There are typically two answers to this question, one is that God wrote the Bible, and the second is that The Holy Spirit moved prophets like Moses and apostles like Paul to write about God’s relationship with the world.
1 Timothy 3:16
16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:
God was manifested in the flesh,
Justified in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Preached among the Gentiles,
Believed on in the world,
Received up in glory.
2 Peter 1:20-21
20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation,
21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
The Bible and tradition name 35 authors, but I can not put an author to Judges or Hebrews. Isaiah for example could have been completed by Isaiah’s disciples long after Isaiah’s death.
Moses (Genesis | Exodus | Leviticus | Numbers | Deuteronomy | Psalms)
Moses is the prophet who leads Israel from slavery in Egypt to the edge of the promised land. He also wrote about 20% of the Bible. Of all the Old Testament prophets, nobody’s like Moses.
Deuteronomy 34:10-12
10 But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face,
11 in all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, before Pharaoh, before all his servants, and in all his land,
12 and by all that mighty power and all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.
Moses is a Hebrew born in Egypt and raised in Pharaoh’s house. After killing an abusive Egyptian slave driver, Moses escapes the death penalty by running to the wilderness, where he marries and takes up life as a shepherd. Forty years go by, and God meets Moses in the wilderness (there’s a burning bush involved).
God commissions Moses: tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. Moses does so, Pharaoh resists, God judges Egypt with 10 plagues, and the Israelites leave. Moses takes the new nation to Mount Sinai, where the Lord brings Israel into a special relationship: from now on, Israel is God’s people, and God is Israel’s deity. Moses writes out the details of what that relationship looks like. These details are called the “Law,” and they take up most of the books attributed to Moses in the Bible.
The first book, Genesis, sets the stage for the other four books. It explains where the Jewish people came from, and how they ended up in Egypt. The next four books chronicle Israel’s physical and spiritual journey from Egypt to the promised land.
But Moses’ works aren’t over at Deuteronomy! He’s also the one who wrote Psalm 90.
Note: After 40 years of wandering in the desert, Moses died on Mount Nebo at the age of 120, within sight of the Promised Land, although there is some debate as to this.
Psalm 90
The Eternity of God, and Man’s Frailty
A Prayer of Moses the man of God.
1 Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.
2 Before the mountains were brought forth,
Or ever You had formed the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
3 You turn man to destruction,
And say, “Return, O children of men.”
4 For a thousand years in Your sight
Are like yesterday when it is past,
And like a watch in the night.
5 You carry them away like a flood;
They are like a sleep.
In the morning they are like grass which grows up:
6 In the morning it flourishes and grows up;
In the evening it is cut down and withers.
7 For we have been consumed by Your anger,
And by Your wrath we are terrified.
8 You have set our iniquities before You,
Our secret sins in the light of Your countenance.
9 For all our days have passed away in Your wrath;
We finish our years like a sigh.
10 The days of our lives are seventy years;
And if by reason of strength they are eighty years,
Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow;
For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
11 Who knows the power of Your anger?
For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath.
12 So teach us to number our days,
That we may gain a heart of wisdom.
13 Return, O Lord!
How long?
And have compassion on Your servants.
14 Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy,
That we may rejoice and be glad all our days!
15 Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us,
The years in which we have seen evil.
16 Let Your work appear to Your servants,
And Your glory to their children.
17 And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,
And establish the work of our hands for us;
Yes, establish the work of our hands.
Ezra (1 & 2 Chronicles | Ezra)
Ezra is a scribe (someone who reads, writes, and interprets documents), and he’s especially well-versed in the Law of Moses.
Ezra 7:6
6 this Ezra came up from Babylon; and he was a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given. The king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him.
He’s actually related to Moses: Ezra is a great-great-great…-grandson of Moses’ brother Aaron, which means he’s also got some priest blood in him.
Ezra 7:1-5
The Arrival of Ezra
1 Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,
2 the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub,
3 the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth,
4 the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki,
5 the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest
Ezra grows up in Babylon, but he is determined to move to become a missionary to his homeland, so he takes a group of Jews back to Jerusalem and begins teaching the people God’s ways.
Ezra 7:10
10 For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.
Ezra is a key player in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. He’s a religious leader in Jerusalem who calls the people around him to holiness.
The Jewish Talmud says Ezra wrote the book of 1 & 2 Chronicles (yes, they’re really two parts of the same book), and the book of Ezra. If this is the case, it makes Ezra the second-most prolific author of the Bible. Not bad for a guy you may not know much about!
Nehemiah (Nehemiah)
Nehemiah is a cupbearer to the king of Persia when he gets some disturbing news: his countrymen back in Jerusalem are in dire straits, and the city is in shambles
Nehemiah 1:3
3 And they said to me, “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.”
Nehemiah then gets the go-ahead from King Artaxerxes to rebuild the city walls and gates and takes off for Jerusalem. The wall was rebuilt in just 52 days.
Nehemiah 6:15
The Wall Completed
15 So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days.
Nehemiah’s more than a wall builder, though. Artaxerxes makes him the governor of Judah.
Nehemiah 5:14
The Generosity of Nehemiah
14 Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year until the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the governor’s provisions.
Nehemiah uses this position to point the people to God. He’s the one stationing soldiers, commissioning singers in the temple, and making sure the temple stays clean. Plus, he teams up with Ezra to rededicate the people to God,
Nehemiah 10:28-39
The Covenant That Was Sealed
28 Now the rest of the people—the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the Nethinim, and all those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, everyone who had knowledge and understanding—
29 these joined with their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse and an oath to walk in God’s Law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our Lord, and His ordinances and His statutes:
30 We would not give our daughters as wives to the peoples of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons;
31 if the peoples of the land brought wares or any grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we would not buy it from them on the Sabbath, or on a holy day; and we would forego the seventh year’s produce and the exacting of every debt.
32 Also we made ordinances for ourselves, to exact from ourselves yearly one-third of a shekel for the service of the house of our God:
33 for the showbread, for the regular grain offering, for the regular burnt offering of the Sabbaths, the New Moons, and the set feasts; for the holy things, for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and all the work of the house of our God.
34 We cast lots among the priests, the Levites, and the people, for bringing the wood offering into the house of our God, according to our fathers’ houses, at the appointed times year by year, to burn on the altar of the Lord our God as it is written in the Law.
