Rose Murdock's Notes on The Epistles

1: James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings.  2: Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3:  knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  4: And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 5: But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.  6: But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.  7: For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8:  being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. ***  James, the Lord’s brother, was the bishop of Jerusalem, and called James the Just. Some believe the James who wrote this epistle and was the leader of the Jerusalem church was not the Lord’s...

  9: But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position; 10: and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away. 11: For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away. 12: Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.  13: Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. 14: But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. 15: Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.  16: Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.  17: Every good thing given and every perfect gift is...

19: This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger;  20: for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. 21: Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.  22: But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. 23: For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror;  24: for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. 25: But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. 26: If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless....

1: My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.  2: For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes,  3: and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,”  4: have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?  5: Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?  6: But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court?  7: Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called? 8: If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “YO...

10: For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.  11: For He who said, “DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY,” also said, “DO NOT COMMIT MURDER.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.  12: So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. 13: For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment. 14: What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?  15: If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16: and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17: Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. ***    James pointed out that if you break one point of the law, you’re guilty of all of it. You’ve become a lawbreaker n...

18: But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”  19:You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.  20: But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?  21: Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?  22: You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected;  23: and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called the friend of God.  24: You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.  25: In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?  26: For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith ...

1: Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment. 2: For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.  3: Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well.  4: Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires.  5: So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! ***  James began a discussion about the power of spoken words. He begins by mentioning a stricter judgement on teachers, being judged by what they teach—or say. One shouldn’t be eager to take that position too hastily. One should learn to properly govern their words before becoming a teacher. Tho...

6: And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell.  7: For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race.  8: But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.  9: With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God;  10: from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.  11: Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water?  12: Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh. ***  James continued the thought that the tongue—such a small part of the body—could set a whole forest on fire, and it is a fire, he said. It ...

13: Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.  14: But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.  15: This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic.  16: For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.  17: But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.  18: And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. ***  Keeping in mind that our hearts produce our words, revealing our nature, and that our faith becomes evident and approved by our works—(our works reveal our faith, and our words reveal our heart)—keeping all that in mind, James asked who among them was wise and understanding? Who understood this? Whom did the...

1: What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? 2: You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask.  3: You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.  4: You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.  5: Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”?  6: But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”  7: Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.  8: Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and p...

11: Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. 12: There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor? 13: Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 14: Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. 15: Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” 16: But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. 17: Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin. ***    James continued his thoughts on the conflicts and quarrels among them, their dabbling in wor...

1: Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you.  2: Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten.  3: Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure!  4: Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.  5: You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.  6: You have condemned and put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you. 7: Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains.  8: You too be patien...

12: But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment. 13: Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. 14: Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;  15: and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.  16: Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.  17: Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. 18: Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth pr...

1: Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen 2: according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure. 3: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4: to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,  5: who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6: In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, 7: so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even th...

10: As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, 11: seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. 12: It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look. 13: Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14: As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance,  15: but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; 16: because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.” ***  Peter, having started the letter immed...

17: If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; 18: knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, 19: but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. 20: For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you  21: who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. 22: Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart,  23: for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. 24: For, “ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS, AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER O...

1: Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, 2: like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, 3: if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord. 4: And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, 5: you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6: For this is contained in Scripture: “BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.” 7: This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone,” 8: and, “A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were ...

9: But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10: for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY. 11; Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.  12: Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. 13: Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, 14: or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. 15: For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. 16: Act as free...

18: Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable. 19: For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. 20: For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. 21: For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, 22: WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; 23: and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24: and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. 25: For you were co...

1: In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, 2: as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior. 3: Your adornment must not be merely external—braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; 4: but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. 5: For in this way in former times the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands; 6: just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, and you have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear. 7: You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will n...

8: To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; 9: not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. 10: For, “THE ONE WHO DESIRES LIFE, TO LOVE AND SEE GOOD DAYS, MUST KEEP HIS TONGUE FROM EVIL AND HIS LIPS FROM SPEAKING DECEIT. 11: “HE MUST TURN AWAY FROM EVIL AND DO GOOD; HE MUST SEEK PEACE AND PURSUE IT. 12: “FOR THE EYES OF THE LORD ARE TOWARD THE RIGHTEOUS, AND HIS EARS ATTEND TO THEIR PRAYER, BUT THE FACE OF THE LORD IS AGAINST THOSE WHO DO EVIL.” 13: Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? 14: But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, 15: but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentle...

17: For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong. 18: For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; 19: in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, 20: who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. 21: Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22: who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him. ***  To suffer for doing what’s right and endure it patiently is better than suffering for something you did ...

1: Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2: so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. 3: For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries. 4: In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you; 5: but they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6: For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God. 7: The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. 8: Above all,...

12: Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; 13: but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. 14: If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15: Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; 16: but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.  17: For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18: AND IF IT IS WITH DIFFICULTY THAT THE RIGHTEOUS IS SAVED, WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE GODLESS MAN AND THE SINNER?  19: Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God sh...

1: Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, 2: shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; 3: nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. 4: And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. 5: You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. *** Peter spoke to the elders, including himself as a fellow elder with them. He spoke as a witness to Christ’s sufferings and a partaker of the coming glory. He exhorted them to shepherd the flock of God among them. He said not to be forced into it, or to do it for ungodly profit or...

6: Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,  7: casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.  8: Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9: But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. 10: After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. 11: To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen. 12: Through Silvanus, our faithful brother (for so I regard him), I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it! 13: She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, and so does my son, Mark. 14: Greet one another with a kiss of love. Pea...

1: Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:  2: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;  3: seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.  4: For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.  5: Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6: and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness,  7: and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindnes...

12: Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you.  13: I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder,  14: knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.  15: And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to call these things to mind. 16: For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.  17: For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased”—  18: and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. 19: So we have ...

1: But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. 2: Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; 3: and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. 4: For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;  5: and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6: and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter; 7: and if He rescued righteous Lot, opp...

Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties, 11: whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord. 12: But these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge, will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed, 13: suffering wrong as the wages of doing wrong. They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, as they carouse with you, 14: having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children;  15: forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;  16: but he received a rebuke for his own transgression, for a mute donkey, speaking with a voice of a man, restrained the madness...