-\v 38 It was this man Moses who was among the Israelites who were together in the wilderness; he was with the angel who had spoken to him on Mount Sinai. It is Moses to whom God had the angel on Mount Sinai give him our laws, and he was the one who told our ancestors what the angel had said. He was the one who received from God words that tell us how to live eternally and passed them on to us.
+\v 38 It was this man Moses who brought our people together in the wilderness; he was with the angel who had spoken to him on Mount Sinai. It is Moses to whom God had the angel on Mount Sinai give him our laws, and he was the one who told our ancestors what the angel had said. He was the one who received from God words that tell us how to live eternally and passed them on to us.
 \p
 \v 39 "However, our ancestors did not want to obey Moses. Instead, they rejected him as their leader and wanted to return to Egypt.
 \v 40 So they told his older brother Aaron, 'Make idols for us who will be our gods to lead us. As for that fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him!'
@@ -513,13 +513,13 @@
 \q 'God said, "You Israelite people, when you repeatedly killed animals and offered them as sacrifices during those forty years that you were in the wilderness, were you offering them to me?
 
 \s5
-\v 43 On the contrary, you carried with you from place to place the tent that contained the idol representing the god Molech that you worshiped. You also carried with you the image of the star called Rephan. Those were idols that you had made, and you worshiped them instead of me. So I will cause you to be taken away far from your homes to regions even farther than Babylon country."'
+\v 43 You are the people that carried with you from place to place the tent that contained the idol representing the god Molech that you worshiped. You also carried with you the image of the star called Rephan. Those were idols that you had made, and you worshiped them instead of me. So I will cause you to be taken away far from your homes to regions even farther than Babylon country."'
 
 \s5
 \p
 \v 44 "While our ancestors were in the desert, they worshiped God at the sacred tent that showed that he was there with them. They had made the tent exactly like God had commanded Moses to make it. It was exactly like the model that Moses had seen when he was up on the mountain.
-\v 45 Later on, other ancestors of ours carried that tent with them when Joshua led them into this land. That was during the time that they took this land for themselves, when God forced the people who previously lived here to leave. So the Israelites were able to possess this land. The tent remained in this land and was still here when King David ruled.
+\v 45 Later on, other ancestors of ours carried that tent with them when Joshua led them into this land. That was during the time that they took this land for themselves, when God forced the people who previously lived here to leave. So they were able go out and possess this land. The tent remained in this land and was still here when King David ruled.
-\v 46 David pleased God, and he asked God to let him build a house where he and all of our Israelite people could worship God.
+\v 46 David pleased God, and he asked God to let him build a house for the God of Jacob.
 
 \s5
 \v 47 But instead, God told David's son Solomon to build a house where people could worship him.
@@ -671,7 +671,7 @@
 \v 13 Ananias answered, "But Lord, many people have told me about this man! He has done many evil things to the people in Jerusalem who believe in you!
 \v 14 The chief priests have given him power to come here to Damascus in order to arrest all those who believe in you!"
 \p
-\v 15 But the Lord Jesus told Ananias, "Go to Saul! Do what I say, because I have chosen him to serve me in order that he might speak about me both to non-Jewish people and their kings and to the Israelite people.
+\v 15 But the Lord Jesus told Ananias, "Go to Saul! Do what I say, because I have chosen him to serve me in order that he might speak about me both to Gentiles people and to kings and to the children of Israel.
 \v 16 I myself will tell him that he must often suffer in order to tell people about me."
 
 \s5
@@ -810,7 +810,7 @@
 \v 35 Instead, from every people he accepts everyone who honors him and who does what pleases him.
 
 \s5
-\v 36 You know the message that God sent to us Israelites. He proclaimed to us the good news that he would cause people to have peace with him because of what Jesus Christ has done. This Jesus is Lord not only over us Israelites. He is also the Lord who rules over all people.
+\v 36 You know the message that God sent to Israel. He proclaimed to us the good news that brings peace, because of Jesus Christ, and he is Lord over all!
 \v 37 You know what he did throughout the land of Judea, beginning in Galilee. He began to do those things after John had been proclaiming to people that they should turn away from their sinful behavior before he baptized them.
 \v 38 You know that God gave his Holy Spirit to Jesus, the man from the town of Nazareth, and gave him the power to do miracles. You also know how Jesus went to many places, always doing good deeds and healing people. He was healing all the people whom the devil was causing to suffer. Jesus was able to do those things because God was always helping him."
 
