Scripture Explorer

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.'

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed — a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: 'The righteous will live by faith.'

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of all the worlds. The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Master of the Day of Judgment. You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help. Guide us along the Straight Path, the path of those You have blessed — not those who incurred Your wrath, nor those who went astray.

Allah — there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of existence. Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission?

Say, 'He is Allah, the One. Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, nor is there to Him any equivalent.'

Allah does not burden a soul beyond that it can bear. It will have [the consequence of] what [good] it has gained, and it will bear [the consequence of] what [evil] it has earned.

O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for Allah, even if it be against yourselves or parents and relatives.

O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you.

The Most Merciful, taught the Quran, created man, and taught him eloquence.

And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds.

O you who have believed, seek help through patience and prayer. Indeed, Allah is with the patient.

For indeed, with hardship will be ease. Indeed, with hardship will be ease.

None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah; the rest is commentary. Go and study it.

The world stands on three things: on Torah, on worship, and on acts of loving-kindness.

It is not your responsibility to finish the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry.

He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.

Whoever saves a single life is considered by Scripture to have saved the whole world.

Mind is the forerunner of all actions. All deeds are led by mind, created by mind. If one speaks or acts with a corrupt mind, suffering follows, as the wheel follows the hoof of an ox. If one speaks or acts with a serene mind, happiness follows, as a shadow that never departs.

Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule.

To avoid all evil, to cultivate good, and to cleanse one's mind — this is the teaching of the Buddhas.

Form is emptiness, emptiness is form. Emptiness is not other than form, form is not other than emptiness.

Just as a mother would protect her only child with her life, even so let one cultivate a boundless love towards all beings.

Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.

This is the noble truth of suffering: birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering; union with what is displeasing is suffering; separation from what is pleasing is suffering; not to get what one wants is suffering.

All conditioned phenomena are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow, like dew or a flash of lightning; thus we shall perceive them.

You yourselves must strive; the Buddhas only point the way. Those who meditate and practice the path are freed from the bonds of evil.

The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, appear in the world for one great reason alone: to cause living beings to open the door to the Buddha's wisdom and gain purity.

You have the right to work, but never to the fruit of work. You should never engage in action for the sake of reward, nor should you long for inaction.

Whenever dharma declines and the purpose of life is forgotten, I manifest myself on earth. I am born in every age to protect the good, to destroy evil, and to reestablish dharma.

The soul is never born nor dies at any time. It has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. It is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, and primeval.

The Lord is enshrined in the hearts of all. The Lord is the supreme Reality. Rejoice in him through renunciation. Covet nothing. All belongs to the Lord.

In the beginning, dear boy, this universe was Being alone, one only without a second.

Truth is one; the wise call it by many names.

Elevate yourself through the power of your mind, and not degrade yourself, for the mind can be the friend and also the enemy of the self.

To those who worship Me alone, thinking of no other, to those ever self-controlled, I secure what is not already possessed and preserve what they already possess.

He who knows Brahman becomes Brahman.

Abandon all varieties of dharma and simply surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions; do not fear.

There is One God, whose name is Truth, the Creator, without fear, without hate, timeless in form, beyond birth and death, self-existent; by the grace of the Guru, made known.

One who works for God's will, O Nanak, is truly called a servant of God. One who recognizes the Lord's Light within all, does not talk of ego.

Even Kings and emperors with heaps of wealth and vast dominion cannot compare with an ant filled with the love of God.

Those who have loved are those that have found God.

First, Allah created the Light; then, by His Creative Power, He made all mortal beings. From the One Light, the entire universe welled up. So who is good, and who is bad?

If you desire to play the game of love, then enter my street with your head on the palm of your hand. Once you set foot on this path, give your head, and do not pay attention to the opinion of others.

Do not call anyone low; the Lord, the Creator, is within all. Do not offend anyone, as the Lord is within all.

By thinking, He cannot be reduced to thought, even by thinking hundreds of thousands of times. By remaining silent, inner silence is not obtained, even by remaining lovingly absorbed deep within.

The world is a drama, staged in a dream. In a moment, the play is played out.

The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth. The named is the mother of ten thousand things.

The highest good is like water. Water gives life to the ten thousand things and does not strive. It flows in places men reject and so is like the Tao.

Yield and overcome; bend and be straight; empty and be full; wear out and be new; have little and gain; have much and be confused.

Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.

The Tao never does anything, yet through it all things are done. If powerful men and women could center themselves in it, the whole world would be transformed by itself, in its natural rhythms.

A man is born gentle and weak. At his death he is hard and stiff. Green plants are tender and filled with sap. At their death they are withered and dry. Therefore the stiff and unbending is the disciple of death. The soft and yielding is the disciple of life.

The fish trap exists because of the fish. Once you've gotten the fish you can forget the trap. Words exist because of meaning. Once you've gotten the meaning, you can forget the words.

Man follows the earth. Earth follows the universe. The universe follows the Tao. The Tao follows only itself.

True words are not beautiful; beautiful words are not true. Good people do not argue; those who argue are not good. Those who know are not learned; the learned do not know.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

The Master said, 'My Way has one thread running through it.' Zengzi said, 'Indeed.' When the Master went out, the other disciples asked, 'What did he mean?' Zengzi replied, 'The Master's Way is nothing but loyalty and reciprocity.'

Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire.

At fifteen, I set my heart on learning. At thirty, I stood firm. At forty, I had no doubts. At fifty, I knew the Mandate of Heaven. At sixty, my ear was attuned. At seventy, I could follow my heart's desire without overstepping the boundaries.

Zigong asked, 'Is there one word that can serve as a guide for one's entire life?' The Master said, 'Is it not reciprocity? What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others.'

Is it not a pleasure to learn and to apply what one has learned? Is it not a joy to have friends come from afar? Is it not gentlemanly not to take offense when others fail to appreciate your abilities?

All men have a mind which cannot bear to see the sufferings of others. The feeling of commiseration is the beginning of benevolence. The feeling of shame and dislike is the beginning of righteousness.

The Way of the Great Learning lies in manifesting clear virtue, in loving the people, and in resting in the highest good.

What Heaven has conferred is called the nature; an accordance with this nature is called the path of duty; the regulation of this path is called instruction.

When walking in the company of two other men, I am bound to be able to learn from them. The good points of the one I copy; the bad points of the other I correct in myself.

The wise are free from perplexities; the virtuous from anxiety; and the bold from fear.

At the time of the beginning of heaven and earth, there came into existence in the Plain of High Heaven three deities: the Deity Master-of-the-August-Center-of-Heaven, the High-August-Producing-Wondrous Deity, and the Divine-Producing-Wondrous Deity.

By the power of the purification rites, may all offenses and defilements be carried away and purified, as the winds of heaven blow apart the clouds, as the morning mist and evening fog are blown away.

Of old, Heaven and Earth were not yet separated, and the In and Yo not yet divided. They formed a chaotic mass like an egg, which was of obscurely defined limits, and contained germs.

To be aware of the sorrow of human existence, and to be moved by things — this is the very heart of being human. It is mono no aware — the pathos of things.

The kami are not distant beings. They dwell in the mountains, the rivers, the trees, and the stones. They are in the wind and the rain. They are everywhere in the natural world.

Even the wishes of an ant reach to heaven.