The Bible, presented for family reading. after the resurrection. By the bookshelf. Bible for family reading Other teachings of the Lord

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In the book you are holding in your hands, biblical stories are presented in an abbreviated and adapted form for family reading.

The book of books, the “Eternal Book”, the Bible throughout human history remains the main source of knowledge of God and His creation - the visible and invisible worlds. Thousands of generations have been studying this Divine Revelation in order to find in it answers to the main questions of existence, in order to distinguish good from evil, and truth from lies, in order to know the boundless love of God for man and to find on earth the right path to heaven.

Introduction

OLD TESTAMENT

I. Creation of the world and man
P. Life of the first people in paradise. Losing paradise
III. Life of people before the Flood
IV. Global flood. Exit from the ark to earth
V. Burnt offering to Noah. Curse of Ham. Tower of Babel
VI. Father of the Believers Abraham
VII. Isaac and Jacob
VIII. Joseph and the sons of Jacob in Egypt
IX. Slavery of the Israelites in Egypt. Moses
X. Moses and Pharaoh
XI. Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt
XII. Moses the lawgiver
XIII. The Jews' Forty Years of Wandering in the Desert
XIV. The last year of Moses' life
XV. Conquest and division of the Promised Land
XVI. The times of the judges. Captivity and release
XVII. Ruth and Naomi
XVIII. Eli and Samuel
XIX. Samuel, Saul and David
XX. Reign of David
XXI. Psalms of King David
XXII. Reign of Solomon
XXIII. Division of the Jewish Kingdom into Judah and Israel
XXIV. The final fall of the kingdom of Israel and Judah
XXV. Captivity in Babylon and return to the Fatherland
XXVI. Book of Tobit
XXVII. Book of Judith
XXVIII. Book of Esther
XXIX. Book of Job
XXX. Teaching books
XXXI. Prophets
XXXII. Books of Maccabees

NEW TESTAMENT

I. Annunciation. Nativity of John the Baptist
II. Nativity of Jesus Christ
III. Childhood and adolescence of Jesus Christ
IV. John the Baptist. Baptism of Jesus Christ. Temptation by an evil spirit
V. The first year of the Savior's public ministry
VI. Second year of the Savior's public ministry
VII. Third year of the Savior's public ministry
VIII. Great days of Holy Week
VIII. The Glorious Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ
IX. Acts of the Holy Apostles
X. Apostolic Epistles
XI. Apocalypse, or Revelation of the Holy Apostle John the Theologian