@@ -988,28 +988,28 @@
 
 \s5
 \p
-\v 16 So Paul stood up and motioned with his hand so that the people would listen to him. Then he said, "Fellow Israelites and you non-Jewish people who also worship God, please listen to me!
+\v 16 So Paul stood up and motioned with his hand so that the people would listen to him. Then he said, "Men of Israel and you Gentiles who worship God, please listen to me!
-\v 17 God, whom we Israelites worship, chose our ancestors to be his people, and he caused them to become very numerous while they were foreigners living in Egypt. Then God did powerful things in order to lead them out of slavery.
+\v 17 The God of the people of Israel chose our ancestors to be his people, and he caused them to become very numerous while they were foreigners living in Egypt. Then God did powerful things in order to lead them out of slavery.
 \v 18 Even though they repeatedly disobeyed him, he endured their behavior for about forty years while they were in the wilderness.
 
 \s5
-\v 19 He enabled the Israelites to conquer seven peoples who were then living in the region of Canaan, and he gave their land to the Israelites to possess forever.
+\v 19 After God destroyed the seven peoples who were then living in the region of Canaan, he gave that land to the people of Israel to possess it and live in it. 
 \v 20 All of these things happened about 450 years after their ancestors had gone to Egypt."
 
 \s5
-\p "After that, God chose people to serve as judges and as leaders to rule the Israelite people. Those leaders continued to rule our people, and the prophet Samuel was the last judge to rule them.
+\p "After that, God chose people to serve as judges and as leaders to rule the people of Israel. Those leaders continued to rule our people, and the prophet Samuel was the last judge to rule them.
 \v 21 Then, while Samuel was still their leader, the people demanded that he choose a king to rule them. So God chose Saul, the son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin, to be their king. He ruled them for forty years.
 \v 22 After God had rejected Saul from being king, he chose David to be their king. God said about him, 'I have seen that David, son of Jesse, is exactly the kind of man who desires what I desire. He will do everything that I want him to do.'
 
 \s5
 \p
-\v 23 From among David's descendants, God brought one of them, Jesus, to us Israelite people to save us, just as he had promised David and our other ancestors that he would do.
+\v 23 From among David's descendants, God brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, just as he had promised. 
-\v 24 Before Jesus began his work, John the Baptizer preached to all of our Israelite people who came to him. He told them that they should turn away from their sinful behavior and ask God to forgive them. Then he would baptize them.
+\v 24 Before Jesus began his work, John the Baptizer preached to all the people of Israel who came to him. He told them that they should turn away from their sinful behavior and ask God to forgive them. Then he would baptize them.
 \v 25 When John was about to finish the work that God gave him to do, he was saying, 'Do you think that I am the Christ? No, I am not. But listen! The Christ will soon come. He is coming after me, and I am not good enough to untie the sandals on his feet.'
 
 \s5
 \p
-\v 26 "Dear brothers, and all you who are descendants of Abraham, and you non-Jewish people among you who also worship God, please listen! It is to all of us that God has sent the message about how he saves people.
+\v 26 "Dear brothers, and all you who are descendants of Abraham, and you Gentiles who also worship God, please listen! It is to all of us that God has sent the message about how he saves people.
 \v 27 The people living in Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus. They did not understand the messages of their own prophets even though the prophets were read aloud to them every Sabbath, and then what the prophets predicted long ago was made true when they condemned Jesus to death.
 
 \s5
@@ -1035,8 +1035,8 @@
 
 \s5
 \p
-\v 38 "Therefore, my fellow Israelites and other friends, it is important for you to know that God can forgive you for your sins as a result of what Jesus has done. He will even forgive you for those things that you could not be forgiven for by the laws that Moses wrote.
+\v 38 "Therefore, my brothers, it is important for you to know that because of what Jesus has done, we can now proclaim the forgiveness of sins to you.
-\v 39 All people who believe in Jesus are no longer guilty of any of the things that they have done that displeased God.
+\v 39 All people who believe in Jesus are no longer guilty of any of the things that they have done that displeased God. Those very sins that could not be forgiven through the law of Moses, are now forgiven in Jesus Christ.
 
