Study Desk

came to [see] me, and standing near, he said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight!' And at that very moment I [recovered my sight and] looked up at him.

"And he said, 'The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will, [and to progressively understand His plan with clarity and power] and to see the Righteous One [Jesus Christ, the Messiah] and to hear a message from His [own] mouth.

Then Festus said, "King Agrippa and all you gentlemen present with us, you see this man [Paul] about whom all the Jewish people appealed to me, both at Jerusalem and here, loudly insisting that he ought not to live any longer.

"For this reason I have asked to see you and talk with you, since it is for the sake of the hope of Israel (the Messiah, the resurrection) that I am bound with this chain."

FOR THE HEART (the understanding, the soul) OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL (calloused), AND WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE SHUT THEIR EYES [to the truth]; OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT SEE WITH THEIR EYES, AND HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN [to Me], AND I WOULD HEAL THEM."'

For I long to see you so that I may share with you some spiritual gift, to strengthen and establish you;

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God or consider Him worth knowing [as their Creator], God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do things which are improper and repulsive,

but I see a different law and rule of action in the members of my body [in its appetites and desires], waging war against the law of my mind and subduing me and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is within my members.

But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait eagerly for it with patience and composure.

just as it is written [in Scripture], "GOD GAVE THEM A SPIRIT OF STUPOR, EYES THAT DO NOT SEE AND EARS THAT DO NOT HEAR, [a spiritual apathy that has continued] TO THIS VERY DAY."

"LET THEIR EYES BE DARKENED SO THAT THEY DO NOT SEE, AND MAKE THEIR BACKS BEND [under their burden] FOREVER."

but [instead I would act on this goal] as it is written [in Scripture], "THEY WHO HAD NO NEWS OF HIM SHALL SEE, AND THEY WHO HAVE NOT HEARD [of Him] SHALL UNDERSTAND."

whenever I go [on my trip] to Spain—I hope to see you as I pass through [Rome], and to be helped on my journey there by you, after I have first enjoyed your company for a little while.

Now some of you have become arrogant and pretentious, as though I were not coming to see you.

So then, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat [the Lord's Supper], wait for one another [and see to it that no one is left out].

For now [in this time of imperfection] we see in a mirror dimly [a blurred reflection, a riddle, an enigma], but then [when the time of perfection comes we will see reality] face to face. Now I know in part [just in fragments], but then I will know fully, just as I have been fully known [by God].

For I do not wish to see you right now just in passing, but I hope to remain with you for some time [later on], if the Lord permits.

If Timothy comes, see to it that [you put him at ease, so that] he has nothing to fear in regard to you, for he is [devotedly] doing the Lord's work, just as I am.

For this was my purpose in writing, to see if you would stand the test, whether you are obedient and committed to following my instruction in all things.

For even though I did grieve you with my letter, I do not regret it [now]; though I did regret it —for I see that the letter hurt you, though only for a little while—