35 And we made ordinances to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the first fruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, to the house of the Lord;
36 to bring the firstborn of our sons and our cattle, as it is written in the Law, and the firstborn of our herds and our flocks, to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God;
37 to bring the firstfruits of our dough, our offerings, the fruit from all kinds of trees, the new wine and oil, to the priests, to the storerooms of the house of our God; and to bring the tithes of our land to the Levites, for the Levites should receive the tithes in all our farming communities.
38 And the priest, the descendant of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive tithes; and the Levites shall bring up a tenth of the tithes to the house of our God, to the rooms of the storehouse.
39 For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the offering of the grain, of the new wine and the oil, to the storerooms where the articles of the sanctuary are, where the priests who minister and the gatekeepers and the singers are; and we will not neglect the house of our God.
And hold them to their promises.
Nehemiah 13:4-31
The Reforms of Nehemiah
4 Now before this, Eliashib the priest, having authority over the storerooms of the house of our God, was allied with Tobiah.
5 And he had prepared for him a large room, where previously they had stored the grain offerings, the frankincense, the articles, the tithes of grain, the new wine and oil, which were commanded to be given to the Levites and singers and gatekeepers, and the offerings for the priests.
6 But during all this I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king. Then after certain days I obtained leave from the king,
7 and I came to Jerusalem and discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, in preparing a room for him in the courts of the house of God.
8 And it grieved me bitterly; therefore I threw all the household goods of Tobiah out of the room.
9 Then I commanded them to cleanse the rooms; and I brought back into them the articles of the house of God, with the grain offering and the frankincense.
10 I also realized that the portions for the Levites had not been given them; for each of the Levites and the singers who did the work had gone back to his field.
11 So I contended with the rulers, and said, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their place.
12 Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain and the new wine and the oil to the storehouse.
13 And I appointed as treasurers over the storehouse Shelemiah the priest and Zadok the scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah; and next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for they were considered faithful, and their task was to distribute to their brethren.
14 Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for its services!
15 In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys with wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them about the day on which they were selling provisions.
16 Men of Tyre dwelt there also, who brought in fish and all kinds of goods, and sold them on the Sabbath to the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem.
17 Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said to them, “What evil thing is this that you do, by which you profane the Sabbath day?
18 Did not your fathers do thus, and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city? Yet you bring added wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”
19 So it was, at the gates of Jerusalem, as it began to be dark before the Sabbath, that I commanded the gates to be shut, and charged that they must not be opened till after the Sabbath. Then I posted some of my servants at the gates, so that no burdens would be brought in on the Sabbath day.
20 Now the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice.
21 Then I warned them, and said to them, “Why do you spend the night around the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you!” From that time on they came no more on the Sabbath.
22 And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should go and guard the gates, to sanctify the Sabbath day.
Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of Your mercy!
23 In those days I also saw Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.
24 And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and could not speak the language of Judah, but spoke according to the language of one or the other people.
25 So I contended with them and [e]cursed them, struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters as wives to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons or yourselves.
26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? Yet among many nations there was no king like him, who was beloved of his God; and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless pagan women caused even him to sin.
27 Should we then hear of your doing all this great evil, transgressing against our God by marrying pagan women?”
28 And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was a son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite; therefore I drove him from me.
29 Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.
30 Thus I cleansed them of everything pagan. I also assigned duties to the priests and the Levites, each to his service,
31 and to bringing the wood offering and the firstfruits at appointed times.
Remember me, O my God, for good!
Nehemiah wrote the book that bears his name, and he wrote it in first person. Nehemiah has a very transparent writing style, often breaking from his story to record a prayer he made to God.
Nehemiah 4:4
4 Hear, O our God, for we are despised; turn their reproach on their own heads, and give them as plunder to a land of captivity!
Nehemiah 13:22
22 And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should go and guard the gates, to sanctify the Sabbath day.
Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of Your mercy!
David (Psalms)
You’ve all heard of this guy. He’s the shepherd boy who killed Goliath the giant. He’s the war-hero king who delivered Israel from her enemies and established Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. He’s the jerk who killed off Uriah so he could have Uriah’s wife. And maybe most importantly, he’s a messiah: someone anointed by God to rule the people in wisdom and justice.
David is the focal character in the books of 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Chronicles, and the books of Ruth and Kings tell us all about his family. David’s one of the Bible’s most important characters, but that doesn’t have all that much to do with David. He’s important because God makes a special promise to him: from David will come an everlasting kingdom with an everlasting king. Spoiler alert: that’s Jesus.
Some say that David wrote the book of Psalms, but that’s not really the case. David only wrote about half of the Psalms, 73 out of all 150, to be precise (though the Latin Vulgate and Septuagint (OT) credit a few more to him). Even so, that’s a lot more than any other psalmist.
These ones we can agree upon: Psalms 3–9, Psalms 11–41, Psalms 51–65, Psalms 68–70, Psalm 86, Psalm 101, Psalm 103, Psalms 108–110, Psalm 122, Psalm 124, Psalm 131, Psalm 133, Psalms 138–145.
If you throw in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) and Latin Vulgate credits, it brings the count as high as 85.
Solomon (Psalms | Proverbs | Ecclesiastes | Song of Solomon)
When Solomon succeeds his father David as king of all Israel, the Lord appears to him in a dream. He gives Solomon the ultimate ‘blank check’: Solomon names anything he wants, and God will give it to him. Instead of asking for cash or the heads of his enemies, Solomon just asks God for wisdom. And God delivers:
1 Kings 4:29-31
29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore.
30 Thus Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt.
31 For he was wiser than all men, than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the surrounding nations.
Solomon came up with 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs.
1 Kings 4:32
32 He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs were one thousand and five.
Solomon is traditionally credited for authoring the books of Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon. In the first, he asks, “What’s the point of even existing?” In the second, he celebrates love, marriage, and all kinds of sexual privileges that come with that.
Solomon contributes to two more books of the Bible as well. He’s the main writer in Proverbs, which is a book of principles for making decisions in wisdom and justice. Most of the first 29 chapters were written or curated by Solomon. The wise king also joins his dad in the book of Psalms.
Psalm 72
Glory and Universality of the Messiah’s Reign
A Psalm of Solomon.
1 Give the king Your judgments, O God,
And Your righteousness to the king’s Son.
2 He will judge Your people with righteousness,
And Your poor with justice.
3 The mountains will bring peace to the people,
And the little hills, by righteousness.