 \s5
 \v 40 So then be careful that God does not judge you, as the prophets said that God would do!
@@ -1167,12 +1167,12 @@
 \v 15 The words that God spoke long ago, words that were written by one of the prophets, agree with that:
 \q
 \v 16 'Later on I will return and I will choose a king from the descendants of David. It will be like someone who builds a house again after it has been torn down.
-\v 17 I will do this in order that all other people may come to the Lord. This will include even the non-Israelites whom I have called to belong to me. You can be certain that this will happen because I, the Lord, have spoken these words.
+\v 17 I will do this in order that all other people may come to the Lord. This will include even the Gentiles whom I have called to belong to me. You can be certain that this will happen because I, the Lord, have spoken these words.
 \v 18 I have done these things, and I have made my people know about them since long ago.'"
 
 \s5
 \p
-\v 19 James continued to speak. He said, "Therefore I think that we should stop bothering the non-Jewish people who are turning away from their sins and turning to God. That is, we should stop demanding that they obey all our laws and rituals.
+\v 19 James continued to speak. He said, "Therefore I think that we should stop bothering the Gentiles who are turning away from their sins and are turning to God. 
 \v 20 Instead, we should write a letter to them, requiring only four things: They should not eat meat that people have offered to idols, they should not sleep with someone to whom they are not married, they should not eat meat from animals that have been killed by being strangled, and they should not eat the blood of animals.
 \v 21 In many cities, for a very long time people have been proclaiming the laws that Moses wrote, laws prohibiting those things. And every Sabbath those laws are read in the Jewish meeting places. So if the non-Jews want to know more about those laws, they can find out in our meeting houses."
 
@@ -1660,7 +1660,7 @@
 
 \s5
 \v 20 When they heard that, James and the other elders thanked God. Then one of them said to Paul, "Brother, you know that there are very many thousands of us Jewish people here who have believed in the Lord Jesus. Also, you know that we all continue very carefully to obey the laws that Moses gave us.
-\v 21 But our fellow Jewish believers have been told that when you are among non-Jews, you tell the Jewish believers who live there that they should stop obeying the laws of Moses. People say that you tell those Jewish believers not to circumcise their sons and not to practice our other customs. We do not believe that they are telling the truth about you.
+\v 21 But our fellow Jewish believers have been told that when you are among Gentiles, you tell the Jewish believers who live there that they should stop obeying the laws of Moses. People say that you tell those Jewish believers not to circumcise their sons and not to practice our other customs. We do not believe that they are telling the truth about you.
 
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 \v 22 But our fellow Jewish believers will hear that you have come, and they will be angry with you. So you need to do something to show them that what they heard about you is not true.
@@ -1674,8 +1674,8 @@
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 \p
 \v 27 When the seven days for purifying themselves were nearly finished, Paul returned to the temple courtyard. Some Jews from Asia saw him there, and they were very angry at him. They called out to many other Jews who were in the temple courtyard to help them take hold of Paul.
-\v 28 They shouted, "Fellow Israelites, come and help us to punish this man! This is the one who is teaching people wherever he goes that they should despise the Jewish people. He teaches people that they should no longer obey the laws of Moses nor respect this holy temple. He has even brought non-Jews here into the court of our temple, causing this place to become polluted!"
+\v 28 They shouted, "Men of Israel, come and help us to punish this man! This is the one who is teaching people wherever he goes that they should despise the Jewish people. He teaches people that they should no longer obey the laws of Moses nor respect this holy temple. He has even brought Gentiles here into the court of our temple, causing this place to become polluted!"
-\v 29 They said these because they had seen Paul walking around in Jerusalem with Trophimus, who was a non-Jew. Their laws did not permit non-Jews to be in the temple, and they thought that Paul had brought Trophimus into the temple courtyard that day.
+\v 29 They said these because they had seen Paul walking around in Jerusalem with Trophimus, who was a Gentile. Their laws did not permit non-Jews to be in the temple, and they thought that Paul had brought Trophimus into the temple courtyard that day.
 
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 \v 30 People all over the city heard that there was trouble at the temple courtyard, and they came running there. They caught Paul and dragged him outside of the temple area. The gates to the temple courtyard were shut, so that the people would not riot inside the temple area.

