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Abbreviations for books in the Bible

As a useful reference for Twitter, below is a list of abbreviations for books in the Bible, compiled from the index at the end of  ESV Bible, The UltraThin Edition . For the Old Testament: Genesis : Gn Exodus : Ex Leviticus : Lv Numbers : Nm Deuteronomy : Dn Joshua : Jos Judges : Jgs Ruth : Ru 1 Samuel : 1 Sm 2 Samuel : 2 Sm 1 Kings : 1 Kgs 2 Kings : 2 Kgs 1 Chronicles : 1 Chr 2 Chronicles : 2 Chr Ezra : Ezr Nehemiah : Neh Esther Job : Jb Psalms : Ps Proverbs : Prv Ecclesiastes : Eccl Song of Solomon : Sg Isaiah : Is Jeremiah : Jer Lamentations : Lam Ezekiel : Ezk Daniel : Dn Hosea : Hosea Joel : Jl Amos : Am Obadiah Jonah : Jon Micah : Mi Nahum : Na Habakkuk : Hab Zephaniah : Zep Haggai : Hg Zechariah : Zec Malachi : Mal For the New Testament: Matthew : Mt Mark : Mk Luke : Lk John : Jn Acts : Acts (no abbreviation) Romans : Rom 1 Corinthians : 1 Cor 2 Corinthians : 2 Cor Galatians : Gal Ephesians : Eph Philippians : Phil...
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Day 27: Matthew 19:1-15

Teaching About Divorce. Let the Children Come to Me. Put divorce out of your mind Jesus's teaching on the subject of divorce very eloquently informs readers that divorce should be avoided. Period. He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” ( Matthew 19:4-6 ESV ) I think this teaching could be very reassuring for people who are insecure in their marriages but know the other party to be faithful followers of Christ. Why was permanent union a turn-off? When the disciples heard that divorce is not an option for God's followers, they basically retorted that it's better to remain a bachelor than to enter into marriage on God's terms (Mt 19:10). Why was permanent unio...
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Day 27: Exodus 13-15

Consecration of the Firstborn. The Feast of Unleavened Bread. Pillars of Cloud and Fire. Crossing the Red Sea. The Song of Moses. Bitter Water Made Sweet. What is to consecrate? It may seem strange, but I didn't know the definition of the word "consecrate" when I read today's morning devotion. Merriam-Webster defines " consecrate " as to officially make (something, such as a place or building) holy through a special religious ceremony. By a strong hand A Google search revealed many interpretations of "a strong hand" to mean basically sovereign power or overwhelming might. Both make sense to me in the context of Exodus. The month of Abib One commentary  defined "Abib" to mean a green ear (of corn). So, it made sense that the month of green ears of corn would mark the first month in a year for the purposes of keeping a calendar. To redeem with a lamb Merriam-Webster defines the word " redeem " in a couple of wa...
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Day 26: Exodus 11-12

A Final Plague Threatened. The Passover. The Tenth Plague: Death of the Firstborn. The Exodus. Institution of the Passover. The Hebrew calendar I learned something new today: There's a Hebrew calendar that is very different from the Gregorian calendar that I use on a daily basis and from the lunar calendar used by countries in Asia. The discovery came from a seed of curiosity about the dates that God called out in his instruction to Moses. And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever. In the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. ( Exodus 12:17-18 ESV ) Although I expected the Passover to be held from January 14-21 every year, it turns out that the Passover is actually held on different dates  every year, us...
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Day 25: Matthew 18:1-20

Who Is the Greatest? Temptations to Sin. The Parable of the Lost Sheep. If Your Brother Sins Against You. To gouge my eyes and amputate my limbs I'm pretty sure that my eyes and limbs are sinning consistently on a daily basis. So, one verse that I've struggled to understand is Jesus's instructions to remove the parts of one's body that causes the person to sin. And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire. ( Matthew 18:8-9 ESV ) Could Jesus have actually meant for people to literally dismember themselves as a means of preventing sin? This interpretation seems a bit absurd to me, because if carried out, wouldn't every living person on this p...
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Day 24: Matthew 17

The Transfiguration. Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon. Jesus Again Foretells Death, Resurrection. The Temple Tax. How will Elijah restore all things? When asked about Elijah coming first, as the scribes have said, Jesus first reassures his disciples that the scribes were not wrong. He answered, “Elijah does come, and he will restore all things. ( Matthew 17:11 ESV ) My question is, what did Jesus mean by saying that Elijah "will restore all things?" Especially if Elijah is actually John the Baptist, who was executed by Herod on Herodias' request (Mt 14:10)? But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist. ( Matthew 17:12-13 ESV ) Dealing with worldly matters It seems that Jesus was making a point to Peter that sometimes it's necessary to fol...
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Day 24: Exodus 7-8

Moses and Aaron Before Pharaoh. The First Plague: Water Turned to Blood. The Second Plague: Frogs. The Third Plague: Gnats. The Fourth Plague: Flies. Pharaoh's magicians creating plagues, not remedies I think the role of Pharaoh's magicians was to reassure Pharaoh that Moses and Aaron were simply playing tricks on Pharaoh, and that God was not actually standing behind the people of Israel. I just thought that it was slightly absurd or comical that in the second plague of frogs, the magicians conjured frogs of their own instead of trying to do something about the plague at hand. Perhaps the magicians knew that any effort would be futile. To pray for your enemy One observation that struck me as noteworthy is how Moses actually needed to pray for Pharaoh in order to remove the plagues. So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD. And the LORD did as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not ...
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