4 He will bring justice to the poor of the people;
He will save the children of the needy,
And will break in pieces the oppressor.
5 They shall fear You
As long as the sun and moon endure,
Throughout all generations.
6 He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing,
Like showers that water the earth.
7 In His days the righteous shall flourish,
And abundance of peace,
Until the moon is no more.
8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea,
And from the River to the ends of the earth.
9 Those who dwell in the wilderness will bow before Him,
And His enemies will lick the dust.
10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles
Will bring presents;
The kings of Sheba and Seba
Will offer gifts.
11 Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him;
All nations shall serve Him.
12 For He will deliver the needy when he cries,
The poor also, and him who has no helper.
13 He will spare the poor and needy,
And will save the souls of the needy.
14 He will redeem their life from oppression and violence;
And precious shall be their blood in His sight.
15 And He shall live;
And the gold of Sheba will be given to Him;
Prayer also will be made for Him continually,
And daily He shall be praised.
16 There will be an abundance of grain in the earth,
On the top of the mountains;
Its fruit shall wave like Lebanon;
And those of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.
17 His name shall endure forever;
His name shall continue as long as the sun.
And men shall be blessed in Him;
All nations shall call Him blessed.
18 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who only does wondrous things!
19 And blessed be His glorious name forever!
And let the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen and Amen.
20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
Psalm 127
Laboring and Prospering with the Lord
A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.
1 Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early,
To sit up late,
To eat the bread of sorrows;
For so He gives His beloved sleep.
3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
5 Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them;
They shall not be ashamed,
But shall speak with their enemies in the gate.
Asaph and family (Psalms)
David commissions the temple in Jerusalem, he appoints Asaph and his family to lead worship
1 Chronicles 16:5
5 Asaph the chief, and next to him Zechariah, then Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, and Obed-Edom: Jeiel with stringed instruments and harps, but Asaph made music with cymbals;
We don’t know much about Asaph, except that he’s a singer from the tribe of Levi.
2 Chronicles 5:12
12 and the Levites who were the singers, all those of Asaph and Heman and Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, stood at the east end of the altar, clothed in white linen, having cymbals, stringed instruments and harps, and with them one hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets
He and his family must have been some awesome songwriters, because 12 of the Psalms are credited to him.
Psalm 50
God the Righteous Judge
A Psalm of Asaph.
1 The Mighty One, God the Lord,
Has spoken and called the earth
From the rising of the sun to its going down.
2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God will shine forth.
3Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent;
A fire shall devour before Him,
And it shall be very tempestuous all around Him.
4 He shall call to the heavens from above,
And to the earth, that He may judge His people:
5 “Gather My saints together to Me,
Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”
6 Let the heavens declare His righteousness,
For God Himself is Judge. Selah
7 “Hear, O My people, and I will speak,
O Israel, and I will testify against you;
I am God, your God!
8 I will not rebuke you for your sacrifices
Or your burnt offerings,
Which are continually before Me.
9 I will not take a bull from your house,
Nor goats out of your folds.
10 For every beast of the forest is Mine,
And the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know all the birds of the mountains,
And the wild beasts of the field are Mine.
12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you;
For the world is Mine, and all its fullness.
13 Will I eat the flesh of bulls,
Or drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer to God thanksgiving,
And pay your vows to the Most High.
15 Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”
16 But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to declare My statutes,
Or take My covenant in your mouth,
17 Seeing you hate instruction
And cast My words behind you?
18 When you saw a thief, you consented with him,
And have been a partaker with adulterers.
19 You give your mouth to evil,
And your tongue frames deceit.
20 You sit and speak against your brother;
You slander your own mother’s son.
21 These things you have done, and I kept silent;
You thought that I was altogether like you;
But I will rebuke you,
And set them in order before your eyes.
22 “Now consider this, you who forget God,
Lest I tear you in pieces,
And there be none to deliver:
23 Whoever offers praise glorifies Me;
And to him who orders his conduct aright
I will show the salvation of God.”
Plus Psalms 73–89
Sons of Korah (Psalms)
When Moses is leading Israel through the wilderness, a Levite named Korah challenges Moses’ leadership. That doesn’t end well, the earth swallows up Korah and his followers.
But Korah’s sons survive, and they have quite a legacy in the Bible through their music. The descendants of Korah wrote 11 psalms:
Psalm 42, Psalms 44–49, Psalms 84–85, Psalms 87-88.
Heman (Psalms)
Before anyone gets overly excited, no, a Masters of the Universe character did not author part of the Bible (as far as I can tell). But the similarity in name is pretty funny.
Heman was a wise man who co-authored Psalm 88 with the sons of Korah. He was wise enough to compare to Solomon, but not wiser.
1 Kings 4:31
31 For he was wiser than all men, than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the surrounding nations.
Ethan (Psalms)
Oh, look, another psalmist! Like his relative Heman, Ethan was one of the wisest men in the world. You know, besides Solomon.
1 Kings 4:31
31 For he was wiser than all men, than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the surrounding nations.
He wrote Psalm 89
Agur (Proverbs)
We don’t know much about the author of Proverbs 30. He must have been wise enough for the Jews to include in their book of wisdom, but he doesn’t think to highly of his smarts compared to God’s:
Proverbs 30:2-3
2 Surely I am more stupid than any man,
And do not have the understanding of a man.
3 neither learned wisdom
Nor have knowledge of the Holy One.
Lemuel (Proverbs)
Again, the Bible tells us very little about this author. Lemuel was a king. possibly of a place called Massa.
Proverbs 31:1
The Words of King Lemuel’s Mother
31 The words of King Lemuel, the utterance which his mother taught him:
Lemuel’s contribution to the Bible is pretty much a tribute to his mom. She taught her son well, and now he’s passing on her wisdom to his readers.
Isaiah (Isaiah)
Isaiah is the earliest, and arguably the most preeminent of the Major Prophets. His ministry spans the reign of four kings, and he seems to be responsible for some of the royal records.
2 Chronicles 26:22
22 Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, from first to last, the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz wrote.
Isaiah marries a prophetess.
Isaiah 8:3
3 Then I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said to me, “Call his name Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz;
In addition to proclaiming the word of God to the nation, Isaiah gives personal advice to the kings of Judah. He tells King Ahaz not to worry when the kingdom of Israel and Aram make war against Jerusalem.