46-ROM.usfm

@@ -498,16 +498,16 @@
 \c 9
 \p
 \v 1 Because I am joined to Christ, I will tell you the truth. I am not lying! My conscience confirms what I say because the Holy Spirit controls me.
-\v 2 I tell you that I grieve very greatly and deeply about my fellow Israelites.
+\v 2 I tell you that I grieve very greatly and I cannot stop the pain in my heart.
 
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-\v 3 I personally would be willing to let God curse me and keep me apart from Christ forever if that would help my fellow Israelites, my natural kinsmen, to believe in Christ.
+\v 3 I personally would be willing to let God curse me and keep me apart from Christ forever if that would help my natural kinsmen, those who are the people of Israel. 
-\v 4 They, like me, are Israelites. God chose them to be his children. It is to them that he showed how wonderful he is. It is with them that he made the covenants. It is to them that he gave the law. They are the ones who have the worship of God. They are the ones to whom God promised many things.
+\v 4 They, like me, are from the people of Israel. God chose them to be his children. It is to them that he showed how wonderful he is. It is with them that he made the covenants. It is to them that he gave the law. They are the ones who have the worship of God. They are the ones to whom God promised many things.
-\v 5 It was our ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, whom God chose to begin our nation. And, most importantly, it was from us Israelites that the Christ was born as a human being. He is God, the one who is worthy for us to praise him forever! This is true!
+\v 5 It was our ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, whom God chose to begin our nation. And, most importantly, it was from the people of Israel that the Christ was born as a human being. He is God, the one who is worthy for us to praise him forever! This is true!
 
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 \p
-\v 6 God promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that their descendants would all inherit his blessings. But although most of my fellow Israelites have rejected Christ, that does not prove that God has failed to do the things that he promised. For it is not all people who are descended from Jacob and who call themselves the people of Israel whom God considers to be truly his people.
+\v 6 God promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that their descendants would all inherit his blessings. But although most of the people of Israel have rejected Christ, that does not prove that God has failed to do the things that he promised. For it is not all people who are descended from Jacob and who call themselves the people of Israel whom God considers to be truly his people.
 \v 7 And it is also not all of Abraham's natural descendants that God considers to be Abraham's true descendants. Instead, God considers only some of them to be Abraham's true descendants. This agrees with what he told Abraham: "It is Isaac, not any of your other sons, whom I will consider to be the true father of your descendants."
 
 \s5
@@ -553,8 +553,8 @@ in those same places they are told that they will become children of the true Go
 \p
 
 \s5
-\v 27 Isaiah also exclaimed concerning the Israelites:
+\v 27 Isaiah also exclaimed concerning Israel:
-"Even though the Israelites are so many that no one can count them, like sand particles beside the ocean, only a small part of them will be saved,
+"Even though the sons of Israel are so many that no one can count them, like sand particles beside the ocean, only a small part of them will be saved,
 \v 28 because the Lord will punish completely and speedily the people who live in that land, as he said that he would do."
 \p
 \v 29 Isaiah also wrote,
@@ -607,19 +607,19 @@ in those same places they are told that they will become children of the true Go
 
 \s5
 \p
-\v 18 But if someone said to those people, "Of course the Israelites have heard this message," I would say, "Yes, indeed! It is like what the scriptures say:
+\v 18 But if someone said to those people, "Of course they have heard this message," I would say, "Yes, indeed! It is like what the scriptures say:
 \q
 "The people living all over the world have seen the creation, and what it proves about who God is—even the people living in the most remote places in the world have understood this!"
 
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 \p
-\v 19 Furthermore, it is true that the Israelites really did hear this message. They understood it, too, but they refused to believe it. Remember that Moses was the first one to warn the people like this. He told them that God said, "You think that the non-Jewish nations are not real nations at all. But some of their people will believe in me, and I will bless them. Then you will envy them and be angry at them, people who you do not think understand me."
+\v 19 Furthermore, it is true that the people of Israel really did hear this message. They understood it, too, but they refused to believe it. Remember that Moses was the first one to warn the people like this. He told them that God said, "You think that the non-Jewish nations are not real nations at all. But some of their people will believe in me, and I will bless them. Then you will envy them and be angry at them, people who you do not think understand me."
 \p
 
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 \v 20 Remember also that God said very boldly through Isaiah, "The non-Jews who did not try to know me will surely find me! I will surely reveal what I am like to those who did not ask for me!"
 \p
-\v 21 But God also speaks about the Israelites. He says, "For a long time I have held out my arms to the people who disobeyed and rebelled against me in order to invite them to return to me."
+\v 21 But God also speaks about Israel, when he says, "For a long time I have held out my arms to the people who disobeyed and rebelled against me in order to invite them to return to me."
 