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THE BIBLE PRESENTED FOR FAMILY READING. GOOD FRIDAY JESUS ​​BEFORE PILATE. Condemnation of the Lord to death. “When the morning had come, all the chief priests and the elders of the people had a meeting concerning Jesus, to put Him to death; and, having bound Him, they took Him away and handed Him over to Pontius Pilate, the governor. Then Judas, who betrayed Him, saw that He was condemned, and, repenting, returned the thirty pieces of silver to the high priests and elders, saying: I have sinned by betraying innocent blood. They said to him: What is that to us? take a look yourself. And, throwing away the pieces of silver in the temple, Judas went out, went and hanged himself. The high priests, taking the pieces of silver, said: it is not permissible to put them in the church treasury, because this is the price of blood. Having held a meeting, they bought a potter's land with them for the burial of strangers; Therefore, that land is called “land of blood” to this day. Then what was spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled, saying: And they took thirty pieces of silver, the price of Him who was valued, whom the children of Israel valued, and gave them for the potter’s land, as the Lord said to me.” (Matthew 27:1-10) So, Jesus is in the ruler’s house. Pilate was one of those people for whom personal peace is more valuable than truth, more valuable than anything else. Meanwhile, he had the difficult task of defending Jesus, against whom the Jews were so irritated. Pilate himself did not suspect anything worthy of condemnation in Him and understood that the only reason for the anger against Jesus was religious fanaticism and the envy of the high priests. But he understood the danger to himself from the vengeful spiritual leaders of the Jewish people, who in their bitterness would not spare him. If you go against them, they will be able to arouse the suspicions of the Roman government itself if they present Pilate as the defender of a Jew, whom the people are ready to recognize as king. Like any pagan of that time, an unbeliever and indifferent to the sense of moral duty and to any religion, Pilate himself was not an evil person. However, despite all his contempt for the Jews and their religious strife, he becomes an instrument of the Pharisees’ malice against Christ. Pilate does not save their Victim, even innocent in his eyes, but betrays Him completely to the hatred of enraged murderous enemies. And thus he himself becomes guilty of the death of Christ. -What do you accuse This Man of? - Pilate addressed the obligatory question to Jesus’ accusers. “If He had not been a villain, we would not have betrayed Him to you,” they arrogantly answered Pilate. Having finally realized what embittered people he was dealing with, and realizing that it was unsafe to expose himself to the prejudice of Emperor Tiberius against himself, Pilate did not hesitate to give in to them. However, he tried to distance himself from interfering in their obviously unjust cause. “Take Him, and judge Him according to your law,” he decided at first, but the Jews objected to him that they “are not allowed to put anyone to death” without the permission of the Roman authority placed over them. “Then Pilate entered the praetorium again, and called Jesus, and said to Him: Are you the King of the Jews? Jesus answered him: Are you saying this on your own, or have others told you about Me? Pilate answered: Am I a Jew? Your people and the chief priests delivered You up to me; what did you do? Jesus answered: My kingdom is not of this world; If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would fight for Me, so that I would not be betrayed to the Jews; but now my kingdom is not from here. Pilate said to Him: So are You a King? Jesus answered: You say that I am a King. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I came into the world, to testify to the truth; everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice. Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And, finally convinced that the words of Jesus did not contain anything outrageous against the actual power of the Romans, to protect which he was appointed, “he went out to the Jews and said to them: I find no guilt in Him.” (John 18:29-38) “But they insisted, saying that He was disturbing the people by teaching throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee to this place. Pilate, hearing about Galilee, asked: Is He a Galilean? And having learned that He was from Herod’s region, He sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem these days. Herod, seeing Jesus, was very happy, for he had long wanted to see Him, because he had heard a lot about Him, and hoped to see some miracle from Him, and asked Him many questions, but He did not answer him. The chief priests and scribes stood and vigorously accused Him. But Herod and his soldiers, having humiliated Him and mocked Him, dressed Him in light clothes and sent Him back to Pilate. And that day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for before they had been at enmity with each other. Pilate, having called the high priests and rulers and the people, said to them: you have brought this man to me as one who corrupts the people; and behold, I examined before you and did not find this man guilty of anything of which you accuse Him; and Herod also, for I sent Him to him; and nothing was found in Him worthy of death; So, having punished Him, I will release Him.” (Luke 23:5-16) On the Easter holiday, the ruler had the following “custom of releasing to the people one prisoner whom they wanted. At that time they had a famous prisoner called Barabbas (who was imprisoned for causing disturbance and murder in the city); So, when they had gathered, Pilate said to them: whom do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus, who is called Christ? for he knew that they had betrayed Him out of envy.” “While he was sitting in the judgment seat, his wife sent him to say: Do not do anything to the Righteous One, because now in a dream I have suffered a lot for Him. But the chief priests and elders stirred up the people to ask Barabbas and to destroy Jesus. Then the governor asked them: which of the two do you want me to release to you? They said: Barabbas. Pilate says to them: What will I do to Jesus, who is called Christ? Everyone tells him: let him be crucified. The ruler said: what evil has He done? But they shouted even more loudly: let him be crucified.” (Matthew 27:15-23) “Then Pilate took Jesus and ordered him to be beaten. And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns, placed it on His head, and dressed Him in purple, and said: Hail, King of the Jews! and they struck Him on the cheeks. Pilate went out again and said to them: Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, so that you may know that I do not find any guilt in Him. Then Jesus came out wearing a crown of thorns and a scarlet robe. And Pilate said to them: Behold, Man! When the high priests and ministers saw Him, they shouted: Crucify Him, crucify Him! Pilate says to them: Take Him and crucify Him; for I find no fault in Him. The Jews answered him: We have a law, and according to our law He must die, because He made Himself the Son of God. Pilate, hearing this word, became more afraid. And again he entered the praetorium and said to Jesus: Where are you from? But Jesus did not give him an answer. Pilate says to Him: Do you not answer me? Don’t you know that I have the power to crucify You and the power to release You? Jesus answered: You would not have any power over Me if it had not been given