Mordecai wrote these matters down and sent letters to all the Jews who were throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far,

But as for me, God’s presence is all I need. ¹  I have made the sovereign Lord my shelter, as ²  I declare all the things you have done.

Come near, you nations, and listen! Pay attention, you people! The earth and everything it contains must listen, the world and everything that lives in it. ¹ 

They say, ‘Keep to yourself! Don’t get near me, for I am holier than you!’ These people are like smoke in my nostrils, like a fire that keeps burning all day long.

and the chamber which faces north is for the priests who keep charge of the altar. These are the descendants of Zadok, from the descendants of Levi, who may approach the Lord to minister to him.”

“For the day of the Lord ¹  is approaching ²  for all the nations! ³  Just as you have done, so it will be done to you. You will get exactly what your deeds deserve. ⁴ 

She is disobedient; ¹  she refuses correction. ²  She does not trust the Lord; she does not seek the advice of ³  her God.

“Learn ¹  this parable from the fig tree: Whenever its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.

So also you, when you see these things happening, know ¹  that he is near, right at the door.

But when these things ¹  begin to happen, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption ²  is drawing near.”

Now the Jewish feast of Passover ¹  was near, so Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ² 

Thus Jesus no longer went ¹  around publicly ²  among the Judeans, ³  but went away from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, ⁴  and stayed there with his disciples.

Thus many of the Jewish residents of Jerusalem ¹  read this notice, ²  because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the notice was written in Aramaic, ³  Latin, and Greek.

“But as the time drew near for God to fulfill the promise he had declared to Abraham, ¹  the people increased greatly in number ²  in Egypt,

Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.”

With difficulty we sailed along the coast ¹  of Crete ²  and came to a place called Fair Havens that was near the town of Lasea. ³ 

But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” ¹  (that is, the word of faith that we preach),

But now in Christ Jesus you who used to be far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹ 

Blessed is the one who reads the words of this ¹  prophecy aloud, ²  and blessed are ³  those who hear and obey ⁴  the things written in it, because the time is near! ⁵ 

In the morning you must approach in tribal order. ¹  The tribe the Lord selects ²  must approach by clans. The clan the Lord selects must approach by families. ³  The family the Lord selects must approach man by man. ⁴