Isaiah 7:3-4
3 Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-Jashub your son, at the end of the aqueduct from the upper pool, on the highway to the Fuller’s Field,
4 and say to him: ‘Take heed and be quiet; do not fear or be fainthearted for these two stubs of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and the son of Remaliah.
He reassures King Hezekiah that the Lord will protect Judah from Assyrian armies,
2 Kings 19:1-7
Isaiah Assures Deliverance
1 And so it was, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord.
2 Then he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz.
3 And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah: ‘This day is a day of trouble, and rebuke, and blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth.
4 It may be that the Lord your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.’ ”
5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah.
6 And Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me.
7 Surely I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.” ’ ”
Isaiah 37:1-7
Isaiah Assures Deliverance
1 And so it was, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord.
2 Then he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz.
3 And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah: ‘This day is a day of trouble and rebuke and blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth.
4 It may be that the Lord your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.’ ”
5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah.
6 And Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me.
7 Surely I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land” ’ ”.
but warns him that Jerusalem will one day be sacked by the Babylonians.
Isaiah 39:5-7
5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord of hosts:
6 ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the Lord.
7 ‘And they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’ ”
And of course, the book of Isaiah is traditionally credited to him (though his disciples seem to have contributed to the body of work overtime). His prophecies cover the rise of Persian emperor Cyrus, the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and the coming kingdom of God.
Jeremiah (Jeremiah | Lamentations)
He’s the famous “weeping prophet” from the priests in the land of Benjamin.
Jeremiah 1:1-10
Jeremiah Called to Be a Priest
1 The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin,
2 to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.
3 It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.
The Prophet Is Called
4 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;
Before you were born I sanctified you;
I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”
6 Then said I:
“Ah, Lord God!
Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.”
7 But the Lord said to me:
“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’
For you shall go to all to whom I send you,
And whatever I command you, you shall speak.
8 Do not be afraid of their faces,
For I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord.
9 Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me:
“Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.
10 See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms,
To root out and to pull down,
To destroy and to throw down,
To build and to plant.”
Jeremiah begins his prophetic ministry at a young age and spends most of his time warning the nation of Judah that judgment is coming. He warns them about multiple Babylonian attacks, but the kings of Judah just won’t hear it. Jeremiah outlasts all the kings, though, and ends up offering counsel to the refugees of Jerusalem and the surrounding area. But even they don’t listen.
Jeremiah 1:6
6 Then said I: “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.”
Forget what you’ve been told about Psalms: Jeremiah is actually the longest book of the Bible. And that’s not all of Jeremiah’s writings. According to tradition, Jeremiah wrote the book of Lamentations, too. This book is a group of five acrostic poems that mourn the fall of Jerusalem. Jeremiah also wrote a few more dirges when the good king Josiah died in battle.
2 Chronicles 35:25
25 Jeremiah also lamented for Josiah. And to this day all the singing men and the singing women speak of Josiah in their lamentations. They made it a custom in Israel; and indeed they are written in the Laments.
Ezekiel (Ezekiel)
Ezekiel is one of the many Jews taken captive to Babylon.
Ezekiel 1:1
Ezekiel’s Vision of God
1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the River Chebar, that the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.
2 On the fifth day of the month, which was in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity,
3 the word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was upon him there.
He’s a priest from the tribe of Levi, but the Lord chooses him to do much more than make sacrifices. God sets up Ezekiel as the “watchman” for the Jews, because as bad as it is now, they’re about to get themselves into a lot more trouble.
Ezekiel makes a lot of sacrifices in his ministry. He eats cakes cooked over poop.
Ezekiel 4:12-15
12 And you shall eat it as barley cakes; and bake it using fuel of human waste in their sight.”
13 Then the Lord said, “So shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, where I will drive them.”
14 So I said, “Ah, Lord God! Indeed I have never defiled myself from my youth till now; I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has abominable[a] flesh ever come into my mouth.”
15 Then He said to me, “See, I am giving you cow dung instead of human waste, and you shall prepare your bread over it.”
He lies on his side for 430 days.
Ezekiel 4:4-6
4 “Lie also on your left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it. According to the number of the days that you lie on it, you shall bear their iniquity.
5 For I have laid on you the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days; so you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.
6 And when you have completed them, lie again on your right side; then you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days. I have laid on you a day for each year.
His wife dies, but he doesn’t get a chance to mourn. He doesn’t have it easy.
Ezekiel 24:15-24
The Prophet’s Wife Dies
15 Also the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
16 “Son of man, behold, I take away from you the desire of your eyes with one stroke; yet you shall neither mourn nor weep, nor shall your tears run down.
17 Sigh in silence, make no mourning for the dead; bind your turban on your head, and put your sandals on your feet; do not cover your lips, and do not eat man’s bread of sorrow.”
18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died; and the next morning I did as I was commanded.
19 And the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things signify to us, that you behave so?”
20 Then I answered them, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
21 ‘Speak to the house of Israel, “Thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, I will profane My sanctuary, your arrogant boast, the desire of your eyes, the delight of your soul; and your sons and daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword.
22 And you shall do as I have done; you shall not cover your lips nor eat man’s bread of sorrow.
23 Your turbans shall be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; you shall neither mourn nor weep, but you shall pine away in your iniquities and mourn with one another.
24 Thus Ezekiel is a sign to you; according to all that he has done you shall do; and when this comes, you shall know that I am the Lord God’ ”.
But his prophecies are phenomenal. He sees the Lord enthroned above the cherubim. He sees the temple of God destroyed and rebuilt. He sees dry bones growing ligaments and flesh. He’s the watchman, and he watches some crazy things.
Ezekiel 10:1-2
The Glory Departs from the Temple
1 And I looked, and there in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubim, there appeared something like a sapphire stone, having the appearance of the likeness of a throne.
2 Then He spoke to the man clothed with linen, and said, “Go in among the wheels, under the cherub, fill your hands with coals of fire from among the cherubim, and scatter them over the city”. And he went in as I watched.
Daniel (Daniel)
You’ve heard of this guy and his lion’s den episode. Daniel is a young nobleman from Judah who’s taken captive by King Nebuchadnezzar.
Daniel 1:3
3 Then the king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the king’s descendants and some of the nobles,
Daniel 6:1-28
The Plot Against Daniel
1 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred and twenty satraps, to be over the whole kingdom;
2 and over these, three governors, of whom Daniel was one, that the satraps might give account to them, so that the king would suffer no loss.
3 Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm.