to you from above; therefore there is greater sin on him who delivered Me to you. From that time on, Pilate sought to release Him. The Jews shouted: if you let Him go, you are not a friend of Caesar; Anyone who makes himself a king is an opponent of Caesar. Pilate, having heard this word, brought Jesus out and sat down at the judgment seat, on a place called Liphostroton (stone platform), and in Hebrew Gavvatha. Then it was the Friday before Easter, and it was six o’clock. And Pilate said to the Jews: Behold, your King! But they shouted: take him, take him, crucify him! Pilate says to them: Shall I crucify your king? The high priests answered: We have no king except Caesar.” (John 19:1-15) Then “Pilate, seeing that nothing helped, but the confusion was increasing, took water and washed his hands before the people, and said: I am innocent of the blood of this Righteous One; look you. And all the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and on our children.” And then, finally, Pilate “beat Jesus and delivered him up to be crucified.” (Matthew 27:24-26) CRUCIFIXION “And when they had led Him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the field, and laid a cross on him to carry after Jesus. And a great multitude of people and women followed Him, weeping and lamenting for Him. Jesus turned to them and said: Daughters of Jerusalem! Do not weep for Me, but weep for yourself and for your children, for the days are coming in which they will say: Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that have not given birth, and the breasts that have not nursed! then they will begin to say to the mountains: fall on us! and the hills: cover us! For if they do this to a green tree, what will happen to a dry tree? They also led two villains with Him to death. And when they came to a place called Lobnoye, they crucified Him and the villains there, one on the right and the other on the left. Jesus said: Father! forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. And the people stood and watched. The rulers also mocked them, saying, “He saved others, let him save himself, if he is the Christ, God’s chosen one.” Likewise, the soldiers mocked Him, coming up and offering Him vinegar and saying: If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself. And there was an inscription over Him, written (by order of Pilate) in Greek, Roman and Hebrew words: This is the King of the Jews.” (Luke 23:26-38) “Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was not far from the city. The chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate: Do not write: King of the Jews, but what He said: I am the King of the Jews. Pilate answered: What I wrote, I wrote. When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took His clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier, and a tunic; The tunic was not sewn, but entirely woven on top. So they said to each other: we will not tear it apart, but let us cast lots for it, whose it will be, so that what is spoken in Scripture may be fulfilled: they divided My garments among themselves and cast lots for My clothing (see Ps. 21:19). This is what the warriors did." (John 19:20-24) “One of the hanged villains slandered Him and said: if You are the Christ, save Yourself and us. The other, on the contrary, calmed Him down and said: Or are you not afraid of God, when you yourself are condemned to the same thing? and we are condemned justly, because we accepted what was worthy of our deeds, but He did nothing bad. And he said to Jesus: remember me, Lord, when you come into your kingdom! And Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” “At the cross of Jesus stood His Mother and His Mother’s sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. Jesus, seeing His Mother and the disciple standing there, whom He loved, said to His Mother: Woman! Behold, Your son. Then he says to the disciple: Behold, your Mother! And from that time on, this disciple (John the Theologian) took Her to him.” (Luke 23, 39–43. John 19, 25–27) DEATH OF THE SAVIOR “At the sixth hour darkness came over all the earth and continued until the ninth hour. At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice: Eloi! Eloi! lamma sabachthani? - which means: My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me? Some of those standing there heard it and said, “Look, he is calling Elijah.” And one ran, filled a sponge with vinegar, and putting it on a reed, gave Him a drink, saying, “Wait, let’s see if Elijah comes to take Him down.” “After this Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, I thirst. When he tasted the vinegar, he said, “It is done!” (Mark 15, 33–36. John 19, 28, 30) “Jesus cried out with a loud voice and said: Father! into Your hands I commend My spirit.” “And bowing his head, he gave up his spirit.” “And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom; and the earth shook; and the stones dissipated; and the tombs were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were resurrected and, coming out of the tombs after His resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many. The centurion and those who were guarding Jesus with him, seeing the earthquake and everything that happened, were greatly afraid and said: Truly this was the Son of God.” (Luke 23, 46. John 19, 30. Matthew 27, 51-54) “And all the people who had come to see this spectacle, seeing what was happening, returned, beating their breasts. And all those who knew Him, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood afar off and beheld this.” “But since it was Friday then, the Jews, so as not to leave the bodies on the cross on Saturday - for that Saturday was a great day - asked Pilate to break their legs and take them off. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who was crucified with Him. But when they came to Jesus, when they saw Him already dead, they did not break His legs, but one of the soldiers pierced His ribs with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out. And he who saw it bore witness, and his testimony is true; he knows that he speaks the truth so that you may believe. For this happened, that the Scripture might be fulfilled: Let not His bone be broken (see Ex. 12:46). Also in another place the Scripture says: they will look at Him whom they have pierced (see Zech. 12:10).” (Luke 23, 48-49. John 19, 31-37) BURIAL OF THE SAVIOR “Then a certain man named Joseph, a member of the council, a good and truthful man, who did not participate in the council and in their work, from Arimathea, a city of Judea, was waiting also the Kingdom of God, came to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.” “And Pilate allowed it. He went and took down the body of Jesus. Nicodemus, who had previously come to Jesus at night, also came and brought a composition of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred liters. So they took the body of Jesus and wrapped it in swaddling clothes with spices, as the Jews are wont to bury. At the place where He was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden there was a new tomb (carved into the rock), in which no one had yet been laid. They laid Jesus there for the sake of the Friday of the Jews (and the coming of the Sabbath), because the tomb was near.” (Luke 23, 50-52. John 19, 38-42) “And having rolled a large stone to the door of the tomb,” they departed. There were also “women who came with Jesus from Galilee, and looked at the tomb, and how His body was laid out; Having returned, they prepared incense and ointments; and on the Sabbath they remained at rest according to the commandment.” (Matt. 27, 60. Luke 23, 55–56).