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 \c 11
@@ -681,7 +681,7 @@ in those same places they are told that they will become children of the true Go
 
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 \v 26 And then God will save all of Israel. Then these words in the scriptures will become true:
-\p "The one who sets his people free will come from where God is among the Jews. He will forgive the sins of the Israelite people."
+\p "The one who sets his people free will come from where God is among the Jews. He will forgive the sins of the people of Israel."
 \p
 \v 27 And as God says,
 \p "The covenant that I will make with them is one by which I will forgive their sins."

47-1CO.usfm

@@ -469,7 +469,7 @@ But we can know the very thoughts of Christ.
 \c 10
 \p
 \v 1 I want you to remember, brothers and sisters, that our Jewish ancestors were following God, who led them out of Egypt by means of a cloud during the day, and that they passed through the Sea of Reeds on dry land.
-\v 2 And as we have been baptized into Christ, so the Israelites were to follow Moses as he followed God in the cloud and across the sea.
+\v 2 They were all baptized into Moses as he followed God in the cloud and across the sea.
 \v 3 They all ate the supernatural manna that God gave them from heaven,
 \v 4 and they all drank the supernatural water that God gave them when Moses struck the rock. The rock was Christ.
 

48-2CO.usfm

@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@
 
 \s5
 \p
-\v 7 God's law brings death, and he wrote it on stone tablets, and he gave it to Moses. It came with the brilliant light that always shines where God is. And that glory shined on Moses' face; his face shined so brightly that the Israelites could not look at his face. That bright light slowly faded from his face.
+\v 7 God's law brings death, and he wrote it on stone tablets, and he gave it to Moses. It came with the brilliant light that always shines where God is. And that glory shined on Moses' face; his face shined so brightly that the people of Israel could not look at his face. That bright light slowly faded from his face.
 \v 8 How much more brightly does the ministry of the Spirit shine!
 
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59-HEB.usfm

@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@
 
 \s5
 \p
-\v 7 The Holy Spirit caused the psalmist to write these words in the scriptures to the Israelites:
+\v 7 The Holy Spirit caused the psalmist to write these words:
 \q "Now, when you hear God speak to you,
 \v 8 do not refuse to obey him, and do not let your desires be more important that what God says, for if you do, you would be just like your ancestors long ago, when they turned away from God and did not obey him.
 
@@ -152,14 +152,14 @@
 \p
 \v 16 Who were the ones who rebelled against God even though they heard him speak to them? It was all of God's people who Moses led out of Egypt.
 \v 17 And remember who it was with whom God was disgusted for forty years. It was God's people who sinned, and their dead bodies lay there in the desert.
-\v 18 And remember about whom God solemnly declared, "They will not enter the land where I would let them rest." It was those Israelites who disobeyed God.
+\v 18 And remember about whom God solemnly declared, "They will not enter the land where I would let them rest." It was those who disobeyed God.
 \v 19 So, from that example we know that it was because they did not keep trusting in God that they were unable to enter the land where God would allow them to rest.
 
 \s5
 \c 4
 \p
 \v 1 God has promised that we would rest, but we must be careful, because we can miss God's place of rest.
-\v 2 We have heard the good news about how Jesus gives us God's rest, just as the Israelites heard God promise that they would rest in Canaan. But just as that message did not help many Israelites because they did not trust God as Joshua and Caleb did, the good news about Christ will not help us if we do not trust God.
+\v 2 We have heard the good news about how Jesus gives us God's rest, just as the people of Israel heard God promise that they would rest in Canaan. But just as that message did not help many of the people of Israel because they did not trust God as Joshua and Caleb did, the good news about Christ will not help us if we do not trust God.
 
 \s5
 \v 3 We who have believed in Christ are able to enter the place of rest because God said,
@@ -168,18 +168,18 @@
 \v 4 In fact, somewhere in the Scriptures God spoke about the seventh day using these words:
 \q "Then, on the seventh day, God rested from his work."
 \p
-\v 5 But note again what God said about the Israelites in the passage that I quoted previously:
+\v 5 But note again what God said about the people of Israel in the passage that I quoted previously:
 \q "They will not enter the land where I would let them rest."
 