4 So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him.
5 Then these men said, “We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God.”
6 So these governors and satraps thronged before the king, and said thus to him: “King Darius, live forever!
7 All the governors of the kingdom, the administrators and satraps, the counselors and advisors, have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree, that whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions.
8 Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter.”
9 Therefore King Darius signed the written decree.
Daniel in the Lions’ Den
10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.
11 Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.
12 And they went before the king, and spoke concerning the king’s decree: “Have you not signed a decree that every man who petitions any god or man within thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?”
The king answered and said, “The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter.”
13 So they answered and said before the king, “That Daniel, who is one of the captives from Judah, does not show due regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.”
14 And the king, when he heard these words, was greatly displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him; and he labored till the going down of the sun to deliver him.
15 Then these men approached the king, and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is the law of the Medes and Persians that no decree or statute which the king establishes may be changed.”
16 So the king gave the command, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. But the king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.”
17 Then a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signets of his lords, that the purpose concerning Daniel might not be changed.
Daniel Saved from the Lions
18 Now the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; and no musicians were brought before him. Also his sleep went from him.
19 Then the king arose very early in the morning and went in haste to the den of lions.
20 And when he came to the den, he cried out with a lamenting voice to Daniel. The king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”
21 Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever!
22 My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.”
23 Now the king was exceedingly glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, because he believed in his God.
Darius Honors God
24 And the king gave the command, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions—them, their children, and their wives; and the lions overpowered them, and broke all their bones in pieces before they ever came to the bottom of the den.
25 Then King Darius wrote:
To all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth:
Peace be multiplied to you.
26 I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel.
For He is the living God,
And steadfast forever;
His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed,
And His dominion shall endure to the end.
27 He delivers and rescues,
And He works signs and wonders
In heaven and on earth,
Who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.
28 So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
Exiled to Babylon, Daniel quickly distinguishes himself from the other boys for his wisdom,
Daniel 1:20
20 And in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm.
and he’s one of the few characters in the Bible that reliably interprets other people’s dreams.
Daniel 2:28
28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these:
He becomes a chief government officer in both the Babylonian and Persian empires.
Daniel 5:29
29 Then Belshazzar gave the command, and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a chain of gold around his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
And he also has some pretty intense visions. His prophecies tend to concern two major themes:
The future of the world’s kingdoms: Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, and the unshakable kingdom of God.
The future of God’s people: the Messiah, the temple, and Israel’s part in God’s long-term plan.
Daniel’s a wise man and he wrote an important book for those who want to study biblical prophecy.
Hosea (Hosea)
Hosea’s claim to fame: God told him to enter a really unhealthy marriage. Seriously, God has Hosea marry a prostitute and have a few kids.
Hosea 1:2
The Family of Hosea
2 When the Lord began to speak by Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea:
“Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry
And children of harlotry,
For the land has committed great harlotry
By departing from the Lord.”
And Hosea does. When his wife takes up her old trade and starts sleeping with other men, God tells him to go bring her back home as his wife again.
Why? Because Israel has turned away from her relationship to God and chased idols instead. Israel is going to deal with the consequences of her actions, but the Lord plans to bring her back to him, just like Hosea brings back his wife.
Hosea 3:5
5 Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the latter days.
Joel (Joel)
All we know about this prophet is his father’s name: Pethuel.
Joel 1:1
1 The word of the Lord that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.
Joel writes a brief book of prophecy that explains two important phenomenon: the current plague of locusts and the coming day of the Lord.
Joel 1:2-12
The Land Laid Waste
2 Hear this, you elders,
And give ear, all you inhabitants of the land!
Has anything like this happened in your days,
Or even in the days of your fathers?
3 Tell your children about it,
Let your children tell their children,
And their children another generation.
4 What the chewing locust left, the swarming locust has eaten;
What the swarming locust left, the crawling locust has eaten;
And what the crawling locust left, the consuming locust has eaten.
5 Awake, you drunkards, and weep;
And wail, all you drinkers of wine,
Because of the new wine,
For it has been cut off from your mouth.
6 For a nation has come up against My land,
Strong, and without number;
His teeth are the teeth of a lion,
And he has the fangs of a fierce lion.
7 He has laid waste My vine,
And ruined My fig tree;
He has stripped it bare and thrown it away;
Its branches are made white.
8 Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth
For the husband of her youth.
9 The grain offering and the drink offering
Have been cut off from the house of the Lord;
The priests mourn, who minister to the Lord.
10 The field is wasted,
The land mourns;
For the grain is ruined,
The new wine is dried up,
The oil fails.
11 Be ashamed, you farmers,
Wail, you vinedressers,
For the wheat and the barley;
Because the harvest of the field has perished.
12 The vine has dried up,
And the fig tree has withered;
The pomegranate tree,
The palm tree also,
And the apple tree—
All the trees of the field are withered;
Surely joy has withered away from the sons of men.
Joel 2:1
The Day of the Lord
1 Blow the trumpet in Zion,
And sound an alarm in My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble;
For the day of the Lord is coming,
For it is at hand:
Joel 2:31
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.
Amos (Amos)
Amos is a shepherd from Tekoa, a little town in the Southern Kingdom of Judah. The Lord gives him visions and calls him to journey north to prophesy against the king of Israel. As you can imagine, the false priests in Israel want to shut this Southerner down.
Amos 7:12-13
12 Then Amaziah said to Amos:
“Go, you seer!
Flee to the land of Judah.
There eat bread,
And there prophesy.
13 But never again prophesy at Bethel,
For it is the king’s sanctuary,
And it is the royal residence.”
Amos is an interesting character in that it seems he has no background in public ministry. When the false priest Amaziah tells Amos to go prophesy somewhere else, Amos responds: “I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet; for I am a herdsman and a grower of sycamore figs.”
Amos 7:14
14 Then Amos answered, and said to Amaziah:
“I was no prophet,
Nor was I a son of a prophet,
But I was a sheepbreeder
And a tender of sycamore fruit.
Obadiah (Obadiah)
We don’t know much about this guy, except that he made a short prophecy against Edom. We don’t even get an “Obadiah, son of X” intro to his book, either, so we really don’t have much to go on.
But hey, if you love underdogs, you should check out his book. It’s the least-read book of the Bible!