And He also spoke a parable full of great consolation: “A certain man had two sons; and the youngest of them said to his father: Father! give me the next part of the estate. And the father divided the estate for them. After a few days, the youngest son, having collected everything, went to a far side and there squandered his property, living dissolutely.

When he had lived through everything, a great famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need; and he went and accosted one of the inhabitants of that country, and he sent him to his fields to graze pigs; and he was glad to fill his belly with the horns that the pigs ate, but no one gave it to him. When he came to his senses, he said, “How many of my father’s hired servants have an abundance of bread, but I am dying of hunger; I will get up and go to my father and say to him: Father! I have sinned against heaven and before you and am no longer worthy to be called your son; accept me as one of your hired servants. He got up and went to his father. And while he was still far away, his father saw him and had compassion; and, running, fell on his neck and kissed him. The son said to him: Father! I have sinned against heaven and before you and am no longer worthy to be called your son.

And the father said to his servants: Bring the best robe and dress him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fatted calf, and kill it; Let's eat and have fun! For this son of mine was dead and is alive again, he was lost and is found. And they started having fun."

What soul would not rejoice, feeling in this story forgiveness and the goodness of God towards oneself that cannot be overcome by anything, no sin!

Jesus adds in the parable of the prodigal son that when his elder brother, returning home from the field, saw a celebration in honor of his younger, guilty brother, he became angry and did not want to enter the house. His father calmed him down, saying: “My son! You are always with me, and all that is mine is yours, and we must rejoice and be glad because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life, he was lost and has been found.” (Luke 14, 31-33; 15, 7, 10-24, 31-32)

The mention of the elder brother of the prodigal son refers to those Jews who were indignant at the merciful attitude of Jesus Christ towards sinners and pagans.

Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

Also, in the parables about the workers in the vineyard, who received equal pay for unequal work, God’s immeasurable love is expressed. A householder leaves his house early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard, and throughout the day he hires them at different hours, and at the end of the day he gives the same pay to those who come to work both earlier and later, just as the Lord does with repentant sinners. , allowing them into His Kingdom of Heaven, and how He will accept the pagans into His Kingdom on an equal basis with the Jews who were first called by Him.

The Pharisees also listened to Jesus’ speech and laughed at Him. He said to them: “You show yourselves to be righteous before men, but God knows your hearts, for whatever is exalted among men is an abomination to God. Law and Prophets before John; From now on, the Kingdom of God is preached, and everyone enters into it with effort. But it is sooner that heaven and earth pass away than one tittle of the law disappears.”

Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus

The following parable of Jesus Christ should have had an even more convincing effect on the blinded minds of the lawyers.

“A certain man was rich, dressed in purple and fine linen, and feasted brilliantly every day. There was also a certain beggar named Lazarus, who lay at his gate covered with scabs and wanted to feed on the crumbs falling from the rich man’s table, and the dogs came and licked his scabs. The beggar died and was carried by the Angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And in hell, being in torment, he raised his eyes, saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his bosom and, crying out, said: Father Abraham! have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said: child! remember that you have already received your good in your life, and Lazarus received your evil; now here he is comforted, and you suffer; and on top of all this, a great gulf has been established between us and you, so that those who want to cross from here to you cannot, nor can they cross from there to us.

Then he said: So I ask you, father, send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers; let him testify to them, so that they too do not come to this place of torment. Abraham said to him: They have Moses and the prophets; let them listen to them.

He said: no, Father Abraham, but if someone from the dead comes to them, they will repent. Then Abraham said to him: If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, then even if someone were raised from the dead, they would not believe it.” (Luke 16, 15-17, 19-31)

Likewise, the Pharisees, stubborn in their arrogance, will not even believe in the risen Christ.

In this parable, the Lord also teaches about the immortality of the soul, about the future life, about the restoration of justice violated in a person’s earthly life, about the punishment of the wicked, about the reward of the righteous, about suffering in eternity, as well as about eternal bliss.

Parable of the Publican and the Pharisee

So, in this still earthly life, the righteousness of the Pharisees was refuted and their prayer was rejected. Meanwhile, the Lord encourages His disciples to remain in constant prayer, teaching them, among other things, the parable of the unrighteous judge (see Luke 18:2-7), who, however, could not resist the urgent plea of ​​the poor widow and fulfilled her request . In addition and a comprehensive explanation of what prayer can be heard and what is rejected, Jesus Christ now tells the parable of the publican and the Pharisee, in which he perpetuates the image of a proud man in self-adoration who boldly turns to heaven with his self-righteous prayer: “Two men entered to the temple to pray: one is a Pharisee, and the other is a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed to himself like this: God! I thank You that I am not like other people, robbers, offenders, adulterers, or like this publican: I fast twice a week, I give a tenth of everything I acquire. The publican, standing in the distance, did not even dare to raise his eyes to heaven; but, striking himself on the chest, he said: God! be merciful to me, a sinner!

“I tell you,” Christ explained, “that this one went to his house justified more than the other: for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Other teachings of the Lord

At the same time, the Lord teaches about the indissolubility of the marital union established by God initially. (Luke 18, 10-14; see Luke 16, 18. Matthew 19, 3-12)

The teachings of Jesus Christ contain both commands that are binding on everyone, and advice that He addresses only to selected souls “able to bear.” Here is His conversation with one young man, who, “approaching, said to Him: Good Teacher! What good thing can I do to have eternal life?”

“He said to him: Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. If you want to enter eternal life, keep the commandments. He says to Him: which ones? Jesus said: Do not kill; Thou shalt not commit adultery; don't steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and mother; and: love your neighbor as yourself.

The young man said to Him: I have kept all this from my youth; what else am I missing?

Jesus said to him: if you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor; and you will have treasure in heaven; and come and follow Me. Hearing this word, the young man went away sad, because he had great possessions. Jesus said to His disciples: Truly I say to you, it is difficult for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven; And again I tell you: it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

Hearing this, His disciples were greatly amazed and said: So who can be saved? And Jesus looked up and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Then Peter answered and said to Him: Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what will happen to us?