 \s5
 \p
-\v 6 Some people still enter God's rest. But the Israelites who first heard God promise that they would rest—they did not enter that place of resting, because they refused to believe God.
+\v 6 Some people still enter God's rest. But those who first heard God promise that they would rest—they did not enter that place of resting, because they refused to believe God.
-\v 7 But God set another time when we may enter that place of resting. That time is now! We know that is true because much later than when the Israelites rebelled against God in the desert, he caused King David to write what I have already quoted,
+\v 7 But God set another time when we may enter that place of resting. That time is now! We know that is true because much later than when the people of Israel rebelled against God in the desert, he caused King David to write what I have already quoted,
 \q "Right now, when you understand what God is saying to you, do not stubbornly disobey him."
 
 \s5
 \p
-\v 8 If Joshua had led the Israelites to enter the only place of resting God would give them, then much later God would not have spoken again about another day of rest. But he did give them another promise of rest.
+\v 8 If Joshua had given them rest, then much later God would not have spoken again about another day of rest. But he did give them another promise of rest.
 \v 9 So, just as God rested on the seventh day after he finished creating everything, there remains a time when God's people will rest eternally.
 \v 10 Whoever enters God's place of resting has ceased from his work, just as God finished doing his work of creating everything.
 \p
@@ -347,7 +347,7 @@
 \v 7 God needed to make this new covenant, because the first covenant had not done everything well.
 
 \s5
-\v 8 Because God declared that the Israelites were guilty of not obeying the first covenant he wanted a new covenant. This is what a prophet wrote about that:
+\v 8 Because God declared that the people of Israel were guilty of not obeying the first covenant he wanted a new covenant. This is what a prophet wrote about that:
 \q "The Lord says, 'Listen! There will soon be a time
 \q when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and the people of Judah.
 \q
@@ -382,7 +382,7 @@
 \c 9
 \p
 \v 1 In the first covenant God regulated how people of Israel should worship, and he told them to make a place to worship him.
-\v 2 The sanctuary that the Israelites set up was the sacred tent. In its outer room there were the lampstand and the table on which they put the bread on display before God. That room was called the holy place.
+\v 2 The sanctuary that the people of Israel set up was the sacred tent. In its outer room there were the lampstand and the table on which they put the bread on display before God. That room was called the holy place.
 
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 \v 3 Behind the curtain on one side of the holy place there was another room. That was called the very holy place.
@@ -392,7 +392,7 @@
 \s5
 \p
 \v 6 After they have arranged all these things in this way, the Jewish priests habitually go into the outer room of the tent to do their tasks.
-\v 7 But into the inner room only the high priest goes once a year. He always takes the blood of animals that they have slaughtered. He offers the blood to God for his own sins and for the sins that the other Israelites have committed. This offering of the blood also covered any other sins the people committed when they broke some laws because they didn’t know about them.
+\v 7 But into the inner room only the high priest goes once a year. He always takes the blood of animals that they have slaughtered. He offers the blood to God for his own sins and for the sins that the people of Israel had committed. This offering of the blood also covered any other sins the people committed when they broke some laws because they didn’t know about them.
 
 \s5
 \v 8 By those things the Holy Spirit indicated that God did not reveal the way for ordinary people to enter into the inner room, the very holy place, while the outer room still existed. In a similar way, he did not reveal the way for ordinary people to enter the presence of God while the Jews offered sacrifices in the old way.
@@ -416,7 +416,7 @@
 
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 \v 18 And so God put the first covenant into effect only by means of animals' blood that flowed when the priests sacrificed them.
-\v 19 After Moses had declared to all the Israelites everything that God commanded in the laws that God gave him, he took calves' and goats' blood mixed with water. He tied scarlet wool around a sprig of hyssop and dipped it into this blood. Then with some of the blood he sprinkled the scroll itself, the scroll that contained God's laws.
+\v 19 After Moses had declared to all the people of Israel everything that God commanded in the laws that God gave him, he took calves' and goats' blood mixed with water. He tied scarlet wool around a sprig of hyssop and dipped it into this blood. Then with some of the blood he sprinkled the scroll itself, the scroll that contained God's laws.
 \v 20 He said to them, "This is the blood that brings into effect the covenant that God commanded that you obey."
 