Obadiah 1-4
The Coming Judgment on Edom
1 The vision of Obadiah.
Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom
(We have heard a report from the Lord,
And a messenger has been sent among the nations, saying,
“Arise, and let us rise up against her for battle”):
2 “Behold, I will make you small among the nations;
You shall be greatly despised.
3 The pride of your heart has deceived you,
You who dwell in the clefts of the rock,
Whose habitation is high;
You who say in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’
4 Though you ascend as high as the eagle,
And though you set your nest among the stars,
From there I will bring you down,” says the Lord.
Edom Mistreated His Brother
10 “For violence against your brother Jacob,
Shame shall cover you,
And you shall be cut off forever.
11 In the day that you stood on the other side—
In the day that strangers carried captive his forces,
When foreigners entered his gates
And cast lots for Jerusalem—
Even you were as one of them.
12 “But you should not have gazed on the day of your brother
In the day of his captivity;
Nor should you have rejoiced over the children of Judah
In the day of their destruction;
Nor should you have spoken proudly
In the day of distress.
13 You should not have entered the gate of My people
In the day of their calamity.
Indeed, you should not have gazed on their affliction
In the day of their calamity,
Nor laid hands on their substance
In the day of their calamity.
14 You should not have stood at the crossroads
To cut off those among them who escaped;
Nor should you have delivered up those among them who remained
In the day of distress.
There’s also another mention of the coming day of the Lord.
15 “For the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near;
As you have done, it shall be done to you;
Your reprisal shall return upon your own head.
16 For as you drank on My holy mountain,
So shall all the nations drink continually;
Yes, they shall drink, and swallow,
And they shall be as though they had never been.
Jonah (Jonah)
One of the more famous characters in the Bible (albeit his is one of the least-read books). Jonah is a prophet to the Northern Kingdom of Israel,
2 Kings 14:25
25 He restored the territory of Israel from the entrance of Hamath to the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which He had spoken through His servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet who was from Gath Hepher.
but the Lord sends him to Nineveh to warn the Assyrians of God’s coming judgment. Jonah sails in the other direction instead, gets thrown overboard, and spends three days in the belly of a big fish.
Jonah 1:1-3
Jonah’s Disobedience
2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.”
3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.
The Storm at Sea
4 But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up.
5 Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep.
6 So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.”
7 And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.
8 Then they said to him, “Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?”
9 So he said to them, “I am a Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”
Jonah Thrown into the Sea
10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, “Why have you done this?” For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.
11 Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?”—for the sea was growing more tempestuous.
12 And he said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me.”
13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to return to land, but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them.
14 Therefore they cried out to the Lord and said, “We pray, O Lord, please do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O Lord, have done as it pleased You.”
15 So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging.
16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows.
Jonah’s Prayer and Deliverance
17 Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
The Lord had a chat to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
Jonah 2:1-10
Jonah’s Prayer and God’s Answer
1 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly.
2 And he said:
“I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction,
And He answered me.
“Out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
And You heard my voice.
3For You cast me into the deep,
Into the heart of the seas,
And the floods surrounded me;
All Your billows and Your waves passed over me.
4 Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight;
Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.’
5 The waters surrounded me, even to my soul;
The deep closed around me;
Weeds were wrapped around my head.
6 I went down to the moorings of the mountains;
The earth with its bars closed behind me forever;
Yet You have brought up my life from the pit,
O Lord, my God.
7“When my soul fainted within me,
I remembered the Lord;
And my prayer went up to You,
Into Your holy temple.
8 “Those who regard worthless idols
Forsake their own Mercy.
9 But I will sacrifice to You
With the voice of thanksgiving;
I will pay what I have vowed.
Salvation is of the Lord.”
10 So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
Take 2, Jonah is again called to preach in Nineveh. Jonah has learnt his lesson, so this time he obeys. But when the Ninevites repent, God spares them.
Jonah 3:1-10
Jonah Preaches at Nineveh
1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying,
2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.”
3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent.
4 And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”
The People of Nineveh Believe
5 So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them.
6 Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes.
7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying,
Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water.
8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.
9 Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?
10 Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.
Jonah isn’t too pleased about that:
Jonah 4:1-11
Jonah’s Anger and God’s Kindness
1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry.
2 So he prayed to the Lord, and said, “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm.
3 Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!”
4 Then the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?”
5 So Jonah went out of the city and sat on the east side of the city. There he made himself a shelter and sat under it in the shade, till he might see what would become of the city.
6 And the Lord God prepared a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be shade for his head to deliver him from his misery. So Jonah was very grateful for the plant.
7 But as morning dawned the next day God prepared a worm, and it so damaged the plant that it withered.
8 And it happened, when the sun arose, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat on Jonah’s head, so that he grew faint. Then he wished death for himself, and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”
9 Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”
And he said, “It is right for me to be angry, even to death!”
10 But the Lord said, “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night.
11 And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?”
He is traditionally credited as the author of Jonah. If that’s the case, he must have had a moment of clarity after the events took place.
Micah (Micah)
Micah is a prophet from Moreshetch in the Southern Kingdom of Judah, but he preaches to the people in both the North and the South.
Micah 1:1
Judgment on Israel and Judah
1 The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
We don’t know much more about Micah, but we do know that by the time of Jeremiah (around a century later), the elders in Judah considered him to be a true prophet.
In fact, the people quote Micah to save Jeremiah from the death sentence. When Jeremiah prophesies that Jerusalem and the temple will be sacked, the priests and false prophets try to get him killed.
Jeremiah 26:8
8 Now it happened, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “You will surely die!
But the officials and the people of the city remember Micah’s prophecies against Jerusalem, and stop the priests from murdering.
Jeremiah 26:17-19
17 Then certain of the elders of the land rose up and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying:
18 “Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts:
“Zion shall be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins,
And the mountain of the temple
Like the bare hills of the forest.” ’
19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah ever put him to death? Did he not fear the Lord and seek the Lord’s favor? And the Lord relented concerning the doom which He had pronounced against them. But we are doing great evil against ourselves.”
Nahum (Nahum)
Nahum is a prophet, and calls himself an “Elkoshite” in his oracle against Nineveh.
Nahum 1:1
God’s Mercy and Judgment
1 The burden against Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
We’re really not sure where Elkosh is, and so we don’t know much more about Nahum.
Habakkuk (Habakkuk)
We don’t know much about this minor prophet, aside from his songwriting ability. The third chapter of his book is a prayer-psalm, one of the only shiggaion examples in the Bible.