“Truly I say to you,” the Messiah promised, “that on the day of judgment, you who have followed Me will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” “And everyone who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My name’s sake will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.” (Matthew 19:16-29)

Such glorious promises kindled hope in the heart of the mother of the sons of Zebedee - James and John, and she approached Jesus and, falling at His feet, begged him to promise that both her sons would sit with Him, one on the right side, and the other on the left in His Kingdom.

Jesus answered: “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I will drink, or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” “We can,” they answered Him. “And he says to them: You will drink My cup, and you will be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized, but to let you sit on My right side and on My left does not depend on Me,” but only on the will of My Father.

“When the other ten disciples heard this, they were indignant at the two brothers. Jesus called them and said, “You know that the princes of the nations rule over them, and the nobles rule over them; but let it not be like this between you: who wants to be between you? O the greatest may be your servant; and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave; for the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20, 20-28)

“Saint John Chrysostom explains these words of Jesus Christ this way: “The last is the first for me... Being the King of the highest powers, I wanted to be a man and be subjected to contempt and reproach; but I was not satisfied with this either, but came to death itself... I didn’t stop there just to serve, but I also gave My soul in redemption, and for whom? For the enemies. If you humble yourself, you humble yourself for yourself, and I humble myself for you. So, do not be afraid of losing your honor through this, since no matter how much you humble yourself, you can never humble yourself as much as your Master humbled himself. However, this humiliation of Him became an exaltation for everyone and revealed His glory... Therefore, do not be afraid of losing your honor because you humble yourself; through humility your glory will be more exalted and spread; she is the door to the Kingdom" (St. John Chrysostom)"

Is there such a person in the world who, even at a very young age, would not ask himself: “What am I? Why am I living? What is my purpose? What will happen to me after death, which is inevitable for everyone? But no one, even old and experienced people, could answer these questions with complete accuracy. Meanwhile, the answers exist: although they were written by people, they were chosen by God, to whom God Himself instilled them through His Divine Revelation. How does it answer the questions that voluntarily and involuntarily burst from the human soul? To find out this, you need to read the Book of Books - the Bible, both the original source itself and the interpretations of the holy fathers on it. Well, for children and those who are just embarking on the path of churching, you can first read the biblical stories, presented in an abbreviated and adapted form. Such stories are offered to us by the Sretensky Monastery publishing house in the book “The Bible Set Out for Family Reading.”

As the book’s preface says, “the great, most important matter is human life. Great is the peace of God given to him as a dwelling. The nature that surrounds him is luxurious, and she generously scatters her gifts to people. To live and be blissful is the purpose of man. This is why it was created by the will of the Almighty, All-Righteous, All-Good, All-Blessed God the Creator, who wanted to share His bliss with His creation. This is the reason for human life. His relationship with God, having received its beginning from the Beginningless and Infinite Supreme Being, will never have an end. But the whole point is that, having given life to man, God gave him a free soul, free to direct his relationship to God both in a good and in a bad direction. How did humanity use the freedom given to it by God, which infinitely elevates it? What relationship did it have and does it have before God?

You can trace the history of the relationship between man and God, between the Creator and creation, by reading the Holy Scriptures. It talks about the life of people from their creation to the incarnation of the Son of God on earth (Old Testament) and from the Nativity of the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ, to His death on the cross for the redemption of mankind (New Testament, Gospel). Based on this sacred source, abbreviated “Biblical stories” were written for accessible familiarization at a young age with the history of the union, or communication of God with people. This history should constitute the initial and main science of man, so that by consciously studying his falling away from God, or his separation from God, and at the same time God’s tireless attraction of him to Himself, we can learn to direct ourselves to return to the lost paradise - the eternal Kingdom of your Heavenly Father.