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@@ -595,13 +595,13 @@
 
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 \v 27 Because he trusted God, Moses left Egypt. He was not afraid that the king would be angry because he left. He kept going because it was as though he kept seeing God, whom no one can see.
-\v 28 Because Moses believed God would save his own people, he obeyed God's commands about Passover, which became a yearly festival. He commanded the people to kill lambs and sprinkle their blood on their doorposts so that the angel who causes people to die would not kill the oldest male Israelites with the oldest sons in each Egyptian family.
+\v 28 Because Moses believed God would save his own people, he obeyed God's commands about Passover. He instructed the people to sprinkle blood on their doorposts so that the angel who causes people to die would pass over the homes that had blood sprinked on them. For where the blood was sprinked he would not kill the first child in that home, but any other home without the blood, the angel would make the oldest child to die.
 
 \s5
 \p
-\v 29 Because the Israelites trusted God when they walked through the Sea of Reeds, it was as though they were walking on dry land! But when the army of Egypt also attempted to cross where the sea had been, they drowned because the sea came back and flooded them!
+\v 29 Because the people of Israel trusted God when they walked through the Sea of Reeds, it was as though they were walking on dry land! But when the army of Egypt also attempted to cross where the sea had been, they drowned because the sea came back and flooded them!
 \p
-\v 30 Because the Israelite people trusted God, the walls around the city of Jericho collapsed, after the Israelites marched around the walls for seven days.
+\v 30 Because the people of Israel trusted God, the walls around the city of Jericho collapsed, after the Israelites marched around the walls for seven days.
 \p
 \v 31 Rahab was a prostitute, but because she trusted God, she did not perish with those inside Jericho who disobeyed God. Joshua had sent spies into the city to find ways to destroy it, but God saved Rahab because she welcomed those spies peacefully.
 
@@ -662,7 +662,7 @@
 
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 \p
-\v 18 In coming to God, you have not experienced things like what the Israelite people experienced at Mount Sinai. They approached a mountain that God commanded them not to touch because he himself had come down to that mountain. They approached a blazing fire, and it was gloomy and dark, with a violent storm.
+\v 18 In coming to God, you have not experienced things like what the people of Israel people experienced at Mount Sinai. They approached a mountain that God commanded them not to touch because he himself had come down to that mountain. They approached a blazing fire, and it was gloomy and dark, with a violent storm.
 \v 19 They heard a trumpet sound, and they heard God speak a message. It was so powerful that they pleaded for him not to speak to them like that again.
 \v 20 For God had commanded them, "If a person or even an animal touches this mountain, you must kill him." The people were terrified.
 \v 21 Truly, because Moses was terrified after seeing what happened on the mountain, he said, "I am trembling because I am very afraid!"
@@ -674,7 +674,7 @@
 
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 \p
-\v 25 Make sure you obey the message that comes from God. God punished the Israelite people when they did not obey him, even though it was God was spoke to them from Mount Sinai. Do you think it is possible for you to escape punishment when you refuse to obey God who speaks to you from heaven?
+\v 25 Make sure you obey the message that comes from God. God punished the people of Israel when they did not obey him, even though it was God was spoke to them from Mount Sinai. Do you think it is possible for you to escape punishment when you refuse to obey God who speaks to you from heaven?
 \v 26 The earth shook when he spoke at Mount Sinai. But now he has promised, "I will shake the earth again, one more time, and I will shake the heavens, too."
 
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62-2PE.usfm

@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@
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 \c 2
 \p
-\v 1 Long ago, various people among the Israelites pretended to give true messages from God. Today there are some people who do the same with you. At first you will not know who they are, and these teachers will come in to your fellowship and they will teach harmful lies, even to the point of denying the Lord who redeemed them, and they will quickly destroy themselves.
+\v 1 Long ago, among the people of Israel, there were false prophets. Today there are some people who do the same with you. At first you will not know who they are, and these teachers will come in to your fellowship and they will teach harmful lies, even to the point of denying the Lord who redeemed them, and they will quickly destroy themselves.
 \v 2 And many believers will imitate how these false prophets live. In this way they will insult what is true about God.
 \v 3 In their greed these false teachers will make a profit from you, telling you lies and using smooth talk. But long ago God decided to punish them, and he will not delay to destroy them.