Habakkuk 3:1
The Prophet’s Prayer
3 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, on Shigionoth.
Zephaniah (Zephaniah)
Zephaniah has some royal blood in him. He opens his tiny book of the Bible with his genealogy—which traces back to Hezekiah, the righteous king.
Zephaniah 1:1
The Great Day of the Lord
1 The word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.
Haggai (Haggai)
Haggai writes a very brief account of his ministry in the Bible. He encourages the Jews to finish rebuilding the temple of God, and his ministry is noteworthy enough for the scribe Ezra to give him a nod.
Ezra 5:1-2
Restoration of the Temple Resumed
5 Then the prophet Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophets, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them.
2 So Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak rose up and began to build the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and the prophets of God were with them, helping them.
His recorded ministry spans about three months and 24 days.
Haggai 1:1-11
The Command to Build God’s House
1 In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying,
2 “Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, saying: ‘This people says, “The time has not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built.” ’ ”
3 Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying,
4 “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?”
5 Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways!
6 “You have sown much, and bring in little;
You eat, but do not have enough;
You drink, but you are not filled with drink;
You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm;
And he who earns wages,
Earns wages to put into a bag with holes.”
7 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways!
8 Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,” says the Lord.
9 “You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?” says the Lord of hosts. “Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house.
10 Therefore the heavens above you withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit.
11 For I called for a drought on the land and the mountains, on the grain and the new wine and the oil, on whatever the ground brings forth, on men and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.”
Haggai 2:10-14
The People Are Defiled
10 On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying,
11 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Now, ask the priests concerning the law, saying,
12 “If one carries holy meat in the fold of his garment, and with the edge he touches bread or stew, wine or oil, or any food, will it become holy?” ’ ”
Then the priests answered and said, “No.”
13 And Haggai said, “If one who is unclean because of a dead body touches any of these, will it be unclean?”
So the priests answered and said, “It shall be unclean.”
14 Then Haggai answered and said, “ ‘So is this people, and so is this nation before Me,’ says the Lord, ‘and so is every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean.
Zechariah (Zechariah)
Zechariah’s ministry gears up about halfway through Haggai’s,
Zechariah 1:1-6
A Call to Repentance
1 In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,
2 “The Lord has been very angry with your fathers.
3 Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Return to Me,” says the Lord of hosts, “and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts.
4 “Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets preached, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds.” ’ But they did not hear nor heed Me,” says the Lord.
5 “Your fathers, where are they?
And the prophets, do they live forever?
6 Yet surely My words and My statutes,
Which I commanded My servants the prophets,
Did they not overtake your fathers?
“So they returned and said:
‘Just as the Lord of hosts determined to do to us,
According to our ways and according to our deeds,
So He has dealt with us.’ ” ’ ”
and he too encourages the people to get off their duffs and complete the temple.
Ezra 5:1-2
Restoration of the Temple Resumed
1 Then the prophet Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophets, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them.
2 So Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak rose up and began to build the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and the prophets of God were with them, helping them.
Like Jeremiah, Zechariah begins delivering messages from God as a young man.
Zechariah 2:4
4 who said to him, “Run, speak to this young man, saying: ‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls, because of the multitude of men and livestock in it.
He wrote down his visions and messages, giving us the book of Zechariah in the Bible.
In addition to being a prophet, Zechariah seems to be among the priests,
Zechariah 7:2-5
2 when the people sent Sherezer, with Regem-Melech and his men, to the house of God, to pray before the Lord,
3 and to ask the priests who were in the house of the Lord of hosts, and the prophets, saying, “Should I weep in the fifth month and fast as I have done for so many years?”
4 Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying,
5 “Say to all the people of the land, and to the priests: ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months during those seventy years, did you really fast for Me—for Me?
Nehemiah 12:16
12 Now in the days of Joiakim, the priests, the heads of the fathers’ houses were: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;
13 of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan;
14 of Melichu, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph;
15 of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai;
16 of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam;
17 of Abijah, Zichri; the son of Minjamin; of Moadiah, Piltai;
18 of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan;
19 of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi;
20 of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;
21 of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; and of Jedaiah, Nethanel.
which would mean he’s from the tribe of Levi.
Malachi (Malachi)
Malachi is the last of the prophets to contribute to the Old Testament. He calls the post-exilic Jews to reconnect with the Lord, but apart from this, we don’t know much about him.
Malachi 1:1
1 The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.
Matthew/Levi (Matthew)
Matthew is one of the 12 apostles of Jesus, and one of the four evangelists who wrote down Jesus’s story. When we meet Matthew, he’s a tax collector for Rome. Tax collectors weren’t very popular in Israel, because they collected money from fellow Jews to pay a heathen king. But when Jesus calls Matthew to follow him, Matthew closes his booth down to serve the true King of the Jews. Then he brings Jesus over for dinner.
Matthew 9:9-10
Matthew the Tax Collector
9 As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.
10 Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples.
Matthew is called Levi in the other gospels, which may indicate that he’s from the tribe of Levi—we’re not sure.
Mark 2:14-15
14 As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.
15 Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi’s house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him.
Matthew the Tax Collector
27 After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.”
28 So he left all, rose up, and followed Him.
29 Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house. And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them.
John Mark (Mark)
Mark’s an interesting character in the background of the New Testament. We first meet Mark in the book of Acts. When Peter miraculously escapes from prison, he goes to Mark’s mother’s house.
Acts 12:12
12 So, when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying.
Later, Paul and Barnabas bring Mark along on their missionary journey as a helper, but he leaves them and goes back to Jerusalem.
Acts13:5
5 And when they arrived in Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They also had John as their assistant.
When Paul and Barnabas prepare for their second journey, Barnabas suggests bringing John Mark again, but Paul won’t hear it.
Acts 15:37-38
37 Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark.
38 But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work.
Paul and Barnabas disagree so sharply that they split up: Barnabas takes Mark to Cyprus, and Paul starts a new missionary team.
Acts 15:39-40
39 Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus;
40 but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God.
Mark matures, though. Decades later, Mark is considered useful to Paul,
2 Timothy 4:11
11 Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry.
and a son to Peter.
1 Peter 5:13
13 She who is in Babylon, elect together with you, greets you; and so does Mark my son.
According to tradition, Mark is the one who writes down Peter’s stories of Jesus—which is how we got the Gospel of Mark.
Luke (Luke | Acts)
Luke is a physician who accompanies Paul through thick and thin.