In accordance with the way the Bible is divided into the Books of the Old Testament and the New Testament, this edition also has two parts. The first of the inspired books of the Old Testament was written by the writer of everyday life Moses, the wise leader of the people, who, after many centuries of the existence of people on earth, preserved the concept of the Supreme Being - the One God. It is in this book, according to the publishers, that for the first time a majestic picture of the creation of the world and the first people in it is revealed. This picture represents the answer to the first questions that arise in a person’s soul: who is he, why was life given to him? As noted at the beginning, to live and bliss is what it was appointment man: for this reason he was called out of oblivion by God, who created a huge and beautiful world for him.

As the publishers note, “there are hardly any words in the human language that could express all the bliss experienced by the first people settled by God in paradise. God Himself was with them, revealing Himself to them. They knew His Divine perfections, could learn from Him and rise to Him by imitation of Him. In this initial communication with the Supreme Being, they could experience only one complete happiness, which nothing could interfere with on any side. In their heavenly home, in the mysterious presence of God, among the complete abundance of luxurious nature, the first people were not embarrassed by any care. They lived enjoying the beauties of God's creation, and they could only thank and glorify their Creator. They had no fear that such a blissful life would ever end, they had no fear of death, since, eating the fruits of the tree of life, they, according to the word of God, were destined for immortality.

What could confuse them and put an end to such a blissful state? Reading the first part of “The Bible Set for Family Reading” you will learn when and why the first people were expelled from their heavenly home. You will find out how they later lived on Earth and how the Covenant was concluded with man, that is, the Union, which we call the Old. And also about how God prepared people for the acceptance of the New Testament, for the coming of the Savior into the world. Several generations of Adam and Eve succeeded each other, and they had to wait several thousand years for the fulfillment of God’s promise. Throughout this entire journey, the Lord helped His people, strengthened them, raising up among them chosen people who lived righteously and shunned evil. From the Holy Scriptures we know their names: Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David and many, many others. Thanks to these people, true faith in God was preserved among the people from generation to generation.

The New Testament (Gospel, Good News) is in close connection with the Old Testament revelation, continues and ends the story of God's eternal communication with man. Before the time when God Himself became incarnate in the country of Judea from the Most Holy Virgin Mary, there were no other peoples on earth besides the Jews to whom the comprehension of the One God was open. Either idolatry or unbelief combined with superstition reigned in the world. But the desire to know the Truth, to know the Almighty was already awakening. And so the interpretations of sages and philosophers appear in different ways, trying to comprehend the Creator, to explain the mystery of the meaning and purposes of His creation. Some of them reach a vague understanding, or rather, a premonition of the truth, but, wandering in the darkness, they cannot achieve what is inaccessible to the human mind - on its own, not illuminated by revelation from above...

With the rays of this revelation, God was pleased to illuminate only His chosen people - the Jews, for the sake of the great souls who were in them, able and worthy to contain what was inconceivable for the human mind, which sought clues to the truth through its own limited human inventions. And the Lord led His chosen people along a difficult path; through trials and punishments, He reminded them of Himself, maintaining in them the consciousness of dependence on Him, the need to obey Him and remain in unity with Him, and at the same time strengthening and comforting him with Divine promises.

Finally, the goals of the difficult, but corrective and preparatory path were achieved; the “fullness of times” came, a heavenly ray flashed and illuminated the East, from where light poured over the whole world and for eternal times. His predecessor was the one about whom Christ Himself later said: “Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen a greater one than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11). John, the greatest of men, preached cleansing repentance, with which he prepared the world to perceive the Highest Light, inaccessible to an unrefined soul, and thus John the Baptist was the crown of the revelations of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament revelations. The second part of the Bible begins with the story of his miraculous birth from the righteous Zechariah and Elizabeth, the story of the New Testament begins. You can get acquainted with this Sacred story by opening the second part of the book - “The Bible Presented for Family Reading.”

The book of books, the “Eternal Book”, the Bible throughout human history remains the main source of knowledge of God and His creation - the visible and invisible worlds. Thousands of generations have been studying this Divine Revelation in order to find in it answers to the main questions of existence, in order to distinguish good from evil, and truth from lies, in order to know the boundless love of God for man and to find on earth the right path to heaven. You too, our dear young readers, begin to familiarize yourself with the Divine Revelation in order to receive answers to many questions of your inquisitive soul.