Zondervan - South Asia Bible Commentary: A One-Volume Commentary on the Whole Bible

Published 2015 by Open Door Publications

Sanjay Park, Rani Road,

Udaipur-313001, Rajasthan, INDIA

www.odp.co.in

Published in cooperation with Langham Partnership

PO Box 296, Carlisle

Cumbria, CA3 9WZ, UK

www.langham.org

ISBN 978-81-924647-8-7 (South Asia Edition)

ePub Edition September 2015: ISBN 978-0-310-55962-7

Published outside of South Asia by Zondervan

3900 Sparks Dr. SE,

Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546, USA

www.zondervan.com

SABC Editorial Board

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher or the Copyright Licensing Agency.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan.

Requests for information on translations should be addressed to the Piquant Agency

PO Box 83, Carlisle, CA3 9GR, UK

www.piquant.net

Cover design: projectluz.com

Typesetting: To a Tee Ltd www.2at.com

Editorial oversight: Langham Literature publishing@langham.org

Proofreading oversight: Editorial Suite www.editorialsuite.com

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CONTENTS

If Jacob was willing to work seven years for Rachel (and then seven more), how precious she was to him! How precious then is this work that has taken just over seven years from its conception in 2007 at a meeting of Langham Scholars in Kolkata to its birth in 2015. It has indeed been a labour of love. It has involved enormous amounts of labour on the part of all who have contributed, and especially those who have edited and managed the process. That hard work has often been done in the midst of demanding pastoral and teaching ministries and all the pressures of family life, illness, bereavement and personal needs. And it has all been done by men and women who love the Lord Jesus Christ, who love the word of God, and who love and serve Gods people in the countries of South Asia. I thank and praise God that he has enabled the whole team to bring this work, which must surely be pleasing to God and a blessing to his church, to completion and publication.