Colossians 4:14
14 Luke the beloved physician and Demas greet you.
2 Timothy 4:11
11 Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry.
His skills probably come in handy, because Paul takes a lot of beatings.
Acts 16:16-24
Paul and Silas Imprisoned
16 Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling.
17 This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.”
18 And this she did for many days.
But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour.
19 But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.
20 And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, “These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city;
21 and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe.”
22 Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods.
23 And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely.
24 Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
But Luke’s greatest legacy is his contribution to the New Testament. Luke write more of the New Testament than anyone else (yes, even more than Paul). Luke’s a meticulous journalist who sets out to record the life and ministry of Jesus in consecutive order.
Luke 1:1-4
Dedication to Theophilus
1 In as much as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us,
2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us,
3 it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus,
4 that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.
And later records the history of the early church.
Acts 1:1-2
Prologue
1 The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,
2 until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen,
He composes these accounts on behalf of a mysterious Christian named Theophilus, who wants to learn more about his Christian faith.
John (John | 1 John | 2 John | 3 John | Revelation)
He’s another member of the 12 apostles, a former fisherman from Galilee who follows Jesus.
Mark 1:19-20
19 When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets.
20 And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.
The Lord gives John and his brother James the nickname “Sons of Thunder”
Mark 3:17
17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder”;
The Bible doesn’t say how he earned this nickname, but John does seem to have a stormy personality at times.
Luke 9:51-56
A Samaritan Village Rejects the Savior
51 Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem,
52 and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him.
53 But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem.
54 And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?”
55 But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.
56 For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village.
After the resurrection, John becomes a pillar of the early church.
Galatians 2:9
9 and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.
He writes a persuasive account of Jesus’ earthly ministry, death, and resurrection, and then writes four letters (the last one, Revelation, includes many apocalyptic visions). According to tradition, John becomes an elder at the church at Ephesus. He is eventually exiled to the Isle of Patmos.
Revelation 1:9
Vision of the Son of Man
9 I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Fun fact: of all the epistles in the New Testament, John writes the longest (Revelation) and the shortest (3 John). In fact, 3 John is the shortest book of the Bible, a greeting to Gaius.
Paul (Romans – Philemon)
Paul may not have the word count that Moses has, but he writes more individual documents than any other biblical author—13, to be exact.
When we first meet Paul, he’s not leading the church: he’s leading the charge against it. Paul (also called Saul) kidnaps Christians from the regions around Judea and brings them to Jerusalem to suffer the punishment for blasphemy. That punishment was often prison or death.
Acts 8:3
3 As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.
Acts 9:1-2
The Damascus Road: Saul Converted
1 Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest
2 and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
But when Jesus stops Paul on the road to Damascus, Paul is forever changed. He becomes an apostle, the face of the church to the non-Jews around the Roman empire.
Ephesians 3:1-21
The Mystery Revealed
1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles—
2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you,
3 how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already,
4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ),
5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets:
6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel,
7 of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.
Purpose of the Mystery
8 To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ;
10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places,
11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,
12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.
13 Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.
Appreciation of the Mystery
14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,
17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—
19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
He travels across the world planting churches and spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Paul’s letters to the Christians spread across the world make up his contribution to the Bible. Some of these letters were written to churches he had planted, others were to churches he hoped to visit someday. Paul also wrote to specific leaders in the local churches, like Timothy, Titus, and Philemon.
James (James)
James the Just is the younger brother of Jesus, the son of Mary and Joseph.
Matthew 13:55
55 Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?
Mark 6:3
3 Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him.
James doesn’t believe in Jesus while the Lord is going about his earthly ministry.
John 7:5
5 For even His brothers did not believe in Him.
But that all changes after Jesus rises from the dead. Jesus specifically appears to James,
1 Corinthians 15:7
7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles.
and afterward James becomes one of the main leaders in the early church.
James is especially savvy when it comes to balancing freedom in Christ with respect for God’s holiness. When the church is undecided on how Gentiles should treat the Law of Moses, James settles the matter with a few pointers
Acts 15:13-21
13 And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, “Men and brethren, listen to me:
14 Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name.
15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written:
16 ‘After this I will return
And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down;
I will rebuild its ruins,
And I will set it up;
17 So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord,
Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name,
Says the Lord who does all these things.’
18 “Known to God from eternity are all His works.
19 Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God,
20 but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood.
21 For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”
Later, James writes a letter to the Christian Jews scattered across the world, encouraging them to keep working out their faith. We call this letter the book of James.
Peter (1 Peter | 2 Peter)
You all know Peter. He’s the leader of the 12 apostles,
Matthew 10:2
2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;
and a pillar in the early church
Galatians 2:9
9 and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.
Just as Paul is entrusted with bringing the gospel to the Gentiles, Peter is the face of the gospel to the Jews.
Galatians 2:7
7 But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter
This guy is pretty hardcore. He walks on water,
Matthew 14:29
29 So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.
he cuts off some guy’s ear to protect Jesus,
Mark 14:29
29 Peter said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be.”
John 18:10
10 Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus.
and boldly declares that Jesus is the anointed one, the Christ.
Matthew 16:16
16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Yes, he’s also the one who denies Jesus three times at the Lord’s trial,
John 18:15-16
Peter Denies Jesus
15 And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest.
16 But Peter stood at the door outside. Then the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to her who kept the door, and brought Peter in.
but the resurrection totally transforms him. When the Holy Spirit comes to the church, Peter openly preaches the gospel of Jesus in the city.
Peter wrote two books of the Bible, and both are named after him. The first explains how Christians should live as aliens in this world: even though we’ll suffer, it’s nothing compared to the glory to come.
The second letter urges Christians to remember what Peter has taught them even after he dies.
2 Peter 1:13-14
13 Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you,
14 knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me.
Jude (Jude)
Jude is Jesus’ and James’ younger brother.
Jude 1
Greeting to the Called
1 Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James,
To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ:
2 Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.
Like James, he didn’t believe in Jesus during Jesus’ ministry on earth,
John 7:5
5 For even His brothers did not believe in Him.
but after the resurrection, he became a Christian. Jude writes one book of the Bible: a letter urging believers to “contend for the faith”.
Jude 3-4
Contend for the Faith
3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
4 For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
This wraps up the authors I can say were writers of the scriptures.
Unless otherwise stated, I have taken all scripture from New King James Version (NKJV).
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